FRESHMEN HANDOUTS NUMBERS1-4

HANDOUT#1

GOD'S REVELATION

In Creation

¨The first way God reveals Himself to us is through creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork” (Ps 19:1). In creation, man holds a special place. God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gn 1:26).

¨In Scripture, through Salvation History

¨The Bible records God’s entering into a special covenant relationship with His chosen people, the race of Abraham, the people of Israel. “I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will be their God” (Ex 29:45).

¨In the Church

¨But God’s definitive revelation in Jesus Christ did not stop with Christ’s ascension to his Father. Jesus himself had gathered around him a group of disciples who would form the nucleus of his Church. In this Church, the “Good News” of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed and spread to the ends of the earth by the power of the Holy Spirit, sent down upon the apostles at Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:8).

HANDOUT#2

¨•Introduction to the Holy Bible

•Theology

•Number of books

•The Holy Bible contains 1189 chapters (929 OT and 260 NT)

•Psalms is the OT longest book

•Obadiah is the OT shortest book (21 verse)

•Acts is the NT longest book

•The Bible

•The Bible contains a variety of writings, stories, tales, biographies, poems and proverbs, but as a whole it concentrates on one message from the beginning till the end and it is:

 the message of salvation,

carried out by our Lord Jesus Christ.

•We find the crimson line clear in all its books and we notice clearly how the wonderful Divine plan in the Old Testament prepared humanity for salvation and how the events and topics were symbols of the Lord and His work of expiation.

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•The Bible is a collection of sacred books, which where composed under the positive influence of the Holy Spirit by men chosen by God, and which have been accepted by the Church.

•The Bible is composed of many books, (it is really a “library" of books), some by unknown authors, written over the course more than a thousand years – from about 950 B.C. to 100 A.D.

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•The principal author of the Bible is God. God revealed himself in time and intervened in history and communicated to humans. The Bible is the record of self-revelation of God. He spoke and acted – word and event went together.

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•Other names of the Bible: Holy Scripture, Sacred Scripture, Holy Writ, Sacred Writings, the Good Book and Word of God.

•The word Bible comes from the Greek term “Biblia” means books

•There are Seventy-three books in the Bible: Forty-six in the Old Testament and Twenty-seven in the New Testament. (Catholic)

•What are the Two Main Parts of the Bible?

•Old Testament

•New Testament

•The word “testament” means covenant or agreement.

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•The Old Testament

•The Old Testament is a record of the old agreement between God (Yahweh) and his chosen people, the Hebrews. It describes the remote preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

•The Old Testament is divided into 3.

–The Historical Books

–The Didactic (Wisdom or Sapiential) Books

–The Prophetic Books

•The Old Testament

†The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. It was commonly used in the scriptures.

•

•The Old Testament

•The Pentateuch is the name given to the first five books of the Bible.

–Genesis

–Exodus

–Leviticus

–Numbers

–Deuteronomy

•The Old Testament

•Historical Books

–Joshua

–Judges

–Ruth

–1 and 2 Samuel

–1 and 2 Kings

–1 and 2 Chronicles

•The Old Testament

•The Seven Wisdom Books

–Job

–Psalms

–Proverbs

–Ecclesiastes

–Song of Songs

–Wisdom

–Sirach

•The Old Testament

•The Prophetic Books (Major)

–Isaiah

–Jeremiah

–Lamentations

–Baruch

–Ezekiel

–Daniel

•The Old Testament

•The Prophetic Books (Minor)

–Hosea

–Joel

–Amos

–Obadiah

–Jonah

–Micah

•Historical books

•21 books

–Pentateuch

–Pre-exile (before Babylonian conquest)

–Post-exile (after return from Babylon)

HANDOUT#3

The Development of the Bible

BIBLE- a collection of sacred books which have been accepted by the Church as inspired. It is the only “divine book” the word of God in the language of man.

Sacred Scriptures- are the inspired record of how God dealt with His people, and how they responded to, remembered, an interpreted that experience.

By virtue of divine condescension, things are presented to us in the Bible in a manner that is in common use among human beings.

Early Translations of the Bible

•Targums- These were translations made in the synagogue services from Hebrew into Aramaic so that the people could understand what had just been read. In this way, the entire Old testament was translated into Aramaic.

•The Septuagint- A translation into Greek of the Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament (including the Deuterocanonical books) made in Egypt by various authors during the period between 250 B.C. and 100 B.C. This was the version used by the Hebrews in Christ’s time, by the Apostles and New Testament writers, and by the Greek Fathers of the Church; and is still the official text of the Greek Church.

•The Vulgate- The official Latin translation of the Bible, which was prepared entirely by St. Jerome from 382 to 405 A.D. The council of Trent declared the Vulgate to be “authentic in public readings, disputations, preaching, and exposition” because it conforms to the original texts and contains no error in faith and moral.

Stages of How the Gospels were Formed

1.The Life and Teaching of Jesus- what Jesus really did and taught (while he lived among us) for out eternal salvation, until he was taken up.

2.Oral Tradition- The Apostles handed on to their hearers what Jesus had said and done.

3.The Written Gospels- The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain elements that had been handed an Oral tradition(or already in written form), others they synthesized or explained in view of the situation of their churches, while preserving the form of proclamation. But always in such a way that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus.

  Apostolic Tradition- the way the Church understood and lived the teachings of Jesus up to the death of the last Apostle. Apostolic Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one deposit of the Word of God. Thus, Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and the Magisterium guided by the Holy Spirit combine to bring us God’s revelation at any particular moment of time.

  The Bible was written by persons from the people of God, for the people of God, about the God-experience of the people of God”. The Scriptures, then, are never to be separated from the people of God whose life and history (Tradition) formed the context of their writing and development.

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

 is a charism referring to the special divine activity, communicated to Divine authors, and compilers belonging to the community, for the sake of the community.

The Sacred and canonical books of Old and New Testaments, whole and entire, were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that we can call God their “author” and the Bible “the Word of God” (DV 11)

God chose certain human authors, who as true authors made full use of their human powers and faculties, yet were so guided by the Holy Spirit who so enlightened their minds and moved their wills, that they put down in writing what God wanted written.

•THE CANON OF THE SCRIPTURES

  The Canon of the Bible is the list of books that the Church has declared to be inspired by God and that she regards as the Rule(Canon) of Truth, Faith and Life by reason of their Divine origin.

Divisions of the Old Testament Books

1.Pentateuch(5)

2.Historical Books(16)

3.Didactic (Wisdom or Sapiential) (7)

4.Prophetic books(18)

Division of the New Testament Books

1.Historical Books ( 4 Gospels and Acts of the Apostles)

2.Didactic Books ( 13 letters of Paul, Hebrews, Seven Catholic Letters)

3.Prophetic Book (Revelation)

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INTERPRETING SCRIPTURES

  We must recognize that the Bible also is a collection of historical accounts, doctrinal teachings, poems, parables, ethical exhortations, apocalyptic visions, and many other forms. It was written over  a period of more than a thousand years, separated from us by almost twenty centuries. Therefore, it is not easy to determine precisely what is the “saving truth” which God wills to impart to us through a particular  book or text of Scripture.

  “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching – for reproof, correction, and training in holiness so that the man of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work” 2 Tim 3:16-17

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Four Senses of Scriptures

1.Literal or Grammatical Sense- the meaning conveyed directly and immediately by the words of the text when they are interpreted in accord with the ordinary rules of language. It is also called historical sense.

2.Allegorical- a point by point interpretation of the text’s series of actions as symbolic of a meaning metaphorically implied but not expressly stated.

3.Moral- the meaning for our instruction , “as a lesson to us”

4.Anagogic- the mystical meaning, interpreted in the light of its eternal significance.

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Factors in Interpreting Scriptures

1.Human Author

2.Literary Form

3.The Readers/Hearers

4.The Teaching of the Church

References:

CCC115-119

CFC 81-89

Introduction to the Bible (The New American Bible, 1992)

•The Old Testament

•The Pentateuch is the name given to the first five books of the Bible.

–Genesis

–Exodus

–Leviticus

–Numbers

–Deuteronomy

•The Old Testament

•Historical Books

–Joshua

–Judges

–Ruth

–1 and 2 Samuel

–1 and 2 Kings

–1 and 2 Chronicles

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–

•The Old Testament

•The Seven Wisdom Books

–Job

–Psalms

–Proverbs

–Ecclesiastes

–Song of Songs

–Wisdom

–Sirach

–

•The Old Testament

•The Prophetic Books (Minor)

–Hosea

–Joel

–Amos

–Obadiah

–Jonah

–Micah

–

•The Old Testament

•The Prophetic Books (Major)

–Isaiah

–Jeremiah

–Lamentations

–Baruch

–Ezekiel

–Daniel

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•The New Testament

•The Four Gospels:

–Matthew

–Mark

–Luke

–John

•History:

–Acts of the Apostles

•The New Testament

•Paul’s Letters (Didactic Books)

–Romans

–1 and 2 Corinthians

–Galatians

–Ephesians

–Philippians 

–Colossians

•The New Testament

•Other Letters (Didactic Books):

–James

–1 and 2 Peter

–1 John

–2 John

–3 John

–Jude

•The New Testament

•Prophecy:

–Revelation

HANDOUT#4

•Biblical Tools

•Commentary

•Concordance

•Dictionary

•Atlas

•Handbook on the bible

•Task:

•Scan your Bible

•Write or note down important findings and get ready for recitation.

••Bible

  – Ta Biblia/Biblion

2 Divisions of the bible

Old Testament

New Testament

•Important things to notice

•Nihil obstat

•Imprimatur

•Canon

•Chapters and verses

•How to study it

•Appendices

•Diagrams and Charts

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•Question

When you were reading the passages of the bible, are they easy to understand?

What factors contributed to your claim?

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1.Different versions/translations

2.Different authors who have their own frame of mind (divine inspiration of each book/author)

3.Different literary forms contained in 1 book

4.Our cultural background is very different from that of the bible – Hebrew, Jews

5.Integration of many books – Ta Biblia (Hebrew), Biblion (Greek), OT(46) & NT(27)

•Common literary forms:

1.Parallelism and balance in 3 different ways: synonymous (Ps 51:4), antithetic (Ps 1:6), cumulative or staircase (Ps 29:1-2)

2.Hymns/canticles and laments esp. found in Psalms

3.Narrative and direct address

4.History, Covenant formulary and Myth

5.Gospel, Tradition and Midrash

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•What can you say now about your Bible after encountering these parts that are exclusively for Bible alone?

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a. Psalm 23:1

b. Ephesians 3:17

c. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

d. Matthew 6:1

e. Mark 12:30

f. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

g. Leviticus 19:18

•ACTIVITY

Family 1 – Commentaries

Family 2 – Concordance

Family 3 – Bible Dictionary

Family 4 – Biblical Atlas

Family 5/6 - Handbook of the bible

•Task:

a. Describe the biblical tool.

b. How are the contents presented?

c. How do we use the biblical tool?

d. Demonstrate its use relating it to the manifestation of God’s love to us.

e. Use an ipad app to present your report. (powerpoint)

•Identify the appropriate biblical tool for the following task:

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a. creation

b. Garden of Eden

c. Faith travel of Abraham

d. Woman as created from the rib of a man

e. Reading the book of Daniel

f. Parable of the Mustard seed

•Reflection

Reflect on the uses of each biblical tool and write a reflection on how they affect your biblical studies.

write your prayer of petition for help in understating the message of God.

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CHRISTIAN LIVING I COURSE OUTLINE

                                                                                       

DE LA SALLE SANTIAGO ZOBEL SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

SY 2012 – 2013

CHRISTIAN LIVING I

COURSE OUTLINE

MODULE 1: The Study of God’s Revelation 

Sub Topics:

a.     The Bible as written document of the Divine Revelation

b.     The divisions of the Bible

c.     Different literary forms and genre of the Bible

d.     The different biblical tools used in understanding the Bible

MODULE 2:   God Gives Life

Sub Topics:

a.     The Creation Story

b.     The Patriarchs

c.     The Ten Commandments

MODULE 3:   God Purifies His People

Sub Topics:

a.     The Judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon and Samson)

b.     The Prophets (Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Samuel)

c.     The Kings (Saul, David and Solomon)

MODULE 4: The Person of Jesus

Sub Topics

a.     The Messiah as Foretold in the Old Testament

b.     The Magnificat

c.     The Childhood of Jesus

d.     The Temptation of Jesus

MODULE 5: The Teaching Ministry of Jesus

Sub Topics

a.     Jesus’ Teaching about the Kingdom of God (Parables)

b.     Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

c.     Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer and Relationship

MODULE 6: The Healing Ministry of Jesus

Sub Topics:

a.     Healing the Body (Healing Miracles)

b.     Healing the Spirit (Forgiveness and Conversion)

c.     Jesus Christ Heals us through the Sacraments

MODULE 7: Jesus the Perfect Sacrifice

Sub Topics:

a.     Christ’s Passion and Death

b.     Christ is Risen

c.     Christ is our Saviour

MODULE 8: The Church Grows and Spread

Sub Topics:

a.     The Pentecost

b.     The Foundation of the Early Church

Prepared by:                                                                                                                         Noted by:

                                                                                                                       

    Mr. Cloyd Uyson/Ms. Delia Flores                                                                                   Mr. Allan A. Apdua

    Freshmen Christian Living Teachers                                                                      Christian Living Coordinator

TERM PAPER ON RIZAL: HIS FILIPINO PHILOSOPHY AND OTHER IDEOLOGIES

by: admin

RIZAL: HIS FILIPINO PHILOSOPHY AND OTHER IDEOLOGIES

“Every society has had its own philosophers, whose ideas reflect their individual cultures.”[1]

            To say that the Filipinos didn’t have “philosophy” before Western philosophy came to be known to us through the intellectuals is like saying that the Filipinos didn’t have “history” before March 16, 1521, the day our first colonizers arrived.  May kasaysayan ang mga Pilipino at may pilosopiya ang mga Pilipino.  False analogy between kasaysayan and pilosopiya?  I think not.  It is common knowledge in Kasaysayan II classes that: ang kasaysayan ay isang sanaysay na may saysay sa isang grupo ng taong pinagsasaysayan; an example of this is the Ilocano – wait, the term ‘Ilocano’ is redundant[2] because I means taga-, luko means kapatagan, and -ano also means taga- (it was a Spanish historian who used the term ‘Ilocano’ to refer to the people of the plains), so it should be ‘Iluko’ – epic Biag Ti Lam-ang[3].  “Kasaysayan” is not necessarily a “record of past events,” for as long as it is a narrative which has significance to the people, it is considered as “kasaysayan”… our kasaysayan.  In this same line I shall argue for FILIPINO PHILOSOPHY. 

I believe now that those who keep asking whether or not there is a “Pilosopiyang Pilipino” are less likely to find the answer.  They are unaware (wow, I’m on dangerous grounds here – and I haven’t even taken a course on Filipino Philosophy!) that what they are looking for is a Western kind of Philosophy or even a non-Western kind, i.e., still using the standards set by Western philosophy.  We were asked in our Speculative Thought class if there was any other philosophy besides Greek philosophy; there seemed to be none.  Do you get my point?  I suppose we are only looking for the “label.”  But what is ours has been there all along. 

Take the case of the babaylan[4].  In the classless societies of the yet “unhispanized” Philippines, the babaylans were teachers and doctors.  They also assumed gender roles (they are androgynous).  Most importantly, they held a specific type of episteme (knowledge): that of the herbal medicine.  In other parts of the country, they were called manag-anitos.  Despite the suppression of that knowledge during the time of the Spaniards, up to this day, the manag-anitos are still powerful.  Now we have created this ampalaya-bitter herbs in capsules, Noni juice, etc., which to them are actually very basic stuff.  And there are a lot of medicinal plants they have discovered a long time ago which the scientific community knows very little about.  We don’t call them – the babaylans and the manag-anitos (and the catalonans to the Tagalogs) – philosophers do we?  We call them shamans or warlocks.  The title ‘manag-anito’ came from anitismo or the worship of the anitos.  Anitismo is different from animismo.  Animism is the worship of animals, ancestors, or inanimate objects.  Anitism is specifically the worship of spirits, which our ancestors called anitos.  Anitismo is something indigenous, something unique, to us.  For instance UP scholars use this term so as to show how distinct our culture is.  UPD’s Department of Anthropology prefers to be called “Departamento ng Aghamtao” because they said that anthropology used to be an instrument of invasion; it was originally the study of tribes/minorities outside Europe and America.  We have to claim anitismo.  We have to promote our own terms.  This is what I believe to be lacking in the search for a “Filipino Philosophy.”  It shouldn’t be mere attachment of the word ‘Filipino.’  For me, “to strive towards the development of a Filipino Philosophy that is relevant to Philippine society”[5] would mean using the Filipino language, i.e., “Filipinizing” Filipino Philosophy itself.

            That was the introduction.  (Who says intros should be short?)  I am now going to explore on the topic: Rizal & His Filipino Philosophy.

            It is important to bear in mind that the term Filipino originally referred to creoles – the Spaniards born in the Philippines – the Españoles-Filipinos, for short.  The natives were called indios. […] The indios led by Rizal gained acceptability as Filipinos because they proved their equality with the Spaniards in terms of both culture and property.  This was an important stage in our appropriation of the term Filipino.  Rizal’s intellectual excellence paved the way for the winning of the name for the natives of the land.[6]

If kasaysayan can be found in the epic – I guess another example would be the awit (in pre-colonial times, we had different awit for different events; from birth to panliligaw to war and until death, our ancestors had songs for each one of them[7]) – then Pilosopiyang Pilipino can be found in the salawikain (another example is the bugtong, as we have read in other writings on Filipino Philosophy such as the one printed in the Feb 2003 issue of B.T.[8]).  And if this is the case then Rizal is definitely a proponent of Pilosopiyang Pilipino.

            “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika

            Ay nakakatulad ng malansang isda.”

            “Ang di marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan

            Di makararating sa paroroonan.”

The first salawikain was taken from Rizal’s poem “Sa Aking Mga Kabata,” which scholars claim was written by Rizal when he was only eight years old.  The second one was taken from another poem of his entitled “Sa Mga Kabataang Pilipino,” for which he won a silver pen when he was 18.  I’ll give you another salawikain[9]: “Ang buhay ng tao ay parang gulong / Magulungan at makagulong.”  This doesn’t come from Rizal.  But compare it with this: “Parang gulong ang buhay ng tao / Minsan amoy ihi ng aso.”  I’m not sure if these were Booba’s[10] exact words.  Anyway.  Tsk tsk.  We’ve lost it.  Even though you can interpret the latter and say it’s somewhat similar to “shit happens,” like you know, nasty stuff can happen to you which you may not have had any control of, in my own honest opinion, I’d say “Parang gulong ang buhay ng tao / Minsan amoy ihi ng aso” unfortunately embodies the way of thinking of Filipinos nowadays.  Filipinos don’t think seriously about anything at all anymore.  This is too much of a generalization but let’s face it, the Philippine society is going nowhere (or maybe downward).  With this kind of people – people who erect statues and sing praises to the Virgin Mary after their victory over tyranny (si Sir de Villa galit na galit sa kanila), people who tolerate crime and suffering by staying silent instead of exposing civil wrongs (we can’t blame them though because we know that the military and the police have “vital” connections to criminals), people who want Erap back in position (‘nuff said), people who allow the capitalists to use the lands for their private interests (UP ChaCha ba ‘to?), people who are constantly fooled by GMA’s fake smiles (according to a very reliable source, before, GMA’s kickback was only about P10,000 per gig; now it’s millions of pesos on the average per stint/program/gig/whatever she’s doing), people who destroy the environment (take care of our planet I beg you), people who treat everything as a joke and who just laugh their way out of the misery of their lives?  Yup, the Philippine society is going nowhere (again, maybe downward).  But there are people who thought seriously about things.  One of those people is Rizal.  In the following paragraphs you will discover why.

            Tasio el filosofo.[11]  The best way to talk about Rizal & His Filipino Philosophy is through the exposition of ourselves[12]… of Pilosopo Tasyo.

            The Noli Me Tangere grew out of the unique intellectual milieu of the late 19^th century Europe, which may be broadly described as liberal, rationalist, scientific.  Rizal’s formal initiation into this secularist mentality took place within the halls of the Universidad Central de Madrid, where in 1882-85 he enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters while at the same time pursuing his medical studies.

            Tasio was a philosopher in the Enlightenment usage of the word: a social critic who pricked the consciences of men; adviser and guide to Basilio, Crispin, Filipo, the nameless schoolmaster, Ibarra and all of San Diego; an expert in lightning rods and ancient languages; a teacher of science and preacher of the gospel of reason; a secular prophet of Progress and his country’s redemption…

            Tasio was unthinkable within the halls of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and Pontificia y Real, Universidad de Santo Tomas; he could have arisen only out of the academic temper of the Universidad de Madrid.  Nonetheless, there is no perfect fit between Tasio and the classic mold of the philosophe[13].  Tasio went to church when no one was around and prayed.  His statement that at the hour of death “I shall place myself in His hands without fear, to do with me as He will”[14] does not reflect an impersonal God, unfeeling and unconcerned with the affairs of men.

            In fact, like his character Tasio, Rizal himself was not a rigorous rationalist deist. […] Only once in all his writings did he employ the deist image of God as the Perfect Workman who created the machinery of the world, and this he placed in the mouth of Elias in the Noli. […] Thus even Tasio points beyond the layer of Enlightenment ideas and attitudes to the deeper stratum of Catholic religiosity which Rizal never succeeded in extricating completely from his psyche.   

Pilosopo Tasyo emerged from Rizal’s Filipino Philosophy which was formed through the assimilation of the popular Enlightenment ideas into his own religious beliefs.  You can see in Rizal that the philosophy of Aufklarung[15] was blended with the Filipino attitude towards religion perfectly.  Note that it is only in the Philippines where you can find “devout” Christians.  Filipinos go to church regularly (you won’t observe this in Spain, the very country that brought us Christianity) and they even make the sign of the cross every time they pass by the church.  Way back then, our ancestors had the conscious habit of uttering phrases each time they walk on unfamiliar territories in order to appease the spirits who supposedly own the lands.  This actually was the practice from which the sign-of-the-cross-when-passing-by-the-church thing originated.  Up to now, people still say “tabi-tabi po” when they have to pee or pupu on the hillside or whatever, not knowing this pretty much has the same purpose with the sign-of-the-cross-when-passing-by-the-church thing: to show respect to unknown beings.  This is a proof that assimilation does not mean losing one’s identity but instead it means adding something new to one’s identity – regardless of favorable or unfavorable consequences – making one uniquely Filipino, if you may wish to call it.

Meanwhile, the following story, which is ultimately based on one chapter in the Noli[16], is a story about the lost twin sister of…

Nang araw na iyon ay bumaba siya ng bundok upang hanapin ang puntod ng ina.  Ang pagkakilala na sa kanya ng mga mangmang ay isang mangkukulam o isang bruha.

Anak siya ng mayaman.  Pero, dahil sa hindi niya paniniwala sa sakramento ng kumpisal, ay itinakwil siya ng kanyang ina.  Aniya rito, “Ano pa ho ang silbi ng pangungumpisal kung maaari ka namang magdasal ng taimtim sa Panginoon at doon na ihayag ang iyong mga nagawang pagkakamali?  Mas mabuti ho iyon sa halip na mangumpisal ka nang paulit-ulit dahil paulit-ulit ka ring nagkakasala.”  Natatakot kasi ang kanyang ina na baka mapagbuntunan ng mga kura ang kanilang pamilya at lalo na ang kanilang ari-arian.  Isa pa, gusto ng kanyang ina na siya ay mag-asawa ng español, na higit naman niyang tinutulan.  Namuhay na lamang siya sa bundok malapit sa bayan at inukol ang sarili sa pagbabasa ng mga aklat – karamihan sa mga ito’y umaatake sa relihiyon – na ibinigay sa kanya ng kanyang kapatid noong siya’y lumisan.

Bagamat nang hapong iyon mayroong babala na darating ang unos sapagkat matatalim na kidlat ang gumuguhit sa nagdidilim na langit, masaya pa rin ang hitsura ni Anastacia.  Ito ang ipinagtaka ng mga taong nakakausap niya.  Tinanong siya kung bakit, diretso ang sagot niya: “Ang pagdating ng bagyo ang tangi kong pag-asa sapagkat ito ang magdadala ng mga lintik na siyang papatay sa mga kura at susunog sa mga simbahan!”  Iniwanan ni Tasya ang kausap at nagtuloy ito sa lugar kung saan nakalibing ang kanyang ina.  Wala siyang kaalam-alam na namatay pala ito mga ilang buwan matapos mag-asawa ang kanyang kapatid, na ninais naman ng kanyang ina na magpari.

Palakas nang palakas ang buhos ng ulan.  Ito ay sinasalitan ng matatalim na kidlat at kulog.  Siyang-siya si Tasya sa gayong pangyayari.  Nakataas pa ang kanyang dalawang kamay at nagsisigaw habang naglalakad pabalik sa kabundukan.

How I wish Rizal included Pilosopo Tasyo’s female counterpart[17] in his Noli.  Although for me, there really is no difference if a philosopher is male or female; or if a philosophy professor is male or female.  Just don’t take two female philosophy professors in one semester – both of them might be pregnant at that time (which I ironically experienced last year).

            Besides the character of Pilosopo Tasyo, there is another one which reflects Rizal’s own sentiments: Elias[18].

I regret having killed Elias… But I was in such poor health when I wrote the Noli that I felt I could not go on with it and talk of revolution.  Otherwise, I would have preserved the life of Elias, a noble character, a patriot, self-sacrificing, truly a man who could lead a revolution.                   --- Jose Rizal, Letters

…Some revolutions destroy institutions – not in the name of new ones, but in the name of what they pretend to stand for.  Elias, in this respect, desired the abolishment of the Civil Guards because they failed to perform the task for which they were created, the religious corporations because they were not only unnecessary but (or because of that) oppressive as well.  Elias’ revolutionary position was indigenous, native [underscore mine].  Unlike the French philosophers of 1793, Elias was not thinking of a revolution based on the principle that one should kill God by killing his representatives on earth.  On the contrary, Elias rested his valiant protest on the same God the authorities invoked as their right to power.  By opposing the Christian premises on which the society was supposedly founded with the actual society itself, Elias concluded: we are living under a sacrilegious[19] society.

Perhaps I have not made clear what Filipino Philosophy is.  What I have done so far is claim that Rizal has his Filipino Philosophy.  My point exactly.  We should reconsider the search for Filipino Philosophy; what we ought to do is try to discover what Filipino Philosophy should be.  Right from the start I encouraged you to think of our OWN terminologies for Filipino Philosophy.  I was not asking you to translate.  I am asking you to assimilate, to absorb, ‘philosophy’ into our system.  Eventually we will be able come up with a term for “Filipino Philosophy” itself[20].  Eventually.  And it would be what Filipino Philosophy should be.

Let us now go to the discussion of his other philosophies or ideologies.

PHILOSOPHY as what we have just elaborated, may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or causes of things as they affect life.

The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation would be strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life experiences of the representative personalities of our nation.

Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject whose life philosophy deserves to be recognized.

Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already formed the nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his country and people.

Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in Spain, with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most backward state. It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex, cowardice, timidity and false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social life. This stimulated and shaped Rizal's life philosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these social ills.

Educational Philosophy

Rizal's concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos' indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the people's mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination.

Rizal's philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal.

Religious Philosophy

Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and Reason.

Why the change?

It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and the possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside Christianity, salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a small minority of the world's religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals, rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot more are evidences of Rizal's religious philosophy.

Political Philosophy

In Rizal's political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-government.

He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish ruler's method of governing the country which resulted in:

1. the bondage and slavery of the conquered ;

2. the Spanish governments' requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n natives;

3. the abuse of power by means of exploitation;

4. the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and

5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of a national sentiment.

Rizal's guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for self government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love.

Ethical Philosophy

The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is that science upon which Rizal's ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was under Spanish domination during Rizal's time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying any individual rights.

To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the moral problems of the conquered.

To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal:

1. censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and the ignorance and fanaticism of the natives;

2. counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as reasonable and just;

3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the couple and not financial gain;

4. censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and

5. advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed.

Social Philosophy

That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man’s experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge.

Rizal's social philosophy dealt with;

1. man in society;

2. influential factors in human life;

3. racial problems;

4. social constant;

5. social justice;

6. social ideal;

7. poverty and wealth;

8. reforms;

9. youth and greatness;

10. history and progress;

11. future Philippines.

The above dealt with man's evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of man's conscience; man's need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of man's abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizal's guide in his continuous effort to make over his beloved Philippines.

---

[1] “A Young Person’s Guide to Philosophy” (London: Dorling Kindersley, 1998)

[2] from my Philippine Institutions (P.I.) 100 class

[3] from my Kasaysayan (KAS) II readings

[4] the following discussion on babaylan and anitismo was taken from my P.I. 100 class

[5] the no. 1 objective of the UP Kabataang Pilosopo Tasyo (KAPITAS) as stated in Art. III, Sec. 1 of its Constitution

[6] excerpt from Veneration Without Understanding by Renato Constantino (P.I. 100 pamphlet)

[7] from my P.I. 100 class

[8] Balitang Tasyo, the official publication of UP KAPITAS

[9] the previous two and this one were taken from The New Filipino-English English-Filipino Dictionary by Maria Odulio de Guzman (Metro Manila: National Book Store, Inc., 1968)

[10] Rufa Mae Quinto played the lead role Booba in the Tagalog movie with the same title

[11] all the following quotations regarding Pilosopo Tasyo were taken from “Tasio el Filosofo and Padre Florentino: An Inquiry Into Rizal’s Prophetic Vision” by Raul J. Bonoan, SJ (from my P.I. 100 readings)

[12] I’m referring to my organization (KAPITAS), although, yeah, it can refer to philosophy majors can’t it?

[13] “The philosophe… was “the preceptor of mankind,” a social critic, or if you will, a secular prophet of the age.” (emphasis mine)

[14] Noli Me Tangere, translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero (Hong Kong: Longman, 1961), p. 74.

[15] German word for ‘Enlightenment’

[16] Kabanata XIV-Si Pilosopo Tasyo (Ang Buod), from http://www.joserizal.ph/noli_k14.htm.

[17] Anastacia is of my own working; she is a product of major alterations in the summary I found on the above website (see footnote 13).  I apologize if the story is an unjust adaptation of  Rizal’s character ‘Tasyo’.

[18] all of the following quotations regarding Elias were taken from “Elias: The Ethics of Revolution” by Adrian E. Cristobal (from my P.I. 100 readings)

[19] sacrilegious = violating something sacred (Webster’s New Dictionary)

[20] patterning after kasaysayan, for which they now have “bagong kasaysayan”, an example for ‘absorbing’ pilosopiya is calling it “bagong pagdadalumat” – or something to that extent