Manny Pacquiao on Liviticus 20:13

Some invisible and irresistible force made me read this article about Manny Pacquiao and Nike's sponsorship on him. The article states that Pacquiao gave a statement against same-sex marriage wherein he supposedly cited Leviticus 20:13.

Since I am not a fan of Pacquiao and I don't have much of a concern whether Nike continue it's sponsorship on Pacquiao or not, let's not talk about it in here.

My concern is the verse that was said to be cited by him on his talk. Leviticus 20:13 states "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." -King Jame Version

Here's another translation: "And if a man has sex relations with a man, the two of them have done a disgusting thing: let them be put to death; their blood will be on them." - Basic English Bible


I have nothing personal with the religion but the fact that this verse is found in the Bible made me think. There are two points that i find to be inappropriate in here. First is that this somehow encourages discrimination. The verse itself does not encourage discrimination against third sex but in conjunction with other teachings, this verse reinforces the discrimination towards other's sexual preference. Though this discrimination is already part of most Christian community that I know, I still don't find the idea of discrimination to be ideal. Some say that such discrimination is necessary to uphold what is "right" but I don't agree to this.


Another point that I want to discuss is the seemingly promotion of violence. As I see it, the verse has the potential of implying a message of being judgmental and promotion of death of another person. There may be a deeper meaning in it but the words used in the verse really has a tendency of negatively influencing someone who reads it.


These were also some of the grounds that was used in the petition regarding Nike's sponsorship on Pacquiao.


I recognize that these concepts are products of beliefs and principles that differs from one community to another. Though I may not be in accordance with their belief, I fully respect their's and I just want to add another dish on the table.


The opinions presented above are based on personal understanding of the subject matter. I would not conclude the discussion here. Let's see what others has to say on the comment box below. . . .

May 10, 2010

This is another monumental date for the Philippines. This date, every Filipino will be equal (supposedly) - regardless of economic or political status. The power will be once again put to the hands of the citizens. Another set of leaders will be chosen to lead the nation towards a bright or miserable future.

Most Filipinos think that the path that the Philippines will be taking will depend greatly on the hands of these leaders, but the truth is it is in the hands of every single Juan dela Cruz who would exercise their right to select the person that they think is able and credible enough to carry out the great responsibility of improving the Philippines in all aspects (economic, political, moral, social, etc.).

Survey results, advertisement and publicity are not sufficient to tell whether a candidate is the "Man for the Job." Please do not be blinded with all these deceptions. Individual track records and reputation should be evaluated before selecting a candidate. Select the person that is best suited for the position and keep in mind that who ever would win the 2010 election would lead the country for a couple of years - time sufficient to make changes that would greatly affect the future of the Philippines.

The constitution empowers the citizens to set the future of the whole nation. It's now up to every individual whether this power would be utilized or put to waste.

Holy Week

One tradition in the Philippines is the commemoration of Holy Week. It's a tradition passed through the generations but looking at it from another point of view, some of the practices observed during the commemoration seems to be irrational.

One of this is the abstinence from meat. Though scientifically speaking, this may be good for the heath but the question is, "What's the connection between abstinence from meet and the Holy Week?" and "Why it should be observed during the said period?" I've interviewed some who practice this and got the same answer - "We're doing it because it's a practice observed by the older generations."

What's the sense of doing something without understanding its purpose? If there is really a reason for observing this, then it should be passed together with the practice itself. I'm not against the practice itself but, what's happening is, the tradition lives but the essence does not. In such cases, the tradition is somehow disrespected and at the same time, those who practice it are just putting themselves at the state of suffering because they are refraining from eating something that they like without even knowing the reason.

Another practice is what they call penitensya (not sure about the spelling). Though it is done by few groups and individuals, it's still worth the attention. Those who practice this use a net or a rope with unevenly cut tiles or anything sharp. They repeatedly hit their back until the blood literally flows on their back. Some even have themselves crucified.

They say that going through the same suffering experienced by Christ, sins would be forgiven and they will be cleansed. What they won't accept is the fact that this practice does not bring any gain except for it being a tourist attraction. Those who practice it actually put themselves into health hazards which includes wound infection and tetanus.

Lastly, the most illogical practice would be refraining from doing wrong deeds during Good Friday.

"What's wrong with this?" that may be the question of some of you. But to my opinion, this is an act of fooling one's self and others. Those who practice this do so only for that specific day and after that they slip back to their usual way of life, which includes committing the same sins.

Refraining from wrong deeds should be done throughout our lives and not only on a certain day. This may sound ideal but impossible. Though, we should do our best to refrain from committing sin and instead, try to do good things. Starting this does not require a special day. This could always be done anytime as long as the will and determination is there.

To wrap up things, we should always remember to understand the reason behind every tradition that we observe. Otherwise, the practice would be worthless and even disrespectful, not only to those who started it but also to the tradition itself.

HELLO WORLD!

This blog is dedicated for the purpose of giving commentary on certain social issues that affect the the lives of Filipinos. This encompasses hobbies, perception, thinking, traditions of Filipinos.

For those who would find the contents of this blog to be offensive, I'm sorry but this is intended to open the mind of some of our countrymen, who are blinded by baseless beliefs and poisoned ideology. Articles that would be posted here would be based on observations and logic. If you find these things to be offensive please notify me. I would be glad to hear it from you.

This blog would be updating once in a while, whenever I find something interesting to discus.