auti-spiritual(ism)

You know what? I believe in GOD. He (or She, as women prefer to refer to her) talks to me all the time. He guides me, He enlightens me, He teaches me, He shares all my joys and my sorrows. I can feel the presence of God in every sunrise, in every sunset, in every gust of wind, in every child that is conceived, in every leaf on every tree, and every leaf carried by the wind. I have no doubt that God exists. And science does not shake my faith; on the contrary, it strengthens it. From the big bang theory, to the primordial wave, to the theory of evolution, all points to the fact that there is a greater power at work (creation and evolution are not mutually exclusive). I do have issues, however, with religion. I was born and raised a catholic. And this is where the problems originate. Dogma, doctrine, scriptures … believing something that puts into question my intellect and common sense. In fairness, God gave me my intelligence, and a brain capable of independent thinking. I am...

Lovers - By Lois Ruiz I accept that some people find homosexuality difficult to deal with! However, God gave us intellect for a reason. So here is a brief rant about this subject. Just as an introduction, this is not going to be a theological debate, nor am I going to discuss, or judge, or comment on religion here. I will leave those issues for some other posts, or for others to discuss. This post is about common sense! Whether one is gay, or otherwise, we all have brains, and we are all blessed with a greater or lesser degree of intellect. So, let us get in to the subject. English Standard Version You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. My question to the reader is very simple: why would a man would “lie with another man as with a woman”? I am sure it does not take much pondering, or cogitating, or debating, to understand that if a man wanted to have sex with a woman, he would do just that. There is no reason for a man to make love to...

A few years ago, I moved to the Philippines. This is a great place to be. Loving people, amazing beaches, beautiful mountains, finger-licking good food, I could not ask for anything better. I settled to live in the mountains of the province of Laguna, about 100 km from Manila. This is the best place for me to be. While within reasonable distance from the hustle and bustle of its great capital city, I am fortunate enough to enjoy fresh air in my surroundings full of coconut trees and rainforests, with beautiful sceneries, and colourful sunsets; newly harvested organic foods are always readily available, and people are delightfully relaxed. It is unquestionably rather idyllic. Sometimes, however, duty calls me to Manila. I must confess that I have a love-hate relationship with Manila. I love it because it is big, noisy, and buzzing, with an incredibly vivacious nightlife; it reminds me of living in London, and it has a very similar urban feel (I am not going to tread the dange...