Please do not pray for Manila

In light of recent events involving a crazy amount of rainfall within 24 hours, massive flooding, and landslides, I appeal to everyone to please stop all this nonsense about God being angry over the reproductive health bill.

And don't even start on that Genesis 8:7-12 nonsense. I wonder why it wasn't Revelation 8:7-12 that they thought of when the flood waters came rushing in:
The first Angel sounded, and there followed haile, and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast vpon the earth, and the third part of trees was burnt vp, and all greene grasse was burnt vp.
And the second Angel sounded, and as it were a great mountaine burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood.
And the thirde part of the creatures which were in the Sea, and had life, died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
And the third Angel sounded, and there fell a great starre from heauen, burning as it were a lampe, and it fell vpon the third part of the riuers, and vpon the fountaines of waters:
And the name of the starre is called Wormewood, and the third part of the waters became wormewood, and many men dyed of the waters, because they were made bitter.
And the fourth Angel sounded, and the thirde part of the Sunne was smitten, & the third part of the Moone, and the third part of the starres, so as the third part of them was darkened: and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Please do not pray for Manila. We should know by now that it wouldn't do anything. Please help Manila and the rest of the affected cities instead, either by donating to the Red Cross and other agencies, by coming over to assist the rescue and relief efforts, by helping spread the word to people who may be of help, or by informing authorities if you know of stranded people who are in urgent need to be rescued. Thank you.

Beware of voices inside your head

It doesn't have to be a little voice. It could be a big voice. A loud voice. Or a soft voice. It doesn't even have to be you who hears it. It could be something that someone told you that was spoken to him by a voice inside his head. Or something he saw by reading the spots on a damp wall, or a burnt toast, or the apparent patterns of the stars in the sky. Or something you read in a book written by someone who heard voices in his head and saw drug-induced apocalyptic visions. The point is, as long as something can be traced to voices in one's head, or visions or personal "revelations" - beware. These things are not as harmless as they seem.

I suppose I am not the only one who is absolutely disgusted by this news: A poor five-year-old Mexican boy had his eyes ritualistically gouged out by his own mother "to prevent an earthquake and save the world". Drugs were involved. Connect the dots. It is the story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his own son Isaac all over again. Except, this time, the boy was physically harmed before intervention came.

I could imagine the ritual to be a lot like this:

And they came to the place which God had tolde him of, and Abraham built an Altar there, and layd the wood in order, and bound Isaac his sonne, and layde him on the Altar vpon the wood.

And Abraham stretched foorth his hand, and tooke the knife to slay his sonne.

Isaac had a narrow escape when God stopped Abraham at the last minute, and Abraham found a ram to offer instead:

And the Angel of the LORD called vnto him out of heauen, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I.

And he said, Lay not thine hand vpon the lad, neither do thou any thing vnto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withhelde thy sonne, thine onely sonne from mee.

And Abraham lifted vp his eyes, and looked, and beholde, behinde him a Ramme caught in a thicket by his hornes: And Abraham went and tooke the Ramme, and offered him vp for a burnt offering, in the stead of his sonne.

The poor Mexican boy wasn't as lucky as Isaac, but I am pretty sure that both boys were more or less equally traumatized. And I hope that people would be reminded of this and other incidents like this and be disgusted all over again every time they try to talk to those guys who they think can hear everything they say wherever they are. Because, really, there are far worse things that those voices and visions can do than take someone's eyes out.