JOSE  Aged 31.  Jesuit alumnus turned rationalist.  Ilustrado in the dual sense of educated and on fire with enlightenment ideas, political ideology and activist.  Exile in Dapitan, Mindanao. RIZAL

FATHER PABLO PASTELLS  Aged 46  Former spiritual director of student Rizal at the Ateneo Municipal Manila  Stationed in Intramuros as superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines

RIZAL: DAPITAN, 1 SEPTEMBER 1892  Rizal’s first letter to Father Pastells.  Rizal thanked Fr. Pastells for his gift of a book by Sarda.  Rizal said he would repay Fr. Pastells if Rizal would still be alive and if not, Rizal will say to Fr. Pastells like the Bisayos: Dios magbayad (God Repay You).  Rizal appreciates Fr. Pastells' advices but it depends upon the criteria to follow them or not.

FR. PASTELLS: MANILA, 12 OCTOBER 1892  Father Pastells goes into lengthy philosophic- religious disquisitions.  Sends him a booklet, Kempis’ Imitation of Christ.

RIZAL: DAPITAN, 11 NOVEMBER 1892  To Father Pablo Pastells Rizal is grateful for a copy of Kempis’ Imitation of Christ  Rizal commented on this “What a pity that such an excellent young man had not lavished his talents on the defense of better causes!”  Rizal said that he would pick phrases from Pastells’ letter that have impressed him and comment on it with due respect  He is not a Protestant.  He prefers “light” to “shade” He bears his misfortunes philosophically.

FR. PASTELLS: MANILA, 8 DECEMBER 1892  Fr. Pastells is deeply interested in Rizal’s eternal salvation.  He claims Rizal has expressed Protestant ideas in his books.

RIZAL: DAPITAN, 9 JANUARY 1893  To Fr. Pablo Pastells, Rizal explains his concept of God.

FR. PASTELLS: MANILA, 2 FEBRUARY 1893  Acknowledging Rizal’s gift of an image of Saint Paul, carved by him  A long letter much like a sermon on subjects such as God, Revelation, faith, and the like.

RIZAL: DAPITAN, 4 APRIL 1893  Reiterates his concept of God, his belief in revelation, and his attitude toward miracles.

FR. PASTELLS: MANILA, 28 APRIL 1893  Father Pastells discusses Rizal’s religious views.

RIZAL: DAPITAN, JUNE 1893  To Fr. Pablo Pastells, Rizal asks that he and Fr. Pastells end their correspondence.

Roman Catholic: They argued that man can know God both by reason and by faith, at the same time, for faith and reason are but two paths leading to the same truth that us God. He denied the Roman Catholic notion of divine revelation for FOUR REASONS:

RIZAL’S RELIGIOUS VIEWS Was based on pure intelligence and preferred to see God in a more practical and realistic view rather than believing for the sake of faith. Religio n: Derived his belief through reason and necessity, through faith.

1.Fails to satisfy the rationalists criterion of clarity. 2.It is not universal because language is not understood by all. 3.Bible, which is the record of the insights of men and women is unreliable because it contains errors, inconsistencies, contradictions and it admits of conflicting interpretations. 4.Miracles can’t be taken as true to authenticate revelation, since they contradict nature and are therefore impossible.

Revelations : Revelation of nature not the revelation according to Christian Theology. Kind of revelation through mediation of nature or natural revelation and conscience. Deism.

PASTELLS’ VIEWS Teaching of Vatican I concerning divine revelation. Revelati on: Defined as a body of truths and moral doctrines tradition, which God had promulgated through the prophets and Christ, and entrusted to the infallible teaching office of the church.

“God is the unchangeable spiritual substance, infinite and subsisting by itself in a most simple act. God would go so far as to make a miracle in order to reveal to the”homo in silvis” the fundamental truths necessary for salvation. Faith Is something that gives assent to higher order, the truths revealed by God.

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