Do you ever have the feeling that no matter what you do for a given person in your family the end result is a huge fight?
Lately I've had this problem and it is over the stupidest things on Earth. In fact the only reason I'm even taking the time to write about it is because I need to gain perspective about how trivial these fights are in the larger picture.
First subject: a drink on a table. I kid you not. Here is the fight and my results:
--> "It will leave a ring on the table if you don't use a coaster."
= So I use a coaster.
--> I get "is that on a coaster."
= Huge fight about not mentioning the coaster.
--> Then I move an old piano bench that is very old, very abused, and very un-pretty to a location to put my drink on it.
= huge fight about changing the location of the furniture, and older bench is removed to a location where said family member can USE it but I can't.
--> I will go buy and put a table here that I can use
= whatever you wanna do, huge fight again, about I don't know, but it was a fight.
This ends in yet another problem. If I get a table/bench to put where I need it, the one that is presently there is moved...AKA furniture placement changes, causes huge fight again.
All this over not having a damn place to put a drink while watching TV. I just don't get it. It is a freaking fight, about the dumbest NUMNUTS of a thing that is a problem. A guy see FUNCTIONALITY for a room. If you can't use it, it doesn't exist...and if it does exist it is for functionality or will be FOUND a purpose.
So I try again and ask to purchase the table in the existing location. No joke. Purchase the table that is presently there so I can sit a drink on it and if it leaves a stain it leaves a stain. How much? Bought at Good Will for 8 dollars. She paid eight bucks for a table which has caused me months of fights over a place to place a G. D. drink while I am watching TV.
So I have come to a few conclusions.
Women are insane.
This particular one is driving me to her place of insanity full speed.
I am about to destroy an eight dollar table with a chainsaw and place the pieces back where the table once sat in defiance of this drink placement embargo.
There is no solution. If I get something, furniture wise it won't match. If I move something, it will be moved back immediately once I leave the room. If I don't use a coaster and the table gets a ring another huge fight and finally perhaps a week of peace while she is trying to find another 8 dollar piece of crap table to start another argument.
Men are about functionality and problem solving.
Women are about protection of property which is basically worth less than a six pack of beer to the extent of making life miserable at home.
And people wonder why I have constantly thought about a bachelor life.
I can't believe it.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Christianity: The problem of blood atonement
It doesn't get more simple a place to start than religion to get people upset about things. Especially when the views about a given faith are so different from those around you, including family and friends. But then I guess there comes a time when lines must be drawn in the sand and viewpoints are made known. The conclusions I have come to over the past few years have not been taken lightly. In fact it is only after a tremendous amount of personal as well as scholarly inquest that I arrived at my current position on this subject.
This is not meant in any way to "bash" your current religious viewpoint. It is meant instead as a means of expressing the knowledge I have gained over the past few years and a way of showing/demonstrating this knowledge to others. If you do not wish to read this I understand it because it will make some of the conclusions about your faith come into question. If you were to seek even deeper you would find even harder questions that need answered before you attempt to lead/convert others into your faith. I will leave it at that and just jump into this discussion of blood atonement.
First a history lesson. Christianity was spread by the sword more than the books that tend to portray the message that the various sectations believe in. The reason you might be a Christian is many times more likely linked to the fact that other religious view points were killed off and/or destroyed by Christianity (including the books that supported other religious views) than the fact that you chose that given religion. It is the same in the Muslim world of course. When a society is so focused on the protection of a single faith the destruction of any/all outsider viewpoints and the lack of preservation of anything outside that viewpoint means that you truly must be an investigator to find beyond your enculturation.
I find that most people do not seek beyond their enculturation and many time those that attempt to do so end up without a faith in anything because of the "world collapsing" vapidness they find in the arguments of the faithful. Many of such arguments end in nothing but circular logic. I was going to go into more detail here but I think I will jump right into the exact problems I have with this faith system and then go from there.
My first problem I have with Christianity is the way it uses the Jewish system of sin-offering to buffer the the belief that a human-body offering can bring about atonement. There actually is a passage in the New Testament that would seem to buffer such a belief the problem is when you compare what the unknown author of Hebrews writes to what the Jewish law of offerings states.
The author of Hebrews says, "Hbr 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." The funny thing about this passage is that it is the only place in the entire Christian bible that requires blood to "pay" or "atone" for sins. Even if you were to simply read the "Old" testament you would find various examples of God forgiving his people without any type of bloodshed. I will offer a few examples here-in so I am not see as buffing my arguments with evidence:
A: 2Ch 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Note this does not speak of blood offerings at all.
B: Lev 5:11 "But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put [any] frankincense thereon: for it [is] a sin offering."
Many Christians attempt to use the Jewish sacrificial law to say that only through the blood of their idea of christ are we saved. The problem is that the blood offering is NOT required under the Jewish law and far from it an offering of fine flour can be used. Thus there is absolutely no link between the Jewish idea of sin sacrificial offering and that of Christianity. The poorly drawn links are nothing more than syncretical views patch-worked together to poorly buffer a system of belief that in actuality has nothing to hold it up.
C: The Jewish bible offers three ways to atone for sin:
C1: Blood offerings (which were for sins you did not mean to do, or do not remember) [Numbers 15:27-28] which is an important distinction to make. All while these same offerings COULD NOT BE USED TO CLEANSE INTENTIONAL SINS!! [Numbers 15:30-31]. These sins required a guilt sacrifice and restitution to find atonement. A bloodless offering was given if the poor could not afford the higher levels of offering (quotation from HERE):
C2: The next way is through contrite repentance and prayer. As found in Deuteronomy 4:27-31– (27) And the L-rd will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations where the L-rd will lead you. (28) And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which do not see, and do not hear, and do not eat, and do not smell. (29) And if, from there, you will seek the L-rd your G-d, then you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (30) When you are in distress, and these words will find their way to you; in the end of days, you will return to the L-rd your G-d, and you will obey him; (31) For the L-rd your G-d is a merciful G-d, He will not forsake you and will not destroy you; and He will not forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
C3: Finally, Charity. To help speed this up for myself I am just going to offer another direct quotation...
This is not meant in any way to "bash" your current religious viewpoint. It is meant instead as a means of expressing the knowledge I have gained over the past few years and a way of showing/demonstrating this knowledge to others. If you do not wish to read this I understand it because it will make some of the conclusions about your faith come into question. If you were to seek even deeper you would find even harder questions that need answered before you attempt to lead/convert others into your faith. I will leave it at that and just jump into this discussion of blood atonement.
First a history lesson. Christianity was spread by the sword more than the books that tend to portray the message that the various sectations believe in. The reason you might be a Christian is many times more likely linked to the fact that other religious view points were killed off and/or destroyed by Christianity (including the books that supported other religious views) than the fact that you chose that given religion. It is the same in the Muslim world of course. When a society is so focused on the protection of a single faith the destruction of any/all outsider viewpoints and the lack of preservation of anything outside that viewpoint means that you truly must be an investigator to find beyond your enculturation.
I find that most people do not seek beyond their enculturation and many time those that attempt to do so end up without a faith in anything because of the "world collapsing" vapidness they find in the arguments of the faithful. Many of such arguments end in nothing but circular logic. I was going to go into more detail here but I think I will jump right into the exact problems I have with this faith system and then go from there.
My first problem I have with Christianity is the way it uses the Jewish system of sin-offering to buffer the the belief that a human-body offering can bring about atonement. There actually is a passage in the New Testament that would seem to buffer such a belief the problem is when you compare what the unknown author of Hebrews writes to what the Jewish law of offerings states.
The author of Hebrews says, "Hbr 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." The funny thing about this passage is that it is the only place in the entire Christian bible that requires blood to "pay" or "atone" for sins. Even if you were to simply read the "Old" testament you would find various examples of God forgiving his people without any type of bloodshed. I will offer a few examples here-in so I am not see as buffing my arguments with evidence:
A: 2Ch 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Note this does not speak of blood offerings at all.
B: Lev 5:11 "But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put [any] frankincense thereon: for it [is] a sin offering."
Many Christians attempt to use the Jewish sacrificial law to say that only through the blood of their idea of christ are we saved. The problem is that the blood offering is NOT required under the Jewish law and far from it an offering of fine flour can be used. Thus there is absolutely no link between the Jewish idea of sin sacrificial offering and that of Christianity. The poorly drawn links are nothing more than syncretical views patch-worked together to poorly buffer a system of belief that in actuality has nothing to hold it up.
C: The Jewish bible offers three ways to atone for sin:
C1: Blood offerings (which were for sins you did not mean to do, or do not remember) [Numbers 15:27-28] which is an important distinction to make. All while these same offerings COULD NOT BE USED TO CLEANSE INTENTIONAL SINS!! [Numbers 15:30-31]. These sins required a guilt sacrifice and restitution to find atonement. A bloodless offering was given if the poor could not afford the higher levels of offering (quotation from HERE):
Leviticus 5:11-13
- (11) And if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring as his offering one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall not put oil on it, nor shall he place frankincense upon it, for it is a sin offering. (12) He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall scoop out a fistful as a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, upon the fires of the L-rd; it is a sin offering. (13) the priest shall make atonement for him from his sin which he had committed in any one of these [instances], and he shall be forgiven; and [the rest of] it shall belong to the priest, like the meal offering.
Note that an animal sacrifice is not required for atonement when an individual cannot afford the specified sin offering. One tenth of an ephah of fine flour, free of oil and frankincense, serves as an acceptable (bloodless) sin offering!
C2: The next way is through contrite repentance and prayer. As found in Deuteronomy 4:27-31– (27) And the L-rd will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations where the L-rd will lead you. (28) And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which do not see, and do not hear, and do not eat, and do not smell. (29) And if, from there, you will seek the L-rd your G-d, then you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (30) When you are in distress, and these words will find their way to you; in the end of days, you will return to the L-rd your G-d, and you will obey him; (31) For the L-rd your G-d is a merciful G-d, He will not forsake you and will not destroy you; and He will not forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
C3: Finally, Charity. To help speed this up for myself I am just going to offer another direct quotation...
From HEREIt is quite obvious to any unbiased reader that the idea of blood offerings being the only route to atonement/righteousness is a total lie. The L-rd G-d says quite clearly (and this is one of my favorite anti-missionary scriptures) "For loving-kindness is what I desire, and not sacrifice; and knowledge of G-d more than burnt offerings." God never cared an ounce about what a man brought as a repentant act to Him at the temple it was the condition of that man's heart toward God (and his fellow man for that matter) that mattered the utmost. Therefore the claim made by Christianity does not hold and one of the primal foundations of their religion is nothing more than a lie. You do not need to believe upon anyone or anything that has died to find atonement for your sins and neither can another step in and take your place in God's eyes. Ezekiel is quite clear on this subject when he taught that:
Lastly, but not least, are the charitable deeds, הָקָדְצ (ts e
daqah), charity. Since Judaism is a religion based on "works", with special
emphasis on acts of charity, deeds of kindness are regarded as the most
important component in the atonement process. The importance of acts of
charity, and that the doing of good deeds is preferable to other actions, is
stressed throughout the Hebrew Bible. In fact, הָקָדְצ is mandated in the
Torah: Deuteronomy 15:7-8 – (7) If there will be among you a needy person, from
one of your brothers within one of your cities, in your land the L-rd your G-d
is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not close your
hand from your needy brother; (8) For you shall surely open your hand to
him, and you shall surely lend him enough for his need which he is lacking.
This commandment is not limited to charitable acts exclusively toward Jews. In the
Hebrew Bible, the command to love, to befriend, and to be kind toward a stranger
is mentioned not less than 36 times, and frequently this command is linked with
the phrase, "… for you were strangers in the land of Egypt …"
Leviticus 19:34 –
"The stranger who dwells with you shall be to you as a native from among you,
and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of
Egypt;" I am the L-rd your G-d. [See also Deuteronomy 10:19]
The message is not restricted to the Torah: Proverbs 16:6 – Through loving kindness and truth will iniquity be atoned; and through the fear of the L-rd [you] depart from evil.
Daniel 4:24 [27 in Christian Bibles] - Only, O king, let my counsel be
acceptable to you, and your sins will be with charity removed, and your
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; indeed, your tranquility will be
prolonged.
The Hebrew Bible also teaches which process is preferable to G-d:
Hosea 6:6 – For loving-kindness is what I desire, and not sacrifice; and
knowledge of G-d more than burnt offerings. [See also Jeremiah 7:21-23; Proverbs
21:3] Micah 6:6-8 – (6) With what shall I come before the L-rd, bow myself
before G-d on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling
calves? (7) Will the L-rd be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten
thousands streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (8) Man has told you what is
good; but what does the L-rd demand of you? To do justice, and to love
loving-kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d. Clearly, charitable deeds and
justice are superior to sacrificial offerings.
Eze 18:20 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:
the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon him."
The simple acts above (3 paths) to find remission of yours sins are to be done by you. And the condition of your heart toward others (and God) and the acts you do toward others decide your eternity more than any death of any supposed man-god centuries ago which took place away from the temple, not at/on an alter, and not done by a priest AGAINST the law of God.
J. B. A.
"McGyver"
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Serenity / Firefly
So there once was this canceled TV series named Firefly from out of the ashes was formed the dream of a major motion picture. Put together for 40 million plus a mere wiff of an advertising budget, it didn't make the money back in theatres however through DVD sales and word-of-mouth it has been a success after all. There is an important reason for this happening.
Of the sci-fi I can think of off hand, Firefly is the most realistic experience you will find. The characters are more complex and deep than any shown in sci-fi film to date and the television series is a jewel in the rough. The few blessed to see the series air were amoung the blessed while it has become a DVD sensation and ranked extremely high (sometimes #1 in fact) on Amazon and other online sales outlets. This series will leave you wanting more. You will be heartbroken to know that our Big Damn Heros will not be back for more cowboy-in-the-sky antics. It is an almost depression as you near the end of this series and realize there is no more to be seen...many put off watching the last couple episodes because they realize there will never again be a first time.
I realize this might come from out of left field but every year about this time (around series / movie creator Joss Whedon's B-day in fact) thousands of "Browncoats" come together to mark this time with a celebration of sorts and by such we raise funds for a good cause, namely, "Equality Now," through re-watching our beloved BDH on the BDScreen. "Serenity" that much loved yet little known golden dream of a movie that it is, is brought back to the silver screen by us at various "Charity Screenings" throughout the U.S. These screenings have ticket prices higher than your average movie but then again how many films return EVERY SINGLE YEAR to the big screen? How many have a following strong enough to get their film put up there to be seen again and agani just because we can? Few if any.
"We have done the impossible and that makes us mighty." I am not exactly a closet browncoat because anyone that knows me knows I peddle the episodes around. The first one is free you see, the next ones you'll have to go out and buy your own copy of the series. It is real cheap now and many times you can find them for around twenty bucks. A browncoats first set (yes you heard that right many buy more than one set) is always special and rarey if ever is lent out.
The problem then is getting them hooked initially. I suggest a backup set or a "lend set" as it were. I know you wanna watch it. Common, it is just so good. Heh. Well, if you haven't yet been exposed to what should have been the replacement for the failure of the Star Trek franchise and the ending of the Star Wars movies then you owe it to yourself and yours to run out and find the series and then watch the movie, and I want to stress the order, the series first then the movie because the movie is a sorta "wrap up what we didn't get to tell in the series." It will mean thousands of time more to you if you know the series and then watch the film. Otherwise it will still be a good film but you will not have the emotional ties to the characters or understand the hidden nuiances that exist.
Until next time, as the screening is tonight and I have a few more things to get done before I go.
"Looks like we arrived just in time, so what does that make us?"
"Big Damn Heros, Sir,"
Exactly!
J. B. A.
McGyver
Of the sci-fi I can think of off hand, Firefly is the most realistic experience you will find. The characters are more complex and deep than any shown in sci-fi film to date and the television series is a jewel in the rough. The few blessed to see the series air were amoung the blessed while it has become a DVD sensation and ranked extremely high (sometimes #1 in fact) on Amazon and other online sales outlets. This series will leave you wanting more. You will be heartbroken to know that our Big Damn Heros will not be back for more cowboy-in-the-sky antics. It is an almost depression as you near the end of this series and realize there is no more to be seen...many put off watching the last couple episodes because they realize there will never again be a first time.
I realize this might come from out of left field but every year about this time (around series / movie creator Joss Whedon's B-day in fact) thousands of "Browncoats" come together to mark this time with a celebration of sorts and by such we raise funds for a good cause, namely, "Equality Now," through re-watching our beloved BDH on the BDScreen. "Serenity" that much loved yet little known golden dream of a movie that it is, is brought back to the silver screen by us at various "Charity Screenings" throughout the U.S. These screenings have ticket prices higher than your average movie but then again how many films return EVERY SINGLE YEAR to the big screen? How many have a following strong enough to get their film put up there to be seen again and agani just because we can? Few if any.
"We have done the impossible and that makes us mighty." I am not exactly a closet browncoat because anyone that knows me knows I peddle the episodes around. The first one is free you see, the next ones you'll have to go out and buy your own copy of the series. It is real cheap now and many times you can find them for around twenty bucks. A browncoats first set (yes you heard that right many buy more than one set) is always special and rarey if ever is lent out.
The problem then is getting them hooked initially. I suggest a backup set or a "lend set" as it were. I know you wanna watch it. Common, it is just so good. Heh. Well, if you haven't yet been exposed to what should have been the replacement for the failure of the Star Trek franchise and the ending of the Star Wars movies then you owe it to yourself and yours to run out and find the series and then watch the movie, and I want to stress the order, the series first then the movie because the movie is a sorta "wrap up what we didn't get to tell in the series." It will mean thousands of time more to you if you know the series and then watch the film. Otherwise it will still be a good film but you will not have the emotional ties to the characters or understand the hidden nuiances that exist.
Until next time, as the screening is tonight and I have a few more things to get done before I go.
"Looks like we arrived just in time, so what does that make us?"
"Big Damn Heros, Sir,"
Exactly!
J. B. A.
McGyver
The Quagmire
Every day I read more about the events which are taking place in Iraq. I know that people start such a blog and normally jump into which camp they are from but let me first state a few understandings that I have on a more political-system standpoint rather than jumping into the whole mess about which "camp" I am for/against.
When placing a type of governmental system into effect over any given people it is important for that people to have the knowledge and ability to operate under that given system. To take nomadic sheep herders and attempt to place them under Jeffersonian Democracy would be fallacious because they cannot afford such a governmental system nor would they have the common knowledge and educational level among their people to support it. We are talking about a people who have been under a barberic form of oppressive law due to theological powers in their region for CENTURIES. The idea that we can come in and overnight change an entire people into something that can run a form of govenment totally different from their world view and theological world view is delusional.
This is exactly what we have attempted to do. We have used our military might to take over a countries armies and suppress their peoples into a form of controlled anarchy / civil war while not maintaining public systems such as police, water, power, and basic safety of the citizenry. What the news media and/or American government label as "terrorists" and/or "insurgents" are merely those that are a part of a world view which cannot grasp nor be expected to grasp the benefits of a democracy when they look at our own form of existence as herasy to their respective theological viewpoint. We are asking them to change their entire belief structure in order to operate under a new system which they did not (and do not) approve of.
The American Indians were predominantly nomads. For this reason personal property had not taken hold as a concept in their civilization for the most part (except perhaps in the Aztec regions but that is for another discussion perhaps AND that isn't North America for the most part). So when the "white" men attempted to purchase their property it was an idea souly foreign (for lack of a better term) to them. They did not understand that "these cows" and "this piece of land" weren't "everyone's." Because they had a tribal-view system, their personal wealth was meaningless. If the tribe was hungry so were they, if the tribe was at war so were they, if the tribe was well fed, so were they. We are trying to impose our democractic ownership capitalistic system upon a people who for the greater part of a few thousand years have lived under theological/theocratical tribal rule. It can not work, it will not work. It will...stay a quagmire.
Solution? Leave. Iraq will decend into a greater civil war than is currently taking place now and do not be disillusioned it is CURRENTLY having a civil war it is just that it is a coward's civil war and not a frontal civil war like America's was. Car bombs, IED's and the like are the way of the present war and our soldiers are dying as literal collateral damage to another country's civil war. As one soldier said, "one of these groups will become the victor and wipe the others out." That sounds so hopeless and yet we have yet to take a page from history and see that the predominant belief systems and majority rule have done this at every turn. To delay this course of action is costing lives, hunreds of thousands of Iraqi lives and thousands of our soldiers lives. All in some wet-dream stale-mate to the destiny of any country which has lost the primary stablizing governmental system of that time. It is an almost natural process and that we are present there is doing nothing but extending the violence and keeping the fictional Iraqi government in place instead of the one which should form after the smoke clears. It is time to realize the inevitable end and leave.
About now I would hear some moron say that we should stay to "honor those men who have died for this cause." There are few statements more stupid to say than that one. It means this: because a moron of a leader walked us into this quagmire, and because said leader was a moron with no plan of leaving it, EVER, and because said leader-moron has failed repeatedly to bring about even a glimmer of hope due to his lack of understanding anything about foriegn policy including country-building policies, we should have more men die to in some way make this lack of meaning have more meaning." It is like "yeah, see, three thousand+ men's deaths have taken place and because they died for this cause (which is in fact a form of civil war) we should allow even more to die and in the end although we will not bring about a single good end, it will mean more to us because the death toll was higher for us." Freaking morons.
The solution is to get out now. Pack up the troops, the equipment, and pull back to Kuiwait. Sit there and watch. When an Iraqi leader steps forward (a true one that will of course have military might and have his people in a form of control) we then deal with him to stabilize the region even more through helping with basic infrastructure: power, water, sewage, etc. This will cost lives. Thousands will likely die in the few months after the pull-out. But you know what, thousands are going to die anyways and there is no end in sight. At least if we play the "historical card" and do WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO GIVEN ENOUGH TIME ANWAYS then perhaps the deaths will not be our own men but only those involved in their own civil war.
And that is perhaps the only answer that would work with a Quagmire...set it on fire and burn it down and when the smoke clears those left alive can work toward rebuilding. As of right now there is nothing that can be done to bring Iraq under control through the pseudo-government that America is protecting. The only control to ever be found in such a region is through a form of government that is either truly enforcing their control on the populace and/or is holding it under a totalitarian control group. To think that our form of government would work for such a primitive-minded people is not only delusional, it is just plain dumb. And it is such ignorance that is costing us lives.
J. B. A.
McGyver
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Hello World...thoughts about now and the future...
I believe introductions should come first.
Whenever someone steps on the world wide web with one of these things the first thing I think they should do it tell a little about themselves. Not their social security numbers or tax ID or anything but something to get the reader to understand the point of view they are coming from. To that end let me say that I'm the son of a carpenter born and raised near a town of David. My dad's name is Joseph and so is my first name but I do not go by that name in everyday life. When I was young I witnessed my mom die...and then come back to life without explanation. You'd think this is taking a turn toward the supernatural ideology and/or a theological standpoint but let me tell you my world view real fast so I don't loose my target audience.
As of right now I accept the natural world as what exists. Anything beyond it is fluff and/or fiction and/or irrelevant in my view even if it does exist because it does not effect our lives unless some crazy fanatical believer straps on a bomb and by that act takes from us the life given to us by our creator. Given I use the lower case you might understand I mean universe more-so than any Supernatural Entity. Whether I believe in such an Entity or not I will perhaps discuss in more detail at a later time but for now let's just say that I'm more-so a realist than not. Even when I have seen great unexplained phenomena take place in my life (what a faithful person might label a miracle) I still keep a very objective point of view because I do not want to be servant to the wrong ideas about any Entity that may or may not exist.
And that is an important point to make. We, as finite entities, only have ideas about any god or Gods because we ourselves are not god/God/gods. By having finite, limited, and biased viewpoints of that which might exist (many times being taught what to believe simply because of geographical location) it is silly to think (and extremely egotistical I might add) that our specific belief pattern is the end all of what is. By definition our ideas are mere glimpses of what might be and as such killing someone for them or thinking that you are more saved than another is mere self delusion.
So why have I started a blog so late in the game? Well, I don't know, it might be because I see the world in such a condition as to need another voice screaming in the deep darkness to stop it. Stop the fanatical ideologies from taking over your heart and by such you can perhaps learn to respect human life enough not to kill it because of some idea you have about any given deity. Or perhaps it is because the Simpson's bored me tonight and I wanted to vent a little after reading yet more deaths had taken place in the quagmire.
Which leads me to another point I wanted to make. Mr. Colin Powell. Sir. Where are you? Why after you have seen the utter failure of those that you were once a part of, and in seeing the utter lack of responsibility on a global scale demonstrated by the current administration, are you not running for office? I read your book, Sir and I know you to be a man of conviction. Your personal doctrine does not even come close to those you helped to invade Iraq and yet instead of fighting the good fight I have not even seen you in the news lately. Mr. Powell, you have a responsibility now. You helped to walk us into this mess and it is my personal opinion that you are one of the few with the knowledge, courage, leadership ability, and political know-how to actually make matters BETTER than they currently are. There is no one else that has come forward at present that could do the job you could do.
So I guess my first blog was a terrible introduction to myself, but then again I am not here to tell you about me but to vent about the current state of the World. Perhaps in these few postings some reason can be made or perhaps not. Many things in life are on a continuum and do not change as we would like them to. You help one group it hurts another. You feed these people...this other group starves. Limited resources and endless suffering. And the current political system just feeds off it while the masses do nothing to stop it or change it.
Let us hope that someday soon something happens to wake us up from this horrid state of utter disillusionment we are currently in before the World goes so far down the drain there is no recovery point.
Until next time World...
J. B. A.
McGyver
As of right now I accept the natural world as what exists. Anything beyond it is fluff and/or fiction and/or irrelevant in my view even if it does exist because it does not effect our lives unless some crazy fanatical believer straps on a bomb and by that act takes from us the life given to us by our creator. Given I use the lower case you might understand I mean universe more-so than any Supernatural Entity. Whether I believe in such an Entity or not I will perhaps discuss in more detail at a later time but for now let's just say that I'm more-so a realist than not. Even when I have seen great unexplained phenomena take place in my life (what a faithful person might label a miracle) I still keep a very objective point of view because I do not want to be servant to the wrong ideas about any Entity that may or may not exist.
And that is an important point to make. We, as finite entities, only have ideas about any god or Gods because we ourselves are not god/God/gods. By having finite, limited, and biased viewpoints of that which might exist (many times being taught what to believe simply because of geographical location) it is silly to think (and extremely egotistical I might add) that our specific belief pattern is the end all of what is. By definition our ideas are mere glimpses of what might be and as such killing someone for them or thinking that you are more saved than another is mere self delusion.
So why have I started a blog so late in the game? Well, I don't know, it might be because I see the world in such a condition as to need another voice screaming in the deep darkness to stop it. Stop the fanatical ideologies from taking over your heart and by such you can perhaps learn to respect human life enough not to kill it because of some idea you have about any given deity. Or perhaps it is because the Simpson's bored me tonight and I wanted to vent a little after reading yet more deaths had taken place in the quagmire.
Which leads me to another point I wanted to make. Mr. Colin Powell. Sir. Where are you? Why after you have seen the utter failure of those that you were once a part of, and in seeing the utter lack of responsibility on a global scale demonstrated by the current administration, are you not running for office? I read your book, Sir and I know you to be a man of conviction. Your personal doctrine does not even come close to those you helped to invade Iraq and yet instead of fighting the good fight I have not even seen you in the news lately. Mr. Powell, you have a responsibility now. You helped to walk us into this mess and it is my personal opinion that you are one of the few with the knowledge, courage, leadership ability, and political know-how to actually make matters BETTER than they currently are. There is no one else that has come forward at present that could do the job you could do.
So I guess my first blog was a terrible introduction to myself, but then again I am not here to tell you about me but to vent about the current state of the World. Perhaps in these few postings some reason can be made or perhaps not. Many things in life are on a continuum and do not change as we would like them to. You help one group it hurts another. You feed these people...this other group starves. Limited resources and endless suffering. And the current political system just feeds off it while the masses do nothing to stop it or change it.
Let us hope that someday soon something happens to wake us up from this horrid state of utter disillusionment we are currently in before the World goes so far down the drain there is no recovery point.
Until next time World...
J. B. A.
McGyver
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)