BELIEF IN GOD AND ORGANIZING

In very many religions worldwide, the center of attention, the officiators of masses are men. People pray with priests and male pastors. They listen to their sermons fervently and obey whatever are told them to do (except for some women, who wear short shorts inside the church).

Actually, during the medieval ages in Europe many women were burned at the stakes for heresy, for posing contrary views to established customs and traditions. 

Would the pronouncements of Cristina (Tenny) Manalo, the wife of Erano Manalo and the mother of executive minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo Eduardo Manalo be considered heretical when she asked for their constituents to help her and her family for fear of being harmed within the confines of the INC compound? 

Instead of the issues that have been raised by the revelations of some members of the INC could be refuted by hard evidences, the events have revealed a different path- there are name-calling, denial, barring of the fluid turning of the wheel of justice and some high officials unable to move according to what should be done in such a case. 

The INC case is a classic -- Cristina has been dismissed, without trial, from the organization, and the Philippine Catholic bishops have sided with the move, stating that she needed to fall under discipline.

When voices are shut up, when complaints are not unearthed and examined for proper solutions, the normal move of an individual is to raise his or her voice in protest, and if there are no acts coming to resolve the issues, then it is still the normal way to ask other people to step in, especially when there are so-called potential untoward incidents that could happen.

I rue the speedy implementation of the harsh discipline on Cristina. As wife of the son of the founder, she should have been given due respect and courtesy; after all, it is difficult to start and run a movement that was contrary to the established Catholic religion at that time, as well as the Protestant religion being propagated by the colonizers. 

As a people we should honor those who have created history in our midst, those who have stood up to say that as a people, we could carve our own ways of worshipping God, and create organizations to pursue our own beliefs. 

The organizers could also look into the disobedience of the 6th commandment that one should "Honor thy father and thy mother."

Is it easy to dislodge Cristina from her post because she is a woman? 

Belief in God should not be a contentious issue among us. I believe that theism is still the most important lesson that one can learn on this planet, not any of those radical ideas about society, nor the psychological theories to understand oneself. When we wrestle with the reality of our existence, we would always go back to the question of God, and belief in God under any religion should be respected. Now the direction of propagating that belief should not be bureaucratically imposed but rather make each one realize that one's existence, the presence of the beautiful world around us, minus all those who use violence, depend a lot on that Almighty Being. And if people do not choose to believe in that then they could always wallow in cynicism, depression and carry a long face all throughout their lifetime.

Without belief in God, I don't know how I would have reached this stage in my life. 


In its website, Iglesia ni Cristo has this statement: Iglesia ni Cristo does not hide the truth. In fact, Iglesia ni Cristo wants you to know the truth written in the Holy Bible. You are welcome to study-examine  the doctrines, beliefs and teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo in comparison with other religions.


PAINTING, THE CREATION OF ADAM BY MICHELANGELO

MAKE KNOWN THE DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS FROM THE GRADES UP AND IN EVERY LEARNING PLACE

I have been searching for the address of the UN Commission on Human Rights in the internet but I am not successful. Why is this so hard to do?

Some info should be very easy to get like the UNCHR. You see Folks, I complained to our own CHR here, when it was still under a former teacher activist about the intrusion into the premises of my residence. Nothing happened. No investigation. The staff just accepted my letter that is all. 

This is why when I read that the official delivered her own report that was against that of the conclusions of the Senate on the Mamasapano report, where 44 Special Forces policemen died,  that was against that of the Senate, I knew that there was something awry in the way she views human rights. She is not philosophically grounded, and that is the biggest mistake of any appointer to that office. 

The Declaration of Human Rights is the prayerbook of every activist. It should be read by everyone. I believe that it should be taught from the grades up to college and beyond. It should be included as a subject in every vocational course also. Every citizen will profit from that because in every situation, the right of every individual is at stake. 

For example, there is a guy who keeps boring a hole in my special clothes which I hung to dry on the clothesline at home and I have thrown away five of them already, newly bought. I think it is one of the guys who live there but I don't have proof. And whenever I accost one, he would say I am off my rocker. But to have 5 pieces with holes, that is virtual sexual abuse. I don't know where that guy got his morals. But I surmise he belongs to the PNP intelligence group assigned in our barangay. (I will give you the names of the two boys that I suspect of being involved in this in private if you ask me.)

I tried complaining to the barangay about the PNP intelligence group assigned to us but the day officer would not accept my complaint and he kept on smiling even. I also wrote a letter to our barangay captain but the complaint stopped at the Lupon Tagapagpaganap. I have also complained to the NAPOLCOM about the loss of my cellfones taken from my bag that the thief had slashed. Nothing. No response. The reply? Death of my son on July 28 last year. I even told the investigator as I had finished writing my complaint on June 5, 2014 -- "Baka kami malagasan niyan sa pagko-complain ko." True enough it happened. 

When I turn on the radio, the engineer in charge of ads inserts those that I have criticised before. Or the DJ plays lousy songs that are not their usual fare. Do you remember that ad about a headache pill -- a man saying "may isang babae na kinamumuhian ng isang lalaki -- ikaw ang palakol" Do you know that the same radio station aired the same ad with the same words but this time it was a woman referring to a man, meaning he was a "palakol" to her headache. 

Folks, some of our media people are corrupt and can be drawn to do anti-human rights acts. This is why I wonder if the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas makes it imperative for everyone working in the radio-tv stations to know the Declaration of Human Rights and the Code of Ethics for Broadcasters, if there is one. 

Just last week end I went to a branch of Alva's and opened my email. Three times my screen conked out. I wanted to write my blog but I couldn't. This crunch happens more often when there is a big event that will happen in our country. I think that the Alva staff do not know it, I give them the benefit of the doubt, but some users in the same internet shop probably know how to hack the computers. 

So you think Pnoy's administration is hallelujiah? Think again. In the corners of our domestic life there lurk those spies who do prey on critics, very subtly. They are very cruel. 

When PNoy makes his State of the Nation Address, I want him to state his accomplishments on improving the lives of women and also how the police has been adhering to the principles of the Declaration of Human Rights. 

WHY ART ECONOMICS

ARTWORKS: Saraswati, Hindu Goddess of Art and Music; Apollo Greek God of Art ; Isis, goddess-patroness of nature and magic; "Birth of Venus" (Goddess of Art by Botticelli; 

The economic problem of Greece has made me rethink our own -- are we poor because we want to pattern our development to that of western countries? Are we poor because we are aspiring for a kind of development that has great use of machines and nuclear power as well as all kinds of industrial equipment? Maybe we are asking too much if we think that everyone should think the same. That to be rich is to acquire those so-called modern equipment, gadgets and what have you just so we could be called " mod."

I went to a Buddhist temple for about more than three years and what I learned there are meditation, how to lead an austere life, or in a nutshell, how to be satisfied with a simple lifestyle.  But that worked for the monks only because they have a friendly group that sustained their very high lifestyle -- air-conditioned rooms, vegetarian food galore, and first class office equipment. I mean people like me, who have to work in order to eat, and my writing is not really a very lucrative job, that kind of lifestyle is difficult to attain. Yet the principles and objectives of Buddhism are educational, in terms of teaching people not to look down on the poor and but rather to be kind and helpful to them and to be good to everyone, whether rich or poor. 

I mentioned my partial Buddhist experience because  the problem of Greece is akin to an individual who wants to fit into a large home with very rich roommates but he/she could not keep up with their lifestyle. The European Union lent her money but she could not pay back her debt. Why? What is the nature of the Greek mind - is she really industrial business-inclined? Our country the Philippines, should we really go that route of industrialization also?

Our people are an artistic lot. Our country is composed of 7100 islands and we are surrounded by water. Water makes us think of the womb where we came from -- safe inside our mother. Water is also a symbol for transformation. So we should accept ourselves as artists. For art transforms. 

We should think of the Philippines as an artistic destination also -- where the artists are able to exercise their skills and have a great income from them. 

Now considering that our people are more inclined towards the arts, then we should be able to live off on those talents and genius. 

But for us to work in that direction, the world has to change its attitude towards the arts and look at works of art, not those for auctions only, as valuable as paying a gross amount for a car or a cellphone. 

I think that losing our artistic urges makes us also lose our faith and spiritual ties which could make us aspire for goodness and greatness. Here in our country, the lack of artistic coherence is visible in the way worship is done in some churches. Religion puts up Mother Mary as the ideal mother yet we see women who dress up cheaply entering the church and receiving communion. Also don't you think some people become scammers or engage in nefarious activities because they fail to exercise their artistic skills and they think that being an artist is not being treated as an equal to all the other business callings; so then they turn to using their skills in some depraved ways? 

Here is a definition of artwork: "an aesthetic physical item or artistic creation. Apart from "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature and music, these terms apply principally to tangible, portable forms of visual art:fine art, such as a painting or jewelry, interior design and much folk art; religious artworks, photograph, film or visual computer program, such as a video game or computer animation; installation art or conceptual art. It could also be an architectural piece, or a designed landscape; a live performance, such as theater, ballet, opera, performance art, musical concert and other performing arts, and other ephemeral, non-tangible creations."

So if Greece has such a long historical background in all the different fields of endeavor, shouldn't her economic programs gear more towards the development of an arts economy -- not just as a tourist spot in Europe but as a country that values the arts and considers it as its major development program. By the way, she even has a god of art -- Apollo, and a goddess too - Aphrodite or Venus Other countries have their share like in India, Saraswati; and Isis, Egyptian goddess of nature and magic. 

But then in order for countries like Greece and ours to veer towards arts economic development, then the world also has to change its perspectives on looking at development. Art economics should be the mantra. Banks should be willing to sink in their money for artistic productions not just those businesses that produce millions of products with the same looks. 

Right now, I am dreaming of acquiring a piece of land to put up a sprawling community with three-floor buildings, with quaint design somewhere in MetroManila. The first floor will have business stores for artistic works of the owners of the unit, the second and third, their residential place. Then that community will have an agora, a circular form, with the center being a grassy land where the residents can communicate, meditate together, gather and relate with each other as friends and community members at night. 

But ask now, what and which lot in MetroManila? That would turn out to be a losing proposition because per square meter is very expensive here already. A seasoned architect said that that idea is feasible only somewhere in the rural areas. Which is true. We have built a metropolis that has become completely dependent on roads for vehicles; with places of employment very far from residences; and businesses that arise here and there without regard if a restaurant is beside a funeral parlor, or a meatshop is near a dog food store. 

Question, the way MetroManila looks now, is it an artistic landscape? Some spots are artistic but on the whole, it is very difficult to say yes. 

It is high time that we view life on this planet as diverse and in need of recognition of the differences of the inclinations of people. Maybe we could even reduce the attraction of wars as a means to attain power if we could make everyone value the work of an artist -- as art is for beauty, not destruction. Art is for goodness not ugliness; for acquisition of humanity not malevolence. A piece of art could be pleasing and shocking too but in the end it aims for the transformation of the viewer into a new humane being with ties to the living community -- the people and the environment and in the long run with the divine. 

ON VALUING GREEK CULTURE

I sympathize very much with what is happening to Greece. The country is being asked to swallow the terms of big banks which are charging interest for the loans she has taken out in the past. Yet when we look at Greece and history, we will note that the borrowed loans are minuscule compared to the priceless contributions of her people to humanity. Just look at the clippings below -- from Sociology to Philosophy, Theatre, Medicine, Drama, Movies and Novel writing. The expanse of the Greek thoughts is mind-blowing. It is no wonder that the Greeks have maintained their dignity all throughout the economic problems they have gone through. 

I think that the economists of the world should go beyond looking at pence and pennies they are collecting from Greece. Let us ask for them to be more kind and generous as Greece is a part of everyone. In College at the University of the Philippines where I am typing this now, I learned about Greek drama -- the agora theatre where the Greeks watched the dramas unfold. I came to know Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides who wrote Medea, a very strong woman. And who wrote Lysistrata written by Aristophanes- where women withheld sex from their men in order to stop them from creating and going to wars? 

My sister Evangeline studied Fine Arts and there in her college were Greek statues that they studied to become sculptors themselves -- Venus in Roman or Aphrodite in Greek , Adonis, (Greek demi-god). Then I had classmates studying medicine and learned from them about the Hippocratic oath which I have clipped below. What about philosophy-- who can forget Socrates who wrote "the unexamined life is not worth living," Plato, who wrote about the philosopher-king, and Aristotle whose contributions to biology is unbeatable. "Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. He was more empirically-minded than Plato or Socrates and is famous for rejecting Plato's theory of forms." (http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/)

It was also in my student years that I came to see Zorba the Greek written by Nikos Kazantzakis and played by Anthony Quinn as well as Melina Mercouri who appeared in Never on Sunday. What I have learned of the Greeks is that they have joie de vivre or joy of life in French. 

In sports, did you know that Nike is the name of a Greek goddess who personified victory?

Lastly, I cannot forget the many Gods and Goddesses in Greek mythology whose lives I read in a Greek Mythology given me by my teacher in the grades atop that aratiles tree at the side of our house in Bacood. I learned about Athena (from whom Ateneo University got its name) the goddess of wisdom, of Zeus the fiery god of all the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus (come to think of it that camera took that name from the Greeks too), Aphrodite or Venus to the Romans, the goddess of love; of Hermes or Mercury in Roman literature -- a name that that drugstore in our midst is using;  of  Poseidon or Neptune, the god of the seas, and many, many more. 

Maybe as the earth is rotating on its axis and the world of finance moves, then we should not forget the past as it impinges on our present. We are the products of the past and though some sectors have more money than us, still we cling to that dream that we can still have a very humane leadership that will value culture and history on equal terms as everything else. 

CLIPPINGS

Sociological reasoning pre-dates the foundation of the discipline. Social analysis has origins in the common stock of Western knowledge and philosophy, and has been carried out from as far back as the time of ancient Greek philosopher Plato, if not before. The origin of the survey, i.e., the collection of information from a sample of individuals, can be traced back to at least the Domesday Book in 1086,[10][11] while ancient philosophers such as Confucius wrote on the importance of social roles. There is evidence of early sociology in medieval Islam. Some consider Ibn Khaldun, a 14th-century Arab[12][13] Islamic scholar from North Africa (Tunisia), to have been the first sociologist and father of sociology (seeEarly Islamic philosophy#Branches); his Muqaddimah was perhaps the first work to advance social-scientific reasoning on social cohesion and social conflict.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

The word sociology (or "sociologie") is derived from both Latin and Greek origins. The Latin word: socius, "companion"; the suffix -logy, "the study of" from Greek -λογία from λόγος, lógos, "word", "knowledge

Philosophy.

Western philosophy has a long history, conventionally divided into four large eras - the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary. The Ancient era runs through the fall of Rome and includes the Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.

Theatre History of theatre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_theatre
The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to ...
• Origins · 
• Western tradition · 
• African theatre · 
• Asian theatre

The Theatre of Ancient Greece, or Ancient Greek drama, is atheatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period, was its centre, where it wasinstitutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus.

MEDICINE:  Hippocrates, known as the "Father of Modern Medicine",

This is the original version of the Hippocratic Oath:

I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius the surgeon, likewise Hygeia and Panacea, and call all the gods and goddesses to witness, that I will observe and keep this underwritten oath, to the utmost of my power and judgment.

I will reverence my master who taught me the art. Equally with my parents, will I allow him things necessary for his support, and will consider his sons as brothers. I will teach them my art without reward or agreement; and I will impart all my acquirement, instructions, and whatever I know, to my master's children, as to my own; and likewise to all my pupils, who shall bind and tie themselves by a professional oath, but to none else.

With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best diet, according to my judgment and means; and I will take care that they suffer no hurt or damage.

Nor shall any man's entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so. Moreover, I will give no sort of medicine to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child.

Further, I will comport myself and use my knowledge in a godly manner.

Drama is now commonly used to refer to a genre of film or television which is more serious than comedy. An older meaning of 'drama' was the specific modeof fiction represented in performance.[1] The term comes from a Greek word meaning action (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived from the verb meaning to do or to act (Classical Greek: δράω, draō). 

MOVIES: Melina Mercouri (Greek: Μελίνα Μερκούρη, born as Maria Amalia Mercouri, Μαρία Αμαλία Μερκούρη; 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994), was a Greek actress, singer and politician.

She was born to a former cavalry officer and member of parliament,Stamatis Mercouris, and his wife Eirini Lappa. When she completed her secondary education, she attended the National Theatre's Drama School. She graduated in 1944. Her first husband was a wealthy landowner Panos Harokopos, and they stayed together until 1962 when they divorced.

As an actress she made her film debut in Stella (1955) and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday,Phaedra, Topkapi, and Promise at Dawn. She won the award forBest Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, and she was also nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two BAFTA Awards.

Zorba the greek Zorba the Greek (Greek title: Αλέξης Ζορμπάς, Alexis Zorba(s)) is a 1964 British-Greek drama film directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and starring Anthony Quinn as the title character. It is based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. 

NOVELIST Nikos Kazantzakis (Greek: Νίκος Καζαντζάκης; 18 February 1883 – 26 October 1957) was a Greek writer and philosopher, celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek, considered his magnum opus. He became known globally after the 1964 release of theMichael Cacoyannis film Zorba the Greek, based on the novel. He gained renewed fame with the 1988 Martin Scorsese adaptation of his book The Last Temptation of Christ.

*photo -  Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, a 2nd-century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory).