What if Artificial Intelligence actually works?

Our society is working toward a revolution in electronics. Computer programmers and engineers are trying hard to build machines that can simulate the way a human mind thinks. Already, they have managed to isolate some functions, and even improve their facility. But the actual methods which have been programmed in are not quite the same as how we think.

Computers are amazingly fast, so they usually do many trials, in virtual experiments, to see what works, but they can also learn from their experiences, too. Soon, we will have integrated our mechanical robots with this simulated thinking, to create a general purpose simulacrum of a person. This will be a golem, a mechanical slave, designed to do jobs usually reserved for unskilled workers. And when that happens, a lot of people will no longer be employable.

Indeed, it may well be a vast improvement in efficiency and productivity. Robot slaves don't get tired; they can work 20 hour days, and when they get "sick" they can be fixed. Plus, they only have to be trained once to always do their job well, and they don't ever complain about wages and benefits. Robot slaves may actually bring about the abundance economy that has been the dream of economists of all stripes: socialists, christians, capitalists and communists. It can be a world in which everyone has enough of everything they need. But if it happens too suddenly, or if we don't manage it properly and fairly, it can have some miserable repercussions.

I suggest that the robotic workforce be developed on the basis of public investments, like blue chip stocks, paying dividends. And everyone should be encouraged to own enough shares to supply their needs. It will be like the citizens of an oil-rich country sharing in the revenues of exporting oil. But only if you want a personal servant, to help around the house, or as a companion, would anyone need to directly own a humanoid robot. Some societies might even actively discourage that, as reminiscent of human slavery.

What humans need:
1. food & water
2. clothing & shelter
3. natural resources
4. trade / barter / money
5. other people
6. information / education / training
7. aims & goals
8. purpose
9. Truth & Freedom
10. Love & Wisdom

The first few of these needs can readily become the products of robot slave labor, either as a whole or in part, reducing the need for human effort and involvement.

What would you do, if you never had to "work" for a living?

a. go to school, or teach
       - internet publishing & expert reviews
b. fine arts: music, theater, etc.
       - entertainment & participation
c. philosophy, religion, utopian studies
       - how can we improve society?
       - how can we become our best selves?
d. save the ecology & diversity of life
       - restoring damaged ecosystems
       - rescuing endangered species
e. build, fix & use robots & AI systems
       - programming, supervision & upgrades
       - Never teach AI to build better robots
       - Reserve executive decision to humans
f. customer assistance & data records
       - sales, service & reconciliation
       - not concerned for "company profits"
g. scientific research
       - physics, astronomy, electronics
       - medicine, longevity, cure-all
       - ecology, interspecies harmony
h. nursing care for the sick
       - skilled healing by loving touch
i. psychological counseling
       - help us want to participate in society
       - interpersonal relationships
j. entertaining, homemaking specialties
       - culinary arts, piecework handicrafts
k. entomology: helpers or pests
       - pollinate, putrify, parasite, protein
l. redesign & landscape cities
       - metamorphose into arcology styles
m. experimental lifestyles
       - off-the-grid, preindustrial, organic
       - primitive, nomadic
n. farming & food production
       - high intensity industrial agriculture
o. recreational director
       - physical fitness & adventure
p. edible landscaping & park design
       - local, native & edible horticulture
q. wildlife management & conservation
       - rescuing endangered species
r. explore the solar system
       - what can we find & learn out there?
s. clean up the environment
       - trash collection & recycling
       - oceanic plastic reclamation
       - toxic, radioactive, hazmat disposal
t. study & colonize the oceans
       - submerged or floating habitats
       - building artificial reefs & corral pens
u. government: works, justice & assistance
       - coordinate entitlement programs
       - restitution & reconciliation for peace
v. design & facilitate space colonies
       - surface towns, lava tubes, caravans
       - orbital habitats, colony ships
w. design & build space ships
       - probes, pioneers, cargo, colonists
       - on board life support ecosystems
       - technological advances
x. manage travel & migration
       - tourist, opportunist, refugee, spy
y. manage food & resource distribution
       - global needs, trade & transport
       - monitor & plan crop planting
z. build earth-to-orbit infrastructure
       - geostationary elevators (22,236 miles)
       - LEO orbital ring, 300-400 miles up

So there is plenty of work to do, if you are smart  enough to see the big picture, and want to choose something worth the effort to pursue, or simply want a pleasant or purposeful occupation.

What people do better than robots, or what robots don't do well:
1. Aesthetic evaluation
2. Critical thought
3. Non-repetitive dexterity
4. Value judgment
5. Understanding people
6. Making unique items
7. Recognizing non-standard parts
8. Choosing an aim or purpose

How do you keep people motivated and involved in an abundance economy, when AI has co-opted all entry-level jobs, and you need an advanced education to find any meaningful work?

1. Universal Basic Income Guarantee
       - support during education & training
       - begins at age 18, leaving family
       - revocable for criminal activity
       - no additions for having children
2. Incentives for Achievement
       - recognition, bonuses, rewards
3. Potentially Rising Levels of Income
       - promotions & advancement
4. Guidance Counseling
       - educate for interest & aptitude
       - recommend needed occupations
5. Recognition for Society Improvement
       - accolades for breakthrough ideas
6. Opportunities to Escape Stagnation
       - space or marine colonies
       - loans for new enterprises

There will always be some people who choose to be drop-outs, riding the system without any contribution. The basic minimum should not be too comfortable, and the possibility of some disincentives may be necessary.

1. Diminishing levels of support
       - limits on duration and repetition
       - declined for failure to progress
2. Periodic re-evaluation of status:
       - physical or mental disability
       - peculiar contributor, non-economic
3. Migrant worker programs
       - allow for seasonal unemployment
       - provide for supplemental occupation
       - education opportunities
4. Terminated for illegal activities
       - if worse than misdemeanors
       - violence or subversion

What is Truth? Was Pilate being coy?

Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our own point of view. But that doesn't mean that Truth itself is subjective. We have various methods to verify or falsify our stories, and we can usually rely on the reasonable agreement of others. Why does this matter?
   - our senses are unreliable
   - our perspective shows all
     we perceive
   - we create a narrative to
     hold everything together
   - we select facts to support
     assumptions about reality
So, what we call truth depends upon what we value and want to believe.

How can we achieve reliable Truth?
  1. Stories & Myths (Primal)
      - this is what worked before
      - this is how we think & act
      - this is what makes life worth
        living & keeps us together
      - can be a cause for conflict
  2. Logical methods (Socrates)
      - assumptions & premises
      - deduction & inference
      - selects what it wants to prove
      - can still go awry
  3. Faith & Revelation (Abraham)
      - assumes Truth is absolute
      - accessible only to a few
      - often used for political agenda
      - untestable, no verify or falsify
  4. Scientific method (Newton)
      - uses experience & logic
      - based on previous facts & data
      - develops hypothesis
      - tests assumptions
      - retests for repeatable results
      - peer review
      - can be overturned by new facts

But ALWAYS, Truth depends on Trust, and our own Experience, as much as relying on the available Evidence or Witnesses, because any information exchange requires a shared Narrative.

What is Truth's Value and Purpose?
  1. to help us adapt to the world
  2. to guide our choices & decisions
  3. to define our relationships
  4. to lend us meaning for living
  5. to discern if we can become
      transcendent & what that may
      mean

There are possible alternative explanations of reality:
  1. Can science know everything? Science only works when you can try experiments.
  2. Is there really a God, or not? That is a matter only faith can answer.
  3. Are we inside a computer simulation? Can you point out anything to break the suspense?
  4. Is everything only in my mind? Solipsism can be a dangerous trap, leading to insanity.
  5. Are humans even capable of actually understanding Reality? We seem to be pretty good at putting the clues together.
  6. Is reality malleable? Some things can be changed, but can the rules also be changed?

What do you think?
Can you believe in more than one Truth at the same time? If so, which will take precedence in authority? Do they concern different aspects of your life and perspectives? Which has the greatest influence over your choices and behavior? Do you consciously favor one or the other?

No man can serve two masters, either he will love one and hate the other, or he will despise the one and be devoted to the other.

Limits to freedom of speech:
What is wrong, and should be stopped?
1. selecting anomalous data, or fabrication contrary to facts, unless noted as fiction
2. words or actions meant to deceive or harm others by misleading or concealment
3. influencing the listener's behavior toward others based on misinformation
4. resulting in the creation of psychological disturbance or confusion
5. to create impediments to spiritual growth, or lead us to a dystopian future
This is why we have such a controversy and sarcasm over "alternative facts."

Unless you can back up your story with reliable, agreed upon data, it may be judged to be a lie. If so, your motives will be subject to question, especially when it's apparent that you have something to hide, and you don't want anyone snooping around.

Why are we here? The Relevance of Transfiguration

The purpose of our existence is to go to Heaven, that we should be given God's grace because of our faith. And our faith is to believe in Jesus Christ, as the standard raised on high, to turn back to God and follow, and to believe the good news of the Kingdom as He told it to us.

This is the reason why Jesus revealed his identity at the Transfiguration, shining with the holy brightness of heavenly glory and walking together with Moses and Elijah: to show his disciples that they should not be scandalized, nor have their faith shaken when He was put to death on the cross.

He was showing them that He is not merely an ordinary human, but that He has the favor, acceptance, and authority of God to do and say what He does, just as Moses has the Law of the Lord and Elijah has the Holy Spirit. This is his authorization to claim to be the Messiah, just as when the Spirit's dove descended on him when He was baptized and the Voice proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son."

The witnesses to this Transfiguration would remember, but only when they heard how He had been raised from the tomb. When the witnesses who had seen the resurrection came to the disciples with the good news, Peter and John ran to see for themselves. Peter must have been imagining the scene, how it was reported that two shining figures came for Him, and He emerged also glowing so intensely that He illuminated the sky, so that it was hard to look at Him. Then he knew what the point had been, why Jesus had shown Himself transformed.

Later Peter would be able to write down what had happened at the tomb, clearly describing both the scene and the event, because he knew how he had looked. Peter had not been there the second time, but he had indeed seen it the first time. So, yes, he could claim to be an eyewitness. "These things I saw with my own eyes! You must believe!"

He was retelling what the witnesses to the resurrection had come to tell him, knowing that their description matched surprisingly well what he had seen before. He told what they saw, as he now also saw it in his mind's eye. And he told it with urgency, "You must believe me, I really saw Him do this! He is not just a man. And He is not dead. He has risen, as he promised!"

(Mark 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24, John 20, Peter 12)

A Prayer for my Soldier Son

My Lord, I know your gifts are many,
I'm thankful for every one.
Of all the gifts you've given me,
the best is my dear son.
I thank you for his life, dear Lord.
Watch over him every day.
May he be free and safe from harm,
as he goes about his way.
Teach him wisdom & seeking truth.
Give him love and friends around.
Let him know you stand beside him,
when he's on the battleground.
May his challenges bring blessings.
Help him choose aright, not wrong.
Make him a light for all to see,
standing tall and proud and strong.
Amen.

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," said Jesus. "Seek and you shall find, ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened to you."

I am seeking to know God in His infinite Truth and goodness. Dear Jesus, please show me the Way to follow, so that I may reach the doors of Heaven and knock, assured that they will open for me, and that by your grace I shall be granted eternal Life.

May there soon be peace, justice and mercy for everyone concerned in Jerusalem. And may they all give You the glory.

"In hoc signo vinces." - the motto from Constantine's vision of the Cross, which promised divine aid for a Christian Army. The vision was proven true by his victory at the Milvian Bridge. May our defenders always have the strength of God going before them.

A Special Prayer for Our Troops:
Lord God, Almighty Father,
You are the Creator of mankind and Author of peace.
As we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess, we ask you to bless the members and the veterans of our armed forces, wherever they may be.
Give them courage, hope and strength. May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate healing. Be their power and protector, leading them to victory, and then safely home. May they have the faith to follow You through any darkness into the light.
We thank you for your Mercy through Christ Jesus,
for all glory, honor and praise is yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Dear Lord Jesus,
As you know, there are some conflicts that we can not turn away from, unless we would dishonor our faith in you. In such times, we need most your gracious word and merciful healing.
So grant, please Lord, your special blessings and protection to the chaplains and medics who serve in our armed forces. May they be strong in faith, and steady and sure in the performance of their duties to support their comrades, especially if they may find themselves in combat. Keep them safe from harm, and bring them home to their loved ones, who are waiting to embrace them.
In thine own name we pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for hearing and answering our prayer with your compassionate mercy.
Amen.  

Where is the Kingdom of Heaven?

The purpose of our existence is to go to Heaven, that we should be given God's grace because of our faith. But the disciples persistently asked Jesus to explain. "Where is your Kingdom, Lord? How shall we find it and know it?"

"Do not go after those who say, "Look here! or, Look there!" If it was over the seas, the fishes would get there before you, or, if it was in the sky, the birds would see it first. Rather, the Kingdom of God is within you, and you see it spread upon the earth. Why do you not yet know how to look?"

Clearly, He wanted them to learn how to build the Kingdom here, by changing how the community takes care of each other. Thus, the community described in Acts chose to hold all property in common and share their meals together. That is how they had lived when He was with us. There were, of course, the moral aspects of the "golden rule" and the Decalogue, and the commands to love God and neighbors, but the Kingdom lay in the way they loved one another as He had loved us. Guiding, protecting, chastising and providing for us, and always forgiving when we repent.

This is a task that we have yet to achieve. The economics of communal living is difficult to work out, to keep everyone motivated to contribute all they are able, and to receive no more than they need. There has to be a good reason to forfeit all of one's proceeds and still make the most effort for the benefit of all. We are not made that way, psychologically, to live as anonymous members of a hive, desiring only that the queen/king might survive and prosper. "To live is Christ, and to die is gain," as St. Paul said, is not human, no matter how saintly it is. Only those so dedicated as to live the religious life, and forego having family and children have even come close.

There have been many attempts to develop a theory of moral incentives for labor in communist countries, but none have worked because of the ideological insistence on equality and the refusal of money. Bonus material goods, and peer recognition are not enough to motivate us to strive to outdo our peers. As a result, production slips to levels inadequate to support social sufficiency, much less prosperity.

This is even more problematic, when in Christian communes the only motivation is to support the group, for the sake of Heaven. We may indeed love one another, but we also desire to be loved, and to be comfortable and not carrying a heavy burden. If Jesus claimed that his yoke was light, the worldly reality does not seem to bear a witness to it. Man does not live by bread alone, but neither is he satisfied by no more than the Word of God. It takes a heroic faith to die daily to oneself and live only for Christ.

Quite bluntly, Kingdom economics doesn't work, until you also have the economics of abundance. And then you still have the problems of motivation. Only an educated people, can look beyond the daily grind to see the big picture, and find something great enough to motivate their best efforts. So, you also have to have a well educated society, with faith enough to strive to go beyond itself. And that beyond must clearly offer some benefit eminently desirable to the common man, a promise for his children to prosper.

And yet, in our time, we have something great enough to dedicate ourselves to, if the society will support it. We can try to support the Space program, which wants to take human beings into the heavens above our Earth. And our science is on the verge of creating an abundance economy based on robotics, artificial intelligence, and fusion energy, as well as the promise of acquiring the resources in space. We have a real chance of creating an abundance economy, and the Kingdom of God, quite soon in the vast domain of Space.

Perhaps it is worth noting that Jesus did not say that the Kingdom would not be beyond the sky, or the Angels would get there before us. We may simply accept that the Angel's are already blessed in Heaven, and strive harder to climb up there to join them. Once there, we can attempt myriads of social experiments to find the right way for Kingdom economics.

We might remember to hope and pray, however, that God may not choose to thwart our efforts, as He once did when He destroyed our attempt to build the Tower of Babel. Of course, now we know that we have to be in Heaven to build that tower, from the top down.

Forgive one another, 70 x 7 times

It always sounded funny to me, like a sarcastic answer, when Jesus responded to the question of how many times we should just accept whatever harm is done to us, and forgive the perpetrator. Not just seven times, which we could count, but 70 times 7 times, which we obviously can't. But it really isn't that simple. Look first at the math, then see what's really going on.

Forty lashes of a whip with 12 tails would give a person 480 stripes, and could kill a strong man, from the pain and blood loss, so the maximum non-lethal sentence was 39 lashes. Jesus took 39 lashes for our sins, 39 x 12 = 468. But he told us to continue to forgive our fellows for 70 x 7 times, 490, meaning I guess, to forgive always, until it kills us to bear it.

From enduring a near fatal assault from the whip, then he carried the cross-beam across town to the hill beyond the gate, where they nailed him to it, and hung him up to die. It was the most painful, most humiliating thing they could do to Him, including the crown of thorns, to mock the one who would dare to call Himself the Messiah, the King of the Jews, even the Son of God. They didn't care about the charge of blasphemy. They were not Jews. They were the power of Rome.

It was political, saying "Look at what the Might of Rome can do to your King! We laugh, and spit on Him. Judaea continues to exist only by our sufferance. You and your peculiar law, your strict and invisible, helpless God! We are crucifying his Chosen One. This is what happens if you dare to try to pull away from the Empire." So they tried to shame Him, to make him as miserable as possible, to shame the people who chafed under the rule of Rome.

But they did not know. Jesus suffered, yes, but it was all a part of the plan. He was choosing to suffer and die, so that those who would understand and believe, the "remnant of Israel" would be saved. And that plan would some day overturn the world, and the whole Empire would be filled with people who claimed to be His! He was proving the compassion of God, creating a way for His mercy to save all who would repent and believe in Him. He was calling back those who were giving up hope of pleasing God, who were broken hearted under the weight of their failures, who assumed they were not good enough for God to love them. He was inviting the ones who would wander away to return and stay for the joyful reunion of the King with his people. He was calling the ones who knew how to love one another because they knew how badly they needed to be loved. He knew how badly they needed to be loved.

For them He prayed, "Father, forgive them! They know not what they do." He forgave us, not just 70 times 7 times, but all of it, everything, asking only that we would not go and forsake the effort to try and do what is right. He showed us the love of God, so that we would know how to love God, and each other, in return. "Return," that is the key. The hebrew word is teshuva, which also means to turn back, or repent. Repent, and believe the Gospel, the good news that Jesus and his Father love you. You can be forgiven, and God is willing for you to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart, if you ask Him for guidance.

And it was just in time, for as another generation would rise up against Rome, so Rome would prove how a nation could be destroyed. And if there had been no Christians, there might be no Jews today. Certainly, there would have been few to know that God, in his mercy, would be yearning to save us, despite our many sins.

Father, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Strengthen us to reject our evil inclinations, and lead us not into temptation. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us poor sinners. Rescue us from the troubles of this world.

Fusion Starship

The achievement of fusion sufficient to generate more energy than it takes to make it work will solve more than our energy problems here on Earth.

If we can build a portable fusion engine to drive a starship, its exhaust velocity would likely be about 6 -7% of the speed of light. Spaceships can be engineered to go about twice as fast as their exhaust velocity. So the possible speed of a fusion starship can be 12.5% of the speed of light, and maybe a little more.

The distance to the nearest star is 4.25 lightyears. We could get there in less than 40 years (accelerate 2 years, cruise 33 years, decelerate 2 years), study it for a year while we refuel, and either choose a landing site or go on further to Centauri A or B to search again.

We don't have to find an earth-like world. We want a large Mars-like world, a lot of asteroids, water and nitrogen, and a small gas giant. If we find those around a small G class or large K class star, then we have a new long term home for humanity.

This starship can reach the next star system within a human lifetime. But 37 years is still a very long time and, unless you plan to live for centuries, no one is coming back. This is a colony ship, not an exploration vessel. Yes, you can send a probe first, but don't forget about talking to it now and then, to keep it functioning. Still, any people who go will want to have families and colonize a new star system. They are pioneers, not just bold adventurers.

Where should they look?
A smaller G class star would last longer, with less UV, than the larger one where we are now, and a larger K class star would live even longer and still have a suitable spectrum of visible light (unless our insects need more UV to see by.)

Jackpot would be finding a G4-G6 star, with one or two new places to live, plenty of accessible resources, and lots of fuel. Ideally, just inside the outer edge of the habitable zone:

*Look for a a barren, cool planet, or maybe two. We don't want to disrupt a thriving ecosystem. We could learn from a new set of microbiology.
*Preferably one with 75 - 90% of the mass of Earth, since Earth is just a little bit too heavy for single-stage-to-orbit crafts.
*The right composition: Nitrogen & CO2 atmosphere, lots of water as ice or liquid, abundant "metals" for industry, and an internally generated magnetosphere.
*And ideally, a small round moon, to stir up the magnetosphere and provide a staging area for space infrastructure development.

In the nearby icy zone
*An accessible orbit full of planetoids, from a broken or aborted planet, with all of the carbon, ices and metals needed to support life and advanced technology.

And just beyond those:
*One or two small-to-medium size hydrogen-helium gas giants with plenty of useful isotopes readily accessible for fuels.
 *A few round moons made of water ice, and liquid nitrogen and methane. We will need these for building new rotating space habitats, and for any terraforming we may want to do.

The methane comes in handy for chemical fuel, to launch from a planet's surface, if we don't build a better way.

We will probably use a closed cycle "nuclear lightbulb" for interplanetary transport, with plutonium to heat plain hydrogen as a more efficient fuel. It uses a clear crystal barrier between the plutonium and the hydrogen to prevent radioactive contamination. That can create  a specific impulse about 5 times greater than the chemical rocket that got us to the Moon. We could actually do this today, but we fear an accidental meltdown.

Of course, this set-up closely resembles the situation we find ourselves in here, optimized for a technological civilization.
Isn't it interesting how it looks like our system has already been optimized to both challenge and reward us for trying to reach space?

If you find these, you are home.
Good Luck.

Cognitive Dissonance

There are some troublesome questions rolling about in my mind, and there is no way for me to answer them:

Why are we told that this world is real and good, but that the world after death (which is unverified and unknowable) is even more real and better? Did not the same God make both? Is this the result of the prophets not being able to understand what they are being told through intuition?  Or does God not want to explain his full reasoning regarding the future to the people He is trying to guide. If any teaching about space gets interpreted spiritually as Heaven, and any promises of technology are regarded as miraculous, is this the intention of God, to keep us motivated until a far future that we could never conceive? If He was ever to speak clearly, would it not require even more faith, and suspension of reason, to believe what was obviously impossible in ancient times?

Which kind of "Matrix" are we involved with? When is a spiritual education/challenge not just a simulation of reality? How is a world created by a God any different from a game created by a computer programmer, if they are both sufficiently detailed to delude the player characters? If the next world is more real, does that mean that this one is less than fully real? What if "suspension of disbelief" is enforced by the hardwiring of the virtual reality mechanism, so that we will never know we are in a holographic game?

And why are we warned to avoid being seduced by the pleasures of this world, to beware the sin of falling prey to vanity and temptation, and to fear that they might cause you to lose your chance to enjoy the next world? Why is it said that this world is corrupted by evil, temptation and selfish pride? But the descriptions of Heaven sound so desirable, tempting us to believe that we will get everything we will ever want. Will we be so changed that our very desires will also be transformed? That's brainwashing, or becoming a "post-human" being. Is that supposed to be a good thing, when God does it to you? Jesus said we would be transformed in ways we can not now understand.

What is spirit, and the soul? If we do get hints, why can't they be studied and verified? Too much is demanded of faith. Our lives have become a game of delayed gratification, which is supposed to be blessed and joyful, even enthusiastic. But life is still full of suffering. Somehow, we seem to be only markers, placeholders supporting the game until it progresses far enough to comprehend the great divine revelations coming at the game's end? ...or is it just the intermission before we start "Part 2"?

Why are we designed to want to try, and maybe discover a desire for things that are not good for us? Why do we not desire only what is going to be for our benefit?  Is it better for humanity as a whole for us to be generalists, to make us more adaptable in difficult situations, able to progress and learn, because we are willing to risk and experiment? If so, then why is it sinful to try things that might be harmful? Why do we not intuitively avoid the risks of trying something that others have already learned is harmful, if God is going to count it against us if we try it again? Is it really a sin to fail to learn from the mistakes of others? I don't think that's fair. That covers most of the sins we commit.

We are being condemned for a design flaw, not for our own faults. One might as well condemn society for failing to adequately teach us, so that our inclination to discover is stifled, even to the detriment of society, and progress itself. It's a self-contradictory conundrum. The individual's experimental intelligence is sinful, but fault also lies with the inadequately stifling indoctrination by society. Something tells me that we don't clearly understand the intentions of God.

We are meant to progress toward a too-vague goal, which is really only an aim. And we are given poor "guidance" which only tells us what not to do, and offers "laws & ethics" as the right way. Plus, it seems likely that even the true goals have been disguised in terms of a fantasy several millennia old. Let me backpedal, just to say, the Book we have is pretty good. It got us this far, but not without some major difficulties. Isn't this game due for a major update, maybe even a total rewrite, or at least a next Chapter? We seem to have gone through a few of those already, and we could use a few more instructions. But then, we are probably meant to figure all of that out for ourselves, so that we can still continue to feel that it somehow really matters.

Or is the Apocalypse due, to bring the end times and the great War to End All Wars? Will it finally determine who wins, and gets to claim the prize? Will the winner get to write the rules for the way we shall live in Heaven? And will the loser be vanquished utterly and destroyed, or confined to the Hell that the battle for Earth will create?

Too many questions, with contradictory answers. There is no way to know what is the real truth. Cognitive Dissonance.