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Top 12 Photos of William & Kate's Royal Wedding

Cinderella and her magic slippers got nothing on the royal wedding of the century of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I think every girl with a princess fantasy was crying over television screens all around the globe yesterday when a middle-class commoner married a future king, and in the process, became a real-life princess. Okay, the Duchess of Cambridge, actually, but who wants to be specific?

I have been to a few weddings in my lifetime and even though I "attended" this affair only via cable television and internet, I felt that it was one of the best weddings I've ever had the opportunity of witnessing. The sincere and obvious love of the couple in front of the altar was enough to make the event a moment to remember. Add to that the simple elegance of the ceremony, the dress and the over-all ambiance, it was such a remarkable experience.

Feeling the need to immortalize the event in any way, here I present the photographs I think most showcase the magnificence of the event.

And my favorite...

Just goes to show that even the most prim and proper royal gathering has to have one kid ruining absolute perfection. Cutest wedding photo.. ever.

Catholics Grow Desperate with Iglesia ni Cristo's Support on the RH Bill

Catholic die-hards are still reeling from the near fatal blow from the news of religious institution giant Iglesia ni Cristo's support on the much contested Reproductive Health Bill. Even though their stand on the issue has been released since October, it is just a few days ago that the decision was made public.

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The controversial law-to-be (yes, I'm that optimistic) has been debated about since last year but it is just recently that one can see the razor sharp fangs of the church showing it's ugly head. Much has been said about  what anti-RH people have thought of INC's "sudden" change of mind, whether their leader was bribed with cash etc., but more apparently, much has also been photoshopped to show such distaste for the Catholic's lost ally on the fight against contraception and women empowerment. 

In the article before this, I tackled on my dream of having a religion-free world, one that is devoid of hate, wars and discrimination. I wrote about my belief (and John Lennon's) that the universe would be such a better place without contradicting faiths.

For those people who still need more proof that being a close-minded follower of a certain religion is detrimental to the unity and progress of our society, our anti-RH Bill (mostly) Catholic peeps are here to further enlighten your mind.

Photo by: San Carlos Manansala

Photo by: Alaska Dor

Source: Photos from the I Oppose the RH Bill Facebook Page

So, not surprisingly enough, not only is Iglesia ni Cristo's church being virtually vandalized by these irked and quite desperate followers, Atheism and even the Muslim faith (interestingly personified by Robin Padilla himself) is taking the blame. 

What can I say? Great job you self-proclaimed epitome of morality people. You have done a fantastic job showing to the world just that.

Imagine, NO RELIGION

Somebody just told me (commanded me actually) that if I don't believe anymore in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, I should start attending services of other sectors to prove my belief in God and my worth as a person. In short, I have to pick another church to worship in. No middle, no wiggle room. No grey area, just  black and white.

As a self-proclaimed freethinker (I believe in God / higher being, but not in any established religion because I see them as medium and sources of hate, wars, corruption and discrimination) I do not understand the concept of having to have a label attached to your name that you are either Catholic, Christiam, Muslim, Buddhist etc. to be considered as a good, God-loving, God-fearing person. It hurts me to think that other people see me in a different light just because I happen to not believe in the traditions and dogma that comes with established faiths.

Why can't I just live by my principles in peace without people thinking I'm turning into a devil-worshiper because I don't adhere with the rules and customs invented by charismatic people and believed by many? I do not understand how, in this day and age of technology and freedom of expression, people can still be so close-minded to think that there is this unwritten rule that you have to be a follower of a popular religious institution to essentially be considered as a person worthy to enter heaven or any alternative thereof of everlasting life. 

This kind of behavior further strengthens my belief that religion in general do more harm than good in the world. Yes, there is the hope that they give, the companionship, the idea that you can just come into this church and everything will be fine. But there are also wars, killings, various acts of violence, discrimination, hate, abuse and outright oppression of basic rights of people.

Imagine, sang John Lennon, a world with no religion. Imagine no suicide bombers, no 9/11, no 7/7, no Crusades, no witch-hunts, no Gunpowder Plot, no Kashmir dispute, no Indo/Pakistan partition, no Israel/Palestine wars, no Serb/Croat/Muslim massacres, no Northern Ireland 'troubles'. Imagine no Taliban blowing up ancient statues, lashing women for showing an inch of skin, or publicly beheading blasphemers and apostates. Imagine no persecutions of the Jews - no Jews to persecute indeed, for without religion they would long ago have intermarried with the surrounding populations.

Source: http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1-imagine-no-religion

How many people had their lives taken by some religious act of righteousness or gave up their souls for some higher purpose that involves blowing up a building full of innocent people? How many have been persecuted, discriminated and shunned just because their way of living isn't acceptable based on the faith of the people they are surrounded by?

Now, I believe wholeheartedly in the existence of a higher being, God, deity, absolute spirit, divine entity or whatever you may want to call it. And I know that a lot of people cannot separate the connection between God and religion because, for many, they are ultimately the same. But they are not, and in fact, in my perception, they are eons apart, for one is an ultimate being that transcends reason, science and logic, and the other is an organized belief system created and organized by  mere humans to feel more powerful and one with a higher realm. Closer to God, yes, but also closer to becoming one. 

I am a dreamer. I dream of a future where there is no hate, no wars based on contradicting beliefs. I know this concept is far from reality, but nothing is ever going to stop me from hoping.

Being alone in my belief (at least based on the people I know personally), all I can do now, is leave you this song by the legend John Lennon. I've never paid much attention to this song before, but have found it instrumental in my argument against religious labels and close-mindedness. With this, I wish the world love, happiness and peace.

Imagine there's no countries 
It isn't hard to do 
Nothing to kill or die for 
And no religion too 
Imagine all the people 
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us 

And the world will live as one

My Top 10 Tweets Re: RH Bill & Baguio Priest

As much as I love blogging, the old fashioned multi-paragraphed way, lately, I've realized that some of my best points regarding specific topics were best delivered within 140 characters. It will be a shame to just let them get buried in the Twitter rubble so I'm putting it here. 

So in celebration of Maundy Thursday, here are my recent choice tweets that clearly states my passion and advocacy for (hopefully) a future law, which is the RH Bill. Since the tweets are pretty recent, most of it are about the Baguio priest who lambasted Risa Hontiveros on the pulpit and asked parishioners to leave the church if they support the RH bill.


(Some of these tweets are made during a debate so notes are added for continuity purposes. Abbreviations have also been expanded since we're not constrained to limited characters anymore.)

My Top 10 Tweets About the RH Bill


10. I see your point. But their notion of what is a sin or not is suffocating even the (most basic) human right of HAVING AN OPINION. #rhbill (Response on an argument that it's the Church's prerogative to shun RH Bill supporters out of church)


9. They're having delusions of grandeur. Which is ironic bec. Jesus is all about living a humble existence. #rhbill (Response to a tweet saying that priests have forgotten that people ARE the Church.)

8. Ghandi was right. "I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."


7. The ironic thing is that these are the same people who preach about love and acceptance and not judging people. #baguiopriest


6. I don't think Jesus himself would shun people out of his Father's house for believing otherwise. He would (patiently) teach and explain his side instead. #rhbill (Still about the Baguio priest)


5. The problem with the RCC (Roman Catholic Church) is that they insist that their voice is the voice of God when in fact it's just the voice of high ranking officials.


4. Dear CBCP, I thought God gave us the FREEDOM OF CHOICE. Why can't you do the same?


3. Church's job = maintain morality. State's job = provide needs of people. Teenage pregnancy left and right. Who failed to do their job? 


2. And here I thought the church is a place where everyone is accepted, even the lowliest of sinners. I was wrong. #rhbill (Response to Julius Babao's tweet regarding dismay on the Baguio priest's actions)


1. I THINK GOD Himself wants the RH Bill passed. Therefore I AM for #RHBill (Response to a fill in the blanks  question of "I THINK ____. Therefore I AM for RH Bill.")