Proofs that Catholic priests were forbidden to marry

In the official Catechism of the Catholic Church (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, copyright 1994, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA) on page 395 under #1580, speaking in the context of "priests" it states:

In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry.

It is well known that both priests and nuns are forbidden to marry.

ANG PANANAMPALATAYA NG ATING MGA NINUNO - the book title. In English it is translated as THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS.

"Ang disiplina ng Iglesia ay ipinatupad buhat pa sa pasimula, sa pamamagitan ng pagbabawal sa mga Saserdote na mag-asawa pagkatapos na sila'y maordenan." (p.396)

In English: The discipline of the Church was implemented from the beginning by forbidding the priests to marry after they were ordained. (p. 396)

The celibacy is not also the Catholic Church's discipline. it is also a doctrine CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EVIDENCE.

This is the hurtful truth of this man made celibacy CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EVIDENCE

The unhospitable Catholic Church of the Philippines

Carlos Celdran is an activist who shouted at Manila Cathedral calling the Catholic priests as Damaso. (The main antagonist friar in Dr. Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere who symbolizes the majority of friars during the time of Rizal who likes to interfere on the affairs of other people. Today Catholic clergy likes to interfere in politics and the famous of this which Mr. Celdran protested by calling them Damasos is they dont like the reproductive health bill to be passed into a law. this bill is all about population control where couples will be taught to control their sexual urges to prevent unwanted pregnancies by artificial or natural method)

Really, these priests are nothing but hypocrites who professed themselves as one of apostles' successors but they don't follow the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ to do good to an enemy. (read Matthew 5:44)

Really, They are not setting aside their anger on him for the sake of Carlos' guests who will be wet by the rain.

Carlos wanted to enter the San Agustin Church because he wanted his guests to be protected from the rain as one of his sacred duty as one of the tour guides in Intramuros.

but the clergy still insists to ban Carlos in the church. they dont want to set aside they anger on him just for a while for the sake of the protection of Carlos' guests from the rain.

Really the Catholic Church is founded by a false prophet and not of the Lord Jesus Christ it is because we can see on the fruits the fallacy of the false prophets as Christ said in the Holy Bible (read Matthew 7:15-20)

Many Muslims were converted to Christianity in Africa

330 million Muslims became Christians from 1902 to 2000

More photos of evidence

Allah was confused on who is the one who worshipped him

You read in the photo below that Allah said that Mohammad, Moses and Abraham was the one who first worshipped him. (he really was confused)

There are many Muslims being converted to Christianity in Muslim Indonesia

Catholic Church's 2000 years of sex scandals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM8FWCeaaEs&feature=share - CLICK THIS

The spiritual Hades/hell which is meant in Revelation 20:14

The depiction of the lake of fire where where evil men will spend their eternity forever

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

The Catholic Church believed that hell in the verse is purgatory. I will post my refutations to prove that It is false:

1) Men dont need a place which is non existing named purgatory it's because here in this world is you can purify yourself 

1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 


2) CLICK THIS LINK The word HELL means only 3. (grave, death, hell)


Jehovah's Witnesses who dont believe in the hellfire interpreted this as the literal grave. Again, I will post my refutations:


1) A literal grave can be found in the earth which in the Judgment Day is it will fade away (read Revelation 20:11)

2) This hell/Hades is spiritual and not a literal graveyard. who are the dead in that spiritual Hades?

Proverbs 21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. 

That spiritual Hades is the congregation of the dead. This is the false church which is the enemy of the True Christian Church:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The dead in the spiritual Hades are:

1 Timothy 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

and also those who are living in sinful life.

Ephesians 2:1 Who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Now, what the meaning of DEATH who will be with the spiritual Hades in the Judgment Day?

Psalms 49:14 "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling."

They are like flock too. similar to the True Christian Church (read Acts 20:28)

Now, who is the spirit who is leading them in the falsehood?

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

So the devil is the one leading them because of he has the power over it (the spiritual death or eternal damnation of the wicked in the hellfire). who'll feed the sinful and lovers of vices in the spiritual Hades or the false church which is the enemy of the True Christian Church built by Lord Jesus Christ.

No wonder Satan has the power over that spiritual death This is why he implanted fear of death to almost all of men in the world today that can be read in the Bible:

Hebrews 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

In the end of the world at Judgment Day, The spiritual death (The eternal punishment for a wicked by going to hell and be burned there forever) which the devil has power over it and the spiritual Hades which is the false church together with its dead who are sinful and lovers of vices will be thrown in the lake of fire where the devil will spend his eternity forever including his minions.

Refuting Catholic infant baptism and original sin doctrine

 

An infant is being baptized as shown in this picture

Infant baptism is unbiblical for the following reasons:

1) Baptism are for those who'll repent on their sins

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Infants from the start dont do any kind of trangressions.

2) Baptism are for people who has the capacity to believe in the Gospel

Acts 2:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  2:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 2:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Infants have no capacity to follow, to believe and understand anything and think well. It includes following and believing the Gospel as said in this verse:

Hebrews 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

3) The kingdom of heaven is such for the little children

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

In desperation, Catholic Defenders will use this defense:

Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.  

16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

So they conclude that in a household, there is an infant.

Oh really, have they seen the household of Lydia in personal to conclude that there is even a single infant in her household? They just interpreted this w/o any Bible verse support to be proven true their interpretation on the said verse.

besides, not all household of men have at least an infant living there, even if you try to survey in your own community where you are living and you'll find out that this is really true.

We should always remember of how our Lord Jesus was baptized is the same way his followers should be baptized.

Mark 10:39 And with the baptism wherewith I am baptized, you shall be baptized.

If our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized as an adult, the same his followers should be baptized as adults and not as an infant.

Do not believe on the priests' reasoning that babies should be baptised it is because they inherit an original sin.

This is unbiblical! read this Bible verse:

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 

In desperation, Catholics will use Psalms 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

It was the mother who sinned and not the child. that is why he was shapen in iniquity and in sin his mother conceived him.

besides, Sin in the Bible is transgression of the law (read 1 John 3:4)

An unborn child cant do any sin because he has not heard yet the law and cant do anything.

Besides the original sin of man was that Adam prefer to listen to his wife than of God who said to him not to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden mentioned in Genesis 3:17.

3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Like I said, a child cant inherit the iniquities of his father (it's in Ezekiel 18:20)

Another proof that the iniquity of a man's parent will not be inherited by him is read this verse: (NOTICE IT WELL WHILE READING)

1 Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 15:2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 15:3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.15:8 And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. 15:9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.

In fact, Lord Jesus taught the Christians to imitate the little children meaning they are sinless from the start.

Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The original sin of man is that Adam preferred to hear his wife to eat the forbidden fruit than of God who ordered him not to eat it.

And in the Bible, The things that a child can inherit from his parents are house and riches (read Proverbs 19:14) and not the iniquities of their parents.

Proof that Daniel Puto Veridiano has a homosexual relationship

Refuting the so called Mary as Co Redemptrix

 This is the proof that it is true that this is a Catholic belief:

CLICK HERE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-Redemptrix

Here are my refutations:

1) According to the link above it says: "Co-Redemptrix, a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, refers to her role in the Redemption process."

In the Bible, Redemption belongs only to God:

Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. 

2) In the Bible, no man can redeem a man

Psalms 49:1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 49:7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 

3) The only Redeemer is God and not any man. Lord Jesus is also God (which can be read in 1 John 5:20) who is a Redeemer also (read 2 Peter 1:1 and Titus 2:13)

Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 

4) Mary needs a Saviour too and it is not true that she has role for Redemption process 


Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.


5) There is no need to have a Co Redemptrix since God the Redeemer is strong (read Jeremiah 50:34)


This is the reason why Catholics pray to Mary, they even believe that she can deliver them from the devil's snares

"Virgin full of goodness, Mother of mercy, I entrust to you my body and soul, my thoughts and my actions in life and my death. O my Queen come to my aid and deliver me from the snares of the devil. Obtain for me the grace of loving my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, with a true and perfect love, and after him, O Mary, of loving you with all my heart and above all things."

Source: Prayer Book 2000 Page 78

Author: Bro. Sherwin Labangco, SHMI and Bro. Saul Maquinto, SHMI

Nihil Obstat: Very Rev. Msgr. Jose C. Abriol

Vicar General and Censor

Manila May 19, 1999

Edition: 1st Edition, Manila, June 29, 2000 Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

Printer: Don Bosco Press Makati City

In the Bible, no man can save you (read Deuteronomy 28:29) so praying to Mary to deliver you from the devil's snares will be in vain.

besides the Bible says this:

Psalms 60:11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 

What is the reason behind this?

Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalms 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 

SEE! It is because help comes from God and not from a man like Mary!

we should not ask a man to deliver you from evil. 

besides, Lord Jesus taught the Christians that when praying we should ask the Father to deliver us from evil (read Matthew 6:9, 13)

Refuting the so called Marian Assumption and Queenship

An art depicting Mary's coronation in heaven

Catholic faith defenders use this verse that there is a literal queen of heaven and it is not always a paganic belief:

Psalms 45:9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

 Have you noticed something in the verse? the queen has gold in Ophir. meaning the queen is still on earth and not in heaven. because Ophir is a trading place where gold can be purchased during the time of King Solomon.

Anyway, who is that queen anyway? she is Bathsheba, who is at the right hand of King Solomon (read 1 Kings 2:19)

So the king in Psalms 45 is King Solomon.

But Catholic Defenders insist that the king is the Messiah Lord Jesus because of Psalms 45:6-7 which can be read in Hebrews 1:8-9.

That's right, it is fulfilled to Lord Jesus Christ but we must remember that Psalms 45 is a song of sons of Korah to King Solomon.

There are some part of it where it is fulfilled to Lord Jesus and some to King Solomon.

The king in Psalms 45 cant be the Messiah since if you'll read Psalms 45:8 he has the "garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,"

and in Psalms 45:9, the king has daughters who were among his honorable women.
Lord Jesus had no children or even wives when he came down on earth. So it is impossible that the king in Psalms 45 is totally the Messiah.

We should know that the reason why Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth in Unholy Roman Catholic Church it is because she is considered as another God CLICK THIS TO SEE MY PROOF

This is a pure blasphemy. Mary cant be a God and Queen in heaven today because of the following reasons:


1) The Bible clearly said that no man cant foretell the destiny of a dead person:

Ecclesiastes 8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? 

Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death:



So it is a lie to preach that Mary is in heaven today and a queen since the Bible says that no one can tell the destiny of a dead person.

2) Mary will never go immediately to the place where her Son Lord Jesus which is in heaven because her Son said that she needs to be resurrected first to obtain eternal life IN THE LAST DAY. she is one of those who saw and believed in Him.


John 6:40 Every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 


3) Apostle Paul said that no one obtained the promise

Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:  Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

What is that promise?

2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 


So any dead saints including Mary is not yet in heaven where God is there.

4) It is not even taught by any apostles of  Lord Jesus Christ. St. Paul the Apostle said about what to do on the people who taught other teachings aside from their teachings.

Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 


See! we must also reject their false teachings and not only themselves. we should accursed or reject them BOTH!

Now who taught this Assumption dogma? It is Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. This belief is known as the Dormition of the Theotokos by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. In the churches which observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries it is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation.

5) So Mary cant be a God too if I have proven here that it's impossible for her to be a Queen of Heaven and Earth. because of the reason that she is considered as another God CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROOF

The Quran is a hate book

 
A picture showing angry Muslim mobs

The Quran Distinguishes Muslims from Non-Muslims
and Establishes a Hierarchy of Relative Worth

The Quran makes it clear that Islam is not about universal brotherhood, but about the brotherhood of believers:

    The Believers are but a single Brotherhood (Quran 49:10)

Not all men are equal under Islam.  Slaves and the handicapped are not equal to healthy free men, for example (16:75-76).  The Quran introduces the “Law of Equality,” which establishes different levels of human value when considering certain matters, such as restitution for murder (Quran 2:178).

Neither are Muslim believers equal to non-Muslims:

    Are those who know equal to those who know not? (Quran 39:09)

    Is the blind equal to the one who sees"  Or darkness equal to light? (Quran 13:16)

The Quran plainly tells Muslims that they are a favored race, while those of other religions are “perverted transgressors”:

    Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors. (Quran 3:110)

As we shall see later, Allah condemns non-Muslims to Hell based merely on their unbelief, while believers are rewarded with the finest earthly comforts in the hereafter, including never-ending food, wine and sex (Quran 56:12-40).  In fact, much of the Quran is devoted to distinguishing Muslims from non-Muslims and impugning the latter.

The first sura of the Quran is an example of this.  It is a short prayer that is repeated by devout Muslims each day and ends with these words:

    Keep us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray. (Quran 1:6-7)

Muhammad was once asked if these words pertained to Jews and Christians.  His response was, "Whom else?" (Bukhari 56:662).

Since Allah makes such a strong distinction between Muslims and those outside the faith, it is only natural that Muslims should incorporate disparate standards of treatment into their daily lives.  The Quran tells Muslims to be compassionate with one another but ruthless to the infidel:

    Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves… (Quran 48:29)

Allah intends for Muslims to triumph over unbelievers:

    And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way to triumph over believers [Pickthall – “any way of success”] (4:141)

The only acceptable position of non-Muslims to Muslims is subjugation under Islamic rule:

    Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Quran 9:29 Jizya is the money that non-Muslims must pay to their Muslim overlords in a pure Islamic state.)

A common criticism of many Muslims is that they often behave arrogantly toward others.  Now you know why.

The Quran Dehumanizes Non-Muslims
and Says that They are Vile Animals

The Ayatollah Khomeini, who dedicated his entire life to studying Islam, said that non-Muslims  rank somewhere between "feces" and the "sweat of a camel that has consumed impure food."  Small wonder.  The Quran dehumanizes non-Muslims, describing them as “animals” and beasts:

    Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures. (Quran 98:6)

    Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. (Quran 8:55)

Verse 7:176 compares unbelievers to "panting dogs" with regard to their idiocy and worthlessness.  Verse 7:179 says they are like "cattle" only worse.

Verse 5:60 even says that Allah transformed Jews of the past into apes and pigs.  This is echoed by verses 7:166 and 2:65. 

A hadith says that Muhammad believed rats to be "mutated Jews" (Bukhari 54:524, also confirmed by Sahih Muslim 7135 and 7136).

Verses 46:29-35 even say that unbelieving men are worse than demons who believe in Muhammad.

According to Islamic law, non-Muslims may be owned as property by Muslims, but - in keeping with Islam's supremacist message - a fellow Muslim should never be (unless they convert to Islam after enslavement).  Even Christians and Jews are not considered fully human in that the penalty for killing one of them is limited to one-third of the compensation due for unintentionally killing a Muslim.

The Quran Says that Allah does NOT Love Unbelievers

Christianity teaches that God loves all people, but hates sin.  The Quran never says this.  Instead it explicitly declares that Allah does not love those who do not believe in him:

    He does not love the unbelievers (Quran 30:45)

Allah only loves those who obey Muhammad (at least according to Muhammad, who provided the "narration"):

     Say: "Obey Allah and His Messenger": But if they turn back, Allah loveth not those who reject Faith. (Quran 3:32)

Instead of a god that loves the sinner, even while hating the sin, the wrath of Allah is placed squarely on the individual:

    Surely Allah does not love any one who is unfaithful, ungrateful. (Quran 22:38)

Verses 11:118-199 say that Allah does not bestow mercy on everyone.  For this reason, he chooses not to guide some people:

    And Allah's is the direction of the way, and some (roads) go not straight. And had He willed He would have led you all aright. (Quran 16:9)

For those whom Allah does not love, there will be the most terrible of eternal torments, including eternal roasting:

    Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (Quran 4:56)

"Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers" (2:98) and, as we shall see, he hates them so much that he even leads them into sinning and actively prevents them from believing in him, thus ensuring their fate.

The Quran Says that Non-Muslims are
Destined for Eternal Torture in Hell

Although nowhere does the Quran say that Allah loves those who don’t believe Muhammad, there are over 400 verses that describe the torment that he has prepared for people of other religions (or no religion):

    And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers (Quran 3:85)

The relative worth of non-Muslims is that they are but fuel for the fire of Hell:

    (As for) those who disbelieve, surely neither their wealth nor their children shall avail them in the least against Allah, and these it is who are the fuel of the fire (3:10 Shakir: "firewood of hell")

As they are fueling the fire, unbelievers will be tormented by Allah’s angels on his command:

    “O ye who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire whereof the fuel is men and stones, over which are set angels strong, severe, who resist not Allah in that which He commandeth them, but do that which they are commanded.” (Quran 66:6)

It doesn’t matter how many good deeds an unbeliever does, because they count for nothing with Allah:

    The parable of those who reject their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: No power have they over aught that they have earned (14:18)

    Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds?  Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?  They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight.  That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest. (Quran 18:103-106)

Muhammad told his people that anyone who rejects his claim to be a prophet will go to Hell:

    Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and (those who) desire to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers and say: ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others’, and desire to take a course between (this and) that. These it is that are truly unbelievers, and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement. And those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not make a distinction between any of them-- Allah will grant them their rewards (Quran 4:150-152)

In Christianity, punishment in the hereafter is directly tied to sin and ‘wickedness.’  There is relatively little said about Hell, but the emphasis is on personal suffering for selfish or cruel deeds.  In Islam, Hell is a punishment for merely not believing Muhammad’s personal claims about himself.  In contrast to the Bible, every 12th verse of the Quran speaks of Hell and vividly describes Allah’s wrath on unbelievers:

    But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning. (Quran 22:19-22)

No one could torture a person in this way without hating them intensely.  Neither can Allah’s intense loathing for unbelievers help but affect the Muslim attitude toward those outside the faith.

The personal superiority of Muslims is confirmed by the contrasting picture painted in so many places in the Quran in which they are rewarded with the greatest of earthly comforts in heaven, while the unbelievers concurrently suffer horrible torment (see Sura 56 for just one example).

Allah Himself Prevents Non-Muslims from Understanding

It would make no sense if Allah gave the people that he hates an opportunity to avoid his wrath.  The Quran says that Allah deliberately puts obstacles in the way of unbelievers to keep them from accepting the truth:

If Allah wished, he could provide guidance to every soul:

    If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance (32:13)

But, instead he sets a veil over the hearts and coverings over their ears:

    Verily We have set veils over their hearts lest they should understand this, and over their ears, deafness, if thou callest them to guidance, even then will they never accept guidance. (Quran 18:57) – See also 17:46 & 45:23

Allah even uses chains and barriers to prevent unbelievers from believing:

    Certainly the word has proved true of most of them, so they do not believe.  Surely We have placed chains on their necks, and these reach up to their chins, so they have their heads raised aloft. And We have made before them a barrier and a barrier behind them, then We have covered them over so that they do not see. And it is alike to them whether you warn them or warn them not: they do not believe. (36:7-10)

For the same purpose, Allah also fills the hearts of unbelievers with doubt:

    No soul can believe, except by the will of Allah, and He will place doubt (or obscurity) on those who will not understand (Quran 10:100)

Allah Actually Causes Non-Muslims to Sin

Not content with merely preventing unbelievers from knowing the truth (which is enough to condemn them to Hell) the Quran says that a hateful Allah also causes unbelievers to commit the very sin that he will later punish them for:

    And if Allah please He would certainly make you a single nation, but He causes to err whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases; and most certainly you will be questioned as to what you did (16:93)

Although Satan tempts Muslims, it is Allah himself who causes unbelievers to err.

    …and whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall not find a way for him. (4:143, see also 4:88)

Allah intentionally sends the people that he hates astray:

    …and Allah sendeth him astray purposely, and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering? Then who will lead him after Allah (hath condemned him)? Will ye not then heed? (45:23)

Allah even sends demons to inspire unbelievers to commit further bad deeds (that he can later hold against them):

    See thou not that We have set the Evil Ones on against the unbelievers, to incite them with fury? (19:83)

According to verse 3:54, Allah plots and schemes against unbelievers using deceit (the literal meaning of makara, the word used).  Elsewhere, the Quran explains that Allah tricks unbelievers into thinking that they are doing good deeds, when, in fact, they are merely deepening their own eternal punishment with bad deeds:

    As to those who do not believe in the hereafter, We have surely made their deeds fair-seeming to them, but they blindly wander on. (27:4)  See also 39:23, 6:39, 35:8, 13:27 & 14:4)

Allah recruits Satan to join Him into fooling unbelievers into thinking that they are doing good:
    On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them. (6:43)

The joke is on non-Muslims, of course, who will protest on Judgment Day that they did everything they thought was right – but are sent to Hell anyway:

    Then would they offer submission (with the pretence), "We did no evil (knowingly)." (The angels will reply), "Nay, but verily Allah knows all that ye did; "So enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein. (16:28-29)

The Quran Says that Non-Muslims Should Not be Taken as Friends

Given that Allah hates non-Muslims to the extent that he would prevent them from knowing the truth, cause them to err and then condemn them to eternal torture for their unbelief and misdeeds, it would make little sense if he intended Muslims to treat unbelievers by the same standards that they treat each other here on earth.

The Quran says that no true Muslim would ever love anyone who resists Islam, even if it is a family member:

    Thou wilt not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, loving those who resist Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. (Quran 58:22)

There are at least nine places in the Quran where believers are warned not to befriend non-Muslims:

    O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do ye wish to offer Allah an open proof against yourselves? (Quran 4:144) 

In fact, anyone who does take a non-Muslim as a friend could be accused of being an unbeliever as well:

    O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk. (5:51)

Note that Christians, according to the Quran, are included in the ranks of "unbelievers":
    They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary (Quran 5:17)

Muhammad said that unbelievers have it out for Muslims.  They may appear harmless or friendly, but, in reality, they harbor corruption and evil intentions:

    O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: What their hearts conceal is far worse (Quran 3:118)

    For the Unbelievers are unto you open enemies (Quran 4:101)

    As for them, they are but plotting a scheme (Quran 86:15)

Those outside of Islam are really helpers of evil against Allah:

    The Misbeliever is a helper (of Evil), against his own Lord! (25:55)

The Quran says that "hostility and hate" will exist between Muslims and infidels "for ever" until the latter "believe in Allah alone." (Quran 60:4)

Instead of befriending non-Muslims, the Quran encourages hostility.  Muslims are ordered to fight unbelievers:

    O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty. (9:123)

The Quran tells Muslims that they will spend eternity laughing at unbelievers (83:34) and mocking their suffering as they are tortured in Hell:

    And the dwellers of the garden will call out to the inmates of the fire: Surely we have found what our Lord promised us to be true; have you too found what your Lord promised to be true? They will say: Yes. Then a crier will cry out among them that the curse of Allah is on the unjust. (Quran 7:44) – Muhammad got an early start on this by personally mocking his dead enemies following the Battle of Badr (Ibn Ishaq 454)

One does not befriend those over whose suffering they will later rejoice, nor does it make any sense that Muslims would befriend those whom the Quran labels "enemies of Allah" by virtue of their unbelief.

The Quran Says that Other Religions are Cursed by Allah

Buddhists in Thailand, Jews in Israel, Christians in Indonesia, Hindus in India...  Why is Islam at war with every major world religion, when none of these religions are at war with each other?  Part of the reason is that the Quran is specific about the inferiority of other faiths (see Quran 48:28) and the hatred that Allah harbors for their people.

Although it is common for Muslims to become upset about anyone “insulting” their religion, here is what the Quran says about Jews and Christians:

    The Jews call Ezra a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! (Quran 9:30) (See also Bukhari 8:427), one of the last things Muhammad ever said on his deathbed was "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians.”)

The Quran specifically addresses Christians, Jews, Polytheists (Hindus) and atheists:

Christians are blasphemers (Quran 5:17, 5:73) who have invented a lie about Allah (Quran 10:68-69) by ascribing partners to Allah (ie. the Trinity).  Inventing a lie about Allah is the worst of sins (Quran 7:37, 29:68) and for this reason Christians are condemned to Hell (10:70).  Although one (early Medinan) verse seems to say that righteous Christians will go to heaven, this is abrogated by later verses that make it very clear that Christians must cease being Christian (ie. reject the Trinity) or suffer eternal torment for their beliefs (Quran 5:72-73).

Jews are also cursed by Allah (Quran 5:13), in one of his final pronouncements.  The Quran goes on to assure Muslims that Jews are wicked (Quran 4:160-162) – so wicked, in fact, that they have somehow managed to do the impossible (18:27) and alter the word of Allah (Quran 2:75).  Jews are “fond of lies” and “devour the forbidden” (Quran 5:42).

The Quran assures believers that Jews and Christians have “diseased hearts” (Quran 5:52).  Allah even takes credit for the enmity between them (Quran 5:14).  Only Jews and Christians who submit to Islamic subjugation and pay the Jizya are protected in this world (Quran 9:29 & Ibn Ishaq 956).

Hindus are polytheists.  Although Muhammad didn’t know any Hindus (and neither did Allah, apparently) the Quran still manages to lay the groundwork for the 1000 year ethnic cleansing campaign against the Hindu people that is estimated to have taken tens of millions of innocent lives.  In Islam, polytheists are worse than all other religion.  Those who join idols (14:30) or false gods (11:14) to Allah also invent a lie about Him (29:17) and will burn in Hell.  Even believing in other divine entities along with Allah is an unforgivable crime (4:48, 40:12).

Atheists believe in no god, which is even worse than believing in the wrong one (Muhammad and his successors had atheists put to death - Bukhari 84:57).  Merely questioning the existence of Allah is a testament to one’s impiety (25:21), even as Muslim narcissim is encouraged in the Quran.  Muhammad always answered probing questions merely by telling the inquiring party that they would go to Hell if they didn’t believe in him (Quran 36:49-64).  The Quran discourages Muslims from intellectual inquiry (Quran 5:101-102).

Anyone who gives up his religion is a “perverted transgressor” (Quran 3:82).  Perverted as well is anyone who denies Allah (40:63) or does not believe Muhammad (Quran 2:99).  Freedom of conscience does not exist in Islam.  Muhammad clearly prescribed the death penalty for apostates (Bukhari 52:260).

While contemporary Muslim apologists often speak of “dialogue” (meaning a unilateral arrangement in which they tell you about Islam while you listen) the Quran speaks of Jihad instead:

    Listen not to the unbelievers, but strive (Jihad) against them with the utmost strenuousness. (Quran 25:52)

What would be the point in hearing anything a non-Muslim has to say... or even talking with them for that matter?  Allah has already sealed their hearts and condemned them to Hell:

    As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom (Quran 2:6)

For those wondering why Allah would even make infidels if their ultimate destination is Hell, Muhammad said that the purpose of some (Jews and Christians, at least) was to take the place of Muslims, so that they would not suffer there (Sahih Muslim 6666).

The Quran Says that People of Other Religions
are to be Violently Punished in This World

Allah himself fights against the unbelievers (9:30), so why should Muslims not fight in his cause rather than in the cause of evil (4:76)?  About 19% of the Quran is devoted to the violent conquest and subjugation of non-Muslims:

    Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies and others besides, whom ye may not know (Quran 8:60)

    Strive hard (Jihad) against the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed.  (Quran 66:9, See also Quran 9:73)

Muslims are to expect a reward in this life as well as the next (4:134), so it makes sense that unbelievers should be punished in this life as well:

    …He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him there is no guide. For them is a penalty in the life of this world, but harder, truly, is the penalty of the Hereafter… (Quran 13:33:34)

There are at least two places in the Quran where the violent death of non-Muslims is referred to as Allah's reward for unbelief (Quran 2:191, 9:26), as in "such is the reward for unbelievers."

In the end, All beings on heaven and earth will be forced to bow down to Allah, either willingly or by force:

    And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly (Quran 13:15)

Those who resist Islam will be humiliated:

    Those who resist Allah and His Messenger will be among those most humiliated. (Quran 58:20 - The context for this verse is the eviction of the Jewish tribes of Medina and the confiscation of their wealth, land, and children by Muhammad).

Non-Muslims are to be fought until religion is only for Allah:

    And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah… (Quran 8:39 – “Persecution” in this context means resistance to Islam – defined in the prior verse as an unwillingness to believe (see verse 38).  This passage was “revealed” following a battle that Muhammad deliberately provoked.  Verse 2:193 essentially says the same thing and was also “revealed” at a time when the Muslims were not under physical attack).

Those with "diseased hearts" - which include Christians and Jews according to 5:52 - are to be "seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter" (Quran 33:60-62) along with "hypocrites" (Muslims who are judged not to be true believers by their associations with unbelievers or their unwillingness to engage in Jihad).

Non-Muslims are to be encroached on and pressured by the Muslims:

    See they not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control) from its outlying borders? (Quran 13:41 - See also 21:44)

    And He made you heirs to their land and their dwellings and their property, and (to) a land which you have not yet trodden, and Allah has power over all things. (Quran 33:27, See also Bukhari 53:392)

Allah will grant Muslims authority and power over all other people:

    Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion... (Quran 24:55)

(Muhammad's companions continued to self-fulfill this prophecy with an aggressive and senseless military expansion that left a trail of bodies from Spain to India).

Allah provides instructions to Muslims for dealing with unbelievers who are unwilling to accept Islamic rule:

    Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them." This because they contended against Allah and His Messenger: If any contend against Allah and His Messenger, Allah is strict in punishment. (Quran 8:12-13)

Defeating non-Muslims should be easy for true believers because they are superior in intelligence and understanding:

    O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence (Quran 8:65)

Remember that the Quran says that not all men are equal in Islam.  This also applies to Muslims themselves with regard to their aggressiveness toward unbelievers.  Those who kill or are killed on behalf of Islam are more pleasing to Allah:

    Not equal are those of the believers who sit at home... and those who strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with their wealth and lives" (Quran 4:95)

Dr. Jose Rizal letter to Father Pastells part 2

Dapitan, April 4, 1893

My Most Reverend Father:

In time I received your gift, Monsignor Bougaud’s work*, which I am reading with the liveliest interest. It is one of the best works of its kind that I have seen, not only by its exposition, but also by its eminently Christian and conciliatory spirit, by the clarity with which the author writes and the strength of his convictions. If Sarda’s work is that of a champion or a polemist, Monsignor Bougaud’s is that of a prelate in the most beautiful sense of the word.

Let us see if by reading it, I shall change my faith or the faith that you miss in me will be restored; if not, we shall have to content ourselves with what God has given to each of us.

Do not be surprised that I am quite late in answering your esteemed letter of last February 2nd. For such delay, I am very sorry. Were it possible. I should prefer to be charged with discourtesy rather than be accused of wounding your convictions directly in this discussion.

With Your Reverence it would have been much pleasanter for me to confine myself to defending my views rather than taking the offensive. However, you challenge me, and so, much against my will, I accept the challenge but with manu nuda (naked hand) as I do not like to use arms –– for that matter, I do not have any, not even books with which to prove my citations.

We are in accord that God exists. How can I doubt His existence when I am convinced on my own? To recognize the effect is to admit the cause. To doubt the existence of God is to doubt one’s conscience; and to doubt one’s conscience is to doubt everything. In such a case, what would be the purpose of life?

Now, if the result of reasoning may be called faith, my faith on God is blind, blind in the sense that it knows nothing. I neither believe nor disbelieve the qualities that many people ascribe to Him. I smile at the definitions and lucubrations of theologians and philosophers about that ineffable and inscrutable Being. Convinced that I stand before that supreme Problem which confused voices wish to explain to me, I cannot but answer: "Perhaps, you are right; but the God I am aware of is far greater and far better. Plus supra!" (far beyond)!

I do not believe the Revelation impossible. Rather, I believe in it. Not, however, in the revelations which each and every religion claims to possess. If we examine, compare, and scrutinize such revelations impartially, we shall detect in all of them human claws and the stamp of the age in which they were written. No; mans makes his God in his own image and then ascribes to Him his own works in the same manner that the Polish magnates used to choose their king and then impose their will on him. All of us do the same: Your Reverence does it when you say, "He who made eyes, will he not see? He who shaped ears, will he not hear?" Pardon me, but since we have already spoken about the bull of Anacreon,, let us hear it below: "He who made the horns, will he not know how to gore?" No; what is perfection with us may be imperfection with God.

Poor inhabitants that we are of a small planet lost in at the infinite space, let us now make God in our own image. However brilliant and sublime our intellect may be, it is at best a tiny spark that glows and is extinguished in a moment. But it alone can give us an idea of that blaze of fire, that conflagration, that vast sea of light.

I believe in revelation, but in that living revelation of Nature which surrounds us everywhere; in that powerful, eternal, incessant, incorruptible, clear, distinct, and universal voice like the one from whom it emanates; that revelation which speaks to us and pervades our being from birth to death. What books can reveal to us better God’s goodness, love, providence, eternity, glory, and wisdom? Coeli enarrant gloriam Domini, et opera manum ejus enunciat firmamentum (The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork). What more Bible, what more gospel, does humanity wish? Ah, does not Your Reverence believe that men did wrong in seeking the divine will in palimpsests or parchments and temples, instead of searching for it in the works of Nature and under the august dome of the heavens? Instead of interpreting obscure passages or phrases designed to provoked hatred, wars, and dissensions, would it not have been better to interpret the works of Nature to enable us to adapt our lives more readily to its inviolable laws and utilize its forces for our perfection? When did men begin to act as brothers? Was it not only when they found the first pages of the work of God? Like the prodigal son who, blind to the joys of his parents’ home, left in search of other homes, mankind has for centuries wandered, miserable and full of hate.

I do not deny that there are precepts of absolute necessity and usefulness clearly enunciated in Nature, but God has lodged them in the human heart, in man’s conscience, His best temple. Hence, I adore more this good and provident God. He has endowed each of us with all that is necessary to save ourselves and has continuously opened to us the book of His revelation with His priest unceasingly speaking to us through the voice of our conscience.

Consequently, the best religions are the simplest ones, the most natural, the ones most in harmony with the needs and aspirations of man. Herein lies the principal excellence of the doctrine of Christ.

When I say that the voice of my conscience can come only from God, I do not prejudge; I merely deduce. God could not have created me for my misfortune; for what wrong could I have done to Him before I was born, that He should decree my perdition? Nor could He have created me for no purpose or for an indifferent one; for then, why my sufferings why the slow torture of my unceasing longing? For a good purpose He must have created me, and for that I have no better guide than my conscience, my conscience alone, which judges and appraises my acts. He would be inconsistent if after having created me, He did not provide me with the means to attain that purpose. He would be like the blacksmith who wanted to make a knife, but did not sharpen any of the edges.

All Your Reverence’s brilliant and subtle arguments, which I shall not try to refute because it would require a whole dissertation, can not convince me that the Catholic Church is endowed with infallibility. In it the human claws are no less apparent. It is a more perfect institution than the others, but human nevertheless, with all the defects, errors, and vicissitudes inherent in the work of man. As the direct heir of the political sciences, the religions, and the arts, of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, it is more wisely and ably managed. Its foundation lies in the heart of the people, in the imagination of the multitude, in the attachment of women; but like all other religions, it has its dark points, which veils under the name mysteries; it has its puerilities, which it sanctifies as miracles; it has its divisions or dissensions, which it calls sects or heresies.

Nor can I believe that before the advent of Jesus Christ, all the peoples were in the abyss you speak of. Precisely, there is Socrates who dies for proclaiming the existence of only one God. There is divine Plato. There are the virtuous Aristides, Phocion, and Miltiades. There is Zarathustra, founder of the religion of force; and there is Kung Sien, founder of the religion of reason and China’s lawmaker.

Neither can I believe that after Christ everything has been light, peace, and happiness; that the majority of men have become just. To confute all such assertions, you have the battlefields, the stakes, the destructive fires, the prisons, the crimes committed, the tortures of the Inquisition, the hates that Christian nations engender against one another on account of flimsy differences; the slavery that for eighteen centuries was tolerated, if not sanctioned. Prostitution is still rampant. There is, finally, a great portion of society that is still hostile to its own religion.

Your Reverence will tell me that all this exists because they left the church. But did not these evils exist when the church was dominant? Did they not exist in the Middle Ages, and when the whole of Europe was a battlefield? Did they not exist when in the first three centuries the church was in the catacombs, in distress, and without power? If there was a peace then ––and there was no peace ––it could not have been due to the church because the church was not in power.

I rejoice , my dear Father Pastells, when I see men like you, filled with faith and virtue, sustain a faith and lament the present troubles of humanity. This shows love of that faith. I rejoice, too, that generous spirits like Your Reverence watch over the future of that faith. But I rejoice more when I behold humanity in its immortal march, always moving forward, in spite of its failings and errors, in spite of its deviations, because all this proves me its glorious end, and that it has been created for a better purpose than to be devoured by flames. All this fills me with trust in God who will not allow His handiwork to be destroyed in spite of the devil and all our acts of madness.

As to contradictions in the canonical books and miracles I confess that the subject has been so thoroughly threshed out that it is a waste of time to go over it again. All can be explained when one is favorably inclined to hear, and all can be accepted when one is willing to believe. This will has an enormous power over the will. I shall not speak either of the contradictions in the genealogies or of the Cana miracle which Christ performed although he said His hour had not yet come. Nor shall I speak of the loaves of bread and fishes, or of the temptation, etc. All these things do not reduce the stature of the man who uttered the Sermon on the Mount and the famous, "Father, forgive them . . ." What I am after far transcends all that.

Who died on the Cross? Was it the God or the man? If it was the God, I do not understand how a God, conscious of his mission, could die. I do not understand how a God could exclaim in the garden, "Pater, Si possible transeat a me calix ista" (Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from me) and again exclaim on the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken?" This cry is absolutely human. It was the cry of a man who had faith in the justice and goodness of his cause. Except the words, "Hodie mecum eris" (Today you will be with me), it is the cry of Christ on Calvary. All this shows a man in torment and agony, but what a man! To me, Christ the man is greater than Christ the God. Had it been God who said. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," those who laid hands on him should have been forgiven, unless we say that God is like the certain men who say one thing and then do another.

I find another objection to the miracles of Christ in the apostasy of his disciples and their refusal to believe in his resurrection. had they really witnessed so many acts of wonder and resurrection, they would not have deserted him so cravenly nor doubted his resurrection. Whoever gives back life to others can very well recover his own.

As to Your Reverence’s explanation about the miracles that He has decreed the laws will not contradict himself by suspending them at certain times in order to attain certain objectives, it seems to me that though he may not contradict himself, yet he is inferior to him who can realize the same objectives without suspending the operation of laws. A good one governs in peace without changing or disturbing anything.

Your Reverence calls this the stupid pride of rationalists. But a question suggests itself: who is more stupidly proud, the man who is satisfied with following his own reason, or the man who tries to impose on others what reason does not prompt him to tell them, but just because he surmises it to be the truth? What has been reasoned out has never appeared stupid to me. Pride has always manifested itself in the idea of domination. . .

I congratulate Your Reverence for the relative rest and leisure give you in reducing the load you used to carry.

Dr. Jose Rizal letter to Father Pastells part 1

RIZAL'S THIRD LETTER TO FATHER PASTELLS

Dapitan, January 9, 1893

My Most Reverend Father:

With great pleasure I have read your esteemed and profound the letter of December 8th. I am most grateful to you for your continued interest in me.

For some time now I have been examining my beliefs and the foundations on which they rest. I have reviewed what little is left of what my dear professor, Father Sanchez has aptly called "shipwreck of faith," or the solid bases that have withstood so many storms. In the definition and exposition of my ideas I should like to be a sincere and accurate as possible as I value Your Reverence so much only for what you are, or for what you were to me in my adolescent years, the recollection of which is always dear and sacred to me, but also for your being still one of the few persons who, far from forgetting me in my adversity, have so benevolently lent me a helping hand.

Gladly, therefore, I shall answer your questions in all candor so that you may see for yourself whether all is lost or there is yet something left which may be made use of.

More than by faith, I firmly believe by reasoning and by necessity that a Creator exists. Who is He? What human sounds, what words of any language, can enclose or envelop such Being whose wonders stagger the imagination that pictures them? Who can give Him an adequate name when a petty human being here on earth with an ephemeral power has two or three names, three or four surnames, and the many titles?

Dios we call Him in Spanish, but that merely recalls the Latin deus and the Greek Zeus. What is He? If fear of my ignorance did not deter me, I should ascribe to Him to an infinite degree all the beautiful and holy qualities that my mind can conceive. Somebody has said that each man makes his God in his own image. If I remember right, Anacreon said that if the bull could imagine a god, it would imagine him to be like itself –– with horns and a superlative bellowing power.

Nevertheless, I believe God to be infinitely wise, perfect, and good. But then, my idea of the infinite is imperfect and confused, considering the wonders of His works; the order that governs them, their overwhelming magnificence and extent, and the goodness that shines through all of them. The lucubrations of a poor worm, the least of all creatures on this tiny ball of earth, can never offend His inconceivable majesty however crazy they may be. The very thought of Him overpowers me, makes my mind reel, and every time my reason tries to lift up its eyes to that Being, it falls dazzled, bewildered , overwhelmed. Fear seizes me and I resolve to keep silent rather than be like Anacreon’s bull.

With this vague but irresistible feeling pervading whole being before the inconceivable, the superhuman, the infinite, I leave its study to clearer minds . In suspense I listen to what the different religions say, and unable to pass judgment on what lies beyond my comprehension, I content myself with studying Him through His creatures, my fellow-beings. In my mysterious voice I hear within me, the purity of which I endeavor to preserve above all things so as to enable me to act in accordance with it, I try to read, to guess, His will in all that surrounds me.

Many religions claim to have that written in condensed form in their books and dogmas, but apart from the numerous contradictions, the varied interpretations of words, the many obscure points . . ."

Dr. Jose Rizal letter to Father Pastells

Excerpt's of Rizal's discourse against father Pastell's of the Jesuit's, Pastell is convincing Rizal to go back to the fold.

"We are entirely in accord in admitting the existence of God. How can I doubt his when I am convinced of mine. Who so recognizes the effect recognizes the cause. To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for? Now then, my faith in God, if the result of a ratiocination may be called faith, is blind, blind in the sense of knowing nothing. I neither believe nor disbelieve the qualities which many attribute to him; before theologians' and philosophers' definitions and lucubrations of this ineffable and inscrutable being I find myself smiling. Faced with the conviction of seeing myself confronting the supreme Problem, which confused voices seek to explain to me, I cannot but reply: 'It could be; but the God that I foreknow is far more grand, far more good: Plus Supra!...I believe in (revelation); but not in revelation or revelations which each religion or religions claim to possess. Examining them impartially, comparing them and scrutinizing them, one cannot avoid discerning the human 'fingernail' and the stamp of the time in which they were written... No, let us not make God in our image, poor inhabitants that we are of a distant planet lost in infinite space. However, brilliant and sublime our intelligence may be, it is scarcely more than a small spark which shines and in an instant is extinguished, and it alone can give us no idea of that blaze, that conflagration, that ocean of light. I believe in revelation, but in that living revelation which surrounds us on every side, in that voice, mighty, eternal, unceasing, incorruptible, clear, distinct, universal as is the being from whom it proceeds, in that revelation which speaks to us and penetrates us from the moment we are born until we die. What books can better reveal to us the goodness of God, his love, his providence, his eternity, his glory, his wisdom? 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork'."