Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Masons, Andres and the RH Bill

True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness -Albert Einstein

My father is a Mason. He is one of the original founding members of the first Masonic Lodge in my hometown. And like their brethrens of old, they too are frowned upon by the church. In fact, they were once threatened with excommunication because they are Catholics - free-thinking Catholics.

Many among you wonder why the church discourages its flocks to join one of the oldest, if not the oldest, fraternity ever founded. Secret rituals and usage of symbolism begot rumors that it practices witchcraft, pagan worship and anti-Christian in nature. These gossips were spread by no other than the church itself.

Their animosity goes a long way back in the 12th century when the Pope, with the connivance of the king of France, ordered the massacre of the Knights Templar. Its leader tortured and burned at the stake, allegedly because they were heretics and indulged in wizardry. All these accusations were false. It was just a pretext. Some historians suggested the real reason was that the “Holy See” wants something the Templar possesses. An artifact which when exposed to the entire Christendom will destroy the very foundation of the Catholic Church (shade of Da Vinci Code, isn’t it). The king, on the other hand, just wants to possess their wealth but both didn’t succeed to get what they want. I think some sectors within the church still believe those secrets were passed on to the Masons. To commemorate them, “junior” Masons are called DeMolays in honor of Jacques de Molay; the last Grandmaster of the Knights Templar.

Masons also played a part during the Philippine revolution. Bonifacio, a mason, copied some of its rituals to recruit revolutionaries. Even the Masonic handshake was introduced to know if one is a fellow “Katipunero”. History told us that the church also played a role in exposing Bonifacio’s secret society. They have succeeded in brainwashing its congregation of anything not sanctioned by the church was a sin that a wife, afraid to burn in hell for eternity, confessed her husband’s revolutionary activity to a friar.

However subtle it may seem, it all comes down to one thing, power; the capability to control masses and subject it to its will. Have you noticed why our “simbahan” and “munisipyo” sits side by side in most towns around the Philippines? It’s because the government and religious order, during the Spanish rule, shares power. Co-equal in disposing their will upon its citizenry. The church was powerful enough that it assassinated even the Gobernador-Heneral when the latter tried to curtail its authority.

In my opinion, the reason why the church resists the passing of the RH bill is because they want to preserve the present “status quo” of the majority of Filipino families. Claiming pharmaceutical companies are behind the bill is flimsy and hypocritical. They themselves are major stockholders of banks and corporations around the world. In the long run, the RH bill will open up opportunity for the betterment of Filipino families. It allows them to “plan” their offspring and raise their children properly including a better education.

An educated society has citizens who have minds of their own. They don’t need “spiritual guidance” to choose what is good or bad for them. In a way, it delegates the church into a mere ceremonial entity and perhaps someday into obscurity.

“Ignorance is bliss” so they say. The truth is - it is a religious weapon.

15 comments:

  1. Pro-RH Bill here! Basta, I just want the government not to listen to the church! please lang, tapusin na ang pagiging reliant natin sa simbahan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sheng, right. puro laway lang ang puhunan ng mga yan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. it is hypocrisy to the highest level to encourage pinoys to go against the RH bill. the church reeks with hypocrisy claiming the bill is anti-family or anti-life. hello, the country is over-populated and what are they doing about it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. nice one idol akala ko si dan brown ang kausap ko ayos to ...sunugin si damaso lol....

    ReplyDelete
  5. bing, parang manok kasi. kabig lang ng kabig w/out giving back some.

    dacz, baka ma celdran ka dyan. sige ka. : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. The church is more interested in the life hereafter than life here now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. bertN, IMO, they are more interested in the survival of their institution than the welfare of their so-called flocks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. what matter most is that maturuan ang bawat family ng tamang pamamaraan ng Family planning!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think the catholic church is against the bill kasi pag may family planning, kokonti na ang magiging katoliko hehehe, wala naman kasing nacoconvert ang mga katoliko unless born na katoliko, di ba? (ooopps bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan...pikon hehehe)

    Sabi nga sa bible: Genesis 9:7

    "Humayo kayo at magpakarami, at supilin ninyo ang lupa."

    So that means dapat may control din, hindi lang multiply ng multiply hehehe

    By the way, miss your blog na! hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  10. LifeMoto, hindi rin kasi effective yung rhythm method dahil kailangang magbilang. Alam naman nating most Filipino families, especially those in the lower social stratus doesn't have that kind of tenacity.

    Sardz, I read somewhere na ang catholics ang pinaka fast shrinking religion in terms of population.

    Musta na kayo dyan sa Washington? Miss ko rin ang mga hula mo! : )

    ReplyDelete
  11. Haha, natawa na lang ako dun sa tsismis nila na may conspiracy among the pharmaceutical companies. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hindi na ako magku-comment tungkol sa issue.

    Purihin ko nalang po ang galing ng presentation ng facts at ideas sa post na ito. I missed your blog entries, Mr. BlogusVox!

    ReplyDelete
  13. tama ka. umiimpis na ang mga katoliko. dahil na rin sa mga lider nito na hindi nakikinig sa simbahan - ang mga sumasamba.

    ReplyDelete
  14. so true. And it was fact that Spain used religion to subdue the natives on the lands they conquered.

    Times have changed kaya meron ng separation ng church and state sa mg bansang demokratiko. Sa Pinas, merong ngang ganoon sa constitution subalit hindi sinusunod. Pinakikialaman pa rin ng church ang affairs of the state.

    ReplyDelete
  15. bw, we have a lot of laws which are beneficial to the public if only they are emplemented. Ang masama we don't have the "teeth" nor the will to apply it. Kaya tuloy itong mga pari ang akala e panahon pa ng kastila. Why not we do what the germans do. Pag nakialam ang any of the religious group on the affairs of the state, automatically pinapatawan ng buwis! Tingnan lang natin kung hindi manahimik ang mga yan!

    ReplyDelete