tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.comments2024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:00Rants Within the Undead GodBenjamin Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comBlogger5601125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-79074036997442310182024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:002024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:00It's a tempting thought, but I suspect it, too...It's a tempting thought, but I suspect it, too, is naïve. Conservatives would be more likely to double down and to pretend the consequences of their dominance aren't so bad. We can learn to adjust our expectations to remain content with ourselves, even if objectively we've made disastrous errors of judgment. Anyway, if Trump beats Biden, that's what will happen. For the last century or so, Republicans have always screwed things up, forcing the Democrats to clean up their mess. It's like the circle of life, but in American politics.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-80258221893208047202024-02-12T14:26:12.741-05:002024-02-12T14:26:12.741-05:00Your evocation of FDR trying to engage Adolf Hitle...Your evocation of FDR trying to engage Adolf Hitler in a productive dialogue cracked me up. Yes, as much as I share a rapport with Maher and Stewart for their intransigent liberal principles, they are naive if they hope we can ever go back to the bipartisanism and good sportmanship that existed in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Bob Dole is dead and even HE succumbed to Trumpism in his dotage. Trying to find common ground with an modern American conservative is as misguided as attempting to talk things out with a schoolyard bully. I suspect that the only cure for conservativism is to give conservatives exactly what they want: a militarized police force, a roll back on all social welfare programs, radical deregulation, and the abolition of free public education. Maybe if they are forced to live with the real world consequences of their philosophy they will finally understand why they are wrong.Syboknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-90400569330650257102024-01-14T10:35:32.647-05:002024-01-14T10:35:32.647-05:00There is no such thing as "nothing" Even...There is no such thing as "nothing" Even if there was, how would we go about proving it? There wouldn't be anything to measure or observe. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-5331229067790201482023-12-28T10:30:20.438-05:002023-12-28T10:30:20.438-05:00That's something the author of Matthew emphasi...That's something the author of Matthew emphasizes, whereas Luke is more "catholic" or universal in spreading the message.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-3497525926747881392023-12-26T18:37:29.961-05:002023-12-26T18:37:29.961-05:00Amen!
I think another thing Christians overlook i...Amen!<br /><br />I think another thing Christians overlook is that Jesus was a Jew and made it very clear in Matthew 10:5-7 that his message was not for the gentiles. Hence, it would seem that the first step toward Calvary would be to convert to Judaism! If a man is not even willing to sacrifice his foreskin for Christ, how can he pretend to devote his life to him? That little revelation is what ultimately dissuaded me from being a Christian even in the authentic, non-idolatrous sense.Syboknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-78821325880188045162023-12-25T10:12:42.468-05:002023-12-25T10:12:42.468-05:00More of my views on Vervaeke? The links are below....More of my views on Vervaeke? The links are below.<br /><br />https://medium.com/@benjamincain8/john-vervaeke-on-wisdom-and-the-meaning-crisis-b2319a75ec8f?source=friends_link&sk=ee31853df63e6123478dec2163412508<br /><br />https://medium.com/grim-tidings/glib-wisdom-and-vervaekes-solution-to-the-meaning-crisis-7bf5e267ce14?sk=c59de4faefa4d688d44ac29cf6ada6f2<br /><br />https://medium.com/grim-tidings/why-john-vervaeke-dances-around-the-question-of-lifes-meaning-cf86c0ae3157?sk=f8294bb0b6b6c9726b48a3503b543708<br /><br />https://medium.com/grim-tidings/why-animals-and-people-have-different-meanings-in-life-6efa08359303?sk=a675c8a670aeb03b8e2f305a7ebd9053<br /><br />On transhumanism:<br /><br />https://medium.com/the-philosophers-stone/transhuman-epistemology-knowledge-in-the-greater-scheme-78d68bdc6704?sk=e47050735c56aeda7ec12647bbc090b3<br /><br />https://medium.com/illumination-curated/should-transhumanists-be-pessimistic-about-human-nature-2c2f46122fb7?sk=ab2fdb107eea4a099fe22c9a7a9d74c0<br /><br />https://medium.com/illumination-curated/does-transhumanism-rehash-the-delusions-of-progressive-religion-532aa1f0c784?sk=165601f7308bd1480cc894848d93fea4<br /><br />https://medium.com/illumination-curated/the-stakes-of-transhuman-godhood-7a5b39bf0433?sk=37652a96a645529b50ee3059237a5d11<br /><br />https://medium.com/gods-funeral/is-technology-turning-our-species-into-a-new-force-of-nature-6d9e00ff34e1?sk=35eaa0604dfac30c350400817c4ce33a<br />Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-85389728126219167122023-12-25T03:13:08.387-05:002023-12-25T03:13:08.387-05:00This information is priceless. When can I find out...This information is priceless. When can I find out more?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-31949274436761159692023-12-24T15:45:29.039-05:002023-12-24T15:45:29.039-05:00https://metadelusion.blogspot.com/2015/11/ditch-ph...https://metadelusion.blogspot.com/2015/11/ditch-pharaohs-transhumanism-as-escapism.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-36863594312876827532023-12-24T15:44:51.726-05:002023-12-24T15:44:51.726-05:00Only not being born can save us from life's ab...Only not being born can save us from life's absurdity. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-21186460916774822062023-12-20T11:22:25.095-05:002023-12-20T11:22:25.095-05:00I suppose Lennox would have to say that science sh...I suppose Lennox would have to say that science shouldn't be useful even in that limited sense if no deity were controlling nature. This is pretty much the old design argument. An organism is roughly as complex as an airplane, and we can't imagine the forces of nature assembling an airplane. Even if those forces could eventually do so, we wouldn't want to fly in such a construct. <br /><br />But this is specious, at best, as I explained in the article, since nature has evidently shaped star systems and planets. Do we fear to step on the Earth, for fear that it's too insubstantial to support our weight, given how star systems naturally evolve? No, we trust nature even more because of its indifference. If God were responsible for natural events, God could change his mind about them, in which case the natural order would be at his mercy and could come to nothing at any moment.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-63087256186279414962023-12-19T12:13:37.418-05:002023-12-19T12:13:37.418-05:00Lennox's argument seems similar to C. S. Lewis...Lennox's argument seems similar to C. S. Lewis' map analogy: just as we wouldn't trust a 'map' that we know wasn't drawn by a cartographer, but was a mere accident produced through spilled ink, so the atheist shouldn't trust a brain that evolved through a process of natural selection, which had no divine hand in its provenance. <br /><br />But scientific truth is not philosophical truth. Philosophers are after absolute truth while science contents itself with a tentative theory that has so far passed every test the scientist has thought to throw at it. Science seeks to approximate the facts of reality; nothing more. <br /><br />If our senses and our brains both evolved with no greater purpose than to keep us alive long enough to reproduce, then we shouldn't expect them to reproduce reality with perfect fidelity. But we should expect them to be accurate enough to enable us to negotiate those parts of reality which impact upon us and, lo and behold, this is exactly what science does. Science enables us to create technologies which furthers our survival and will-to-power. Hence, science is 'true' in the pragmatic sense of that word, which is fully compatible with a naturalistic model of epistemology.Syboknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-76479734635419413442023-12-02T13:03:47.290-05:002023-12-02T13:03:47.290-05:00Just to clarify, the book is one of the sequels to...Just to clarify, the book is one of the sequels to Rama, one of the later sequels, I think.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-36578853879995404832023-11-30T17:39:35.097-05:002023-11-30T17:39:35.097-05:00Yes, that was the name of the book. Thanks for rem...Yes, that was the name of the book. Thanks for reminding me what it was called so I can finally check it out. I'm going to pick it up at the library today or put it on hold if it's checked out.<br /><br />The atrocities would be on a grander scale, but there would be less of them because there would be no one left to fight. As you mentioned, it would entail genocide. If Germany had been annihilated in the first world war, there would not have been a second. If Bush Sr. had fought the gulf war to completion, there would have been no follow up war for his son to fight and no ISIS for Obama to contend with. If the cold war had only ended in a volley of nukes, the whole planet would be at peace right now. Total war is peace at any price.Syboknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-7550253656503685872023-11-30T10:30:11.969-05:002023-11-30T10:30:11.969-05:00That's a coincidence. I read that Rama book to...That's a coincidence. I read that Rama book too and was also struck by Clarke's depiction of the spider species. It's a case of avoiding the squishy middle ground, or the centrist normalization of war. It's all or nothing: avoid war as much as possible until it becomes an existential crisis, in which case you wage a war of annihilation and genocide, and then terminate everyone in your military who was tainted by those operations. I wonder which system would end up producing more atrocities. Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-72498603279083646992023-11-29T14:02:59.985-05:002023-11-29T14:02:59.985-05:00Your article reminds me of this science fiction no...Your article reminds me of this science fiction novel that I keep intending to read. In the novel there are these extraterrestrials who, for whatever reason, declare war on humanity. But unlike humanity, they don't observe any hypocritical 'rules of warfare'; they understand what a horrific thing war is and prosecute as efficiently and swiftly as possible to the end and once it over and finished, every individual involved commits suicide -- the idea being that no one who has committed mass murder deserves to live, even if what they did was necessary to preserve the species as a whole.Syboknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-88902784537093745682023-11-09T12:25:28.609-05:002023-11-09T12:25:28.609-05:00 Israel is a large US military base strategically ... Israel is a large US military base strategically placed close to the oil and the Suez Canal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-91714869738660631142023-11-03T21:05:37.041-04:002023-11-03T21:05:37.041-04:00What are we to make of a creation in which the rou...What are we to make of a creation in which the routine activity is for organisms to be tearing others apart with teeth of all types-biting, grinding flesh, plant stalks, bones between molars, pushing the pulp greedily down the gullet with delight, incorporating its essence into one's own organization, and then excreting with foul stench and gasses the residue. Everyone reaching out to incorporate others who are edible to him. The mosquitoes bloating themselves on blood, the maggots, the killerbees attacking with a fury and demonism, sharks continuing to tear and swallow while their own innards are being torn out-not to mention the daily dismemberment and slaughter in "natural" accidents of all types: the earthquake buries alive 70 thousand bodies in Peru, automobiles make a pyramid heap of over 50 thousand a year in the U.S. alone, a tidal wave washes over a quarter of a million in the Indian Ocean. Creation is a nightmare spectacular taking place on a planet that has been soaked for hundreds of millions of years in the blood of all its creatures. - Ernest BeckerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-21705979915126111492023-11-02T12:20:15.329-04:002023-11-02T12:20:15.329-04:00Yes, but that's just a word game. Atheists nee...Yes, but that's just a word game. Atheists needn't call the universe a "creation" in that question-begging sense.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-22159142345245480962023-11-02T12:18:34.793-04:002023-11-02T12:18:34.793-04:00I was talking about winners and losers in obvious ...I was talking about winners and losers in obvious economic terms. Losers would be defined by society as those who aren't close to being celebrities, and who are marginalized from the middle class, as opposed to being put on a pedestal by that class. So celebrities and the disenfranchised would share their estrangement from the middle class.<br /><br />Oh, and that Davila quotation is pretty dumb. Theistic religion's vulgar compared to scientific naturalism.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-52243615640891086072023-11-02T12:13:38.382-04:002023-11-02T12:13:38.382-04:00Oh, the Bible is clear in Genesis, is it? And does...Oh, the Bible is clear in Genesis, is it? And does the Bible there make clear whether it's speaking mythically or historically about Adam and Eve, before the concept of factual history was even worked out yet?<br /><br />What does the far-right Christian nationalist Vox Day have to do with anything?Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-17992262502300684492023-11-02T12:07:27.780-04:002023-11-02T12:07:27.780-04:00Adult atheists add much to what even babies realiz...Adult atheists add much to what even babies realize, which is that the monotheist's God is nowhere to be found.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-52602903231458384902023-11-01T03:11:44.934-04:002023-11-01T03:11:44.934-04:00"No one cares about life just because of the ..."No one cares about life just because of the feeling of pleasure and pain. Those aren’t the only things that matter. We appreciate life because of the opportunities to learn, to create, and to experience new things. If life is terminated, all those goods go away. True, no one would be around to miss them, but neither would anyone be around to appreciate the lack of pain."<br /><br />Are you talking about every human being? How do you know this even? Further, you do care about pleasure, because you live in societies which, despite being vulgar and decadent, with sex-obsessed imbeciles running around, are of a higher living standard (please pardon my english, I am not a native speaker). Therefore, it is not quite clear if living conditions of several hundred years ago would have you argue from such a viewpoint, i.e. atheistic and content with supposed meaninglesness. Our ancestors were mostly Christians (or religious to some extent in other cultures) because of the hardships of life. You cannot take a few rich Greek thinkers and say this is correct, we need to reject God because a rich Greek man thought it so.<br /><br />No, I say that our highly hedonistic society, where pleasure has been taken to an extreme, esp. in unmanly pursuits like sexual hedonism, is one of the core reasons people shun God, despite the fact that a creation needs a Creator, and objective morality without Him being impossible. (I am not AN, but suicide is of course horrible, certainly, the brave men of WWI and WWII died horrific deaths; in this case at least, it is questionable if such foreknowledge would have caused to want to live prior to their births.) To quote Catholic Gómez Dávila: "The problem is not sexual repression, nor sexual liberation, but sex." and "An atheist is respectable as long as he does not teach that the dignity of man is the basis of ethics and that love for humanity is the true religion."Stefaniehttps://voxday.net/2009/09/22/letter-to-common-sense-atheism-i/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-7629365908805132322023-11-01T03:11:39.730-04:002023-11-01T03:11:39.730-04:00"No one cares about life just because of the ..."No one cares about life just because of the feeling of pleasure and pain. Those aren’t the only things that matter. We appreciate life because of the opportunities to learn, to create, and to experience new things. If life is terminated, all those goods go away. True, no one would be around to miss them, but neither would anyone be around to appreciate the lack of pain."<br /><br />Are you talking about every human being? How do you know this even? Further, you do care about pleasure, because you live in societies which, despite being vulgar and decadent, with sex-obsessed imbeciles running around, are of a higher living standard (please pardon my english, I am not a native speaker). Therefore, it is not quite clear if living conditions of several hundred years ago would have you argue from such a viewpoint, i.e. atheistic and content with supposed meaninglesness. Our ancestors were mostly Christians (or religious to some extent in other cultures) because of the hardships of life. You cannot take a few rich Greek thinkers and say this is correct, we need to reject God because a rich Greek man thought it so.<br /><br />No, I say that our highly hedonistic society, where pleasure has been taken to an extreme, esp. in unmanly pursuits like sexual hedonism, is one of the core reasons people shun God, despite the fact that a creation needs a Creator, and objective morality without Him being impossible. (I am not AN, but suicide is of course horrible, certainly, the brave men of WWI and WWII died horrific deaths; in this case at least, it is questionable if such foreknowledge would have caused to want to live prior to their births.) To quote Catholic Gómez Dávila: "The problem is not sexual repression, nor sexual liberation, but sex." and "An atheist is respectable as long as he does not teach that the dignity of man is the basis of ethics and that love for humanity is the true religion."Stefaniehttps://voxday.net/2009/09/22/letter-to-common-sense-atheism-i/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-10561859504579397332023-11-01T03:01:37.269-04:002023-11-01T03:01:37.269-04:00No, most suicide do not only happen in old age -- ...No, most suicide do not only happen in old age -- why would that even matter? -- but also up to the age of 23. Further, it does not matter if a children's living hell is fixable, which you have not shown to be. Such people are human too, you seem rather uncaring and psychopathic in your argumentation. A child that was abused will suffer its whole life. How can you be so cold and ignore that? Society is going downhill, there is no law that we will always improve, decay has always existed. Ancient Rome went under, too.<br /><br />Further, without God, there is no morality. Cf. Vox Day's "Letter to Common Sense Atheism", where he discusses this with an atheist who has a PhD in philosophy.Stefaniehttps://voxday.net/2009/09/22/letter-to-common-sense-atheism-i/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-15128153237948912752023-11-01T02:56:55.312-04:002023-11-01T02:56:55.312-04:00Obviously, a creation needs a creator. This is ind...Obviously, a creation needs a creator. This is indeed obvious. It is just that we need revelation to know what kind of God. Even Chris Langan, despite being unorthodox, does not reject it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com