Christian Democrats in the United States
Conceptual Issues - Science and ReligionEven if the daily mechanics of our clockwork reality exhibit regular behaviors that we call laws, for some reason it is not difficult for most people to imagine that the clockwork was set in motion, even if from outside time, by a creator that we do not claim to fathom, who may continue to exercise a mysterious and boundless will at times within that creation. As for the details, we don't think God or the devil is trying to trick us with dinosaur skeletons or carbon dating formulas. We choose not to debate the literality of the Bible or be drawn into false debates to "prove" the existence of God within limited conceptual systems. God laid forth a world before us, and though we should not allow ourselves to be mesmerized by it, we should learn to appreciate it at every level, but we must let love temper our curiosity.
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Thursday, April 2, 2009
2:53 PM
It makes sense, since sin is what tries to hide the light, the light of more than the sun, but a hidden light inside all of everything that we catch glimpses of if we seek it with open eyes. Perhaps that's why we use our modern word "sin."
In any case, these topics are interesting and should be freely pursued by the interested. Shouting at children that they have to believe in a certain set of mythic or allegorical symbolic references really only makes them memorize the words, since they don't have (we don't teach them) the vast body of non-Biblical ancient literature, which provides good context for understanding the emergence of new metaphysical understanding from Christ.
I suppose people don't teach children to seek additional context for interpreting the word of God because then adults feel threatened that they do not themselves know everything, but they fear losing control of children. Since they do not know why it is right, they have to shout at kids. Only it seems like people like to shout at kids, using them as pawns to feel personally empowered, which is sick. Or maybe they just get off on the adrenaline. I've felt the same thing from the other side, but not until college, which would have turned me off from learning various theories on evolution, archaeology, religion and thought, if I were not made in a curious image with the courage to question their self-proclaimed certainty.
After learning that the experience of thought and action is basically inexplicable, I learned that law can only seem to be justified when based on respect for this miraculous and apparently infinite defiance of the logic that thought itself gives us, creating a logical criteria for common and equal respect of human beings.
I came to the conclusion, for example, that abortion cannot be rationalized because there is no logical criteria that separates a person from a potential person, and there is no criteria to determine the existence of a potential except conception; but neither can I rationalize the fascism needed for bureaucratic enforcement of that moral truth. Anyone against abortion should adopt or participate in, advocate for or donate to social welfare for orphans. If you all do this without threats of violence to mothers from abuse, retribution or jail, abortion would become socially unacceptable.
I didn't seek understanding because people shouted at me, I did it in spite of them, and that's too bad. Via the freedom of my mind, I've sought the best path for me that leads to greater understanding of God and my own life.
I can't think when other people are shouting at me. It's really annoying - there's too much work to do and too many good discoveries waiting to go on shouting at each other and at little kids. God provides many paths away from evil to be walked freely. It's not so scary that one has to accuse little children of sin and damnation for being born with the free minds that God gives us.
shamesh, ishtar and sin
What does it mean to say that sin is responsible for our sins? We're free to seek new and old ways to interpret this, the Bible and other sources of ancient wisdom, though certainly not all of those ways will seek God. It may mean, that Christ bought our (eventual or chosen?) freedom from sin with his blood, and we are forgiven for our entrapment. There are other ways of looking at the thought from other historical perspectives. For instance, if akkadian/sumerian Shamash (shemesh/shams) is a way of seeing God, and Ishtar the sex-war idol is "MYSTERY" who distracts us from God, Sin (Nannar-Sin) is a name of the void of night (the moon) in which all existence came to be when willed by the creator. In opposition to MYSTERY, the name given to Babylon, the City, an exultation of humanity over God, Sin the void of night is the false prophet, preaching nullity, nothingness, annihilation of all being.It makes sense, since sin is what tries to hide the light, the light of more than the sun, but a hidden light inside all of everything that we catch glimpses of if we seek it with open eyes. Perhaps that's why we use our modern word "sin."
In any case, these topics are interesting and should be freely pursued by the interested. Shouting at children that they have to believe in a certain set of mythic or allegorical symbolic references really only makes them memorize the words, since they don't have (we don't teach them) the vast body of non-Biblical ancient literature, which provides good context for understanding the emergence of new metaphysical understanding from Christ.
I suppose people don't teach children to seek additional context for interpreting the word of God because then adults feel threatened that they do not themselves know everything, but they fear losing control of children. Since they do not know why it is right, they have to shout at kids. Only it seems like people like to shout at kids, using them as pawns to feel personally empowered, which is sick. Or maybe they just get off on the adrenaline. I've felt the same thing from the other side, but not until college, which would have turned me off from learning various theories on evolution, archaeology, religion and thought, if I were not made in a curious image with the courage to question their self-proclaimed certainty.
After learning that the experience of thought and action is basically inexplicable, I learned that law can only seem to be justified when based on respect for this miraculous and apparently infinite defiance of the logic that thought itself gives us, creating a logical criteria for common and equal respect of human beings.
I came to the conclusion, for example, that abortion cannot be rationalized because there is no logical criteria that separates a person from a potential person, and there is no criteria to determine the existence of a potential except conception; but neither can I rationalize the fascism needed for bureaucratic enforcement of that moral truth. Anyone against abortion should adopt or participate in, advocate for or donate to social welfare for orphans. If you all do this without threats of violence to mothers from abuse, retribution or jail, abortion would become socially unacceptable.
I didn't seek understanding because people shouted at me, I did it in spite of them, and that's too bad. Via the freedom of my mind, I've sought the best path for me that leads to greater understanding of God and my own life.
I can't think when other people are shouting at me. It's really annoying - there's too much work to do and too many good discoveries waiting to go on shouting at each other and at little kids. God provides many paths away from evil to be walked freely. It's not so scary that one has to accuse little children of sin and damnation for being born with the free minds that God gives us.
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