Islam is a dualistic system that combines two distinct elements, spiritual dominion and political conquest. Its aim is to control the hearts and minds of everyone, all over the world. To begin with, it promulgated a religious worldview loosely related to the long tradition of monotheism, saying that it takes its marching orders directly from the One God, who calls Himself "Allah." It does actually share a lot of features with the older faiths, but those are not its main issues.
Rather, Islam is at bottom a political ideology. Its aim is to subvert and overturn every political party and every governing system that does not willingly adopt the ideology of Muhammad as its measure and ideal. Now, Muhammad was both a prophet and a warlord, so his religious worldview is inescapable, and indeed, that is essentially the point. Islam looks forward to a great apocalyptic final battle between good and evil. This is going to be "the battle for Earth" in the great war between Cosmos and Chaos, to determine whether humanity is worthy of getting into Heaven.
So, guess which side Islam is on? Of course, the muslims will say, "We fight for Allah, so we must be good." But this is a case for the discernment of spirits. Both sides will be claiming to be good. Of course, someone has to be deceived, right? No one would fight for evil. So let's examine how Islam works.
Jihad is one of the five pillars of Islam. (The declaration of faith, praying 5 times a day, giving 2.5% to the poor, and visiting Mecca are the others.) So Islam promises jihadis a share in the booty of conquest, or 72 houris (virgins?) in heaven if you die in battle. It's unforgivable if they shirk their duty to fight. Plus, when they come for you, unbeliever, you will have to decide: convert, pay a tax for protection, or fight to the death. This is what the Qur'an says. Or, they can make you a slave, if they don't want to kill you. Yes, they still practice slavery. Muhammad had slaves.
When Muhammad was in Mecca, his message was a bit different, and generally peaceful, but it wasn't working. Too few people were interested. So all of that coexist in peace stuff got placed in the attic when Muhammad went to Medina and found he could win by the sword. He kept it for propaganda purposes, to counter the accusations of inciting violence, but he said all the later stuff (especially sura 9) was stronger and better. This is made clear by the Wahabi and Salafi interpretations that reveal the original core teachings of Muhammad.
Islam is all about fighting jihad to spread the faith. There is a whole sliding scale of aggression in jihad, from declaring war to playing the victim. And there is no "golden rule" as Muhammad attacked everyone who disagreed with him. He forbade his followers to even be friends with the People of the Book (Q4:89). Everyone who is not a Muslim is a Kaffir, a potential target for attacks. "Islamophobia" is just playing the victim.
So, what's great about it? They will let you live according to their Sharia law, and brainwash your children to believe that Muhammad was a paragon of humanity. After all, the Qur'an says that you are supposed to emulate Muhammad in every aspect of your life, as much as you can. But all this, only if you submit and convert. Isn't that enough? So nice of them to make you join! Oh! And you can't ever quit, or you can be killed. There is a long list of capital offenses, and apostasy is on it, along with anything that would offend the prophet.
Plus, if you are male, there are more perks! You are allowed to marry four wives, whom you can beat if they defy you. And you can have sex with your slaves, too. Muhammad did. And you don't have to do any work around the house, just let your wives and slaves do it. But, if you are female, sorry, you have to cover yourself from head to toe to avoid being molested. Your word is only half as good as a man's in court. And you have to obey your male family members, even your sons. (And, since women are considered weak and inferior, they don't expect you to even get to heaven.)
Doesn't this sound like a great deal, Men? You can get rich being a travelling trader and entrepreneur, or fighting for all the booty you can carry. And at home, you can be lazy, ordering all the women around and having all the sex you want, even with your female slaves. And you can buy and sell slaves for even more profit. Muhammad did! This is all pretty cool, if you have no morals other than those of an Arabian warlord. Islam is a great deal, for those who are truly empty of empathy, and spiritually bereft.
Get a real life. Choose one worth living for.
Anyone who has nothing will fall to any promise of something, even if the promise is false. And that's even more likely, if it's promising to pay you here and now. But at what cost? To forfeit eternal life?
Who would you rather follow?
a. A simple teacher of love and caring, who came from a family of shepherds, kings and carpenters (who was crucified, but then surprised everyone by rising from the grave to prove himself),
or ...
b. A warlord spreading hate and violence, who profited from raiding caravans and trading in slaves (who died in agony from an aortic aneurysm, caused by a slave's poison)
so ...
Your choice determines your eternal destiny.
Yes, I know that Muhammad claimed to be a prophet of peace, but his later sayings and career abrogated the former ones. Muhammad accepted Satan's bargain that Jesus rejected: the kingdoms of the world in return for worship. Jesus chose death rather than submission. He refused to betray the truth, so that we could be saved from the hopeless misery of a sinful existence, followed by a terrible fiery destruction.
Seek out the true gospel of Jesus Christ, from the Bible, not the lie about him told in the Qur'an. The gospels are not corrupted. Jesus taught us to keep the laws given in the Torah, and cling to their deeper spiritual morality, as the old prophets had taught. He told us to love our neighbors, and treat them as we want to be treated, and even to love our enemies, so that they might learn empathy and compassion, and turn to God. He told us we could be forgiven, and that God would accept us into Heaven, if only we would follow Him and try to be merciful and holy. It's not always easy, but it is doable, with practice.
Muhammad knew that the Bible has the Truth. He told the Christians to judge by their own scriptures whether he was a true prophet. He only changed his story after they said, "No." Then he made up his accusation of corruption, even though he knew that God's true word can not be corrupted. Its inner meaning will always shine through, if you want to know it.
Now, who do you think has been telling a story full of lies? A people who can reject a false prophet ... or, a prophet who claims that God's word is corrupted? If you chose the second, defend the perfection of the Qur'an. You can't.
Instead, I challenge you to read the Bible, especially the Gospels, and see who is this God you have rejected. Allah is not Adonai. And Jesus is more than a prophet.
Rather, the Trinity is a Unity beyond mere human understanding, since He is only One God, together forever. If there is anything in this world we can't understand, surely it must be the God who created it all, and who brings us back to Himself.
Lucifer, a fallen angel jealous of humanity being given a place in Heaven, is easy to understand. And it's no wonder that he wishes to deceive us all, to make us fight for him in his guise as Allah, and prevent our acceptance by the true Prince of Peace.
Jesus wants to forgive our sins, and help us to become better people.
Allah wants to confirm us in our sinfulness, and keep us as worthless slaves.
Now, whose side are you on?
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Why Islam?
Why is there a religion called Islam? What was God's purpose for giving a new revelation? What problem did the Arabian people face? Were they oppressed, and needing to be set free?
Idolatry is an old story. There was already a long tradition of God's dislike of that, and no need for any more. Zoroaster, Melchizadek, Abraham (whose son influenced pharaoh Akhenaten), then Moses and the prophets, followed by Jesus and his apostles... Clearly, that idea was already set in stone.
What more did God want to tell us? There is no advancement of morality in Islam. Nor is the treatment of women, or the poor, or strangers any better. There is no additional wisdom, or clarification for discerning truth, nor a better idea of freedom. There is only a license for violence and the sexual abuse of slaves, all in the name of spreading the new ideology, and its new laws that merely reflect the way the Arabs already lived. So what was the point of Islam? Only conquest? Christianity wasn't doing such a bad job of spreading God's word. Or maybe that was the problem. They didn't want a foreign faith.
That is actually one of the historical problems that calls Islam into question. There was no real reason for God to provide a new revelation, just for the Arabian people. Sure, they had too many gods, whom they worshipped as idols. But they were not oppressed, nor were they praying for a prophet or hero. The only issue they had was that they were jealous of the Jews and Christians, because they had no scriptures of their own.
Muhammad wanted his own religion. He wanted it to answer his people's issues of disagreement with the heretical versions of Christianity they were encountering in the markets. These outcast, erstwhile gnostic writings were ignored by the Jews and Christians, unless they were a cause for argument and dissent. None of these really made any sense, but they clearly had some kind of power to make people think. So, he went to meditate in a cave until he had a vision.
Finally an angel came to give him what he wanted. But this was not one of the more familiar angels, who nearly always greet humans, saying "Be not afraid." This angel frightened Muhammad, and threatened him, insisting that he read out what he was being given. Muhammad was so shaken that he protested that he couldn't read the languages of the texts. Indeed, he began to wonder if he was losing his mind. At last, he cooperated with the angel, who named himself Jibril. And when he got home, his wife told him he was not going crazy, but that he had been given a means of power. So Muhammad mustered his courage and went back for more.
That is how I think Islam got started. But of course, that is not the official story.
Idolatry is an old story. There was already a long tradition of God's dislike of that, and no need for any more. Zoroaster, Melchizadek, Abraham (whose son influenced pharaoh Akhenaten), then Moses and the prophets, followed by Jesus and his apostles... Clearly, that idea was already set in stone.
What more did God want to tell us? There is no advancement of morality in Islam. Nor is the treatment of women, or the poor, or strangers any better. There is no additional wisdom, or clarification for discerning truth, nor a better idea of freedom. There is only a license for violence and the sexual abuse of slaves, all in the name of spreading the new ideology, and its new laws that merely reflect the way the Arabs already lived. So what was the point of Islam? Only conquest? Christianity wasn't doing such a bad job of spreading God's word. Or maybe that was the problem. They didn't want a foreign faith.
That is actually one of the historical problems that calls Islam into question. There was no real reason for God to provide a new revelation, just for the Arabian people. Sure, they had too many gods, whom they worshipped as idols. But they were not oppressed, nor were they praying for a prophet or hero. The only issue they had was that they were jealous of the Jews and Christians, because they had no scriptures of their own.
Muhammad wanted his own religion. He wanted it to answer his people's issues of disagreement with the heretical versions of Christianity they were encountering in the markets. These outcast, erstwhile gnostic writings were ignored by the Jews and Christians, unless they were a cause for argument and dissent. None of these really made any sense, but they clearly had some kind of power to make people think. So, he went to meditate in a cave until he had a vision.
Finally an angel came to give him what he wanted. But this was not one of the more familiar angels, who nearly always greet humans, saying "Be not afraid." This angel frightened Muhammad, and threatened him, insisting that he read out what he was being given. Muhammad was so shaken that he protested that he couldn't read the languages of the texts. Indeed, he began to wonder if he was losing his mind. At last, he cooperated with the angel, who named himself Jibril. And when he got home, his wife told him he was not going crazy, but that he had been given a means of power. So Muhammad mustered his courage and went back for more.
That is how I think Islam got started. But of course, that is not the official story.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Spread the One Faith: Truth by its many messengers
Zoroastrianism was the first religion to preach against idolatry and polytheism, asserting that creation held a hierarchy of beings, not a pantheon of many gods. It warned us about the war between Ahura Mazda and his angels, who represent Truth and virtue, versus Ahriman and his demons, who spread lies and corruption. It is an ancient religion, almost 6,000 years old, reaching back to the dispersion of the tribal Indo-Europeans, a result of the destruction of the Great Flood. Its reforms may even have been one of the causes of their parting after their cities were ruined. Most people don't like being told that they are living wrong, even when the results have become apparent.
Zarathustra taught a seemingly dualistic religion, in which Good and Evil were closely matched, always struggling with each other, but neither achieving dominance. Yet in the ages ahead, he promised, a hero would come, who would turn the tide and lead the Army of Light and Truth to victory. Our role in this cosmic drama is to choose, by faith, between good and evil, truth or lies. Which side are you on? Battles are being waged on a cosmic scale, as well as in our hearts and minds. Thus the stories are told of the legendary Flood, the people chosen to bring light to those who live in darkness, and of the final devastating Fire heralding the Judgement to come. Such is the Apocalyptic scenario that is envisioned by all of the world's monotheistic religions.
Islam is Ahriman's corruption of this story which brought the Word of Truth, first taught by Zarathustra. Allah boasts of being the Greatest Liar, who will deceive and damn whomever he wants. Obviously, he is the direct opposition to all the previous messengers of Truth, who hated lies above all else. Of course Islam would want to destroy Zarathustra's teaching, and discredit the words of all the other Prophets. It is based on jealousy, resenting the fact that the Arabs were not the chosen people, and it lures the unwary by pandering to our basest interests and desires, promising wealth and concubines as spoils of war, and condoning spouse abuse. Truth aims to improve humanity, raising our standards for moral behavior, and it does so without having to threaten or conquer us by force.
Of course, the miracles Jesus worked, including his own visible resurrection, convinced his immediate followers that he was the Messiah, the promised Hero of the Ages. And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Shavuot impressed many others, who dispersed and taught in their home countries when they were persecuted in Jerusalem. But there is another very convincing reason why many unbelievers converted to Christianity. Jesus' followers were willing to die for their beliefs. They were totally convinced that by following the example of Christ they would go to heaven. Seeing that, many people assumed that they must have had good reason for their faith and courage, and so decided to also follow Jesus. It was a matter of life and death in a precarious world.
Does it not seem that being willing to die is a greater testimony than being willing to kill? Still, I can only gain what my faith promises if I live and die for Jesus, but I can gain wealth and sex slaves if I fight and kill for Mohammed. Hmm ... Tough choice, IF you don't really believe in ANY religion, and don't mind being duped by a liar promoting Satan. And, of course, refusing meant death by the sword TODAY! Fear... But apostasy also earns death, so you are stuck. Then you have the false promises of Islam - a win-win chance - jihad and die, martyr to heaven; jihad and live, gold and concubines. No faith required, until they ask you to go and blow yourself up ... then you learn about the Greatest Liar ... too late.
And Islam does not even promise salvation, because it can't. Allah leaves the believers hanging, anxious to please a capricious God, and offers no promise to favor good behavior. Of course, following the precepts of Muhammad will never be good enough for salvation. The only promise given to his followers is that martyrs will go straight to a sensual paradise, replete with sex slaves and low hanging fruit. No promise is made for women, who are considered too troublesome to merit paradise. Of course, being so reckless with your life as get yourself killed in a jihad, by battle or a suicidal terrorist attack, is the one sure way to be certain that you will never be able to change your mind. That way, Allah can count you as one of his, because it's too late to "Choose Life."
From Zarathustra and his Magi, through Melchizadek and Abraham, then Moses, King David and the prophet's of Israel, with their morals and promises of the Messiah to come, and finally to the life, death and triumph of Jesus Christ ... the Word of Light has made Himself known. "I am who I am" is the God of Life, Whose teaching gets continuously better, ever promoting Virtue and the Ideals of Truth, Freedom, Love and Wisdom. Truth does not teach us to hate and kill others, or to commit suicide for a religion. Only Satan, who really is the Great Deceiver, would do that.
Moreover, owning slaves is a sin and crime abandoned around the world, except under Islam, because Mohammed owned slaves. Under Islam, the "prophet" is a paragon of right behavior, even though he was a mass murderer and a pedophile who didn't even follow the rules. If Mohammed didn't live by his own rules, why should anyone else? He knew it was a false religion, and the angel was not giving him the real truth. Satan is a fallen angel, a liar, and can steal an identity easily enough. Mohammed was seduced by his desires for power, sex, and adulation by the masses, until he believed that he could do no wrong. May he spend eternity alternately burning and freezing in the bottom pits of Hell, right next to Ahriman, aka Allah.
Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, and a close companion of Mohammed, once said: "Even if I had one foot already in Paradise, I would still fear the deception of Allah." Clearly, he understood the twisted nature of this existential conundrum.
Zarathustra taught a seemingly dualistic religion, in which Good and Evil were closely matched, always struggling with each other, but neither achieving dominance. Yet in the ages ahead, he promised, a hero would come, who would turn the tide and lead the Army of Light and Truth to victory. Our role in this cosmic drama is to choose, by faith, between good and evil, truth or lies. Which side are you on? Battles are being waged on a cosmic scale, as well as in our hearts and minds. Thus the stories are told of the legendary Flood, the people chosen to bring light to those who live in darkness, and of the final devastating Fire heralding the Judgement to come. Such is the Apocalyptic scenario that is envisioned by all of the world's monotheistic religions.
Islam is Ahriman's corruption of this story which brought the Word of Truth, first taught by Zarathustra. Allah boasts of being the Greatest Liar, who will deceive and damn whomever he wants. Obviously, he is the direct opposition to all the previous messengers of Truth, who hated lies above all else. Of course Islam would want to destroy Zarathustra's teaching, and discredit the words of all the other Prophets. It is based on jealousy, resenting the fact that the Arabs were not the chosen people, and it lures the unwary by pandering to our basest interests and desires, promising wealth and concubines as spoils of war, and condoning spouse abuse. Truth aims to improve humanity, raising our standards for moral behavior, and it does so without having to threaten or conquer us by force.
Of course, the miracles Jesus worked, including his own visible resurrection, convinced his immediate followers that he was the Messiah, the promised Hero of the Ages. And the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Shavuot impressed many others, who dispersed and taught in their home countries when they were persecuted in Jerusalem. But there is another very convincing reason why many unbelievers converted to Christianity. Jesus' followers were willing to die for their beliefs. They were totally convinced that by following the example of Christ they would go to heaven. Seeing that, many people assumed that they must have had good reason for their faith and courage, and so decided to also follow Jesus. It was a matter of life and death in a precarious world.
Does it not seem that being willing to die is a greater testimony than being willing to kill? Still, I can only gain what my faith promises if I live and die for Jesus, but I can gain wealth and sex slaves if I fight and kill for Mohammed. Hmm ... Tough choice, IF you don't really believe in ANY religion, and don't mind being duped by a liar promoting Satan. And, of course, refusing meant death by the sword TODAY! Fear... But apostasy also earns death, so you are stuck. Then you have the false promises of Islam - a win-win chance - jihad and die, martyr to heaven; jihad and live, gold and concubines. No faith required, until they ask you to go and blow yourself up ... then you learn about the Greatest Liar ... too late.
And Islam does not even promise salvation, because it can't. Allah leaves the believers hanging, anxious to please a capricious God, and offers no promise to favor good behavior. Of course, following the precepts of Muhammad will never be good enough for salvation. The only promise given to his followers is that martyrs will go straight to a sensual paradise, replete with sex slaves and low hanging fruit. No promise is made for women, who are considered too troublesome to merit paradise. Of course, being so reckless with your life as get yourself killed in a jihad, by battle or a suicidal terrorist attack, is the one sure way to be certain that you will never be able to change your mind. That way, Allah can count you as one of his, because it's too late to "Choose Life."
From Zarathustra and his Magi, through Melchizadek and Abraham, then Moses, King David and the prophet's of Israel, with their morals and promises of the Messiah to come, and finally to the life, death and triumph of Jesus Christ ... the Word of Light has made Himself known. "I am who I am" is the God of Life, Whose teaching gets continuously better, ever promoting Virtue and the Ideals of Truth, Freedom, Love and Wisdom. Truth does not teach us to hate and kill others, or to commit suicide for a religion. Only Satan, who really is the Great Deceiver, would do that.
Moreover, owning slaves is a sin and crime abandoned around the world, except under Islam, because Mohammed owned slaves. Under Islam, the "prophet" is a paragon of right behavior, even though he was a mass murderer and a pedophile who didn't even follow the rules. If Mohammed didn't live by his own rules, why should anyone else? He knew it was a false religion, and the angel was not giving him the real truth. Satan is a fallen angel, a liar, and can steal an identity easily enough. Mohammed was seduced by his desires for power, sex, and adulation by the masses, until he believed that he could do no wrong. May he spend eternity alternately burning and freezing in the bottom pits of Hell, right next to Ahriman, aka Allah.
Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, and a close companion of Mohammed, once said: "Even if I had one foot already in Paradise, I would still fear the deception of Allah." Clearly, he understood the twisted nature of this existential conundrum.
Friday, May 10, 2019
Heaven by Design: A Speculative Observation on Teleological Creation
* Some things are just too interesting to be considered merely random or accidental:
pi = 3.14159265359...
Fibonacci = 1.61803399
e = mC²
A solar eclipse with corona
The Anthropic Principle
conscience & moral law
Faith in God, and ourselves
The Cosmos was created by an Intelligent Designer, who shaped by divine fiat commands the physical constants and natural laws which gave rise to the Universe, the Earth, Life and to Us. The whole process is far larger and more complex than we can, as yet, understand. We have neither the intellect, nor the tools to grasp its secrets and significance. Evolution is not simply random, it is stochastic, i.e., aimed to fit in a given environment and ecological niche. It has all been manipulated toward a purposeful end, which we are not yet able to guess.
But the simple stories in our Holy Scriptures only barely and obliquely hint at the God who willed humanity and our theater into being. Reading them as the complete and inerrant Truth is a fool's venture, while looking through them to see farther is like opening a door into eternity. Take the story of Noah and the Flood, for example. Noah is tasked to save Civilization, to build a boat to ride out a global devastation. So are we, now that we know an errant asteroid can wipe out most of the life on earth. We are tasked to build great ships, to rescue terrestrial life from its single fragile basket, and to maybe defend the earth itself from catastrophe.
The Father manifested the Grand Cosmos, containing all of the huge galaxies that we see, and more. His Grand Scheme, intricate blueprints and beautiful designs, hold more secrets than we can imagine. He beckons us to strive for progress.
The Son created humanity. He domesticated us from the wild apes to become men. He showed us how to build our civilizations, and taught us how to live by Freedom, Wisdom, Love and Truth. He is still watching us, interceding for us.
The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and minds, leading us to know how to pursue what is best in our souls, and put aside the darkness that retards our progress. He helps us to choose our best and highest ideals, to pursue what makes us worthy of Heaven.
For Heaven is the aim which the Father and the Son have planted in our hearts, and tuned our minds to seek, with both faith and science, so that our knowledge may help us build it in our skies. Our ultimate niche, which we can evolve to fit, is the vastness of Space, where we will learn to use the resources so conveniently at hand to build our homes and ecological habitats. (Imagine, if we had no Moon, or if the Earth was just a little bit too heavy, we would be stuck down here.) If we follow the Holy Spirit, to rectify our human nature, we can one day build the City of God, high above us, and live there in happiness and peace forever.
Phi = 1.618033988749...
It is an unstable irrational number, which proves that creation is as much a skill, handiwork, as it is an automatic algorithm. It shows why God employs a stochastic process like evolution to develop Life. It is a bridge between mathematics and theology, which shows that God does allow free will, and makes it necessary for us to "Choose Life," in the continual effort to fit into both His Kingdom and the World as we know it.
William Shakespeare,
Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2 --
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?"
Should we not become all that we are meant to be?
pi = 3.14159265359...
Fibonacci = 1.61803399
e = mC²
A solar eclipse with corona
The Anthropic Principle
conscience & moral law
Faith in God, and ourselves
The Cosmos was created by an Intelligent Designer, who shaped by divine fiat commands the physical constants and natural laws which gave rise to the Universe, the Earth, Life and to Us. The whole process is far larger and more complex than we can, as yet, understand. We have neither the intellect, nor the tools to grasp its secrets and significance. Evolution is not simply random, it is stochastic, i.e., aimed to fit in a given environment and ecological niche. It has all been manipulated toward a purposeful end, which we are not yet able to guess.
But the simple stories in our Holy Scriptures only barely and obliquely hint at the God who willed humanity and our theater into being. Reading them as the complete and inerrant Truth is a fool's venture, while looking through them to see farther is like opening a door into eternity. Take the story of Noah and the Flood, for example. Noah is tasked to save Civilization, to build a boat to ride out a global devastation. So are we, now that we know an errant asteroid can wipe out most of the life on earth. We are tasked to build great ships, to rescue terrestrial life from its single fragile basket, and to maybe defend the earth itself from catastrophe.
The Father manifested the Grand Cosmos, containing all of the huge galaxies that we see, and more. His Grand Scheme, intricate blueprints and beautiful designs, hold more secrets than we can imagine. He beckons us to strive for progress.
The Son created humanity. He domesticated us from the wild apes to become men. He showed us how to build our civilizations, and taught us how to live by Freedom, Wisdom, Love and Truth. He is still watching us, interceding for us.
The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and minds, leading us to know how to pursue what is best in our souls, and put aside the darkness that retards our progress. He helps us to choose our best and highest ideals, to pursue what makes us worthy of Heaven.
For Heaven is the aim which the Father and the Son have planted in our hearts, and tuned our minds to seek, with both faith and science, so that our knowledge may help us build it in our skies. Our ultimate niche, which we can evolve to fit, is the vastness of Space, where we will learn to use the resources so conveniently at hand to build our homes and ecological habitats. (Imagine, if we had no Moon, or if the Earth was just a little bit too heavy, we would be stuck down here.) If we follow the Holy Spirit, to rectify our human nature, we can one day build the City of God, high above us, and live there in happiness and peace forever.
Phi = 1.618033988749...
It is an unstable irrational number, which proves that creation is as much a skill, handiwork, as it is an automatic algorithm. It shows why God employs a stochastic process like evolution to develop Life. It is a bridge between mathematics and theology, which shows that God does allow free will, and makes it necessary for us to "Choose Life," in the continual effort to fit into both His Kingdom and the World as we know it.
William Shakespeare,
Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2 --
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?"
Should we not become all that we are meant to be?
Thursday, May 9, 2019
What can we do with "Outer Space"? Pt. 2
What we shall do will be limited only by our imaginations. Consider:
1. simplify transport & distribution
- orbital ring & global railway
- elevator to LEO with low gee lift
- ground railways to space depot
- inexpensive personal transport
- 1-3 days global bulk commodities
2. create a value/work economy
- not based on debt & borrowing
- project or employment contracts
- accumulated worth, living wage
- products, services, resources
- ranked difficulty & importance
3. make enough land for everyone
- Lunar base, Mars colony
- constructed orbital habitats
- modular housing attachment
- high-tech agriculture methods
- maximum systems recycling
4. develop many eutopian cultures
- freedom of ideology & identity
- freedom of association
- orbital flexibility & relocation
- abundance of resources & energy
- non-interference & non-agression
5. discover cures for age disability
- nanorobotics for cancer or drugs
- stem cell therapy / organs
- scientific dietetics & exercise
- embryonic eugenic correction
- washout therapy / antioxidants
6. control & adjust Earth's climate
- shade / mirrors in orbit
- cloud / ocean chemistry
- redirected monsoons
- regulating solar influx
- defending vs solar flares & wind
7. high bandwidth communication
- intracranial plug, internet & chips
- interpersonal word/image telepathy
- advanced learning techniques
- social & political participation
- manned-machine integration
8. become more than human
- genetic interpretation studies
- human cyborg prosthetics
- extended lifespans
- enhanced intelligence
- improved focus & reactions
9. spread life around the galaxy
- find new habitable worlds
- bioengineering in situ
- collecting alien samples
- habitat ecologies
- adaptive cultures
10. search for other "peoples"
- observation / listening
- signalling for commerce
- broadcast beacons
- travel & exploration
- leaving signpost cairns
11. learn all that can be known
- biochemistry & abiogenesis
- astronomy & physics
- sociology & psychology
- materials & engineering
- theology, purpose & meaning
12. explore unlimited adventures
- wormhole diving
- gravity wave surfing
- trekking beyond the frontiers
- riding rainbow dust clouds
- wishing upon the stars
How is that for a beginning?
1. simplify transport & distribution
- orbital ring & global railway
- elevator to LEO with low gee lift
- ground railways to space depot
- inexpensive personal transport
- 1-3 days global bulk commodities
2. create a value/work economy
- not based on debt & borrowing
- project or employment contracts
- accumulated worth, living wage
- products, services, resources
- ranked difficulty & importance
3. make enough land for everyone
- Lunar base, Mars colony
- constructed orbital habitats
- modular housing attachment
- high-tech agriculture methods
- maximum systems recycling
4. develop many eutopian cultures
- freedom of ideology & identity
- freedom of association
- orbital flexibility & relocation
- abundance of resources & energy
- non-interference & non-agression
5. discover cures for age disability
- nanorobotics for cancer or drugs
- stem cell therapy / organs
- scientific dietetics & exercise
- embryonic eugenic correction
- washout therapy / antioxidants
6. control & adjust Earth's climate
- shade / mirrors in orbit
- cloud / ocean chemistry
- redirected monsoons
- regulating solar influx
- defending vs solar flares & wind
7. high bandwidth communication
- intracranial plug, internet & chips
- interpersonal word/image telepathy
- advanced learning techniques
- social & political participation
- manned-machine integration
8. become more than human
- genetic interpretation studies
- human cyborg prosthetics
- extended lifespans
- enhanced intelligence
- improved focus & reactions
9. spread life around the galaxy
- find new habitable worlds
- bioengineering in situ
- collecting alien samples
- habitat ecologies
- adaptive cultures
10. search for other "peoples"
- observation / listening
- signalling for commerce
- broadcast beacons
- travel & exploration
- leaving signpost cairns
11. learn all that can be known
- biochemistry & abiogenesis
- astronomy & physics
- sociology & psychology
- materials & engineering
- theology, purpose & meaning
12. explore unlimited adventures
- wormhole diving
- gravity wave surfing
- trekking beyond the frontiers
- riding rainbow dust clouds
- wishing upon the stars
How is that for a beginning?
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Postponing Technology
It is an interesting fact that there were several important "advanced" technologies available to the ancient Greeks and Romans during the Empire era that they declined to use. They decided that it would be too disruptive to society. It was not because they doubted the potential benefits or effectiveness, but rather because they thought it might might create too many problems and hurt their society more than any advantages it could bring.
The Romans had very good engineers, and could design quite complex machines, but preferred to keep more people employed rather than building labor saving devices. They also knew the potential power of winds and water, but didn't build windmills to pump water for irrigation, or waterwheels to run sawmills. The Greeks even discovered steam power, but saw no point in making an engine to replace working men and animals. They simply decided that it was not the time to pursue such things.
For example, they could have been the first to develop cogs and springs for clockwork devices. An ancient orrery device has been found, but they did not see much advantage in trying to make accurate time pieces. Knowing the hour, and perhaps also whether it was early middle or late was good enough. Minutes would have created more frustration and friction.
Their society was primarily based on agriculture, and employed a significant number of slaves, so they didn't really need technology to reduce the amount of labor involved in operating their civilization. There simply were not too many things they wanted to do that could not be accomplished with what they already had.
And they certainly did not have our modern mindset. We embrace every new idea that comes along, just because it is new, and eagerly seek out every possible new application, just to see what it can do. As a result, our society changes so fast that someone born 150 years ago would be shocked to see how we live today, and would have serious difficulty finding a place to fit in.
Indeed, we ourselves find the pace of change bewildering. Our own expectations from childhood have been left behind by the trends led by inventions we did not foresee. And many of our inventions have brought with them liabilities that were not part of the prospectus we were sold. Who could have foretold the threats of computer viruses and hacking, identity theft and cyber attacks, before the personal desktop computer was invented? Perhaps we need to consider that every arena of increasing freedom also creates new opportunities for abuses and criminal exploitation.
All of those unemployed slaves in ancient Rome would have gone hungry, and soon have taken up weapons to become free-ranging bandits waylaying travelers just to get enough food! No, they didn't need the cotton gin, or a sawmill, or the automated thread spinners and fabric weavers that developed in Europe just after the Black Death cut the population in half.
You don't really need labor saving devices unless you are short of labor to begin with. And putting intellectual tools in the hands of the common people should have been seen as likely to promote social disruption. The results have been more discord (Facebook), addictive daydreams (video games) and basic vandalism (hackers), than any actually useful productivity. And much of this can be traced back to the blithe adoption of novel technology, without first assessing the purpose or need it was created to address, much less examining the possible or likely consequences of widespread use by the public at large. The internet was built as a tool for scholars, not porn.
Obviously, unemployment is not a good thing, aside from the resulting poverty, as idle hands and bored minds are apt to find some mischief to get into. Technological progress is not progress unless it addresses a real need, or a foreseeable problem, and its uses should be monitored to insure that it doesn't get abused by its application to extraneous issues. We should be able to speak with some consensus about our values, and what constitutes a foolish abuse of them, especially if it creates a danger to others.
It is true that today we have many unsolved problems and significant needs that can only be addressed with technology. Certainly, some could have been met with greater simplicity, but that is probably a missed opportunity. We have set some trends in motion, and waited too long to address others, so that now we need some technological solutions. Take the example of Energy. We need an alternative to fossil fuels, so as to ameliorate the trend of global warming. Solar power and nuclear, fission or fusion, have the potential to replace coal, natural gas and petroleum, but we lack the technology to make it inexpensive and safe, and they have their own pollution issues.
Economics, resource development and population pressures also make certain problems more likely. A vigorous space program can lighten these pressures a little, just until we can find some feasible solutions. Our space agencies are still in their infancy. We have major difficulties just getting off the planet. But there are increasing numbers of governments and corporations getting involved in the search for solutions.
And yes, possible spacefaring solutions do exist, if only we can achieve enough basic development to make them doable. It doesn't have to be "practical" just yet, only "an improvement" to be progress. If we can get past the stage of needing to use rockets to get away from the earth, lifting people and materiels cheaply enough, we can make pioneer outposts, tourism and eventually emigration available to average people. Then we will have broken through the bottleneck. It will take a lot of time and effort, but it can be done. There are plenty of people who would take the risks to try and colonize the Moon and Mars, and more will follow as the problems are worked out.
But aside from addressing the near term problems that we face today, most of which we created ourselves by foolish pursuit of technological novelty, there is really little point in change for its own sake. We already have enough problems to face, without mindlessly creating more. Future generations may indeed thank us, if we can build the social mechanisms to slow the pace of change. We need to take a deep breath, and discuss what our goals are, and where we want to be in the future. And then we can consider whether we will need new technology to get us there.
The pursuit of artificial intelligence, for example, far outreaches the proximate goal of automating our devices to promote safety. We don't need a machine to tell us what we need to do, and much less, to tell us what we should want, or think. We can develop tools to facilitate our intellectual work, without actually simulating a thinking mind. This is even more of a danger, if we try to fit computer circuitry into our own brains, as that would create a direct pathway to thought control and enslavement. Why would we want to create a God, with actual power to override our free will? Isn't it better to have one who refuses to take over, even though that leaves us to doubt his existence?
We need the time to figure out the technology we already have, and to integrate it into our social systems in a responsible way. It is probably not possible to revert to a previous level of development, nor would that be a desirable step. There was plenty in the past to cause real discontentment. And there are some projects we are working on that we should continue, up to a point. Our medical sciences are not yet what they could be.
Our lifespans, for example, are really too short, and old age is a painful handicap preventing the enjoyment of life. But immortality would likely bring serious problems of it own, including the need for a complete and total stagnation of any further technological development. If our current human potential seems to allow for us to try to achieve a century, perhaps we can set a new goal to make a millennium the next limit. To ask for more would seem to be seeking to become divine, a serious act of hubris, and a sin.
This is an example of the kind of technological development that we may want to reign in, seeing the potential for improvement, but also the power for disruption. Our society does not really have the resilience and flexibility to absorb such great changes as fast as they can be reached. Rather, let us slow it down, consider our options, and choose with as much wisdom as we can muster, what is it we should do, for ourselves and our posterity. Leaving some things as yet to be done, and some goals as yet to be achieved, may turn out to be the best gift we can leave for our grand-children, and their grand-children.
The Romans had very good engineers, and could design quite complex machines, but preferred to keep more people employed rather than building labor saving devices. They also knew the potential power of winds and water, but didn't build windmills to pump water for irrigation, or waterwheels to run sawmills. The Greeks even discovered steam power, but saw no point in making an engine to replace working men and animals. They simply decided that it was not the time to pursue such things.
For example, they could have been the first to develop cogs and springs for clockwork devices. An ancient orrery device has been found, but they did not see much advantage in trying to make accurate time pieces. Knowing the hour, and perhaps also whether it was early middle or late was good enough. Minutes would have created more frustration and friction.
Their society was primarily based on agriculture, and employed a significant number of slaves, so they didn't really need technology to reduce the amount of labor involved in operating their civilization. There simply were not too many things they wanted to do that could not be accomplished with what they already had.
And they certainly did not have our modern mindset. We embrace every new idea that comes along, just because it is new, and eagerly seek out every possible new application, just to see what it can do. As a result, our society changes so fast that someone born 150 years ago would be shocked to see how we live today, and would have serious difficulty finding a place to fit in.
Indeed, we ourselves find the pace of change bewildering. Our own expectations from childhood have been left behind by the trends led by inventions we did not foresee. And many of our inventions have brought with them liabilities that were not part of the prospectus we were sold. Who could have foretold the threats of computer viruses and hacking, identity theft and cyber attacks, before the personal desktop computer was invented? Perhaps we need to consider that every arena of increasing freedom also creates new opportunities for abuses and criminal exploitation.
All of those unemployed slaves in ancient Rome would have gone hungry, and soon have taken up weapons to become free-ranging bandits waylaying travelers just to get enough food! No, they didn't need the cotton gin, or a sawmill, or the automated thread spinners and fabric weavers that developed in Europe just after the Black Death cut the population in half.
You don't really need labor saving devices unless you are short of labor to begin with. And putting intellectual tools in the hands of the common people should have been seen as likely to promote social disruption. The results have been more discord (Facebook), addictive daydreams (video games) and basic vandalism (hackers), than any actually useful productivity. And much of this can be traced back to the blithe adoption of novel technology, without first assessing the purpose or need it was created to address, much less examining the possible or likely consequences of widespread use by the public at large. The internet was built as a tool for scholars, not porn.
Obviously, unemployment is not a good thing, aside from the resulting poverty, as idle hands and bored minds are apt to find some mischief to get into. Technological progress is not progress unless it addresses a real need, or a foreseeable problem, and its uses should be monitored to insure that it doesn't get abused by its application to extraneous issues. We should be able to speak with some consensus about our values, and what constitutes a foolish abuse of them, especially if it creates a danger to others.
It is true that today we have many unsolved problems and significant needs that can only be addressed with technology. Certainly, some could have been met with greater simplicity, but that is probably a missed opportunity. We have set some trends in motion, and waited too long to address others, so that now we need some technological solutions. Take the example of Energy. We need an alternative to fossil fuels, so as to ameliorate the trend of global warming. Solar power and nuclear, fission or fusion, have the potential to replace coal, natural gas and petroleum, but we lack the technology to make it inexpensive and safe, and they have their own pollution issues.
Economics, resource development and population pressures also make certain problems more likely. A vigorous space program can lighten these pressures a little, just until we can find some feasible solutions. Our space agencies are still in their infancy. We have major difficulties just getting off the planet. But there are increasing numbers of governments and corporations getting involved in the search for solutions.
And yes, possible spacefaring solutions do exist, if only we can achieve enough basic development to make them doable. It doesn't have to be "practical" just yet, only "an improvement" to be progress. If we can get past the stage of needing to use rockets to get away from the earth, lifting people and materiels cheaply enough, we can make pioneer outposts, tourism and eventually emigration available to average people. Then we will have broken through the bottleneck. It will take a lot of time and effort, but it can be done. There are plenty of people who would take the risks to try and colonize the Moon and Mars, and more will follow as the problems are worked out.
But aside from addressing the near term problems that we face today, most of which we created ourselves by foolish pursuit of technological novelty, there is really little point in change for its own sake. We already have enough problems to face, without mindlessly creating more. Future generations may indeed thank us, if we can build the social mechanisms to slow the pace of change. We need to take a deep breath, and discuss what our goals are, and where we want to be in the future. And then we can consider whether we will need new technology to get us there.
The pursuit of artificial intelligence, for example, far outreaches the proximate goal of automating our devices to promote safety. We don't need a machine to tell us what we need to do, and much less, to tell us what we should want, or think. We can develop tools to facilitate our intellectual work, without actually simulating a thinking mind. This is even more of a danger, if we try to fit computer circuitry into our own brains, as that would create a direct pathway to thought control and enslavement. Why would we want to create a God, with actual power to override our free will? Isn't it better to have one who refuses to take over, even though that leaves us to doubt his existence?
We need the time to figure out the technology we already have, and to integrate it into our social systems in a responsible way. It is probably not possible to revert to a previous level of development, nor would that be a desirable step. There was plenty in the past to cause real discontentment. And there are some projects we are working on that we should continue, up to a point. Our medical sciences are not yet what they could be.
Our lifespans, for example, are really too short, and old age is a painful handicap preventing the enjoyment of life. But immortality would likely bring serious problems of it own, including the need for a complete and total stagnation of any further technological development. If our current human potential seems to allow for us to try to achieve a century, perhaps we can set a new goal to make a millennium the next limit. To ask for more would seem to be seeking to become divine, a serious act of hubris, and a sin.
This is an example of the kind of technological development that we may want to reign in, seeing the potential for improvement, but also the power for disruption. Our society does not really have the resilience and flexibility to absorb such great changes as fast as they can be reached. Rather, let us slow it down, consider our options, and choose with as much wisdom as we can muster, what is it we should do, for ourselves and our posterity. Leaving some things as yet to be done, and some goals as yet to be achieved, may turn out to be the best gift we can leave for our grand-children, and their grand-children.
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