On atheism as a religion

I would agree that atheism may not be a religion since it has none of the usual stuff theists consider such as eschatology for instance. But I also would agree that atheism is a religion for it posits a belief taken not on empirical evidence that God doesn't exist. To accept that principle on a matter of faith is a key element in subscribing to a religion. Conversely the same principle can be used to characterize theists except that they remove the "doesn't" from the earlier statement.

Also both theists and atheists would support their position on their experiences. And lately we can see "religious" organization on the part of atheists, with them preaching from Dawkins' "Delusion" and Hitchen's "Not Great".

Is this some sort of selective forces that is needed for coexistence in a human population whose majority are theists?

But as an atheist complains to folks that lump his worldview with that of the theists "if atheism is a religion, then what isn't a religion?"

I would contend that Science is the perfect alternative. In Science we don't believe but just accept (that conclusions will be changed anyway) facts as they stand now. But while atheists and theists may find meaning in their worldview, Scientists can't from the science alone.

And I think Science will show that there are no non-believers in the human population anyway. God is a fiat! And that fiat could be a non-God!

Well it could be that it is surely more harmful to souls to declare a heresy to believe what is proved [ex Scientia]

Merienda with a Nobel Laureate

Professor Torsten Wiesel 1981 Nobel Laurate in Medicine for his work on how the retinal cells in the eyes receive light and how the brain conjures an image, is now in town for a series of visits to our research universities. He was in DLSU earlier and proceeded to UP Diliman. He will visit other universities in his tour of the country.

Over merienda at the Board of Regents (BOR) room at Quezon Hall, UP administrators briefed the professor about the University’s plans to further push forward our scientific development. Prof Wiesel is no stranger to the problems and pitfalls administrators face, for after receiving the Nobel, he became president of the Rockefeller University. Upon stepping down from this post, he assumed leadership of the Human Frontier Science Program which promotes and funds interdisciplinary collaboration between the sciences and helps train postdoctoral scientists.

Professor Wiesel in these various engagements, advises government research bureaucracies on how they can make their science become more globally competitive.

I was in the meeting at the BOR room and Prof Wiesel struck me as your Hollywood stereotype of the kind professor, and not of the Einstein type but not of the Tuesdays with Morrie kind either. [BTW Einstein was regarded by students as hard to deal with and thus he only successfully graduated one PhD]

The sharp as a tack 85 year old prof commented on one of the powepoint presentations of the administrators. He remarked “A blue background is sure to put your students to sleep!” Well we take that as a very expert assessment from one who won a Nobel on describing how eyes can really see!

But beyond that he was concerned about problems (much related to our bureaucratic culture) on how science is administered. The prof knows that while science especially in the 21st century is given much attention by those who hold the government purse, it can never be THE PRIORITY for funding over social services and other issues that can deliver the votes. The professor was confused with appellations of putting the word “national” on our academic and research institutions. For instance the UP is the National university. The professor understands that in other countries such as in Singapore, a national university is assured of the money and it is expected to deliver. He was perplexed at first to learn that UP while national, is not assured of getting the money.

He also had some observations on why UP and other universities have a lot of graduate students but graduate just a few of them. This is a waste of resources. His suggestion is to make the admission of grad students more competitive. I believe the prof saw the problem clearly. Getting into a UP grad program is infinitely easier as compared to getting into an undergraduate program.

The problem is so evident in the UP PhD programs which in the sciences manages to graduate only 13 a year. In other universities of good reputation such as DLSU, Ateneo or UST, it is usual that 1 or 2 or at most 5 PhDs are produced. In contrast as the prof says eminent research universities graduate 50 or more PhDs. This is true. When I got my degree in Australia, we were 30 PhDs in the class and my university was much smaller than the more eminent Sydney and Melbourne.

Of course there are a lot of reasons some of which are particular to the Pinoy why many can’t get through the grad program. But all of these reasons are solvable. Dean Caesar Saloma of the science college says its the lack of mentors and these mentors should be scientists who do publish. Indeed we need to develop more of this science culture.

There were lots of issues that were brought up to Prof Wiesel and at the end he seemed like a father-confessor! One of the senior academics from UP Manila said he was like the Pope! Perhaps the comparison is apt for Papa Ratzinger is known to listen, give sharp pointed advice and crack an academic joke (which mere mortals are won’t to get!) I won’t dwell on these issues like academic “inbreeding” since it’s for academe and for most readers this may not be relevant.

One issue that should interest readers is how universities can really serve as S&T incubators and in the end contribute much to the national economy. The prof has had lots of experience (as Rockefeller U prez) in getting these tech start ups up and running. He says that the university linked S&T incubators in China contribute about 2 billion USD to the economy. And when these technologies go mainstream, the returns are geometric. The UP and to some extent Ateneo and DLSU envision that their schools will be catalysts for this kind of enterprise. UP has started in its technohub venture with Ayala but the promise is still to be seen. So far everybody knows it is a BPO hub.

Prof Wiesel advices Pinoy academics that these S&T incubators will only deliver its promise if the academics themselves adopt a more daring interdisciplinary view of things. This would imply a major shake up of how university bureaucracies are run which at present promotes departmental isolation. He suggests that academic departments and even the various UP campuses be daring enough to set up shop at the technohub (which should facilitate departments to collaboratively how to hatch projects). He gives the example of UP Manila’s health sciences research units. Medicine should not limit itself to clinical research but look into the potential of basic science research which can be incubated as new medical technologies. The best place to do that is in UP Diliman’s technohub since UP Diliman is strong in the basic natural sciences like physics, chem, biology and environment.

Professor Wiesel advises Pinoy academia and science bureaucrats to promote “Brain circulation” and not just ‘brain gain”!

At the end of the merienda I was convinced that this Nobel laureate who did ground breaking studies in vision has vision.

But the prof knows all about the upcoming election and he hopes that the new prez will be a science president.

BTW, the chismis is that one of the professor’s hosts in the Philippines is a presidentiable who has a shot at winning the Palace. However it immediately dawned to us that the prof isn’t seeing yellow! :-)

The safest place to be... Palawan but......

Those of us in the Philippine environmental science profession learn in undergraduate geology that Palawan is the most aseismic place in the whole country. For one thing, the island is a piece of the Eurasian continental crust that was ripped from the mainland as a result of the formation of the South China Sea more than 30 million years ago. Palawan is a continental island as compared to the other Philippine islands, which are called "oceanic" meaning their origin is from the oceanic crust. Volcanism built these islands.

In graduate school, we had to pass the master's level course on geological oceanography. I was fortunately under Dr Margaret Goud-Collins (who is now affiliated with Woods Hole) who had not a few class days devoted on how the formation of Palawan. I fact the evolution of this island is linked with the evolution of the Sulu and South China Seas. Palawan is relatively aseismic since it is far from any plate subduction zone. In contrast the islands of oceanic Philippines are seismic since they are near these zones and as a consequence, are volcanic. But before Filipinos complain of the bad reputation, the islands came to be due to volcanism. There would be no Philippines without volcanoes. Filipinos depend on their very existence in the archipelago to volcanoes.

The final exam only had one question. How did Palawan form? If that sounded easy, think again. It took me more than three hours to hand in the examination paper!

Now comes the Philippine Daily Inquirer with its banner headline on Palawan. The reporters interviewed Dr Mahar Lagmay, one of our productive volcanologists having published many scientific studies on the discipline. While it is good that the public will have an idea of that scientific fact, we have to be more circumspect. Before we promote Palawan as the next real estate, "earthquake free" development destination, let us remember that

1) Palawan has a unique biodiversity from the rest of the Philippines
2) It is also the most forested island we have left
3) Palawan has also problems with resource extraction
4) Palawan also has a water problem (which is related to rapid population growth)

With only about 682,000 people, (population density of around 47 per sq km) Palawan is the second to the least populated province in the Philippines. Only another geologically, ecologically and biologically distinct province, Batanes, beats Palawan in this category. Also Palawan is the largest province at 14,649.7 sq km.

If Palawan follows a development route that encourages migration to the island, the island's ecosystems may be stressed. As a continental island, Palawan's soils are less fertile than those found in oceanic Philippine islands. Thus the island cannot produce enough food more than the population that now exists. Ecosystem degradation in the Visayan islands have caused a lot of people to migrate to Palawan. The estimated population growth rate is close to 5%, with half of that attributable to migration. The lack of major rivers (since the island is so narrow, but long) and a distinct monsoonal climate contributes to the water problem.

Palawan thus is a threatened island ecosystem. What it least needs is the influx of uncontrolled real estate developments (with seasonal migrants Metro Manila and other urban centers) which can contribute more to the water problem as well as the waste disposal problem. While tourism can and is a real cash earner for the island economy, this has to be balanced with the aim of maintaining ecosystem integrity.

I hope the Philippine Daily Inquirer counterbalances its banner headline with one specifically discussing Palawan's threatened environment.

Haiti's agony

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. Decades of poor governance, dictators, hurricanes have all contributed to the country's desperate status. The country is at the same latitude as northern Luzon. And like the Philippines is in the path of tropical cyclones and is earthquake prone.

The country is the first independent republic in the Caribbean declaring its freedom from France. But due to political instability, the US occupied the country from 1915 to 1934. French and American intervention in the past remains in the nation's consciousness.

Widespread poverty has contributed to widespread deforestation. In the 1920s Haiti had 60% forest cover. In 2010 it had >2%. It is mountainous in the interior.

Loss of precious topsoil reduced crop productivity, worsening the chronic food security problem. This also is the major factor in the recent devastating floods that hit the country in the last 2 years.

And now comes the deadly earthquake. The buildings and houses in Haiti look so much like what Filipinos have in the provinces. A similar temblor would result in the same or if not, worse damage to the Philippines.

And they say such cannot happen in the Philippines. The Philippines in a lot of ways is Haiti. On the environmental side, each and every earthquake prone Philippine island is a Haiti

The Black Nazarene

The Philippine National Police , which has deployed a thousand cops to secure the Jan 9 procession of the Black Nazarene, says that more people will come to the procession this year due to the environmental disasters we had experienced last year.

The devotion is featured in numerous books for tourists planning a visit to the Philippines. It is probably the best known folk Catholic devotion in the Philippines. Of course it isn't the only one. Each and every town in the country has probably a folk Catholic devotion.

The Nazarene devotion is what may be said as a functional one. Many folk Catholic devotions dating back to the Spanish colonial period have died out with political and social changes. The public devotions in Intramuros churches are now extinct, having gone with the destruction of the churches in WWII. Some have been revived, like the Marian processions on Dec 8. The Nazarene devotion is notable that it survived wars and revolutions. It dates back to the 1600s for the Nazarene icon itself came from Mexico brought by Recollect fathers. Tradition says that the statue is black since the ship carrying it burned down.

The networks have interviewed devotees asking their reasons why they believe. Many have expressed thanks to the Nazarene for recovery from serious illness, reforming errant children, recovering errant lovers!, blessings and prosperity, employment and even fecundity. One even gave thanks for recovering lost data from a computer!

Since the Nazarene seems to answer all prayer requests of whatever nature, it is no wonder that the devotion has retained its functionality thorough the centuries.

Some people say that people who have the devotion are "desperate". To which I say, all people on this planet are desperate. We are desperate for 1) God's presence, 2) God's peace and 3) God's healing. The devotion is a way for people to express their solidarity with the atonement of the suffering Christ.

Thus if we view it in this way, the devotion shows its real worth. It may be simplistic and crude to the theologically sophisticated but as we read in the Gospels in the tale of the woman with a flow of blood. The despised woman said

"If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Matthew 9:21

That probably summarizes in its entirety the Gospel foundations of the Black Nazarene devotion. No wordy theological discourse there.

New Year's Day: Why the Male member is Holy!

The old Roman Church calendar had January 1 as the Feast of the Circumcision ("tuli" in Filipino) of Christ. Why there is a circumcision is told in Genesis 17 as a reminder of YHWH's covenant with Abraham. Verse 12 has it as

"And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of thy seed."

In the covenant, Abraham was promised that he will have many descendants by his wife Sarah. Abraham's son with Sarah' Isaac was circumcised 8 days after he was born, his eldest son with Sarahs servant Hagar, Ishmael, at 13 years and Abraham himself at 90 years.

Christian Tradition holds that the real start of Jesus's shedding of blood for our salvation started on his circumcision. This was also the time when Jesus was named as Jesus. Another name of the feast is "The Naming of Jesus"

The new Roman Calendar promulgated by Paul VI has January 1 as a Marian feast, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This is a Holy Day of obligation in some countries most notably the USA and Canada.

While renaming the feast in honour of Mary is laudable as it focuses on her motherhood as Theotokos (all other Marian feasts like the Assumption and Immaculate Conception follow from this), it misses out on one thing. Jesus, even as a baby, was already in the business of atoning for us. The circumcision links Jesus with Abraham and his covenants with the Lord.

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1928) has for the collect of the feast as

"Almighty God, who madest they Blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts. we in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen"

The Epistle in the old Roman Missal for the day had Titus 2: 11-15 which challenges Mass goers to 'reject ungodliness and worldly lusts". This fits in so perfectly with the Anglican BCP's collect!

The Anglican Epistle is Philippians 2: 9, the Carmen Christi which exalts the Holy Name of Jesus.

"That at the Name of Jesus, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.......of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth... that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father."

The old feast reminds Christians that all are holy, our bodies, other people, the soul, life, and the environment, and these were redeemed by Christ's shedding of blood. Since almost all Filipino men are circumcised, every time they take it out for nature's call, they must be reminded that theirs too is circumcised. So what they have in their hands too is holy and it should not be used for what Epistles and Collects for the feast day warn men against!

And all should should kneel at the Name of Jesus to the Glory of the Father in Heaven!

A Blessed New Year to all.

Vale! Decadem horribilis et annus terribilis!

Some pundits are glad that we are about to say a big fat goodbye to the first decade of the 21st century which they consider as decadem horribilis or horrible decade tonight. T'was 10 years ago when we craned our necks so see those turn of the millennium fireworks and we hoped that everything will be good, an upbeat economy and technology that would empower everyone. In 1999, SMS messaging was in its infancy but the power of the medium was rearing its head. Someone sent a message that Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila was dead. This was taken seriously that the Vatican had already prepared condolences.

Less than a year later in 2001, September 11 to be exact, I was in hospital for a life threatening illness and I was in a dicey situation. The doctors won't tell me so. However what I saw on the TV is worse than facing death. The docs and nurses were transfixed as they saw live New York's WTC tower's collapse after being hit by terrorist piloted jets. It took me about one hour to realize that the whole episode is not a Hollywood dish of millennial hysteria but real. The horrible decade had really begun when then US President Dubya Bush was dumbfounded when he received the news at an elementary school.

The decade's travails is best captured in this blog and readers are encouraged to read it. But the blog post is from a US viewpoint. The Pinoy decadem horribilis started a wee bit earlier than the American one, when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as President under a constitutional cumulonimbus at the (in)famous EDSA shrine. The cumulonimbus exploded as EDSA Tres on May 1, 2001 and since then the Arroyo presidency's legitimacy is under question. The horrible decade for Filipinos is dominated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency and its intended and unintended consequences and came to a high point in a cabinet crisis that precipitated from the Hello Garci scandal. Then came ZTE and the rest. For the first time since the Japanese occupation, Pinoys stood for hours to buy rice. A spate of natural disasters occurred. The neoliberal Arroyo economics opened the country to mining and other natural resource exploitation by foreign companies. This was staunchly opposed by the environmentalist movement and the Roman Church. The Arroyo administration managed to boost the economic fundamentals but the benefits never trickled down. Fuel prices skyrocketed due to speculation overseas. Then the banks went under and Obama was elected US President in November 2008.

2009, the environmental annus terribilis dealt the Philippines with an unusually long wet season. It seems that the climate cycles of wet and dry broke down. September 2009 could be considered as the month that turned Manila into a waterworld. The death toll from floods and flood borne diseases may reach more than a thousand. The TS Ondoy (Ketsana) deluge was a rude shocker for many Filipinos on how bad the state of the environment really is. In Northern Luzon this was followed by Pepeng a week later causing a much larger deluge that sank the rice crop.

Corazon Aquino, the President of the Philippines installed by the first EDSA revolt passed away on August 1. She received a privilege befitting a Queen Regnant as she was allowed to lie in state at the nation's primatial Catholic cathedral. This was not lost on both Arroyo's critics and defenders.

The year closed with the supposedly carbon neutral Copenhagen climate change conference which did not come up with legally binding emission targets. In the Philippines the massacre of at least 57 people (30 journalists) in pre-election violence in Ampatuan, Maguindanao shocked the world. The way the bodies were mangled by a back hoe seemed too Nazi for this supposedly more enlightened and inclusive 21st century. The horrible decade can be best remembered for this.

So what's there to look forward to? aside from the 2010 elections? The Pinoy is looking forward to similar disasters in 2010 and the election may precipitate a political one since the heavily flawed 1987 Constitution needs amendment on how the President may be elected. Also the incumbent has decided to run for Congress. Will this continue the horribilis? Her subordinates say she is really a terribilis!

BTW, I have really mangled the Latin. I should had it decas horribilis! But annus terribilis it really was!