Tagged: Christianity

The Word (And Idea) “Incompatible” Is Impotent. Please Stop Using It.

The single most important political issue of our day is removing Islam from the USA and the West in general (if not removing it from the face of the earth, vis-a-vis all the gods and religions that currently make up the “myth” section of libraries and bookstores, Zeus, Ares etc).

I freely confess that it is difficult to tell how things are going. Once the algorithm knows what you’re interested in, the entire world seems to revolve around that content. But I have been paying close attention to Islam’s spread since 2015ish and recently even the major players have been echoing the above position of mine.

The trending strategy, which I believe is totally uncoordinated, seems to be, “We use the word ‘incompatible’ because it is neutral.”

That is a powerless strategy. Don’t get me wrong, any strategy that works is fine by me. But there is something to be said for truly stating the case.

The case against Islam: Islam is stupid.

Many other religions, not all, are likewise stupid. But the obvious difference in their adherent’s twin categories of (1) assimilation and (2) non-calls for jihad make these other religions relatively harmless.

Just the same, the problem is not that Islam is incompatible with the West or the USA. The problem is, at face value, Islam is stupid. The god of the Bible, not Yahweh, not Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, did not show up to anyone in a cave and issue a new law that canceled the current law.

How do I know? Because it’s a stupid idea!

Did the Israelite god have a grand plan to send his son as a man-god to die? And if so, is that good news? Yes and yes.

How do I know? Because it is a brilliant idea!

Do you see how you feel right now? Even when I write it, I find this description of “Christianity is brilliant” to be repulsive. For some reason, to admit that something we want to believe (I can have eternal life in the best sense of the word “life”) is something brilliant just doesn’t land. As if there is something inherently stupid about “life” and something inherently bad about “brilliant” ideas.

And yet, to be clear: to admit biblical Christianity (originalist/orthodox/not-Talirico-progressive-style) is brilliant does not mean it was invented. Brilliant just means brilliant. And stupid means stupid.

And Islam is stupid. America, on the other hand, is on the leading edge of the most brilliant civilization mankind has developed to date. And brilliant civilizations do not welcome stupid ideas, especially one as stupid as Islam.

Why Is AI So Slow?

Anyone else having this problem?

I’m sitting here, trying to illustrate Genesis, chapter 37, exactly as my well-informed mind’s eye sees the scenes, and after I finally input the prompt, it’s like the time-space universe reverts back to 1996 and dial-up.

What gives?

Seriously, when I want 18th century BC grain sheaves to bow, and in the style of Gustave Doré, I want it now! And I don’t have time to waste.

What gives?

How can AI be sped up?

Anyone know?

Is anyone working on the problem?

Anyone?

Bueller?

On the Ignorant’s Religion

I’m going to keep this short for today. But I need to jot down some thoughts for future reference.

For a long time now the question, “What precisely does the general claim, ‘religion is accepted and believed more readily by ignorant people’ mean?” has plagued me. My approach to answering the question has been to study the history, chronologically and conceptually, of math with an eye for what are the non-math-ers (“I’m not good at math” adherents) actually doing with their mind throughout life. Simultaneously, I have also been digging deep into what the more ignorant “Christians” believe.

Two conclusions:

Firstly, I now define math as the unbounded study of absolute obedience.

Secondly, the ignorant “believers” can hardly be called such. Part of the very definition of “ignorance”, I am convinced, is an absolute freedom of word use. For the ignorant, there is no truth. There is no consistency. There is no coherence. There is no alignment, no integrity. The ignorant cannot possibly be labeled as religious or even holding a worldview at all. The ignorant are quite literally sheep, being led astray by who knows what, for who knows how long, before another thoughtless route is taken.

In short, the problem of religion is not that it somehow exists as some inherent trait or behavior of the ignorant. The problem of religion is ignorance. Put inversely, if you find yourself to be religious, your main task is education. And, similar to math, education requires consistency, coherence, and obedience. Most of all, education requires truth.

Everyone Is Christian

Did you know? I had no idea.

But, apparently, it took the enforcement arm of the Law’s killing only two people for the entire world to assert Jesus Christ as all-powerful being and ruler of the time-space universe.

I’m also not sure if I should welcome them or they should welcome me.

“Let him take your garment also.”

A tip for the communists: your favorite verse for the current scene in Minnesota is “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your garment also.”

That’s much more difficult teaching for the White Christian Nationalists to deal with than the temple cleansing incident.

You’re welcome.

Agent K vs The Protagonist, A Joint Review of Men in Black and Tenet

I’m kinda loving my life right now. I recently rewatched Men in Black and just now finished Tenet. What do these two Science Fiction thrillers have in common, you ask? And is it true, Pete?

They both repeatedly make the point that the general mass of humanity doesn’t want to know how close the total mass of humanity is to annihilation at any given moment.

Who tells us this? And on whose authority?

Agent K and The Protagonist. Because they are the engines of hope.

Finally, are they right? Is it true? Is the world on the brink of annihilation and do people, generally, not want to know it?

Yes, with the caveat that “the brink of annihilation” can be taken to mean the whole enterprise OR simply one person’s death.

In other words, from the perspective set forth by Jesus’ Good Samaritan story, which includes the claim: “I am neighbor”, it doesn’t matter what happens to the world’s occupants once I am dead. What matters is that my ability to contribute to the world died. Here I mean to enlarge the defense of the concept of “not wanting to know” to include “because people, generally, also are not wanting to neighbor”.

Full-circle: Agent K and The Protagonist are certainly engines of hope for life, just as is the Good Samaritan. The key behavior among all three is proper action despite desperate circumstances.

The new question is, “Is there any reason to believe life extends beyond death?” And, if so, should we act according to that belief?

The Natural Response to Seeing Clearly: Thankfulness

Sight has aways been important in my life. For whatever reason, from the youngest age, whenever I took a vision test and had 20/20, people told me I could be a pilot.

These days, as a pilot who often flys with night vision goggles, I can’t help but wonder how different life would be if the ancients had NVGs available as they searched the sky.

Of course, the fact that they didn’t is because of their own ridiculous beliefs about motion and rest and circles and spheres.

I remember a childhood friend who had recently got a better prescription telling us how different the world looked. She said something like, “It’s like the trees now have individual leaves.”

How did she react? Obviously she was thankful and happy about her new glasses.

Why, then, is this not the case when we use telescopes and microscopes to see more than before?

Why would seeing more somehow make us angry?

Why would seeing more somehow make us give up beliefs, like Christianity? It’s not like Christianity said, “There are three hundred stars, and the smallest unit of material is a grain of sand.”

If we can see more, I think the appropriate response should always be the same—and limited. We should be happy and thankful.

It says more about your heart, or more broadly “you”, than it does about the “data” (what is now seen) when you react otherwise.

On Somalis

The best thing, if you ask me, about what’s happening in Minnesota regarding the Somalis is, wait for it, the Somalis have literally no idea what is happening!

They don’t know what Minnesota is. They don’t know what America is. They wouldn’t care if they woke up back in Somalia. They, by every measure, are utterly ignorant people who also are illiterate. Their only path in life is following the herd. Can they even commit fraud if they don’t know how to commit fraud?

It’s great to actually ponder these facts at the deepest level and significance.

What is man?

One (Actually) Interesting Question For Your Bible Study Group

I find professionally procured Bible Study questions to be, in a word, terrible.

Questions developed on the spot by well-meaning Bible Study leaders are, to be blunt, worse.

Why is it so difficult to ask meaningful questions of fellow Christians? I do not know. I think it has something to do with the idea that “no Christian should feel stupid or challenged in their faith”. (This sentiment, of course, being found nowhere in scripture or defensible as the cornerstone of strong faith.)

The following is one good question. Try it out, if you dare.

“In Aristotle’s The Athenian Constitution we find,

The earliest of these offices was that of the King, which existed from ancestral antiquity. To this was added, secondly, the office of Polemarch, on account of some of the kings being feeble in war.

(Italics mine.)

“In Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, we find,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord…But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭4‬-‭5‬, ‭7‬ ‭LSB‬‬

Are these two ideas reconcilable? If so, how? If not, what is the difference?”

Happy studying!