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SOCSCI102: LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL

Name: Hannah Mae S. Lendio Program/Section: BS Psychology

Date: September 3, 2023 Instructor: Valerie Y. Fulgencio, LPT

Instructions: Do you agree or disagree on how Rizalistas venerating Dr. Jose Rizal?
Why? Explain and elaborate your answer using 1 whole page of document file. You can
attach reference below your argument.

Rizalistas perceived Rizal as a divine being and deity, which means it is similar
on how other religion believes in Christ. They believed that Rizal had parallels or
similarities with Jesus Christ; Rizalistas believed that Rizal is the messiah of the
Philippines and Jesus Christ is the messiah of Israel as well as the idea of sacrificing
their lives for their people (Rizal Worship: The Rizalistas, 2012).

As a person who grew up in a Christian family, I was told to respect other

religions. If I were to be asked if I agree or disagree with how Rizalistas venerate Dr.
Jose Rizal, my answer is that I disagree. Dr. Jose Rizal is known to be our National
Hero. I think this acknowledgment is already enough for us to be grateful in sacrificing
his own life for the freedom of the Filipinos. Indeed, Dr. Jose Rizal is known to be a
versatile genius. His Austrian friend describes him as the most excellent product of the
Philippines and “his coming to the world was like the appearance of a rare comet,
whose rare brilliance appears only every other century”. With this, we can see how
magnificent and relevant Rizal is for Filipinos and other people worldwide.

Every year, we Filipinos give tribute to our late hero. We celebrate our freedom
with his name on it. We made his birthdays as national holiday to pay him more respect.
We built Rizal Park for the people to remember who Rizal was and his sacrifices. We
also have this subject in college, the Life and Works of Rizal, reminding us that he
played a massive part in Philippine history.

Rizalistas way of respecting and remembering Dr. Jose Rizal is too much and
might be unnecessary. Rizal is a human being who is to believe one of a kind, but
comparing him to Jesus Christ and worshiping him like a God is like worshiping a
person who did not seem to have miracles. Jesus Christ became Jesus Christ because
of the miracles he has done. Did Jose Rizal heal a blind? Or did he help anyone to
make a path through the sea? Jose Rizal's sacrifices are nothing to be compared on the
miracles stated in the bible. We are not invalidating the Rizalistas but cannot deny that
the Rizal is nothing to be compared to our Lord Jesus Christ. But still, I do acknowledge
Dr. Jose Rizal as our national hero.

References:
Rizal worship: the Rizalistas. (2012, January 14).
https://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com/2012/01/rizal-worship-rizalistas.html