“When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me-it still sometimes happens-and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again.
I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting.
Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous-not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… That pure chance could be so generous and so kind… That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time… That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful… The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday.
I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.”
― Ann Druyan
…………..
My commentary…
These words (above) very much remind me of my beloved Uncle who passed away in recent years.
He was a committed atheist who believed life was ultimately meaningless and that death was the end.
I can be certain he never entertained any hope or expectation of ever seeing his beloved wife (my fabulous Aunty) ever again.
How tragic and empty.
They did not *know* they would never see each other again… that was simply an article of their faith… and what a hollow faith it is… devoid of meaning… devoid of hope… foolish even… given so many of us know the truth of the Bible.
The time of Sagan was tragically dominated by the delusions of scientism and materialism… both have been overthrown… yet sadly so many millions still cling to them because they cannot fathom or bear the alternative paradigm. They are Aliens to God… Aliens to the truth… They prefer the darkness of Nihilism.
I know this because I was once one myself… a militant atheist trapped in the delusions of materialism… despite the fact that it’s foundations have been utterly overthrown.
The Ultimate death nail being the fact that the Laws of physics have been proven to be contingent, temporal, and strictly limited… not absolute as was once believe as the foundation stone of Materialism. That has been Blown to pieces. I tell my Children that even though I shall die… I will see them again, as we have that Divine promise in the Gospel and the historic fact of the resurrection of Christ.
Christianity is a superior faith in every way over the paucity and delusions of Atheist materialism.
*******
Retort 1….
My reply…
Nihilism. Yes. For it follows from Godless materialism.
You don’t have to take my ‘whacky’ ‘crack pot’ theistic word for it.
No less than Nobel prize winner for Philosophy Atheist Bertrand Russell deems it so!
I myself had a wonderful and intelligent Atheist Uncle… I do not hesitate to say he was a good man. Kind, and charitable, yet he would be the first to admit that atheism has no foundation for morals.
I loved him very much and had many conversations attempting to sway him to realise his errors… He would no be moved.
He simply chose to be kind… displaying many atheists cannot bear to live consistently with their own professed world view, but instead mimic Christian values… as if morality really is objectively true. This evidences the inner conflict such atheists face… for intuitively we sense moral laws… yet they cannot be reconciled as objectively valid from Atheist premises. Instead they are often given ‘Darwinian Attributes’… ie that moral sentiments ’embed themselves’ biologically… not because they are *moral laws* in the Christian sense… but because they serve beneficial genetic survival properties…. so such rationalisms…
This is the tragedy of the delusions of Materialism… for such souls pass into eternity not accepting or admitting their own sinful fallen moral condition and need for Christ.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
Christian Libertarian.
King James Bible believer.
The idea that there are aliens out there is pure Atheist Evolutionary Myth. The reality is *Life cannot spontaneously generate* Mic Drop. We know this because There is no such thing as a ‘simple cell’… Cells are super-complex… that is why blind nature cannot make life…. Mic Drop. Which is also why The Firmi paradox is a death blow to Atheist evolution and why Brian is bothered by this truth.
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
Dispensationalist.
Transcript:
“There’s a thing called the Fermi- Paradox… and the paradox is… if we hadn’t seen anything… lets assume we haven’t seen any evidence of anything… That’s a paradox. We now know.
We didn’t when Firmi first posed it. by the way.
We now know there’s so many planets out there… so let’s say trillions of planets in the Milky way. The Milky ways been there for over 13 billion years. Pretty much the age of the Universe. So If there’s no one else out there, then the question is why?
Because there’s been so much Time and so many places for civilisations to become Space faring civilisations. We are very close to becoming a multi planetary civilisation. And once you have become a Multi planetary and multi Stellar civilisation, and you become that you’re immortal basically.
So the question is… the paradox is why does it appear nobody has done that.
So the first thing to say is…. I would not be surprised if a UFO landed here now in the parking lot. I’d actually not only would I not be surprised, I’d be relieved.
This is good. It would be a weight off my shoulders. because I’m worried [Joe Rogan: that we are the only ones… that’s a terrifying scenario] … and we are going to make a mess of it.
Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.
**********
There is a God.
He Created this Universe and Us.
We fell into evil and that is why he separated himself from us.
Yet he loves us and has provided a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed from Sin.
By believing the Gospel and receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Christ died on the cross for our sins.
He was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day in victory over sin and death.
Whosoever believes the gospel and calls upon the name of Christ… shall be saved from eternal damnation and instead will live forevermore in God’s loving presence.
My answer… off the cuff…
There are several levels of ‘Sovereignty’.
The most essential one’s being God’s Divine Sovereignty and from this Individual sovereignty.
Individual sovereignty is a vital concept for Human Freedom which is only possible from a theistic foundation in which the Human Individual is imbued with Inalienable rights to life and Liberty.
The fundamental argument being we are given our lives and Freedom directly from God Almighty and it is Theft for governments, or anyone to rob us of our God given life and freedom.
We Free Men then can form a National government which derives it’s *National sovereignty* from a collective of our individual sovereignty and right to form a government. The Government in this way is *Not sovereign*… but the servant of the Sovereign people.
Yet still the people cannot imbue their government with any greater rights or authority than they posses *as individuals*…. therefore no collective of people have the right to create a government that tramples upon the God given rights of Individuals or minorities. No such legitimate power exists.
Therefore the Government must be strictly limited in it’s power, scope, and function leaving the Individuals with their Liberty to follow their own consciences… practice their own faith…. exercise their own values… the only condition being they respect the rights of others to do the same thing… and that their actions do not transgress the rights of others. This is where such things as Private property and free speech are essential rights. Private property is where we may practice our faith. Free speech being distinguished from violence means we can speak out minds and openly evangelise our faith and political opinions… which even if others do not like them or causes them offence… do not constitute violence and so do not violate others rights… and as such are lawful.
Atheism has no foundation for the sovereignty of individuals… no foundation for individual rights in fact no foundation for objective morality at all.
Famously The atheist Jeremy Bentham called rights ‘Nonsense on stilts’.
Atheist Hobbes said their is no higher power than *Might*…. The Leviathan state.
This is why under the atheist materialist paradigm there is no defense against *The sovereign State* which then can treat individuals in any way they see fit.
This is the Atheist Marxist conception whereby Individuals can be sacrificed for the sake of the Collective… The State. There are no Higher Moral Principles by which The All powerful State can be deemed to be Evil. In The Marxist consception… whatever serves the benefit of the Party State is moral* …. That’s Lenin.
so you have a choice… God and Human Rights vs Atheist Nihilism and the subordination of human beings to absolute power.
Look at the state of this seething vile socialist hater of Christian values and Christ!
Molesters of Children’s minds.
See how Satan works.
Step one: Introduce inappropriate perversion into schools.
Step two: Silence any dissenting opinions by accusing Christian parents of being inappropriate and bigoted when they express outrage at the perversion they introduced.
Fact: This is a spiritual Ideological war being waged against our Christian foundations.
These people are destroyers and they are evil.
They are wreaking absolute havoc creating legions of lobotimised zombies who have been taught that Christianity is Nazizm…. all classic Marxist strategy for corroding overthrowing Nations.
Parents must stand up against them.
The Socialist onslaught is on many fronts… Critical Race theory, revisionist History, Gender Identity, Economics, Science… Climate change,… ie all the whack ideas the extreme leftist radicals screech and kick big tantrums about…. yet most of all… they hate Christianity and the Bible.
The fruit of Far left socialism…
These vile sentiments translate into crime and violence against white people.. If sh’e a mother and teaches those vile opinions to them to her sons they have a high probability of ending up in jail for Race hate crimes.
We cannot allow these Haters and Evil and Oppressive Extremists to control the public sphere.
We must boldly and forthrightly Oppose them.
Free Speech Champion!
Watch her Bold stand against a Woke School Borad that tried to censor what parents were allowed to say at Board meetings… here
There is no excuse for cowardly silence.
Everything is at stake.
Is there any meaning or purpose to human existence?
I’m bad to the bone.
I know this. Some might say I am unfit to write this blog article about Easter. They may be correct.
Just recently I was proscribed medication to lower my blood pressure. It’s high.
It’s partly to do with my age, partly my genes, but mostly to do with my bad habits… too much craft beer… too little sleep, etc.
Though I am a happy person, I am highly strung, and don’t ever relax… even when I’m chilling… I have inner tension at all times.
I find myself holding my breath.
Though I am ready to meet my Maker, I don’t want to die. I have a young son I wish to finish raising, and I believe I have more to contribute to society and in sowing, watering the soil for the Gospel.
My chief inner contradiction is that I’m an optimist in outlook, yet being proscribed heart meds has done nothing to alleviate my life-long fatalism.
By fatalism I esp mean my ever-present sense of approaching demise.
Optimism and Fatalism in one bag means I’m happy, yet always have a sense of urgency that I must take care of business before I check out.
I may live 20 more years, or I may not last out the day.
I have faith that if Today is the day… then praise the Lord… it’s my day! Thanks for a wonderful life. Thanks for the grace that has given me these decades, these friends, this family.
This is not a sympathy seeking ‘poor me’ article. I’m not a victim. I own my own circumstances.
I needed to say these things for context of the real message I wish to make for my Easter 2023 Blog article.
In my family, and in my associations, I’m the Black Sheep of my generation. I accept this because my thoughts are often the polar opposite of my peers. I am grateful most of them have grown to appreciate that’s just how I roll, and chuckle whenever I open my mouth. I have little doubt most question my IQ and believe I am ill informed.
Yet… and here is the punchline… to maintain even this strained relationship, requires I keep expression of certain forbidden opinions to a minimum.
For context most of my Family are Socialists politically, and Atheists spiritually. Many of my friends and colleagues are A-Political/ A-religious… so they are not open to free discourse on these subjects. They tolerate me as long as I don’t get ‘Preachy’.
I fully understand that nobody should harass others on subjects they prefer to avoid… yet still The years pass by quickly and is it not sad to think you have wonderful friends and family yet never have been able to fully discuss such essential aspects of life?
It is especially hard when you have dedicated your life in the pursuit of truth… and have discovered mind-blowing facts and arguments that you must keep to yourself for fear of being scorned and outcast by hard hearted loved ones who have no intention of challenging their own entrenched beliefs.
Remember my opening paragraph how I have a sense of urgency… and a repetitive source of despair in my life is watching my loved ones… friends, associates, and Family either sailing away never to be seen again… or pass away without having communicated with them truths I believe are essential to their Eternal well being. My own time is limited too. When I pass away my opportunity to persuade my people to Trust in the Cross of Christ, and in the miracle of his resurrection will be finished.
Yet I still have a bag of wind left in me, and I will take the opportunity that Easter long weekend provides to openly speak today.
I’m a Libertarian Christian, which means I believe in self responsibility and religious liberty.
This means I know there are limits to my duty, and ability to communicate truths to others.
The Bible says not to cast our pearls before swine… where they will not be received with gladness, but instead simply be trodden underfoot.(don’t take offence… it’s only a metaphor)
The Bible talks about the heart condition of lost souls.
Some have been softened… some are good fertile soil in which the seed of the Gospel can take root and flourish. Others cannot receive the seed.
This is my Easter message… An appeal to anyone reading this article who is honest enough to admit the origin and meaning of life has alluded them so far… to dare to remove the Blinders that prevent their minds from being able to take Christianity seriously. Ideological blinders that render them incapable actually contemplating the possibility, that Christ really was the Son of The Almighty… God Incarnate…. Sinless… and that he willingly went to the cross to suffer a criminals death… a redemptive sacrifice…. paying for the sins of humanity.. and rising from the dead on the third day day as proof of his victory over both sin and death… and that whosoever chooses to believe that gospel… shall be freely forgiven of all sin, and shall enter God’s presence in perfect newness of eternal life.
It’s a fantastic mind-blowing thing to even contemplate!
How can *that* possibly be true?
Is not that a demonstration of humanities wishful thinking and capacity for believing absurdities?
Easter cant be relevant in 2023…. can it?????
I once thought that way.
I have written several accounts of my own conversion from Militant Atheism to Christianity (links below) and it remains vivid in my mind the process… indeed the moment the scales fell from my eyes.
I won’t repeat what I have said elsewhere except to say the miracle of my own conversion depended first of all upon unusual circumstances that caused me to unwittingly lower my cognitive shield and actually give Christian apologists a fair hearing.
Holy Smoke!
For the life of me I never dreamed that I would be persuaded to believe the bible!
My conversion took many months of discussion, argument, presentation of historic and scientific facts… the miracle being that I even gave them 5 minutes of my time to discuss matters I strongly considered to be beneath contempt, ridiculous, false.
My testimony today is to tell my reader that there is overwhelming evidence and logic to Believe the Gospel is true… in spite of how incredible it appears to the atheist mind that is trapped in the false materialist paradigm.
My Easter appeal to the gospel is for any honest atheists, or people of other faiths, Is to ‘seek with an open heart… and ye shall find’… yet should you harden your own heart and remain of closed mind… there is nothing I can do. If my appeal falls on deaf ears, it is not me you have rejected… but Jesus Christ and the Love, Grace, and mercy of the Almighty.
One truth that weighs heaviest in my own soul is the knowledge of my own wickedness… my own unworthiness.
When I was an atheist I had absolutely no sense of my own spiritual corruption. I thought reality was ultimately A-moral… a nihilistic reality in which Human individuals were valueless and meaningless in a cold and indifferent Universe.
You can’t understand the importance of the cross unless you first have a realisation of your own fallen Moral condition.
Our Evil deeds really are evil, and God is not Mocked… Divine Justice is a real thing. And we will all have an appointment with the Great Judge, and will give account as to our acceptance or rejection of Christ’s work of Atonement on the Cross.
Some undoubtedly will say I’m employing fear-tactics to cajole feeble minds into religious subjection.
I know that is a thing, yet If what I am saying is Objectively true… it matters not whether or not the facts are pleasing to our personal inclinations… The truth is the truth irrespective.
God sets the terms and conditions for Salvation, not us.
It is the nature of fallen humanity to rebel against the Sovereignty of the Almighty. That is a piece of Deep irrefutable psychology. Know thyself! Understand how your deep innate nature pre-conditions your thoughts.
We are all children of Fallen Adam and eve.
These are Facts of Reality.
Facts of History.
Facts of Science.
Facts of knowledge founded upon personal experience.
The explanatory power of the Bible has no equal.
The Materialist cosmology/faith is utterly inadequate and filled with absurdities.
It cannot be honestly entertained by informed thinkers in the light of Modern science.
My advise is you go spend some time on Youtube listening to high caliber Christian apologetics, such as William Lane Craig, and Gary Habermas debating the likes of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, etc.
The Truth is there ready and waiting for you to descover… and have your mind blown!
Christ is worthy of worship.
I’m not worthy to worship him.
My only hope is that his grace is sufficient for a wretch like me.
The Easter Story specks of the Love of God towards us sinners.
Will it still be legal to celebrate Easter in 10 years time?
The light is fading.
Satan Laughing spreads his wings.
To my last breath I will declare Jesus is Risen!
Amazing Grace!
How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found.
Was blind but now I see.
I have watched a fair chunk of both Rogan and Peterson materials… and have enjoyed a great portion of it all. I believe they both make very valuable and insightful contributions in the realm of thought…yet I am not a sycophant. I give praise when I believe praise is due, yet I will also call out BS when I see it.
Please watch the video below.
Man has been defined as ‘The worshipping Animal’.
The title of this video is misleading in that the question is only relevant if it pertains to Moses and the Bible rather than a generalised ‘Origin of the Religious sense in humanity’ because we have solid evidence that some Pagan religions are born of or at least make use of psychedelics as mystical practices.
But should a person then believe this is a sound explanation for what is written in the bible?
That is the question I want to address… the rest is moot IMO because it is non-contentious.
Drug taking is a fact of human history.
I don’t buy this sort of ‘Rationalist’ speculation of apostate Jewish scholars who deny their own faith (Rogan’s opening statement was that some Rabbis had claimed Moses was trippin).
I would never deny these are questions worth discussing… they clearly are worth it… I don’t have a problem with the questions… I just find Rogan and Peterson’s conclusions… or lack thereof disappointing.
I guess these guys are still wandering in the wilderness.
It is true that many people have equated psychedelic’s trips to having a religious experience complete with meeting spirit beings.
Indisputably some Psychonauts looking for meaning in life believe they have ‘found’ something real in the psychedelic experience that transcends this material universe (consciousness itself is fundamentally transcendental) . Scientists and psychologists are beginning to appreciate that going on a trip can even bring peace of mind to the terminally ill… alleviating some from the fear of death.
They experience an opening door to greater realities.
Joe Rogan himself talks a lot about this.
In my youth I experienced this very thing too.
I was already a Christian and yet magic mushrooms were mind expanding.
Modern science is today catching up to the many beneficial and therapeutic qualities of Psilocybin.
Contrary to long held phobias and prejudices Magic Mushrooms can be good for the brain and the spirit.
Caveat: Beware! Psilocybin Magic mushroom are currently illegal in New Zealand, and if you ingest a poisonous look-alike that could be a fatal mistake.
Prohibition Sux!
One day this will change, and as is the case now in Canada, you will be able to buy safe tripping mushroom’s from the shop.
I recently had a surprising conversation with a old friend who had always been hard of heart when it came to discussion of religion, yet had recently had what she described as a religious experience from a psychedelic trip.
This experience completely shifted her opinion about transcendent reality.
Such experiences may help people to escape the box of materialism yet it is still a long journey to the way, the truth, and the life.
I am hoping my now more open minded friend will look further afield contemplate the bigger questions for which the Bible alone has the Truth.
Her spiritual pilgrimage has only just begun.
I pray God sends her knowledgeable servants to help guide her to the truth.
We all must see the light of truth to be saved. It is one thing for me to know this (I’m alright Jack!), the problem I have is that most of the people I care about are closed off to the possibility that they are lost sinners who need Christ.
Still I must try to reach anyone who is not hard of heart.
Back to Rogan and Peterson. What grinds my gears about these two guys in particular is despite being well aware of a massive corpus of piece-meal facts that are scattered across a broad spectrum of subjects guys like Rogan and Peterson fail to think holistically and refuse to draw the most obvious conclusion about ‘the religion’ of the Bible… from a totality of what is known… that it is based upon *Real events*…. *Empirical facts*.’That is the most obvious conclusion that best fits all the hard corroborating evidence.
Instead they choose to be vain in their imaginations and flog their favorite hobby horses. Rogan likes to attribute stuff to tripping. and Peterson enjoys fabricating overly sophisticated psychological bents that make the great men of the past look like Psyche patients.
This is a well understood penchant of ‘specialists’… their tunnel vision that can only interpret reality through their narrow lens of ‘training’… exposing their bents.
Gullible people mistake their own wild ‘rationalisations’ as being valid excuses for doubting the veracity of the Bible when in reality they are feeble and fail to explain the known facts.
Doctor heal thyself!
I assert the simple truth is that the great famous men of the Bible… Moses, etc had real experiences with God Almighty. Ie The Bible is literally true.
On a psychological level we can appreciate why human beings don’t want to face the simple truth…. because it would call an end to their pet delusions… an existential crisis….
But if you admit to yourself the bible speaks of real events … the moral implications will demand you change you whole outlook on life… and call you to prostrate yourself before the Almighty.
And above all things mans pride and his desire to be his own God prevents him from acknowledging his subjection to the Divine Authority.
What is appealing to people like Rogan about the psychedelic experience is that he can make it mean whatever he wants to believe.
Sinful lost human beings are alien to the truth. They are opposed to it. many will choose to believe almost anything rather than the truth. They cannot bear it.
In this way Human beings are the children of the Devil. This is not freedom but slavery to a lie. This will damn your soul.
As a Christin it is my duty to both God and my fellow man to witness for the Gospel.
Be honest to yourself. Believe the scriptures. The truth will make you free. Look to the Cross of Christ and his resurrection… there our salvation is found… for free.
Space in this post has not allowed me to lay out all the evidence that ought to compel reasonable people into accepting the historical validity of the scriptures.
Please do not be too disappointed about this short fall.
I am aware of it, yet anyone who thinks my failure to provide such a detailed exposition makes my contention a hollow claim is not a reasonable person.
The subject is massive. and involves virtually every branch of knowledge… and this is my main contention against the proposition Rogan and Peterson are making in the featured video. It is naïve.
I will provide links to where an investigation of the facts can be started….
IMO the greatest hurdle for an entrenched Atheist materialist that prevents them from being able to grasp the validity of the Bible is their *Ideological Blindness*… an intellectual incapacity to be able to contemplate for even a moment that Spiritual realities might really exist… and that the Biblical miracles actually happened.
I am not seeking to belittle anyone… I’m pointing out the massive paradigm shift required to be able to honestly consider the alternative view.
I know this from my own prior atheist experience. I know how the Materialist mindset is utterly consumed by weak rationalisations that are fabricated to maintain the Atheist cognitive dissonance.
It is an addictive habit of the mind that most atheists mistake for intelligence and reason.
It is folly!
Materialism is founded upon the archaic and childish delusions of Scientism… a belief that empirical science can (and does)explain everything.
This is an untenable position in 2023.
“Seek and ye shall find.”
The first step to seeking the light must be an opening of the mind.
A large portion of my work published on Eternal Vigilance Blog is laying out the case for Christianity and Biblical faith. I am not a great writer, yet the hundreds of posts I have done on a broad spectrum of issues form my testimony as to why I believe the Bible is true. Thus I point to them as an archive of evidence to support my claims I am making today. Anyone with a seeking heart might do worse than to spend some time following links I post below.
A final word…
When I dabbled in psychedelics I never met any spirit beings, yet as I said above I was a wayward Christian.
I wonder if that kept them at bay?
I do not encourage anyone to take drugs, and posit the long held warning that Christians have historically associated ‘Phamikea’ with Sorcery and Witchcraft… which is understandable given the Pagan usage of psychedelics.
The Bible instead promotes the Sober mind.
And if the assertions of the Christians are correct in these matters, the spirit beings encountered while tripping could be dangerous Demons pretending to be Angels of light… and I suspect that is the case.
Before I was a Christian, in my late Teens I did have an experience… It is called ‘Entity Attack syndrome’… historically called Incubus/ Succubus encounter, yet modern rationalists call it ‘Sleep paralysis’ … my account of that can be found here…
Further thoughts that continue on from Part 1 here.
Science is no escape from the human condition… that gospel purported by many…is false.
Though we may increase in mastery over nature…certainty will always escape us… thus science is a pragmatic pursuit, not a source of absolute knowledge.
With every new answer comes new questions.
We will always rely on axioms and presuppositions… we cannot escape the need for faith… which underpins what we think we know… even the things we are most sure about….
I guess my original post could have been called… ‘Beware of Scientism’.
History shows you can ‘prove’ almost anything by fiddling with numbers.
It must be understood that not even math escapes the human condition… I know many people will be loosing their lunch over my impertinence… yet with time I hope to explain the many ways math can be corrupted.
When reading about various types of weird ‘inferred postulates’ like Dark Matter, The Big Bang, etc we always find two camps of thought.
Simpletons who think the said phenomena are rock solid facts and proceed to treat them as such in all their forthcoming activities… and others who have the intellectual depth and integrity to admit these cherished theories are full of holes… and proceed with caution in any further speculations that could follow.
It depends on which article you read as to whether or not you are encouraged to accept such phenomena are real … or to remain skeptical.
It is particularly scary when the political class pick up on certain theories… because they suit their political agendas… and begin to compel whole populations into accepting them as indisputable… and then using usurpatious powers proceed to embed them in Laws and institutions… Pouring Tax billions into the pockets of scientists who just so happen to produce politically correct ‘findings’… while critics are deplatformed and thrown out of Seats of learning… and making it nearly a crime to question ‘the official line’.
Science has died.
The Balance has been skewed.
What we are left with is Pure Pseudo science… very much like the Social Darwinism of the Nazis which Sub-humanised the Jews.
What is funny is that so many people naively assume such shocking corruption is not going on today!
The truth is there are many factors that can corrupt science… Money and political agendas being two biggies… and anywhere the State is pouring money into ‘research’… it becomes highly dubious.
Another funny yet erroneous stereotype that was born of the Materialist religion of ‘Scientism’ is the image of Doctors and scientists in white lab coats with thick reading glasses… and expressionless demeanor.
The psychological impact of this upon gullible minds is the impression that scientists are not only way smarter than other mortals… but esp that they embody a ‘Spock-like’ power of Objectivity… that all their utterances are devoid of personal prejudices… all this is designed to get the gullible to trust them.
Their white overcoats serve the very same purpose as the priestly gab of any religious cult!
The truth is the exact opposite.
You would struggle to find in any other area of life a more opinionated, conceited, biased, Vain, Greedy, unprincipled, and obstinate bunch of human beings than you find in science departments!
Pseudo-science are myths dressed up in Scientific Gab/ jargon.
Is it any wonder why there are so many pseudo-scientific ideas that hold sway among the masses???
When false postulates and theories are accepted as fact whole magnificent edifices are constructed upon these corrupt foundations.
Entire lifetimes, and reputations, and industries can be wasted building ‘White Elephants’… and strong vested interests assemble to carry on the lies… because the longer the sham continues… the bigger the mess when it topples… and people fear facing the ugly truth… and paying the price of correction.
The lies become so embedded that it seems like madness to question them…. Cognitive dissonance becomes the norm… an incapacity to acknowledge uncomfortable novel truths.
Progress has always had to battle with entrenched Mass-held delusions. What is funny/sad is so many Moderns only apply this precept in their warped conception that Science has always struggled against religion… a very inaccurate and simplistic apprehension of history… utterly failing to guard themselves against all the other personal bents that can prevent them from grasping new and challenging evidences.
esp their own modern post-Christian quazi-religious bents.
I ask people if they dare to entertain any controversial propositions that are at variance with the mainstream?
For it is a signal of an independent mind to walk it’s own path and have the courage to diverge at certain points from the herd.
The herd has been trained to pour derision and hate upon anyone who steps out of line and does not submit to the ‘orthodoxy’ of their times.
It may amaze people that I am talking about *The scientific community*… not some religious sect.
Understand that the scientific community is as prone to Backwards, erroneous dogma as any other Human endeavor is.
What is essential then is to write a code of ethics of which the scientific method is just one aspect of what entails the correct mental processes that are conducive to the scientific enterprise.
. to guard ourselves from slipping into a mire of our own subjectivity… eg with the interpretation of evidence.
Ultimately all we can do is acknowledge the human factor will always be lurking about… like a madman.
The Bible says that all human beings have an innate knowledge of ‘Good and Evil’… ie an innate sense of right and wrong… ie a sense of morality… and this atheist is validating this Biblical claim.
Yet everything he has to say about this innate moral knowledge is just his own rationalisation that he is forced to extrapolate from his atheist premises… yet to achieve his end he must deceive the gullible that *all things of value* can be ‘conjured up’… or ‘synthesized from’… (to use ‘science-y terms’ more acceptable to his audience)… from valueless meaningless materials… that is what he claims he can do…
He *must frame his argument in naturalistic terms… not because they are a valid basis for morals and values… but because they are the only materials he is permitted to use because of his presuppositions about Godlessness.
He cannot speak of ‘ultimate higher truths. but must reduce morality to pragmatic ‘here and now’ goals.
He automatically assumes *well being* is something morally good, and that *causing pain* is morally wrong… and give no foundation for this than our own abhorrence at gratuitous cruelty (he plays upon our feelings).
He peddles Ayn Rand’s ‘pragmatism’ about ‘human flourishing’ as being ‘Ideal’… and assumes that whatever tends towards ‘human flourishing’ … progressing along his imaginary ‘continuum away from poverty and death’… must be ‘moral’…. yet all this cherry picking is no more valid than Lenin’s claims that the Party state is the highest authority in the Universe and that pragmatically speaking whatever tends to the benefit of the Party States domination of the world… those actions are deemed to be ‘moral’ (which includes justification for pogroms, assignations, terrorism, etc )… and of course the Communist too appeals to pragmatism, as justifiable because it aims at the liberation of humanity … ie it’s ideal is ‘human flourishing’ too!
Who would argue against such high ideals???
He thinks that by making out that some ‘religion’ is patently abhorrent
(the example of the Father who chooses to kill his daughter because she was raped) that this is evidence that religion is *immoral*… yet in truth he simply validates the scriptures yet again… that false religion is evil.
As for talking about ‘Pandora’s box’ …technology… and about the dire need for ethics to keep it from Evil… he fails yet again, as Einstein himself said for this very reason that *moral teachers* like Jesus Christ are more important than physicists…
He Dishonestly omits most of his deepest opinions and evaluations.
What he keeps hidden is the truth!
He *really* believes humanity is nothing more than a purposeless accident, and that our lives have zero ultimate value… and that the universe will end in Death… and all Good will and evil intent will die along with it and prove to be equally pointless distinctions.
He doesn’t confess that he does not even believe we are freewill moral agents!
He actually believes we are slaves of materialist determinism chained to physical causation leading right back to the first milliseconds of the Big bang!
He utterly fails to fulfill his original claim that he would demonstrate that Science has something to say about morality.
P.S Ted Bundy was an atheist when he did his crimes and said that his atheism was a primary factor in his actions as he chose to ‘liberate himself’ by abandon all morality.
Somehow he grew a conscience and changed his views…
He would convert to Christianity before he was executed.
It is my opinion that while she is correct about the Ideals of Capitalism and Freedom, Ayn Rand’s philosophy ‘Objectivism’ takes individualism to perverse extremes and in so doing has committed great disservice to the Libertarian cause.
She was a Megalomaniac says the late Nathaniel Branden, and by my reckoning… a Narcissist… and her cult attracts a high percentage of Disciples with similar Sociopathic tendencies.
Unfortunately The reputation of Objectivism has become entangled with that of the Libertarian movement.
Having usurped a position of authority in the Libertarian movement Objectivist teachings and character have caused the Libertarian movement to stink… All the High Ideals of Libertarianism have been sullied because of the delusion that Libertarians are selfish and dont give a toss about the poor, and as long as this is how the Voting Public veiws Libertarianism… There will never be a Libertarian Government elected into office.
Objectivists tend to drive out other types of Libertarians as it takes a very thick skin to bear their Obsessive derision of Religion and glorification of egotistical arrogance.
The accusation that ‘Libertarians are selfish bastards who dont give a shit about the poor’ is a characteristic easily assumed by Socialists and others who have the unpleasant misfortune of talking with an arrogant Randiod Egoist.
Though it is a terrible accusation… this sort of Critisism is often received by an Objectivist as a badge of Honour to be worn with pride! They think concern for others is a vice.
They assume they are imitating their Glorious master who teaches them to be absolutely impervious to the opinions of others.
Central to her Philosophy is also Militant Atheism…’Religion is the root of all evil’ type mentality that is not only overt, but also needs to be appreciated to understand that her Individualism is underpinned (and distorted) because of her Atheism.
Ironically I was prompted to write this blogpost critisising Rands contention that ‘selfishness is a virtue’ after having a Facebook conversation with an Objectivist who shares few (if any) of these common Objectivist traits, and is prepared to Diverge from Rand’s Rabid Anti-theism… Australia’s Colourful champion of Liberty… Prodos Marinakis.
From his comment below you can see for yourself he is willing to be honest and critical about the Objectivist movement.
He’s a very likable Guy.
As Facebook friends I saw one of his posts on ‘The political Compass’ which is a better ‘graph’ on which to plot peoples Political persuasions rather than the ridiculously simplistic Far Left to Far Right Linear graph that is adored by the Mainstream who only seek to maintain the two party system.
These ‘Left and Right’ parties dont like the ‘political compass’ because it outs them as anti-freedom Authoritarians.
Having answered a questionnaire to ascertain his political leanings… the result was plotted on the compass. Below is Prodos result…. and I’ll let our conversation carry on from here… yet for the record I myself am a Bible believing Christian and an Independent Libertarian activist.
*****
…Prodos Marinakis
Political Compass Test — just for fun.
Mine is below. Similar score to Milton Friedman.
More “conservative” than “libertarian”.
https://www.politicalcompass.org/test
Tim Wikiriwhi:
I’m not surprised by your result Prodos given how highly you regard Rand.
I think she distorts peoples views about the virtue of Charity and the vise of selfishness, whereas I highly Regard Jesus Christ and St Paul… and it will be no surprise to you that I usually register as a left leaning Libertarian.
And yet now having completed this test (above) I too have come out a Right leaning Libertarian … making a mockery of my earlier comment… 🙂
In fact We virtually got the same coordinates…[ Both Libertarians rather than Authoritarians …I was slightly to the left of Prodos… yet still on the right side of the spectrum]
Like me you were probably uncomfortable with the Direction of some of the questions and were forced to make some choices without the opportunity to explain your reasoning…
Prodos Marinakis:
Tim, thanks for sharing your Political Compass results & for your comments — both before and after doing the “Political Compass” test.
I’m very glad to see that we got such similar results. You are more surprised by that than I am, since I believe I understand you, better than you understand me.
You wrote, regarding Ayn Rand:
“I think she distorts peoples views about the virtue of Charity and the (vice) of selfishness …”
Well, to talk about Ayn Rand (or Jesus) and not get bogged down, it helps to have specific quotes and to also put them into the proper context. True?
Personally, I consider Charity to be a virtue — provided it’s not tainted by the Kantian notion of altruism (which, despite the modern Church’s reliance on this evil concept, is in fact a post-Christian and anti-Christian invention of Auguste Comte from the 1830’s).
As for “selfishness” as a motive … that term, in Ethics, usually refers to a bad motive.
Calling someone “selfish” usually means that they’re benefiting themselves — even when it’s at the expense of others. And they’re benefiting themselves in a way that’s indifferent to other people.
Yet, there is nothing in Ayn Rand’s fiction or non-fiction that advocates or esteems THAT kind of “selfishness”.
On the contrary, being “selfish” in the Ayn Rand sense — as she explained in The Virtue of Selfishness and encapsulated in her saying: “There are no conflicts of interests among rational men”.
Not to mention the whole model of Free Market Capitalism.
It is true, however, that Objectivism tends to underrate the value and virtue of Charity.
When a writer uses a word (or an expression) it’s important to understand what THE WRITER meant by that word (or expression).
When Jesus says “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” … we need to study what Jesus meant.
For instance he didn’t mean (as one of my colleagues recently argued) that Jesus is a supporter of taxation and “Big Government”.
(better leave it there for now as I have to cook dinner!)
🙂
Tim Wikiriwhi:
Prodos, I think you have a better grasp than the average Objecitivist because you differ from the average in two aspects.
1. You dont have an innate hatred of religion and so you dont ‘need’ to ‘prove’ it is ‘Evil’… and that gives you a far more objective view when discussing such matters, and (2) this is a corollary (or complimentary) of the fact that you are not afraid to diverge from the Orthodox dogma of the Cult.
Now One of the reasons I accuse Rand of Sophistry is because she trains her disciples to Bastardise the English language by arrogantly abandoning accepted meaning of terms… Re-defining words to mean something other than what they have been historically understood to mean and then proceeds to pretend she can prove the whole world was wrong … *and that she is some sort of Mega-genius* when in fact she is a fraud who has literally re-written the rules.
…often giving terms the very opposite meaning… and most importantly… she has ‘Pre-loaded’ the new meanings so that they will now appear to mathematically add up to the conclusion she wants to achieve… eg ‘that selfishness is now ‘a virtue’…. Objectivists dont even speak the same language… they are disconnected from the historical dialogue and dont even realise they have been swindled… mainly because they share Rands hatred of Christianity and are consumed by their own Egos… and think they too are super geniuses… ‘John Galts’ far above the average savage…. This is not the mentality of ‘Objectivity’… but a type of psychosis that blinds the mind of those who are not aware of what game she is playing.
Now though I know what her nefarious motives were… to discredit Charity… esp religious charity … therefore casting a devious lie to destroy faith in the goodness of Christ and the Christian faith… I can entertain her ‘Revisions’ and understand her silly definitions of ‘Rational selfishness’ vs ‘Irrational selfishness’ …(obviously by her reckoning the historical meaning of selfishness *was this irrational selfishness* and nothing more… not independence… not self-reliance… not self responsibility… and certainly not slavery to the collective!), yet her distortions of Egoism and selfishness, and twisted ideas about altruism as a form of slavery rather than voluntary Individual virtue of charity have contorted the average Objectivists views on Capitalism and Voluntary community Action.
Objectivists are always praising Blatant *Greed*… Rand has crippled their minds so that they are incapable of forming moral arguments that condemn Largess by CEOs at the expense of the well being of the average worker … because the average Objectivist cant understand that simply because a person may have the liberty to act a certain way… that this does not of necessity make it Just, or wise, or of Good character.
Likewise Objectivists tend excuse themselves from supporting worthy voluntary associations and community activities under the pretense that to ‘feel obliged’ to contribute is some sort of ‘psychological slavery’…. yet if any free society is to function it will rely Heavily on exactly these sorts of virtues and voluntarily self imposed moral duty’s.
These are my thoughts on why I suggested that On the Libertarian spectrum I would expect myself to be to the Left of you (Prodos), though I appreciate you are not ‘the average Objectivist’…. yet still your thinking will be ‘coloured’ to some degree by Rands Bents.
I have seen many of your posts that I have enjoyed very much in particular many that could not have been written by the’average Objectivist’ because they are Antireligious-lite… even commending… and that is not a common trait in the Cult.”
******
That is where I’ll finish this dialogue with Prodos.
I think think he is is a very interesting, and intelligent Man… a Champion of Liberty… a Man of Reason… who in my opinion avoids sycophantic Rand worship.
Someone a Christian can have a meaningful discussion with… free of petty conceit.
Despite the fact that Long Blog posts are unpopular, I do need to make one further clarification, and that is to say that though Christianity regards Charity as one of the highest virtues, and that People tend to associate this as a mentality common among left leaning political supporters, that it is a grievous error to automatically assume this means Christians ought to be socialists!
The notion that Christ was a socialist has been around for a long time, yet was systematically propagated and grew predominant among Western Christians in the 20th century when Communists infiltrated the churches and began to systematically sway Christians into supporting socialism… despite their Nations Prosperity,Freedom and capitalism being founded upon Christian protestant political reforms and values of Individual Rights, Private property, Hard work, Thrift, Voluntary charity, Honest Free-trade, etc.
This is quite a complex conundrum to untangle, yet when properly understood the confusion and false teaching gives way to definite clarity and broad understanding.
The Key is to understand the dispensational scheme of the scriptures and how things fit in properly with the plan of God.
Reading the Bible there are verses in the Gospels, and early Acts that appear to the unlearned to support the idea that Jesus was anti-wealth and promoted ‘Communism’… yet such an interpretation fails to take into account what Jesus was offering the Jews at the time, and that these instances… such as when he told the Rich young man to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor… and follow him… are not representative of the future Kingdom Christ had come to establish but was a special time of transition … from the Kingdom of Mammon… into the Messianic Kingdom of God on Earth whereby these injunctions were tests of worthiness to enter his kingdom… repentance for rebellion and sin… and a willingness to forsake the gains achieved under Mammon.. wealth… power… social status… and to enter the kingdom ‘Naked’… fully trusting that Christ would reward them when he had overthrown the Romans and established his rule in Jerusalem.
And here is the real Jam: Christs Kingdom will not be a Communist Utopia!
There will be private property!
The Lazy will not reap the harvests of the Virtuous and hard working, etc!
So the Important thing to appreciate about Christs Message to the Jews at that time and his injunctions to Sell their possessions, and have all things common, and to Turn the other cheek, and to endure persecution unto the end were not instructive of how his Kingdom would function… but tests of Faith and repentance… ie to be found worthy to enter his Kingdom The Jews had to have faith Plus works!
When this is understood the claim that Jesus promoted Socialism collapses… and is exposed as a wicked false doctrine used to deceive Christians for Evil political ends.
Sadly this False doctrine has been very successful with millions of Deceived Christians voting for Big Government Nanny State socialist Tyranny instead of for Liberty and self responsibility guided by personal ethics.
How Ironic that these Christians fail to see they are unwitting supporting Leviathan… enthroning the all powerful State as God… Mammon!
As this Blog post is already too long I will simply ad links to some of my other Blogposts that go into more detail about Christs Kingdom ministry to the Jews… and how that differs from the Christian Age of Grace that we live in today… which is a different dispensation, and has a different gospel..
I will add a link here to show that true Christian Charity is vastly different from the Atheist pseudo-morality of Socialist Tyranny and the forced redistribution of Wealth via welfare…
And finally below is a Link to a speech I delivered in 2006, at the Tenth anniversary of the now disbanded New Zealand Libertarian party… ‘The Libertarianz’ in which I tried to expound why I thought Rabid Objectivism needed to take a back seat to a more Humane and tolerant activism if the party was to have any hope of success at the polls… as can be seen from the date posted to the blog was in 2012… and I was still very angry about what had happened to the Libertarianz party… I was of the opinion that Objectivism was/ had suffocated the party.
I saw the party as becoming little more than a propaganda machine to further the Atheist Cult of Rand… I had already walked away from it by then.
Fanatical Objectivists have convinced themselves that by coining the phrase ‘Egoism’ that they can escape the the accusations of Egotism! another example of Rand’s Sophistry are work!
Egoism… self worship…they say is the highest Individual character trait!
New Zealand still needs a Libertarian Political Choice… yet if this is ever to rise again lessons need to be learned from the Objectivist Dominated Libertarianz party.
If a New Libertarian party is to rise it cannot become a recruitment tool for the Cult of Objectivism… Rands Philosophy cannot be adopted as the last word on Party Policy… and certainly Objectivist Intolerance towards religious views or Charity… cannot be allowed to set the tone of Party Literature and conduct.
A far more Libertarian and enlightened Character and charter needs to be set and presented to the voting public…one in which Libertarianism is expounded that shows Liberty is far more compassionate and Humane than Socialism ever was… and when you Look a a guy like Prodos Marinakis and his moderated style of Objectivism compared to the Rabid Rand worshiping Egoist and Millitant Atheists… the contrast is stark.
Its the difference between an enlightened and Tolerant, and thinking Libertarian… from an indoctrinated Fanatical Zealot of a God hating Cult of selfish arseholes!
This Caricature of Rand and Objectivism may be an exaggeration yet it is not wholly Unjustified as anyone who has had anything to do with the Objectivist movement will tell you… and you can read about just how delusional Rand was in person by one of her closest and most dedicated disciples… Nathaniel Branden… Read “My Years with Ayn Rand”.
When Judgement day comes for Any Rand she will be exposed as a fraud… In Reality she was not Great at all but a Delusional Woman full of the worst Character traits… and her toxic beliefs bring out the worst in those that are deceived by her.
Fortunately there are some New Zealand Objectivists and Libertarians who share the same virtues as Prodos… those that are prepared to think for themselves more and quote Rand less.
Any New party would need to maintain a separation of the Church of Ayn Rand and State… as much as a separation of any other personal ideology.
This is where hope lies and could be the basis for Cooperation between Libertarians of all persuasions.
Getting things all in their correct context and this way Libertarianism will have a much broader appeal… including winning Christians and others out of Socialism and into supporting Freedom where they ought to be. This will only happen when Egoism, and Atheism, and Selfishness are not the defining traits of the Libertarian party… But Enlightened tolerance and adherence to just principles, equality before the Law, and a desire to downsize Government and abolish unjust tyrannical laws and taxes… “He who governs best… governs least”. Thomas Jefferson.
Maybe sometime soon Kiwi Libertarians can have a Reunion… a few Beers… and talk about what could be… what should be in the near future.
