CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Cagayan Journal / 18 April) Police Monday linked the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) to last week's burning of a Bagong Lipunan bus in Misamis Oriental.
The National Police's Regional Traffic Management Group said its officers have gathered documents that indicate that Bayan collaborated with the New People's Army (NPA) in the Holy Week offensive.
Bayan has been actively participating in anti-Arroyo protests in urban areas. Although left-leaning, the group is not known to openly involve itself in armed offensive operations.
Supt. Felixberto Castillo, TMG chief for northern Mindanao, said the suspected guerillas who pulled off the Salay attack distributed propaganda materials to passengers before they burned the bus.
The documents include the communist publication 'Ang Bayan' and an official statement released by the militant organization, allegedly bore the name "Bagong Alyansang Makabayan."
Castillo said copies of the propaganda materials were provided by passengers.
"We believe some members of the militant group were part of the burning of the bus that was perpetrated by local communist terrorists," said Castillo.
He said investigators have continued looking into the alleged participation of Bayan in the Salay bus burning and were building a strong case against the militant group.
The TMG has beefed up the security in Eastern Misamis Oriental and a number of towns in Bukidnon. Castillo said TMG has deployed its officers to keep an eye on highways to thwart off a possible repeat of the bus burnings in Misamis Oriental.
Police said rebels flagged down the bus driven by Dnnis Panisan on Wednesday morning, ordered passengers to step down and then torched the vehicle after briefly holding dozens of passengers' hostage in Salay, Misamis Oriental.
The ill-fated bus bore license plates KVJ-516 and body number 373.
They said the suspects boarded the bus near riverside 2 and at gunpoint, commandered the vehicle.
None of the passengers were hurt.
Police said the rebels carried out the attack, the second in Misamis Oriental in a month's time, after the bus company refused to pay "revolutionary taxes."
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
PRO 10 vow to intensify fight vs. illegal drugs in Normin
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Cagayan journal / April 12) Police Yesterday vowed to step up the government's anti-illegal drug campaign in Northern Mindanao and warned syndicates to stop their nefarious activities or end up in jails.
Senior Supt. Rolando T. Dela Vega, Northern Mindanao police spokesman, said the campaign against illegal drugs will continue as the PRO 10 regional director Chief Supt. Florante Baguio urged the public to help authorities fight the menace of society.
Dela Vega who is the former regional training supervisor at the Special Training Unit 10 said Baguio lauded the members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and other law enforcement groups for their dedication to their jobs that led to the confiscation of illegal drugs in the region.
The police recently destroyed some P30 million worth of confiscated chemicals and laboratory equipment used in the manufacture of shabu including separate raids and the uncovered drug laboratories in Misamis Oriental and Iligan City.
“The destruction of the illegal drug substance and laboratory equipment is part of the relentless effort by the PRO 10 to eradicate the distribution of illegal drugs in Northern Mindanao," Dela Vega said adding Baguio commended the good work of the law enforcers in the region.
Police report said burned chemicals were among those confiscated from a warehouse owned by businessman Stephen Gaisano in Cugman here, Lugait town in Misamis Oriental and Barangay Saray, Iligan City.
"The police destroyed almost 1, 300 kilos of chemical substance used as main ingredients in the manufacture of shabu, these are composed of black powder, white flakes and sodium hydroxide. And almost 3,000 bottles of acetone chloroform and other liquid chemicals," Dela Vega said.
He said the illegal chemicals could have supplied the entire region and destroy many lives had it was not confiscated by the police.
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The lost Gospel: The Quest of Judas Iscariot
THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS (Last Part)
The existence of the Gospel of Judas —as well as the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Peter and 30 or so other Gnostic (literally "special knowledge") texts—has always been known, mostly through the words of the very man who condemned them as heresies. Saint Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon in Roman Gaul, who lived from A.D. 130 to 200, declared in his "Adversus Haereses" [Against Heresies]: "They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. . . . They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas."
Following Saint Irenaeus’s condemnation of all gospels save the four—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—that today compose the New Testament, nearly 2,000 years of ex-communications, bloody crusades and murderous inquisitions have all but erased nearly any traces of the 30 or so "heretical" gospels.
The scientists and scholars have verified the authenticity of the document and not the story it tells. Neither is the document the first lost gospel to be unearthed.
The Nag Hammadi Library, from which the Gospel of Thomas was part of, was discovered in Egypt in 1945. The Akhmim Codex, from which the Gospel of Mary was part of, was discovered also in Egypt in 1896. What these documents do shine light upon is the nature of the early Christians, before the gospels were codified as the New Testament and of how various groups in secret, fearing persecution, practiced Christianity in myriad ways.
Saint Irenaeus wrote the "Adversus Haerese" during the Age of Martyrs when Roman authorities tortured and murdered Christians for their faith. Experts explain that he reasoned: If people were dying for their faith, they had to clearly know what they were dying for.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are arguably the most narrative, most compelling and least contradictory. Experts agree they are also the four earliest to be written, from AD 65 to 95. Scholars agree that all the gospels were written anonymously; only later were these attributed to their alleged authors.
The other gospels labeled heretical and Gnostics were mostly written at a later period at around AD 100 to 200. They also tend to be much more philosophical and contain assertion contradictory to other gospels. The Gospel of Mary that portrays her as an apostle of equal stature challenges the patriarchal traditions of the church. The "Gospel of Judas" would have a traitor as the most enlightened apostle. In general, Gnostic beliefs—that enlightenment comes from in-depth knowledge, intimate catechisms and personal reflection—were troublesome to the orthodox church, which maintained the apostolic succession of bishops and the central authority of the church.
Even in the 21st century, most Christians still know little of church history—of the roots of the Reformation, of the atrocities during the Inquisitions or even of the recent debates on Vatican II reforms and laity empowerment through Basic Christian Communities. Adding to the confusion are such fictional novels as The Da Vindi Code and the reactionary tirades against them.
The "Gospel of Judas" may not rehabilitate the most hated man in history. But it may get us to know more about our faith. Watch it. Google it. Wikipedia it. Read it. That knowledge, despite all the sensationalism, may make one’s Holy Week the most meaningful and reflective yet. We have to know what we are living for.
The existence of the Gospel of Judas —as well as the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Peter and 30 or so other Gnostic (literally "special knowledge") texts—has always been known, mostly through the words of the very man who condemned them as heresies. Saint Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon in Roman Gaul, who lived from A.D. 130 to 200, declared in his "Adversus Haereses" [Against Heresies]: "They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. . . . They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas."
Following Saint Irenaeus’s condemnation of all gospels save the four—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—that today compose the New Testament, nearly 2,000 years of ex-communications, bloody crusades and murderous inquisitions have all but erased nearly any traces of the 30 or so "heretical" gospels.
The scientists and scholars have verified the authenticity of the document and not the story it tells. Neither is the document the first lost gospel to be unearthed.
The Nag Hammadi Library, from which the Gospel of Thomas was part of, was discovered in Egypt in 1945. The Akhmim Codex, from which the Gospel of Mary was part of, was discovered also in Egypt in 1896. What these documents do shine light upon is the nature of the early Christians, before the gospels were codified as the New Testament and of how various groups in secret, fearing persecution, practiced Christianity in myriad ways.
Saint Irenaeus wrote the "Adversus Haerese" during the Age of Martyrs when Roman authorities tortured and murdered Christians for their faith. Experts explain that he reasoned: If people were dying for their faith, they had to clearly know what they were dying for.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are arguably the most narrative, most compelling and least contradictory. Experts agree they are also the four earliest to be written, from AD 65 to 95. Scholars agree that all the gospels were written anonymously; only later were these attributed to their alleged authors.
The other gospels labeled heretical and Gnostics were mostly written at a later period at around AD 100 to 200. They also tend to be much more philosophical and contain assertion contradictory to other gospels. The Gospel of Mary that portrays her as an apostle of equal stature challenges the patriarchal traditions of the church. The "Gospel of Judas" would have a traitor as the most enlightened apostle. In general, Gnostic beliefs—that enlightenment comes from in-depth knowledge, intimate catechisms and personal reflection—were troublesome to the orthodox church, which maintained the apostolic succession of bishops and the central authority of the church.
Even in the 21st century, most Christians still know little of church history—of the roots of the Reformation, of the atrocities during the Inquisitions or even of the recent debates on Vatican II reforms and laity empowerment through Basic Christian Communities. Adding to the confusion are such fictional novels as The Da Vindi Code and the reactionary tirades against them.
The "Gospel of Judas" may not rehabilitate the most hated man in history. But it may get us to know more about our faith. Watch it. Google it. Wikipedia it. Read it. That knowledge, despite all the sensationalism, may make one’s Holy Week the most meaningful and reflective yet. We have to know what we are living for.
The lost Gospel: The Quest of Judas Iscariot
The covers of the May 2006 National Geographic magazine and two National Geographic books, 'The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot' and 'The Gospel of Judas,' an annotated translation of the text, are seen in this handout photo. Judas Iscariot, vilified as Christ's betrayer, acted at Jesus' request in turning him over to the authorities who crucified him, according to a 1,700-year-old copy of the 'Gospel of Judas' unveiled on April 6, 2006.
The ‘Gospel of Judas’
When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
The Gospel According to John
"You will be cursed by the other generations—and you will come to rule over them," Jesus tells Judas.
"Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom," Jesus says to Judas, singling him out for special status. "Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star."
Jesus tells Judas, "You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me."
The Gospel According to Judas
Was Judas Iscariot, the most reviled man in history—whose very name has become synonymous with betrayal and greed—the only apostle to truly discern Jesus Christ and His one unwilling accomplice?
Is it an irrelevant heresy revealed to capitalize on the current fascination with the film and novel The Da Vinci Code as well as the advent of the Holy Week? Or is it an earth-shaking discovery that will rehabilitate the memory of Iscariot?
The story behind the "Gospel of Judas" is one of tomb raiders digging up caves in the Egyptian desert; of seductive, sweet-talking thieves looting looters; of clandestine meetings between scholars and a wily antiquities dealer in Switzerland; of a priceless treasure slowly crumbling in bank vault in Hicksville, New York; and of experts on ancient Coptic language, papyrus and carbon-dating coming together to stake their reputations on a possible hoax. It is the stuff of mystery thrillers and Hollywood blockbusters. But this is real.
After some 17 centuries, scientists and scholars have authenticated and deciphered the only known copy of the "Gospel of Judas." The National Geographic, which helped assemble the team of world-renowned experts to verify and deduce the artifacts, airs its television documentary.
The ‘Gospel of Judas’
When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
The Gospel According to John
"You will be cursed by the other generations—and you will come to rule over them," Jesus tells Judas.
"Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom," Jesus says to Judas, singling him out for special status. "Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star."
Jesus tells Judas, "You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me."
The Gospel According to Judas
Was Judas Iscariot, the most reviled man in history—whose very name has become synonymous with betrayal and greed—the only apostle to truly discern Jesus Christ and His one unwilling accomplice?
Is it an irrelevant heresy revealed to capitalize on the current fascination with the film and novel The Da Vinci Code as well as the advent of the Holy Week? Or is it an earth-shaking discovery that will rehabilitate the memory of Iscariot?
The story behind the "Gospel of Judas" is one of tomb raiders digging up caves in the Egyptian desert; of seductive, sweet-talking thieves looting looters; of clandestine meetings between scholars and a wily antiquities dealer in Switzerland; of a priceless treasure slowly crumbling in bank vault in Hicksville, New York; and of experts on ancient Coptic language, papyrus and carbon-dating coming together to stake their reputations on a possible hoax. It is the stuff of mystery thrillers and Hollywood blockbusters. But this is real.
After some 17 centuries, scientists and scholars have authenticated and deciphered the only known copy of the "Gospel of Judas." The National Geographic, which helped assemble the team of world-renowned experts to verify and deduce the artifacts, airs its television documentary.
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