THERE is a question that keeps popping up in my mind every time someone is killed by motorcycle riding men who are now euphemistically called “riding in tandem”: do these killers use the money they earn by killing others to feed their families, their fathers and mothers, their wives, children, brothers and sisters, and even their friends? I suppose that, yes, the killers use the money they earn by killing others for their respective families, but, do they feel happy and satisfied that they had to kill their fellow men in order that their families will have money to spend? Can the killers still sleep at night, knowing they not only murdered another human being but also earned the ire of God by their crime? And while we are on the subject of people committing crimes, like plunder, graft and corruption, and stealing of government money just so they and their families could live better lives and perpetuate themselves in power for as long as possible, may I also ask: are they aware that they and their children, to the third and fourth generations, will be punished by God in the eternal hell of fire and worms? Just asking. My point is, it is clear that all criminals in the Philippines somehow profess belief in God. They say they have faith in Him, and that they also pray to Him very often. Yet, they have no qualms about killing others, have no qualms stealing hundreds of millions of pesos, raping women, abusing children, pushing drugs, and engaging in criminality. So, how did it happen that Filipinos who continue to profess faith in God can, at the flick of a finger, commit even the most despicable of crimes? How did it happen, too, that politicians and government officials who love to have their pictures taken while attending church masses and praise and worship services nevertheless relentlessly engage in plunder and political dynasties? How did it happen that Filipinos who religiously attend church and worship services nonchalantly spout curses to their wives, husbands, and children, for the most simple mistakes, even if they have just come out of their churches or worship places? Or, indeed, ogle at men or women lustily even while they are inside their churches? It is clear that the faith of many Filipinos in God approximates what the prophet Isaiah and Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, said about many men and women: they honor Him only with their lips, because their hearts are far from Him. In other words, they say they believe in God, but their actions show they are followers of God’s enemy, the evil one. Undeniably, many Filipinos are spurious or fake believers. They do not obey what God, through the Bible, has ordered them to do, although they loudly claim they are believers, or are Christians. They go to masses or praise and worship sessions regularly, yet they continue being devilish, being selfish, being sinful. Why have Filipinos become fake believers? It is because many of them no longer read the Bible, many of them no longer obey the commands of God contained in the Bible. Their families no longer even discuss God anymore, even as they are no longer taught the fear and love of God. Sadly, many Filipino believers now would rather subscribe to the teachings of the devil, for the pleasures the devil gives to them! E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com