“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.
BREAKING: RFK Jr. Just CANCELLED the Flu Shot Ad Campaign – Here’s Why! 💉⚠️
For years, we’ve been told to “get your flu shot” every season—told it’s safe, effective, and reduces severity… but what if we’ve been misled? What if the science says otherwise?
🛑 50% of severe or fatal flu cases in adults were in those who were already vaccinated (2017-2018 flu season, CA Dept of Public Health).
🛑 In the 2016-2017 flu season, 70% of adults and 65% of children with severe or fatal flu were vaccinated.
🛑 Studies show consecutive flu shots make you MORE vulnerable to future infections.
🛑 Research in JAMA Pediatrics found that kids who got the flu shot were 4X more likely to get another respiratory infection.
🛑 The flu vaccine is the second most reported vaccine for adverse reactions, right after COVID-19.
And now? RFK Jr. has STOPPED flu shot promotions and shut down a major vaccine conference. He’s making transparency in medicine a priority—and the question is: What ELSE will we learn as more truth comes to light?
📢 Is this the beginning of a massive vaccine reckoning? Will RFK Jr. take on ALL vaccines, one by one, exposing the corruption between Big Pharma and public health agencies?
It’s time for full transparency. No more censorship. No more blind trust.
💡 What’s YOUR take? Will flu shots be the next vaccine to fall? Drop a comment below! 👇👇👇
BREAKING: RFK Jr. Just CANCELLED the Flu Shot Ad Campaign – Here’s Why! 💉⚠️⁰ For years, we’ve been told to "get your flu shot" every season—told it’s safe, effective, and reduces severity… but what if we’ve been misled? What if the science says otherwise?⁰ 🛑 50% of severe or… pic.twitter.com/wPabsNYnYY
“,,,For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
Romans 1vs 20.
God designed the hand. We can only attempt to mimic his design genius.
Below this ‘introduction’ is Large portion/excerpt from the Wikipedia Website on what is being called ‘The Third Man Factor’.
It contains quite a few historical accounts of Explorers and other people who when in dire situations experienced ‘A guiding presence’ that helped them survive perilous trials.
This includes one of the Greatest explorers of all time Ernest Shackleton. His exploits were truly epic to the degree of defying human limits of endurance.
That this phenomena is *a real thing* is not in dispute as it has been reported many times.
The reason I’m posting this to Eternal Vigilance Blog is because I wish to discuss what you people (and myself) think this phenomena really is?
Is it (A) a real spiritual encounter with benevolent spirit beings?
Or (B) just a quirky psychological delusion brought on by stress… ie ‘a coping mechanism’ of the mind?
Or (C) something else?
Read the Wiki excerpt below… take in all the details… then ask yourself how this is best explained.
Why did you arrive at your conclusion?
My intention is to expose our *personal prejudices, and aversions* and how they affect our interpretation of facts.
Are we truly open minded and objective thinkers or are we twisted souls with blinders on… that prevent us from being able to perceive the truth?
My contention is most atheists go through life with blinders on… preventing them from seeing truth and severely limiting their understanding of realty.
I have experienced this myself. I have also experienced the scales falling from my eyes.
With few exceptions most *Atheists* will without hesitation jump towards the ‘Secular so-called scientific explanation’ of this phenomena… not because it best fits the facts presented, but on the basis of their own atheist preconceptions they bring with them on this investigation… their rock solid certainty that spirits don’t exist… therefore that explanation can’t be true.
So they assume this must be a psychological phenomena… because that’s the only naturalistic explanation.
Yet this is not ‘practicing science’. This is applying personal belief to the situation… that is all.
The only reason you (atheist) find that a satisfying explanation is because it saves you confronting the uncomfortable probability that these are in fact recorded human encounters with real spirit beings.
*That is too extreme a proposition for most Atheists to give any credence.*
Why?
Because to entertain that possibility challenges their entire world view!
It breaches their fundamental tenets… No Ghosts allowed!
This is why I’m presenting this recorded phenomena here today to expose how our preconceptions limit our ability to think objectively about the world about us.
Ghosts may indeed exist! Yet if you have a mental block against that possibility… no amount of evidence will convince you otherwise. You are impervious to it all.
Every account of people claiming to have seen Ghosts you must write off as delusional… without any evidence! That is your default setting.
Let me introduce a second very commonly recorded phenomena…. Nocturnal ‘Entity Attacks’.
Millions of people throughout history have experienced being attacked in bed at night by malevolent spirit beings.
I was once an atheist teenager who experienced this myself… it was terrifying… I have recorded my experience here… yet when I talked with people about it I was told “Oh that’s when you wake up at night but your body is still asleep’.
‘Scientists’ have even given it a secular name ‘Sleep paralysis’.
When I herd this explanation… being an atheist… I accepted it because it seemed to me that ‘Science had investigated this and knew what it was…. besides… It can’t have been a real spirit attack… because spirits don’t exist!
Relieved by this knowledge… Science has an explanation… I went on with my life. (though I never forgot the experience! Too Freaky!)
Several years later…. after (much to my own surprise) I had become a Christian I contemplated my experiences (x2) and realised just how easily fooled I was into thinking that Entity attack was *not a real spiritual experience, but some sort of psychological delusion.
When I thought about the experience itself… and having put aside my Atheist spectacles I realised that by far the most compelling explanation was that what I experienced was real… esp when you read the many many accounts of others who have experienced it too.
It is then that you realise the so-called ‘scientific explanation’ was a load of bollocks!
Not science at all… just atheist presuppositions dressed up as ‘science’… ie the Blinders that keep fools believing there are no Spirits, No Ghosts, Not Miracles…. and no God.
In truth recorded history is cram packed with accounts of spiritual experiences!
The greatest of these being the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That really happened, yet you can’t see any of these facts if you have your atheist blinders on.
You will swallow any ‘rationalist drivel’… any so-called ‘secularisation of events’… rather than believe supernatural or spiritual realities exist and happen and have been recorded in history proper.
What is patently obvious to me now is how hollow and vacuous and absurd 99% of the Atheist rationalizations are about Reality!
They profess to know everything when in fact they know nothing.
They are lost and confounded by their own follies.
IMO one of the greatest… most sophisticated of pseudo-scientific myths believed by atheists today is the Theory of Evolution.
Let’s leave that for another time.
It is difficult to break the strong delusion that ‘science has answered the question about what Entity attacks really are’ as the rationales provided are powerful… yet I can assert with certainty that the arguments presented by so-called ‘sleep experts’… are not valid science.
One way to do this however is to ask these experts… or atheists… what circumstances… or proofs would they accept would invalidate, or disprove their belief these phenomena are just psychological but are in fact real?
Philosopher of Science Karl Popper said one of the essential attributes that distinguishes true science from pseudo-science is the principle of falsifiability.
For an idea/proposition to have scientific validity you must be able to define mechanisms that should they be proven… *falsifies the proposition*`.
This is a safety mechanism to guard against ‘Scientism’ and pseudo-science.
This being so… under what conditions would an atheist accept ‘these visitations’ are not mere hallucinations?
One might say… what about bite marks? Or Claw marks? Does not an absence of any physical evidence prove these things are hallucinations?
No… for 2 reasons.
1. For if these things are spiritual/ incorporeal entities… expecting them to leave ‘physical evidence’ has no basis. It’s just a whim.
And secondly… and more importantly… *reports of physical evidence has been reported!* These would indicate that whatever these beings are… they are capable of physical harm!
A recent account like this was from no one less than the Famous TV presenter Tucker Clarlson… who experienced a physical spiritual attack that left marks on his Body.
Yet what did sceptics say? They said he had injured himself while he was asleep! Or he had been attacked by one of his dogs!
So you see… Atheists will *always* come up with some *rationalisation* why they reject the possibility these entities are real.
Not even physical evidence will convince them.
This shows that the atheist premise that these entity attacks are mere psychological events… is not True science… but pseudo-science because there are no conditions by which their assumptions and rationisations can be falsified. They continue to rationalise away all evidence… they simply refuse to believe these attacks can be real.
I myself suspect what Sleep experts call ‘Sleep paralysis’ and what History describes as ‘Entity attacks’ are actually two completely different phenomena, yet they share some common attributes… If so-called ‘sleep paralysis’ is a thing at all.
IMO It’s more likely a complete pseudo-scientific fabrication whose only purpose is to discredit ‘Entity attacks’ as valid spiritual experiences… after all so-called ‘sleep experts’ have to have *some explanation* for what is going on… because something is definitely going on!
With this in mind please now read the Wikipedia excerpt I have posted below.
Make up your own minds about it… yet just remember there are two perspectives presented below.
1. is the so-called scientists and psychologists who have deemed these experiences to be nothing more that a ‘ psychological coping mechanism’
And 2. The perspective of the people who experienced the phenomena themselves… and are convinced they encountered benevolent spirit beings that helped them in their hour of need.
When I read their accounts… I fall into Camp 2 because I think it’s absurd to think Adults invent ‘imaginary friends’ and that these delusions know what to do… which direction they should take, etc etc. IMO those are definitive traits of an entity who knows the way.
What a mind-popping experience it is for any atheist to realise Spirit beings possibly do exist!
That is the beginning of the scales falling from your eyes…
In a society where belief in God and Ghosts is frowned upon as ‘delusional’, it takes great courage to swim against the current of popular materialism.
Some people simply don’t have the moral courage to follow their own convictions choosing instead to sheepishly go along with the crowd.
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
Please read the Wiki Excerpt below…
Third man factor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The third man factor or third man syndrome refers to the reported situations where an unseen presence, such as a spirit, provides comfort or support during traumatic experiences.
History
Sir Ernest Shackleton, in his 1919 book South, described his belief that an incorporeal companion joined him and his men during the final leg of his 1914–1917 Antarctic expedition, which became stranded in pack ice for more than two years and endured immense hardships in the attempt to reach safety. Shackleton wrote, “during that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia, it seemed to me often that we were four, not three.”[1] His admission resulted in other survivors of extreme hardship coming forward and sharing similar experiences.
Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman
— But who is that on the other side of you?
T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land Wikisource has information on “The Waste Land”
Lines 359 through 365 of T. S. Eliot’s 1922 modernist poem The Waste Land were inspired by Shackleton’s experience, as stated by the author in the notes included with the work. It is the reference to “the third” in this poem that has given this phenomenon its name (when it could occur to even a single person in danger).
In recent years, well-known adventurers like climber Reinhold Messner and polar explorers Peter Hillary and Ann Bancroft have reported experiencing the phenomenon. One study of cases involving adventurers reported that the largest group involved climbers, with solo sailors and shipwreck survivors being the second most common group, followed by polar explorers.[2] A similar experience was documented by mountain climber Joe Simpson in his 1988 book Touching the Void, which recounts his near-death experience in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson describes “a voice” which encouraged him and directed him as he crawled back to base camp after suffering a horrible leg injury high on Siula Grande and falling off a cliff and into a crevasse. Some journalists have related this to the concept of a guardian angel or imaginary friend.
Scientific explanations consider the phenomenon a coping mechanism or an example of bicameral mentality.
[3] The concept was popularized by a 2009 book by John G. Geiger, The Third Man Factor, which documents scores of examples.
IMO This is not an ‘either/or’ situation IMO.
Despite assumptions I believe both propositions can be true at the same time… 🙂
Let me explain.
I say 1. We have free will and 2. God controls the universe.
Just as my young son was not my slave I could guarantee that if I held out an ice cream… he would grab it.
He was not *compelled* to grab it… yet I knew that I only had to put the cone in front of his face… and he would behave exactly as I planned/ foresaw.
We read in Exodus that God ‘hardened pharaoh’s heart’ so that he would not let the people go.
All God had to do is via some inconsequential way provoke Pharaoh’s pride/ego… to know Pharaoh would of his own volition *harden his own heart*!
There is no *deterministic mechanism* involved in what God did that absolves Pharaoh of his personal volition and culpability for what he did!
He was tested… and failed because of his own evil… and God is fully just in holding him accountable for what he did.
Does this make sense?
So God’s Authority does not negate Freewill.
He simply knows the heart of every one of us.
Pharaoh could have acted differently… yet chose the wicked path.
Christian X user asks the question… “Should Porn be allowed on this platform?”
Public nudity in a free and civil society has always been a contentious issue. Even the discussion of Sex is contentious.
As a Libertarian Christian I have defended the rights of Sex workers, and Public parades such as ‘Boobs on Bikes’ from Oppressive Councils and laws that were under pressure to prohibit these things largely from Christian activist lobby groups.
Some people will wonder how as a Christian I might take such a position? I take that position because I believe in a separation of church and state, and I do not like Christianity and the bible being used as a bludgeon to persecute sinners and infidels. I believe that to be absolutely Unchristian, and also a corruption of the Law… and a violation of individual rights.
Many anti-freedom people think that by taking the side of prostitutes that I am endorsing prostitution, yet that is false. I do not want anyone (man or woman) to prostitute themselves, yet that does not mean I therefore should support laws against them.
I believe In liberty.. as a Libertarian Christian we have far more hope of saving people from prostitution if we show love for them rather than hateful oppression. Christians can still work to reduce prostitution via the gospel… which is the true Christian way to battle sin and improve the world…. all under freedom.
Now I said all this here to give context to the question raised above. Porn in Western society may be construed as being anything from showing a nipple… to full on Sex. I personally am not bothered by the former being allowed in public yet would be very bothered by the latter… so even Libertarian Tim thinks there must be a line drawn *somewhere*.
Myself… applying the principle of Equality before the law when supporting ‘Boobs parades in Hamilton’ was that if men are allowed to walk topless down the street so too should woman be lawfully allowed to. Instead of allowing woman to do so, we could instead simply create a new prohibition against men having bare chests…. yet is this the best direction for society… less freedom… more laws/rules/punishments? It’s obvious to me thats the wrong direction to take society… that leads to what is happening in the Islamic world with Burkas and Beard police.
The truth is Christians need to be tolerant of others who do not share *all* the same values and sentiments we do… yet who are still peaceful and civil. Ie seeing a boob on the street you may find offensive (I don’t) but is certainly does not violate any of your rights!
If we were to apply that to social media platforms and boobs were allowed… then anyone offended by it could scroll past that post… and even block the sender of the post…. thereby *self policing* their own content without imposing their views on others. And this is how a free and civil society really works. Tolerance… and Individuals taking responsibility for their own moral standards rather than expecting the government to act like the Taliban.
X could set up an ‘R18’ tab (maybe they already do) and users could click that tab to prevent any R18 content appearing in their feed. They probably already do this… I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain most x users don’t want explicit porn turning up in their feed, yet I’m sure the odd boob pick from a chick on the back of a motor cycle does not bother too many people????
Ultimately such questions are for the Platforms themselves to figure out… yet if they get it wrong It would impact on their User satisfaction and cause people to leave. Lets say X allowed nudity yet not explicit sex acts… at first some millions who cant handle the sight of a boob to leave. That would be an expected cost. yet eventually those numbers would recover and users would just take such stuff in their stride like adults. And personally speaking I think that is progress… an escape from the petty legalistic prudish attitudes that still support Legal oppression under the guise of Christian virtue.
If nudity was allowed on X that would not mean Christians could no longer maintain their own virtues. They might face more ‘temptation’… yet it would be up to them to overcome that as all Christian ought. Ironically It’s the more Pious types that have the most problem when confronted with a boob! Everyone else just laughs… or scrolls past.
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.
It looked this way during the 1893 World’s Fair – one of the most monumental events in American history.
The 19th and 20th century expositions were mighty celebrations of human achievement, congregating people from around the world to showcase leaps forward in culture and technology. Expos still take place today, but they declined in appeal after WW1.
The most impressive of all was the first exposition in Chicago. Some 27 million people attended over 6 months, when the city’s population was only 1 million and visitors did not have the luxury of air travel.
The fair was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas – a fitting moment to celebrate the onward march of civilization, during a time when the cultural and geopolitical torch was passing from Europe to the New World. Upstaging the extravagance of the previous fair in Paris, during which the Eiffel Tower was unveiled, was paramount.
In just two years (and without power tools), some 200 neoclassical buildings were erected in and around Jackson Park. Dubbed the “White City” for its gleaming façades, it far exceeded the grandeur of previous events. The structures were spread around a system of artificial lagoons and waterways, on which visitors zipped around on Venetian-style gondolas.
Most structures were built from a mixture of plaster, cement and jute, and intended to be temporary – which is why few remain today. The Palace of Fine Arts is still standing, but this was one of few built primarily from brick. Inside, representatives from 46 different countries exhibited their achievements in technology, science, industry, and the arts.
1893 was also a glimpse into the future – it was the first exposition lit solely by electricity, and most Americans had yet to witness the new technology. In a triumphal moment, President Cleveland switched on the power at the opening of the fair, bathing the White City in light at the push of a button.
The 65-foot “Statue of The Republic” (pictured) was the crowning monument, unveiled from drapery that was hoisted away when Cleveland hit the button. It was an allegory of American Exceptionalism – an eagle perching atop a globe in its right hand (suggesting the nation’s supremacy) and a staff topped by a Phrygian cap in its left (a symbol of liberty from antiquity). At the time, it was the largest statue ever made in America.
After the fair ended and most of its structures dismantled, the wonderful colossus was ordered to be destroyed because its gold-gilded exterior was beginning to wear. Apparently too costly to maintain, it was razed in a secret ceremony. The statue you see in Jackson Park today is a smaller, 24-foot replica.
The Meme (below) was posted to Gab Social media platform.
It makes a subtil claim appealing to Zeal… Zealotry… my retort to @Boomstick follows below.
Tim Wikiriwhi Responds…
@Boomstick Beware… This has no context, and is therefore deceptive in the extreme.
It’s claiming *Intolerance is a virtue!*
That cannot withstand any scrutiny.
Without some tolerance a person becomes a fanatic… indistinguishable from any form of fanatic… eg an Islamic extremist.
They would wholeheartedly endorse this claim.
Are you any better than they?
Now hear the enlightened truth!
Just as there are things that may be compromised, and others that may not be compromised, so too there are things that can, and ought to be tolerated, and others that ought not to be tolerated.
It is an equal wrong *not to tolerate what you ought* as it is to tolerate what you ought not.
Wisdom and Enlightenment teaches which is which.
Lower values can be sacrificed for the sake of higher values.
Treating others as we would wish to be treated ourselves… is natural justice.
Tolerance is guided by higher principles and convictions… it is not the abandonment of them as is claimed above.
A Tolerant man ought not to be a weak and an easily beguiled man, but show tolerance from a position of strength and vigilance.
And there is a line in the sand.
It is only by the embodiment of such values and principles than any man can claim to be civil and walk the higher path than the savage.
Intolerance is the hallmark of the Barbarian.
Intolerance is the hallmark of Tyranny.
Intolerance comes from fear.
Principled tolerance is in fact a symbol of courage.
” If it be possible, and as much as lieth in you, live peacably with all Men.”
Paul the Apostle.
Romans 12vs8.
