Pacquiao for president!!!

If uniting the people is to be the foremost consideration for the choice of a leader for this divided nation of ours, Manny "the Pacman", also known as "the Destroyer" Pacquiao, might well be just the most qualified person to be President of this country today. Pacquiao, in this second fight, had the patriotism and humility to dedicate his effort to the country. He was aware of our deep wounds when he said after the fight that perhaps now, we can be united. He also was careful to give the glory to God for his smashing success, remembering to call for a thanksgiving mass at his suite with only three hours of sleep after the fight, and was concerned for the situation of his vanquished foe who was brought to the hospital. He was humble in victory, making Filipinos all over the world proud.

It is my deep regret that people who can bring us together are not in government. I think our country would be much better off if our boxers like Pacquiao, Jaca, Viloria, become our leaders in government, and our politicians become boxers. If Marcoleta, for example, squares off with Morales, and Antonino, the guy, goes toe-to-toe with Barerra, and J d V, for example, takes on Mike Tyson, I think our country would be happier. And I think more would watch their fights, and the networks would have more income.

Really.

Thank God that we have Manny Pacquaio for our brother.

***

May I most respectfully be allowed to react to a statement made by a certain Steve Ray in a report of the Visayan Daily Star last Monday (January 23, 2006) under the heading "Stand up for faith" (p. 3).

Steve Ray, a former Baptist who converted to Roman Catholicism, who was together with former Baptist Tim Staples in an affair at Pontevedra last Saturday, was quoted to have said that it was Catholics who wrote the Bible and they should be proud of it, and that the Bible is a Catholic book.

The Bible is a Catholic Book, a Protestant Book, a Book for all men and women, even those who do not have any religion or denomination. Jesus Himself said, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." That means every man, or woman, or child, with or without religion.

What we need to say here, however, just to set the record straight, is that not one particular religion or denomination "produced" or wrote the Bible. It is not the Catholics, nor the Protestants, nor the Evangelicals, nor the fundamentalists, nor the Charismatics, nor the "born-again", nor the Quakers nor the Puritans who produced the Bible. It is in this sense that the Bible is not a Catholic Book, it is not a Protestant Book, it is not a Born-again Book (in the denominational sense), not a Fundamentalist Book, et cetera.

The Holy Sprit is the author of the Bible (2 Tim 3:16). I believe the Holy Spirit does not have a religious affiliation. He used men and women who were believers of Yahweh (in the Old Testament) and the Christians in the New Testament, to write the Bible. At that time (from Genesis to Revelations), there were no Catholics, no Protestants, no Charismatics, no Pentecostals (as a religious denomination, at least), no Evangelicals (as a religious denomination), no Reformed, no Anglican, no Greek Orthodox.

The last writer of the Bible was John the Beloved who wrote Revelations. He was exiled in the island of Patmos, and there, there was no Catholic Church, no Protestant Church. At that time, the believers were simply called Christians.

This denomination thing came much later. So today we have Catholic Christians, Protestant Christians, Evangelical Christians, Methodist Christians, and so on and so forth, hopefully not ad nauseam.

As to conversion from Baptist to Catholic, or from Catholic to Baptist, or from Anglican to Pentecostal, or from Methodist to Reformed, at the end of the day, as they say, we shall all meet our Creator and give an account of ourselves to Him. Regardless of our religion or even the lack of it.

Through the years, I have learned to fill up questionnaires and forms, every time I am asked to indicate my "religion", by simply writing, "Christian". (Please see Acts 11:26.) This denominational fighting sometimes can be wearisome, although arguably, denominations serve their purpose.

The City Council just passed a unanimous resolution making January 23 to 29 a Bible Week in the City of Bacolod. Still, it is not so important as to who or what religion or denomination owns or claims the Book, as it is that we live by It.*