freethinking.me

Originally published in Sunstar Davao.

Where Faith Begins
There is an oft-quoted phrase in Christian circles that goes “faith begins where reason ends” and I’m perfectly fine with that statement as it is.

The problem I have is that a lot of people who use this phrase to defend their faith do not really go to the end of reason. They stop short of the end, refusing to take reason past a certain point, and declare that faith is now the operative agent.

I, myself, have been guilty of this many times in the past. When I reached a point when I wasn’t able to understand some theological conundrum, I then declared that at this point, I must have faith. That declaration is often coupled with prayer for more faith as in Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” At other times it is accompanied with thanks and praise to God for being so wise that his ways are higher than mine.

I then put the issue away from my mind, feeling assured that I am resting in the hands of a being who loves me and has a perfect plan for me, even if I do not understand it at the moment.

The Tipping Point
That went on for so many years until I was boiling with so many questions I had put away, so many unresolved issues about my faith and belief that it was impossible to simply ignore them anymore. I had experienced many ups and downs in my “spiritual” life. I had experienced putting everything on the line for faith, and I had come out unsatisfied and somewhat disappointed.

Around 5 years ago, I had a realization. God had created me to be an extremely rational being. If I put aside my rationality, would it not be a disservice to the gift that he gave me? Would I not be misusing my “talent” if I turned it off in the name of faith?

And so I prayed, “God, if you really are there, you gave me an abundance of rational ability and I want to know you more and understand you through that gift. You know of my disappointment with faith, but I believe you are also a God of reason and from this point forward, I will use your gift of reason to get to the truth of things — even if it means abandoning beliefs I have long held sacrosanct, even if it means abandoning whatever belief I have in you — because whatever I believe about you I have known from other sources. This time, I want to get to know you as you are, not as other people tell me. I want to know you directly, not just know of you from other sources.”

The Journey Thus Far
It has been 5 years and it seems that every word of that prayer has come true. I let loose with all those bottled-up questions. I talked about them with other people, tentatively at first, but more boldly as time went by. I read books I previously would not have touched and listened to speakers I would have avoided, for fear of being influenced by “the wiles of the devil.”

Over time, I learned to let go of certain “truths” I have cherished and found comfort in, and that was very difficult to do. It was like climbing a spiral staircase in a castle tower, and at every step I took, the previous step dropped back into nothingness. I could not see the top. I did not know where I was headed. Yet, there was no turning back, nothing to hold on to. There was no way to go but forward and upward.

Today, I have a very different concept of God, the Bible, church, religion, and spirituality. I have reached this point because I was willing to take reason past the point where most sensible believers stop. I was willing to cross a line I dared not cross before. I dared to question the existence of God. I dared to question the authority of the Bible, the necessity of church and religion. And when I asked these questions, I did not just dip my toe into the pool and shake off the water and declare proudly that I have already challenged my beliefs and survived. No, I dived in and learned to embrace the cold waters. It was very uncomfortable at first and I had to fight the urge to jump out of the pool and go back to warm embrace of “just” believing. But I stayed there and am still staying there because I need to know how far reason can go.

If, in the future, I do return to faith, then I can truly and honestly say that I have reached the end of reason, and it would not be an empty declaration.

But until then, the journey goes on.

Andy Uyboco is a businessman, trainer and speaker. You may email him at andy@freethinking.me.

Originally published in Sunstar Davao.

I believe in miracles, and it is spelled S-C-I-E-N-C-E.

I have spent the last few hours reading articles and watching videos about the latest scientific breakthroughs. I have focused on research and technology that alleviates human suffering, compensates for human disabilities, prolongs and grants better quality of life.

One such miracle which will be very evident and available for online readers is called HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the “language” of the internet which allows you to simply click at the links I give and you will be instantly whisked away to other websites I have used as source material.

To those of you reading this on paper and ink, you too can access this miracle by going online, not by prayer. Unless, of course, you pray for a laptop (or tablet) to drop down from heaven onto your lap, automatically turn on, hijack your neighbor’s wifi signal, fire up its web browser and go to my article — and it actually happens.

The Deaf Shall Hear

In the meantime, let me tell you about 3-year old Grayson Clamp who hears his dad’s voice for the very first time. That may not sound so spectacular at first, unless you know that baby Grayson was born without a cochlear nerve which transmits signals from the ears to the brain. In other words, there is no connection between his brain and his ear.

To get around the problem, doctors performed a cochlear implant, putting a chip in Grayson’s brain which allows him to receive and process those signals. The look on his face as he hears his father’s voice is priceless.

26-year old Amy Barber went through a similar operation and she was able to hear her six-year old son for the first time. Her aunt who was there, took a video and posted it on Youtube where it went viral.

The Blind Shall See

Diane Ashworth, a 54-year old woman from Australia, is the first recipient of a bionic eye transplant. The result isn’t perfect yet as the technology is still in the prototype stage but Diane can see flashes of light and shapes which proves that the brain is now receiving some sort of signal from the device. Researchers in Israel are also working on such a device and in the near future, we may very well have functional bionic eyes that can enable even those born blind to see in full color.

The Lame Shall Walk (and tie shoelaces as well)

Prosthetics are nothing new and have been around for decades. Still, they are minor miracles in bringing back some sense of normalcy in an amputee’s life. What caught my attention is the degree of advancement in prosthetic development which blends with robotics. A company called Ekso Bionics has developed a robotic exoskeleton that allows those paralyzed from the waist down to walk. This was a boon to Jason Geiser who had a motorcycle accident and was told that he wouldn’t be able to walk again.

Hand prosthetics are a bit more complicated because of the fine-motor tuning involved. In the past, it was nearly impossible to create a bionic hand that could alternate between strongly gripping an object and holding it delicately (like holding an egg without breaking, or holding a pen and writing). 53-year old Nigel Ackland shows off an advanced hand prosthesis that allows him to deal cards and tie his shoelaces, as well as make an omelet and open a beer bottle.

The Dead Shall Rise Again

39-year old Colin Fiedler was dead for at least 40 minutes being brought back to life with a cardiac support pump called the AutoPulse which keeps the patient’s blood running through the brain and other vital organs, as doctors administer medicine or shock treatment. The procedure has revived two other patients under similar conditions as well.

I have no doubt in my mind that science will continue creating, refining and delivering life-changing technology such as these in the years to come — and that they will become available to more and more people. Machines and electronics have become so prevalent and familiar to us that we fail to see the wonder in them any more.

Miracles are all around us, if you would care to open your eyes and see. They are brought about not by a leap of faith, but of science. And unlike other so-called miracles, they can be depended on to work again, and again, and again.

 

Andy Uyboco is a businessman, trainer and speaker. If you actually had a laptop or tablet drop on your lap from heaven, send me an email at andy@freethinking.me.

Originally published in Sunstar Davao.

In my quest for truth, I encountered zen, and nothing has been the same ever since.

It was a time when everything that had the word “zen” sounded cool. There was a bestselling book called Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance. There was zenhabits.net — a website known for espousing simplicity. People talked about zen styles in architecture and interior design. Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson was known as the Zen Master.

So I became intrigued and wanted to learn what zen was really all about. I started a blog called zenbananas.com to chronicle my ideas (which later morphed into this blog you’re reading now —  freethinking.me).

I picked up a small book for P80 at a used-books store with the title: The Little Zen Companion by David Schiller. The back cover promised to give me “a taste of zen for the seeker and curious alike. Here is a compilation of sayings, parables, haiku, koan, poetry and other words. From both Eastern and Western sources, their maverick spirit points to a different way of looking at the world: directly, openly, joyously.”

It also contained a quotation from Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, which fast became one of my all time favorites: “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.”

I was aware that zen had roots in Buddhism. I was aware that there were monks or other groups who could tell me all about zen, but the thought of following a set of rituals and tradition was not so appealing, especially after I had just left one behind. I was looking for something a little less rooted in structure and dogma. So I mainly read a lot of books and did a lot of thinking and journaling my insights.

Anthony de Mello related a short parable about a zen master talking about the dangers of too much rigor, and it goes like this:

“Life’s little secret is this,” said the master to his visitor as they conversed over tea. “Never take it too seriously. Learn to laugh — at everything — and you learn to live,”

The visitor pondered on this, and the master continued, “I have had a total of four disciples under me. When they began their training, I gave them a set of rigorous physical and spiritual exercises. The first disciple was too weak and couldn’t handle the pressure so he ran away. The second was too meticulous in trying to follow every minute detail of the exercises that he drove himself crazy. The third tried to challenge himself to do more than what the exercises required and one day he injured himself fatally and died. Only the fourth disciple remained healthy and sane.”

“And how did he manage to do that?” asked the visitor.

“Well, he took one look at the exercises and simply refused to do them,” replied the master, chuckling.

Zen is not a religion or a set of rituals (though some people make it to be). In essence, it is simply about seeing things as they are, without judgements, presuppositions or biases. It is the truth that lies beyond words, whose meaning cannot be expressed nor explained. The words and stories are not to be taken literally or even reverently (as the story above illustrates). Words serve only to point to a deeper truth.

Some of my most enjoyable times are when I am engaged in deep discussions with friends (or my wife), debating, arguing, and sharing ideas. And we can talk all the way past midnight.

The Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu said it best this way: “The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten. The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten. The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find the man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”

Andy Uyboco is a businessman, trainer and speaker. If you have forgotten words, send me a blank email at andy@freethinking.me.