What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (NIV)
“…Extrasensory perception (ESP) involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind…”
From Wikipedia here:
I was inspired to write it in response to an atheist friend of mine whom suggested in the comments/ discussion following after the above Blogpost on Russell’s teapot that because A Flew expressed belief in ESP that this was a clear indication he was of dull intellect.
Now I don’t believe Humans have ‘ESP’, yet I don’t discount the possibility that there may be modes… ‘some completely natural’… of sensing things which in the current state of scientific knowledge we are currently completely oblivious to. Others could be ‘spiritual’ powers…like free will.
Of course it is exactly statements like that which cause ‘rationalists’ like my friend to pour scorn against anyone whom suggests things like ESP, or any ‘spiritual powers’ at all may be possible.
Let me place a caveat on my position as enumerated above.
I don’t believe humanity has or ever will develop a ‘Naturalistic’ ESP… why? * because I don’t believe in Evolution!*
To my way of thinking it is the Atheist Evolutionist whom ought not to doubt the possibility of Humans having/ or developing a naturalistic form of ESP as by my reckoning their wild theory seems to give room for every fantastic myth conceivable!
To appreciate this it is only necessary to apprehend just how fantastic are the claims of evolutionists Re the Evolution of Man from a single celled organism.
Let me explain.
Ever seen an X men movie?
All those Fantastic characters… mutants whom are Super-human and have ‘special powers’… but not spiritual powers… they are all advanced Bio tek.
That is what evolution is all about!
Lets talk ‘Naturalistic ESP’.
Now Evolutionists believe that a protozoa type organism slowly developed into the human animal with the five senses, taste, sound, touch, sight, smell… all via the inexorable march of Evolutionary process/progress.
On that basis I cannot see how my friend can insist that an atheist whom claimed decades ago to believe in ESP is some how being ridiculously inconsistent with Naturalistic theory *unless my friend assumes Evolution’ has already exhausted all the possibilities.* …yet it is easy to cast doubt upon this.
I believe I can expose his own inconsistency and in the process expose just how silly belief in evolution really is.
Consider these things…
An ear is a microphone.
An eye is a Camera lens.
A nose and mouth are chemical detectors
An hand is a load scale, temperature probe, and compression tester.
Animals have various other senses too eg lateral lines and sonar/radar etc,
My Atheist friend claims unguided ‘Evolution’ designed and built all these Bio tek instruments.
I ask why then he would doubt that evolution has not/ could not also build a biological ‘wireless cell phone/ ‘walky talky’ like device/system’ directly into our Brains so that we could mentally communicate at a vast distance…without speech?… ie a form of ‘Natural’ ESP?
We do today know that such communication is possible via external devices… a reality which not too many generations ago would have been considered ridiculously impossible!
Obviously a race of X human beings with a Bio wireless telecomunication system would have a superior survival advantage over ordinary human beings.
We must ask why ‘Evolution’ which is… Or so we are told… obsessed with ‘Survival’ has not bothered to supply us which such kit?
All evolution has to do is install such a devise inside our bodies and hey presto we have ESP!… not that difficult to grasp… if as you claim Evolution is capable of ‘upgrading a lifeform from a Germ into a human being!
The crux of my arguement is that if you balk at the idea of Evolution creating ‘Bio-cell phones’ then you must also question the rationale that evolution could create sight, sound, taste, etc… for the very same reason.
Ie because these are incredibly sophisticated ‘gadgets’ too!
Thus the evolutionist position really is that Si-fi movies like X Men are believable!
I ask what freakish creatures… via Evolution…are we destined to become?
An atheist whom balks at the Idea of ESP exposes the simplistic level on which they function. ie They redily will tell you it is rational to believe that evolution is capable of installing Cameras… but irrational to suggest it might install cellphones!
Spot the contradiction!???
Does my friend believe Mankind has reached the Zenith of evolution?
Now for some Funny Evolutionary Theory… Our X-Men Post-Religious future! 😀
Obviously I am not suggesting this video is anything other than a ridiculous fraud… what I’m highlighting *is the Atheist evolutionary myth* upon which it is based… is precisely what Atheist believe.
Its funny because Evolutionists actually *Believe this sort of stuff*… yet mock Theists faith in God!
Think about this…. They believe we came from Non-Theistic sub-creatures… evolved into what we are now, whom have been described as ‘The Worshiping Animals’… which they theorise as though being delusional Fables… non-the-less this trait must have had ‘survival advantages’… yet still they insist that Atheism is an ‘Enlightenment’…a progressive step away from ‘Primitive superstition’… so that ‘in the future’ Humanity will abandon ‘all religious superstition’… and be in atheist thinking ‘Fully rational’… fully knowing… without faith… etc etc… so by their reasoning Atheism both Precedes and Follows Theistic faith… all by the blind forces of Nature!
Talk about a Dung pile of Materialist Fables and superstitions!
It is the theistic position which makes the X men movie an absurdity.
Theism says *Evolution is a Joke!*, and that the blind forces of Nature cannot create life… cannot design new Gadgets/ senses/ biological capacities, etc, and thus the only way a human being could have any form of Naturalistic ESP is if our Creator designed and installed such Gadgetry into our bodies via writing it directly into our DNA… just as he has done with our Eyes, Ears, Etc…all of which are irrefutible testaments to the existance of God!
“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:’
St Paul. Romans 1:20
Tim Wikiriwhi
King James Bible believer.
Libertarian. Dispensationalist.
A friend Andrew, My Wife Joy and I burning our Census forms 2001.
My Wife has told me the Census Nazis have dropped off our papers for 2013.
They demand that we fill them out.
It’s compulsory.
Yet don’t I have the right to privacy?
What business is it of theirs what religion I am?
What ethnicities are in my family tree?, or where I happen to be on census night?
Now my life is an open book.
You can find out all these things simply by looking at my face book page.
Yet I intend to refuse to fill this form out…. For the sake of the principles that I have the right to privacy and the State has no legitimate rights to demand such information from me!
They work for Me!
I am not their subject!
The census is a violation of my rights.
After I have made a point for resisting their tyranny…for several visits, I will probably simply sign my name and address and they will go away.
I have done this for the past two census.
I burned my papers once!
The look on the Little Nazi’s face when I handed her a bag of ashes was priceless!
She went away and called in her more threatening Superior.
Blar! blar! Unless you fill out this form you will be summoned to appear in court, and will be fined.
And should you still refuse you will appear again, and fined… until you comply!
Most people submit to this tyranny without so much as a peep!
Yet the reality is folks that the only information you must give is your Name and address.
That’s all they will ever get from me… after I have exposed them as the nasty little Nazi’s that they are!
So I hope some of you appreciate the gravity of this situation and join me in my resistance to Bully Government powers.
Some of you may be thinking that the Government uses this information for their Social Planning.
That’s Good enough reason for me Not to fill them out!
You see I totally despise their ‘Social planning!’
Ie they intend to use this information to assist their Political machinations!
Give me Liberty, or give me Death!
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
“Party Rebels over ‘Intrusive’ Census” Story Here:
Objectivist Strong Man, Libertarian Mentor of Tim Wikiriwhi, Co-founder of the Libertarianz Party of New Zealand, Broadcaster Lindsay Perigo.
Tim Wikiriwhi wins The Free Radical Award Monday March 12 2001
Lindsay Perigo’s Politically Incorrect Show.
Radio Pacific.
“Good afternoon, Kaya Oraaa & welcome to the Politically Incorrect Show on the free speech network, Radio Pacific, for Monday March 12, proudly sponsored by Neanderton Nicotine Ltd., the show that says bugger the politicians & bureaucrats & all the other bossyboot busybodies who try to run our lives with our money; that stands tall for free enterprise, achievement, profit, & excellence, against the state-worshippers in our midst; that stands above all for the most sacred thing in the universe, the liberty of the human individual.
[Music up, music down!]
A couple of Libertyloopers have reported taking great delight in handing census-collectors the charred remains of their census forms. One of them, Tim Wikiriwhi, organised a ceremonial burning in the Waikato region on census night. Here’s part of the speech he gave consigning the form to the flames:
“Why are we doing this? Is this a childish act of rebellion? An act of lawlessness? Many New Zealanders honestly believe that we are fools and even criminals for doing this, Are they right? No! …
“Two very important truths are in question here. First, what is the legitimate role of government, and where do the liberties of the individual rightly begin and end, defining what is truly legitimate
and what is truly a crime?
“To quote Thomas Jefferson and the American Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident – that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government …
“Thus there exists a limit to government. A government that keeps within its boundaries is just. But a government that does not recognise its legitimate function and crosses into domains in which it has no business immediately becomes the violator of the rights it was instituted to protect.
“The government is not a law unto itself and has no right to violate you any more than a thief, rapist or murderer… Demanding that you fill out this form under threat, the state is committing a crime against you.
“Burning this document can never be constituted to be a crime because you are perpetrating no injustice upon anyone! And so your actions fall completely within the boundaries of legitimate liberties.
“Burning this document is the act of free men standing up and saying I’m not your property! My life is my own. So let us light us a fire tonight and raise our glasses for freedom!”
These portions of Tim’s speech will be posted on my web site later today, under Latest PI Show editorial: www.freeradical.co.nz
And right now I’d like to bestow upon him the Free Radical Award, for his guts & spirit. To Tim Wikiriwhi:
[FreeRad Award]
From The Free Rad website… http://www.freeradical.co.nz/content/pishow/pi010312.php
I SHALL here draw this book to a conclusion: prepared if it were necessary to pursue this Discussion still farther. Though I consider that I have now abundantly satisfied the godly man, who wishes to believe the truth without making resistance. For if we believe it to be true, that God fore-knows and fore-ordains all things; that He can be neither deceived nor hindered in His Prescience and Predestination; and that nothing can take place but according to His Will, (which reason herself is compelled to confess;) then, even according to the testimony of reason herself, there can be no “Free-will” — in man, — in angel, — or in any creature!
Hence: — If we believe that Satan is the prince of this world, ever ensnaring and fighting against the kingdom of Christ with all his powers; and that he does not let go his captives without being forced by the Divine Power of the Spirit; it is manifest, that there can be no such thing as — “Free-will!”
Again: — If we believe that original sin has so destroyed us, that even in the godly who are led by the Spirit, it causes the utmost molestation by striving against that which is good; it is manifest, that there can be nothing left in a man devoid of the Spirit, which can turn itself towards good, but which must turn towards evil!
Again: — If the Jews, who followed after righteousness with all their powers, ran rather into unrighteousness, while the Gentiles who followed after unrighteousness attained unto a free righteousness which they never hoped for; it is equally manifest, from their very works, and from experience, that man, without grace, can do nothing but will evil!
Finally: — If we believe that Christ redeemed men by His blood, we are compelled to confess, that the whole man was lost: otherwise, we shall make Christ superfluous, or a Redeemer of the grossest part of man only, — which is blasphemy and sacrilege!
I’m fast coming around to the view that the Socialist Salvation Army expresses like this.
our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
This is the doctrine of original sin. It was Adam (and Eve) who committed the orginal sin, but you have inherited that sin. You were born bad. Free will is commonly believed to be a precondition of moral agency and moral responsibility, but it’s not. Just as well, since we don’t have free will!
Contrary to popular opinion, moral responsibility is not consequent upon our actions (whether freely chosen or otherwise). Moral responsibility is not gotten through acts of commission or omission. In fact, it’s a matter of give and take. You are morally responsible if you are justly held accountable by other people (including God) or if you rightly take responsibility yourself for your own (or other people’s) actions.
The view I have just expressed is not a popular one. It gets intransigent atheists, in particular, in a real lather. Here‘s Ayn Rand.
The name of this monstrous absurdity is Original Sin.
A sin without volition is a slap at morality and an insolent contradiction in terms: that which is outside the possibility of choice is outside the province of morality. If man is evil by birth, he has no will, no power to change it; if he has no will, he can be neither good nor evil; a robot is amoral. To hold, as man’s sin, a fact not open to his choice is a mockery of morality. To hold man’s nature as his sin is a mockery of nature. To punish him for a crime he committed before he was born is a mockery of justice. To hold him guilty in a matter where no innocence exists is a mockery of reason. To destroy morality, nature, justice and reason by means of a single concept is a feat of evil hardly to be matched. Yet that is the root of your code.
The doctrine of original sin squares the existence of morality with the non-existence of free will.
The doctrine of original sin is Biblically sound, whereas the doctrine of free will is not (notwithstanding that it’s a very popular theodicy).
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (NIV)
I’m fast coming around to the view that the concept of free will is what Ayn Rand called an anti-concept.
An anti-concept is an unnecessary and rationally unusable term designed to replace and obliterate some legitimate concept. The use of anti-concepts gives the listeners a sense of approximate understanding. But in the realm of cognition, nothing is as bad as the approximate …
Free will is designed to obliterate human decision-making.
It’s simple. We make decisions.
Other people (including God) hold us accountable (i.e., deserving of moral praise or blame) for our decisions. That’s all there is to it, and all you need to know.
The Singularity – the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence – is coming, as early as 2030 according to some estimates. The first smarter-than-human AI will make decisions, like we do, only better. Will it have free will? That depends on whether other people (including God) hold it accountable for its decisions.
“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. (NIV)
This is an important subject I have been wanting to blog for some time.
It has to do with the Nature vs Nurture debate.
It’s a very big topic which will only lightly be touched upon in this post.
I would like to talk about a few examples which prove the importance of how Parents nurture their children.
While it may not be strictly true to say We start our ideological/ mental lives ‘Tabular Rasa’ (with an empty slate) we… like Birds who don’t need to be taught to build nests…We humans too possess some ‘instincts’/ innate knowledge, and despite the latest controversial/ absurd claims by Evolutionary biologists that try and assert that we are born politically Left, or Right, or Libertarian….the reality is how we end up ideologically speaking as adults has a hell of a lot to do with the environment in which we live and the external influences we imbibe.
It is patently obvious to me that both Nature and Nurture work together in producing Human personalities, yet for now let put aside the discussion of Nature and focus on Nurture.
I raise this subject for discussion to highlight just how important our behavior as parents is in respect to effecting our Children’s perspective of the world and how they learn to deal with life, and how vitally important the Ideas and values we embody and teach them are to our children’s future well being.
Just two examples will suffice to get this discussion going…
The first is an article which appeared in the NZ herald
‘Hate-filled Family made monster’ read it Here:
Now in this article the brother of a Terrorist… the French Scooter Killer Mohamed Merah whom Murdered 7 people (including 3 Jewish children) and died in a hail of Bullets resisting arrest.
Yet Mohamed was not born in a vacuume.
In a book he has written this Terrorist’s brother dis-owns and condemns his own family members for filling his brothers head with hatred.
I would suggest that this is a very common thread within the Lions share of Radical Islamic extremists whom end up with a Rabid Race hatred for the Jews and others, and go on to become Terrorists, suicide bombers, etc.
Not having read the book I must ask why it is that this other brother did not become a terrorist too?
What saved him?
In what way was his individual nature and Nurturing different to that of his fanatical Brother?
Racist radical and Mana Party Leader and MP Hone Harawera.
The Next example I would like to raise is closer to home (for Kiwis)….that of the Racist Radical MP and Leader of The Mana Party John (Hone) Harawera son of the Rabid Racist… the Evil Titiwhi Harawera.
Now it is obvious to all what sort of upbringing Titiwhi gave her son!
She filled his head with stories of how the Pakeha (European invaders) executed a ‘Holocaust’ against the Maori people, and robbed them of their land, and have left them destitute. She has taught him that ever since the establishment of ‘White rule’ Maori people have been trodden underfoot and suffered vile Race oppressions.
The end result has been to produce one of the countries most militantly hateful and racist personalities… Hone Harawera.
Mummy must be proud!
This tale would be common to many of our worst Maori Radical… like Tame Iti.
Thus from these two examples we can easily see that Haters do in fact grow on trees… They are carefully propagated… nurtured… Indoctrinated.
We can be sure that had Hone been adopted out as a child to a Pakeha family (like my uncle was) that he would not be the same person today.
That many of the most vile Haters are born from Hate filled environments surely means we ought to mitigate our condemnation of Hone’s current attitudes and activities.
Putting it bluntly… he’s been brainwashed from a very early age, and his attitude is almost to be expected.
We can see that his hatred for Pakeha, and his desire for UTU has less to do with factual history, and more to do with the vile racism of his mother.
It’s like an moral virus he picked up.
I suspect Titiwhi herself had a similar upbringing.
Of course depending upon how solid a moral foundation we ourselves have been taught by our parents, (and others) will determine how resilient we are against the hatred and prejudices of others throughout our lives. Ie if we have been taught enlightened values as a child, and wisdom about how the world really works, we will be able to fend off the vile lies and hate filled Bigotry of others rather than assimilating it.
This points to just how vital it is that we as parents take pains to instill enlightened and humane values in our children to fortify them when they go to school, and eventually out into the world.
So many evils are taught in school!
Today from primary school to University our politically corrupted Education system since the late 70’s has actually taught our nations children many of the lies that Titiwhi taught her son!
And due to a serious lack of wisdom on the part of the average parent today we have an indoctrinated society of sheeple whom accept a heinously distorted view of the history of New Zealand, and embrace an apartheid system of Government!
The Great Booker T Washington.
I do not suggest that All haters result from hateful upbringings, or indoctrination. I know horrible events in peoples lives can also generate hatered.
Nor am a saying Hone’s upbringing renders him morally blameless for his prejudices and activities as an MP. I have said what I have said with hope of understanding how such a bigot came to be… where many haters come from.
As an adult he is morally culpable.
If we look at such Moral exemplars as ex slaves, Frederick Douglas, Booker T Washington, or Equal rights activist Martin Luther King, we learn from them that oppression and prejudice does not justify reciprocation.
These Humanitarians were followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ… “Render no man evil for evil but overcome evil with good” .
They broke their chains… not only the legal chains which kept their peoples under, but most importantly, the Chains that link intergenerational Race hate.
So I ask Parents here … esp to Maori parents…” What values are you teaching your children?”
“What example do you set?”
Are You holding up a torch to lighten their paths, or are you filling their hearts with malice against their white friends and neighbors?
Will the values you have instilled help them to succeed in the world or will they hobble their ability to make good judgments… free of malice?
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
Update: 28-4-13 Who Radicalised Boston BomberTamerlan Tsarnaev?
