Sam asked the following question. I have typed my reply/answer and would love to hear others views on this also.
Hey Jason... like your new blog. Much easier to get around. very green. when i have an hour or two spare i will happily engage in dialogue with you. I am one of those Christian guys... as you know... but more than happy to defend the faith. Question: Where does true knowledge come from? Are you a modern man who believes that we are enlightened and so can somehow use reason and rational thought to attain to greater knowledge and the truth? Or are you post-modern in your epistemology... even if there is an absolute truth it cannot be known because language and culture as so distorted it that there is no longer any objective truth that can be known? Sam
Dear Sam,
Thanks again for reading my blog.
My ideas have not solidified yet and my readings by your own standards are not as extensive. But I would like very much to talk with you on certain aspects of the bible, particularly the core questions of creationism and evolution.
A good example of my ignorance is that before replying I had to look up epistemology in the dictionary.
In reply, I don't know what ideas are classed as modern or post modern, I am regrettably self taught and for that reason don't have enough formal understanding to categorise my thoughts.
By your description I would probably be a modern man, but I think that categorising truths is futile, because truth is truth wherever you find it. It can be passed down through millennia like Hamarabi's code or the Codex Sinai, the knowledge of astral movements, or it can be muttered from the mouths of toddlers.
And I believe the thinking person gleans every scrap that he/she can. Because to make an informed decision you need information and to ignore a truth in that decision is the true meaning of ignorance.
Regards Jason.
P.S. While I was looking up epistemology I came across the word 'Epiphany'. The Oxford dictionary described it as the "Manifestation of Christ to the Magi". Could you please clarify this because I am confused. I thought Magi were middle eastern priests of Mazda or Zoroaster.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 8, 2007
Existence for existence sake
Examine the mosquito. It's existence has been a blight on mankind for millennia is there reference in the bible to their necessity? (genuine question) or do they exist for existence sake.
What do they offer? Nothing but annoyance and malaria. Some might argue that their existence is some kind of divine population control or perhaps some sort of spiritual punishment. Is disease like A.I.D.S., cancer, black death or war not population control enough? And as for spiritual punishment is over 200 thousand years of neglect not enough? No! Mosquitoes exist because there is a market niche in evolutions design for an insect with it's various individual talents? The same goes for a disease like A.I.D.S. and others (the Australian Aboriginal tribes were decimated by the simple flu brought along with early settlers). Like the flu as A.I.D.S. travels from person to person it adapts and changes you don't need to be told this as many, many strains of Aids are now in existence.
I remember when Aids first came to light. My Aunty, a devout Christian, said it was 'God's punishment to homosexuals' this immediately set bells ringing because didn't he make all living things? But from that day on I watched closely and at first it seemed to me that it was true but then Women and straight men started getting it and then most devastatingly of all were the stories of new born babies with an insidious death sentence. My heart ached to see it, to look into the eyes of a baby that was doomed.
So one step to my rejection of an 'All mighty' was complete. I should say two, the rather petty conjecture about the mosquito ie, that it was created as divine punishment, was rejected when I was too young to remember.
The mosquito and the Aids virus exist because they have an evolutionary market.
There are two things to note however, the first is that we have an couple of evolutionary aces up our sleeves; the first is that for malaria many equatorial races (dark complexion) have the predisposition to sickle cell anemia denounced in the 18th century as a black mans disease is in fact immune to malaria. ie. equatorial adaption.
Does this mean that the black man is more evolved than the white man? No!
Just adapted to a different environment. And as for Aids, we are effectively devolving it. The cause came from Africa with some tribes ritually eating chimps with a very Aids like disease, initially virulent and leaping from the African jungles (in it's current form) in the 70's along with transient workers from the tribes.
Initially death was not far behind contamination but the most successful virus was the one that spread the most offspring, and as the host with the less virulent strains lived longer they therefore passed more of the less virulent strains on and in turn this diluted the more aggressive side of the virus' nature. Perhaps one day it won't be a death sentence.
The Yang to this Yin is that there are 2 prostitutes in African ghetto's that have an immunity to Aids. (Virologists are currently studying these prostitutes) If this is the key to a cure was it evolution or divine intervention. If it was D.I. then two ancestor worshiping prostitutes are paradoxical messengers.
Though I suppose if one was dismissive of such light arguments one might say 'The Lord works in mysterious ways'. To which I would reply 'why'?
We too (in my opinion) exist for existence sake. We are a blight and a disease, gobbling up the resources, the wilderness and the fresh air. But we are also the light and hope of all living things.
We have stumbled in the darkness, we have made mistakes, be we are (should be) educated enough to turn from our path of devastation and come to terms with the idea that whether God exists or not, we are alone in our fight for survival. We have to fend for ourselves and take the stewardship and the responsibility that goes with it. Do not take the path of leaving it to a higher power for even if he/she does exist there is no guarantee that he/she will intervene.
The lord helps those who help themselves.
PS. Africa is dying, the birthplace of man, our Jerusalem. War, disease, despotic rule and all other elements of anti-humanism abound. Weep sons of Africa, hang your heads in shame - humanities heart aches for thee.
For my own thoughts:
From the Old Testament.
'no man is poor but he who lacks knowledge'
'mans plans are like candy to the Fates' (source unknown)
What do they offer? Nothing but annoyance and malaria. Some might argue that their existence is some kind of divine population control or perhaps some sort of spiritual punishment. Is disease like A.I.D.S., cancer, black death or war not population control enough? And as for spiritual punishment is over 200 thousand years of neglect not enough? No! Mosquitoes exist because there is a market niche in evolutions design for an insect with it's various individual talents? The same goes for a disease like A.I.D.S. and others (the Australian Aboriginal tribes were decimated by the simple flu brought along with early settlers). Like the flu as A.I.D.S. travels from person to person it adapts and changes you don't need to be told this as many, many strains of Aids are now in existence.
I remember when Aids first came to light. My Aunty, a devout Christian, said it was 'God's punishment to homosexuals' this immediately set bells ringing because didn't he make all living things? But from that day on I watched closely and at first it seemed to me that it was true but then Women and straight men started getting it and then most devastatingly of all were the stories of new born babies with an insidious death sentence. My heart ached to see it, to look into the eyes of a baby that was doomed.
So one step to my rejection of an 'All mighty' was complete. I should say two, the rather petty conjecture about the mosquito ie, that it was created as divine punishment, was rejected when I was too young to remember.
The mosquito and the Aids virus exist because they have an evolutionary market.
There are two things to note however, the first is that we have an couple of evolutionary aces up our sleeves; the first is that for malaria many equatorial races (dark complexion) have the predisposition to sickle cell anemia denounced in the 18th century as a black mans disease is in fact immune to malaria. ie. equatorial adaption.
Does this mean that the black man is more evolved than the white man? No!
Just adapted to a different environment. And as for Aids, we are effectively devolving it. The cause came from Africa with some tribes ritually eating chimps with a very Aids like disease, initially virulent and leaping from the African jungles (in it's current form) in the 70's along with transient workers from the tribes.
Initially death was not far behind contamination but the most successful virus was the one that spread the most offspring, and as the host with the less virulent strains lived longer they therefore passed more of the less virulent strains on and in turn this diluted the more aggressive side of the virus' nature. Perhaps one day it won't be a death sentence.
The Yang to this Yin is that there are 2 prostitutes in African ghetto's that have an immunity to Aids. (Virologists are currently studying these prostitutes) If this is the key to a cure was it evolution or divine intervention. If it was D.I. then two ancestor worshiping prostitutes are paradoxical messengers.
Though I suppose if one was dismissive of such light arguments one might say 'The Lord works in mysterious ways'. To which I would reply 'why'?
We too (in my opinion) exist for existence sake. We are a blight and a disease, gobbling up the resources, the wilderness and the fresh air. But we are also the light and hope of all living things.
We have stumbled in the darkness, we have made mistakes, be we are (should be) educated enough to turn from our path of devastation and come to terms with the idea that whether God exists or not, we are alone in our fight for survival. We have to fend for ourselves and take the stewardship and the responsibility that goes with it. Do not take the path of leaving it to a higher power for even if he/she does exist there is no guarantee that he/she will intervene.
The lord helps those who help themselves.
PS. Africa is dying, the birthplace of man, our Jerusalem. War, disease, despotic rule and all other elements of anti-humanism abound. Weep sons of Africa, hang your heads in shame - humanities heart aches for thee.
For my own thoughts:
From the Old Testament.
'no man is poor but he who lacks knowledge'
'mans plans are like candy to the Fates' (source unknown)
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Look before you leap pt2 - Earth Chi & the Irish Elk
The question was asked by a few people commenting on my previous post about the link between Darwinism and God, here is my answer:I agree that Darwinism doesn't have anything to do with Christianity, the point I was making was that if I had of just rattled off some prophetic dream and claimed that it was a vision from God people couldn't prove that it wasn't anymore than I can prove that it was. Just as Abraham claimed that God spoke to him and the Jewish people up until Moses had little more than this to tie their religion together.
Some further thoughts on our place in the universe and other things:
As it turns out a highly developed mind is an evolutionary trump card. Physically we are articulate rather than fast the thumb is unique to primates and facilitates tool use, the human foot can't grip limbs or run very fast, it is more designed to travel long distances through various environs. Mentally we are a colossus in comparision to our none human brethren. Our evolutionary configuration has allowed us to be master of all the planet. We can now move faster than a cheetah, fly higher than any bird and move faster through the water than any fish. We can ambush, or hunt and kill anything. The upshot of this is that we have a broad enough view of the planet/universe and recognise that our place is not to subjugate and anhialate but is more of a stewardship to be held accountable like a president or a prime minister. The downside of this is that I fear we may have got a concensus on this all to late. This remarkable tool is as complex, intricate and mysterious as human social interaction. Why have we advanced so far down this evolationary line? One of Darwins most baffling questions was not posed by man but by nature. That being 'what was the evolutionary advantage of the peacocks tail'. The answer to this was the renaming of the theory to sexual selection in which the female via the use of sexual selection use certain markers to choose their mate. The healthy peacock tail is the marker of a healthy peacock and a healthy peacock is a testament to it's ability to gather food and fend for itself. This has by accident and on occasions had an adverse effect. The Irish Elks sexual trigger was the size of their antlers and as a result their antlers got so big that they couldn't escape their hunters and they are now extinct.
This reinforces my veneration of the feminine as the pivot driving force of our evolutionary journey. When a married woman is asked why she loves her husband she will usually note mental attributes such as "he makes me laugh", "he understands me", "he is a good man/father/provider" and rarely for such things as big shoulders, narrow hips, muscular physique. Though they will say that the later are involved strongly in the initial attraction and (in my opinion) the physical markers of a mans ability to survive the physical world, attributes that would also help her own offspring to survive. This is why is it that a woman looking for a one nighter would choose a man more on their physical appearance.
I see parrallels between ourselves and the Irish Elk. This tool that has served us so well appears to be possibly if not likely the instrument of our distruction. Putting aside the ideas of divine destruction be it Norse Ragnarok or Christo-islamic-judiac Armageddon we see a general consensus that the greatest threat to our survival is man-made. Whether is it war, or planetory desolation all of these are a direct result of post-historic human activity. The difference may lie in that our tool is more flexible than the Irish Elk. We alone have the advantage of retrospect transending generations. We can also compose thoughts and construct mechanisms that can destroy this life or project it, not so much into eternal life as into eternal regeneration.
Some further thoughts on our place in the universe and other things:
As it turns out a highly developed mind is an evolutionary trump card. Physically we are articulate rather than fast the thumb is unique to primates and facilitates tool use, the human foot can't grip limbs or run very fast, it is more designed to travel long distances through various environs. Mentally we are a colossus in comparision to our none human brethren. Our evolutionary configuration has allowed us to be master of all the planet. We can now move faster than a cheetah, fly higher than any bird and move faster through the water than any fish. We can ambush, or hunt and kill anything. The upshot of this is that we have a broad enough view of the planet/universe and recognise that our place is not to subjugate and anhialate but is more of a stewardship to be held accountable like a president or a prime minister. The downside of this is that I fear we may have got a concensus on this all to late. This remarkable tool is as complex, intricate and mysterious as human social interaction. Why have we advanced so far down this evolationary line? One of Darwins most baffling questions was not posed by man but by nature. That being 'what was the evolutionary advantage of the peacocks tail'. The answer to this was the renaming of the theory to sexual selection in which the female via the use of sexual selection use certain markers to choose their mate. The healthy peacock tail is the marker of a healthy peacock and a healthy peacock is a testament to it's ability to gather food and fend for itself. This has by accident and on occasions had an adverse effect. The Irish Elks sexual trigger was the size of their antlers and as a result their antlers got so big that they couldn't escape their hunters and they are now extinct.
This reinforces my veneration of the feminine as the pivot driving force of our evolutionary journey. When a married woman is asked why she loves her husband she will usually note mental attributes such as "he makes me laugh", "he understands me", "he is a good man/father/provider" and rarely for such things as big shoulders, narrow hips, muscular physique. Though they will say that the later are involved strongly in the initial attraction and (in my opinion) the physical markers of a mans ability to survive the physical world, attributes that would also help her own offspring to survive. This is why is it that a woman looking for a one nighter would choose a man more on their physical appearance.
I see parrallels between ourselves and the Irish Elk. This tool that has served us so well appears to be possibly if not likely the instrument of our distruction. Putting aside the ideas of divine destruction be it Norse Ragnarok or Christo-islamic-judiac Armageddon we see a general consensus that the greatest threat to our survival is man-made. Whether is it war, or planetory desolation all of these are a direct result of post-historic human activity. The difference may lie in that our tool is more flexible than the Irish Elk. We alone have the advantage of retrospect transending generations. We can also compose thoughts and construct mechanisms that can destroy this life or project it, not so much into eternal life as into eternal regeneration.
Look before you leap
I don't have an alternative religious answer to the search for a higher power only what I have seen and noticed in my experiences and readings. The one thing I can say for certain is that humans have a powerful compulsion to seek a higher power as a cure-all. A cure-all that tells you you're special, explains away any disasters (man-made and natural), a book for rules for people who struggle to set their own boundaries, reationalise bad things happening to good people, just to list a few things. This seems to be a hard-wired need and we crave it the way a man in the desert craves water and when he can't find it he will drink sand and imagine water.
We live in a predominantly Christian society and this is not an attack on your Christian friends, but they will tell you they found their way to Jesus/God and it saved them. But did they read the Koran and learn the teachings of Buddha or Lao Tse. And if they lived in the countries where these other religions abound they would probably turn to them.
Don't underestimate the power of your mind to rationalise. Everybody feels this emptiness and has moments of doubt, some will tell you they don't, but Jesus himself has battled these demons. It would be convenient to modern religions thought that the major religions are very old and have steed the test of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Religions have been with us for us for as long as we have had this intricate and highly evolved tool the brain. ie: from the day we tried to explain our first encounter with the unexplained eg. we now know a volcanic eruption is basically a tectonic burp and not a thunder God under the mountain. Some will cite ambiguous foretellings that have come to fruition as proof irrefute of their religions' fidelity.
Again a very common element of the older religions where mystic predictions were also proved on many occasions eg. the oracles at Delphi, the Sybil, The Aztec/Mayan astrologers predicted the arrival of Hernan Cortez to the year some 450years beforehand.
Thank goodness humans have kept thinking and searching otherwise the dominant religion here could be ancient Egyptian.
I guess the underlying current of this to extensive email is STAND FAST. People have been going through exactly what you are forever and rather than continuing their search for self worth and finding their place in the world they simply switch off the 'individual thought' button in their minds and wallow in ignorant bliss.
I believe many of these teachings have a lot of useful information and should be read, along with Socrates, Plato, Homer, Omar Kayem and other non-denominational intellectual cadres.
Don't get me wrong, I too feel an awesome sublime benevolent presence of this planet and cannot individually nor completely rationalise all mystical phenomena (for want of a better word) but we also have a lot to learn. I cite as an example the myths in relation to the phenomona of the Lunar and Solar Eclipses have popped up in various religious writings and have been explained as the workings of a supernatural entity.
On this tiny blue/green planet we are an oasis of life, a miniscule point of light containing an exceptionally intense blooming of life. We are given a false perception through conventional teaching methods as to the size and distance of other planets, ie. just in our solar system. But using current technology as far as we can see, and that's a long way now, there is NOTHING alive anywhere else. But this glimmering jewel is destined for ultimate distruction. We are heading towards to the sun and will dry up long before the expected death of the sun. And on our current wreckless rate of planetary rape we have considerably less time still. We owe it not only to ourselves but to all life to have a slow cautious interplanetary migration. Mars being the obvious destination, (this sounds far fetched, but there are already plans in the pipeline) though at present in an embryonic state. This, to concoct a phrase 'Earth Chi' is just the humm of life resonating and appearing in an energetic anomally not unlike the northern lights only appearing when energy (solar) interacts with elements or other energy to create the display. Perhaps because our brain communicates with itself via electrical signals it has receptors that are more tuned into external frequencies. I struggle with this mystical side because I know that it is there and it would be more suitable to my Darwinistic view if it didn't. But it is experieced all the time in everyday circumstances. The word 'De Ja Vous' exists because so many people experience it that it required a phrase. The overwhelming majority of people reading this would have experienced it. How many times have you and your life partner or close friend out of the blue with no prior discussion on the matter been thinking the same thing only discovering it after one or the other actually verbalised their thoughts. And from many cases not only in ancient times but also in contemporary sources, of dreams fortelling tragedies in some case the dreamer even visually previewing some or other event.
We have much to learn but I believe that if we keep that 'individual thought button' on we will get there. Just imagine with me trying to describe radio waves to a 16th century peasant. You might say "there are these little waves that go through the air, you can't see them, hear them, feel them or taste them but they are there and all your do is harvest them with devices and train them to vibrate at the same frequency as your words and then send them off at about 150 000klms/sec to the other side of the world where another device echoes your words". Our peasant would probably run to the Parish Priest and accuse you of devil worship.
But what that peasant did do was farm the fields so that his kingdom had a surplus production and a wise King could commission artistic, cultural and scientific specialists. And in turn, universities and other community organs for open thinkers in the strain of Alexander Graham Bell and Guglielmo Marconi have access to previous works and added to them with their exceptional talents.
In adoration of these previous intellectual titans I would do my reader a disservice by not noting that all of these men including DaVinci (arguably one of the most brilliant minds in history) believed in God and in Plato's 'Socrates last days' Socrates argued very convincingly through rational thought that the after life does exsist. Einstein is quoted saying on the subject "I believe".
Though our 16th century peasant is a caricature of obsequious self sacarifice just like him, we all need to play our part to create a society that is condusive to open thought for people with the talents to push the boundaries of understanding. Not to the exclusion of physicals pursuits, as such a society is nearly always fertile ground to push our physical boundaries eg. when will an Olympic record ever truly be unbreakable?
Wherever there has been a healthy/not just wealthy society there has been a flourishing of thought that simply refused to be suppressed. Knowledge that grew and fed on itself spurred on even more by healthy competition I cite as an example a number of individuals that went a long way to designing the printing press, the credit for which now goes almost completely to Gutenberg. Or the many clumsy discoveries before the Wright brothers accomplishment. And as an example of the physical - the assult on the 4 minute mile.
It also appears to me that a healthy society and even more accutely, civilisations at their zenith all give women repect and an ideally equal say in not only community matters but also international affairs. However in ancient times the prestige of women was rarely equal and we see now as women have virtually equal social weight we now live in a time of relative peace and stability. I would not underestimate the damage that the suppression of women in some middle eastern and African countries have done which is conducted on pre-Islamic cultural lines rather than Koranic law.
In summation, all I can offer is questions and in truth that is all anyone has. But questions have answers. And as far as faith goes just have faith that you will find the answers. The need of belief in a higher power whether one exsists or not is human. While I don't personally believe I can understand why some people do, though the number and calibre of people that do surprises me, but don't try and sell me beliefs in the place of facts. It doesn't matter if 1 million people believe you are right, if 1 person can prove that you're wrong.
Still this hunger exists and I underestimate it. A case in point is that in a country that loves music and is sport crazy and yet the largest crowd ever gathered in an Australian stadium was attracted to the M.C.G. was by the preacher Billy Graham.
For me it is no longer a hunger but a curiosity of the human condition that always prompts passionate discussion and will probably never be settled.
We should keep our minds open and base any decision on rational thought.
By:Jason Millar
PS. I am a Darwinist (and all these words were revealed to me by God and you try and prove to me they weren't!)
“As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery…we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness.”- Dalai Lama
We live in a predominantly Christian society and this is not an attack on your Christian friends, but they will tell you they found their way to Jesus/God and it saved them. But did they read the Koran and learn the teachings of Buddha or Lao Tse. And if they lived in the countries where these other religions abound they would probably turn to them.
Don't underestimate the power of your mind to rationalise. Everybody feels this emptiness and has moments of doubt, some will tell you they don't, but Jesus himself has battled these demons. It would be convenient to modern religions thought that the major religions are very old and have steed the test of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Religions have been with us for us for as long as we have had this intricate and highly evolved tool the brain. ie: from the day we tried to explain our first encounter with the unexplained eg. we now know a volcanic eruption is basically a tectonic burp and not a thunder God under the mountain. Some will cite ambiguous foretellings that have come to fruition as proof irrefute of their religions' fidelity.
Again a very common element of the older religions where mystic predictions were also proved on many occasions eg. the oracles at Delphi, the Sybil, The Aztec/Mayan astrologers predicted the arrival of Hernan Cortez to the year some 450years beforehand.
Thank goodness humans have kept thinking and searching otherwise the dominant religion here could be ancient Egyptian.
I guess the underlying current of this to extensive email is STAND FAST. People have been going through exactly what you are forever and rather than continuing their search for self worth and finding their place in the world they simply switch off the 'individual thought' button in their minds and wallow in ignorant bliss.
I believe many of these teachings have a lot of useful information and should be read, along with Socrates, Plato, Homer, Omar Kayem and other non-denominational intellectual cadres.
Don't get me wrong, I too feel an awesome sublime benevolent presence of this planet and cannot individually nor completely rationalise all mystical phenomena (for want of a better word) but we also have a lot to learn. I cite as an example the myths in relation to the phenomona of the Lunar and Solar Eclipses have popped up in various religious writings and have been explained as the workings of a supernatural entity.
On this tiny blue/green planet we are an oasis of life, a miniscule point of light containing an exceptionally intense blooming of life. We are given a false perception through conventional teaching methods as to the size and distance of other planets, ie. just in our solar system. But using current technology as far as we can see, and that's a long way now, there is NOTHING alive anywhere else. But this glimmering jewel is destined for ultimate distruction. We are heading towards to the sun and will dry up long before the expected death of the sun. And on our current wreckless rate of planetary rape we have considerably less time still. We owe it not only to ourselves but to all life to have a slow cautious interplanetary migration. Mars being the obvious destination, (this sounds far fetched, but there are already plans in the pipeline) though at present in an embryonic state. This, to concoct a phrase 'Earth Chi' is just the humm of life resonating and appearing in an energetic anomally not unlike the northern lights only appearing when energy (solar) interacts with elements or other energy to create the display. Perhaps because our brain communicates with itself via electrical signals it has receptors that are more tuned into external frequencies. I struggle with this mystical side because I know that it is there and it would be more suitable to my Darwinistic view if it didn't. But it is experieced all the time in everyday circumstances. The word 'De Ja Vous' exists because so many people experience it that it required a phrase. The overwhelming majority of people reading this would have experienced it. How many times have you and your life partner or close friend out of the blue with no prior discussion on the matter been thinking the same thing only discovering it after one or the other actually verbalised their thoughts. And from many cases not only in ancient times but also in contemporary sources, of dreams fortelling tragedies in some case the dreamer even visually previewing some or other event.
We have much to learn but I believe that if we keep that 'individual thought button' on we will get there. Just imagine with me trying to describe radio waves to a 16th century peasant. You might say "there are these little waves that go through the air, you can't see them, hear them, feel them or taste them but they are there and all your do is harvest them with devices and train them to vibrate at the same frequency as your words and then send them off at about 150 000klms/sec to the other side of the world where another device echoes your words". Our peasant would probably run to the Parish Priest and accuse you of devil worship.
But what that peasant did do was farm the fields so that his kingdom had a surplus production and a wise King could commission artistic, cultural and scientific specialists. And in turn, universities and other community organs for open thinkers in the strain of Alexander Graham Bell and Guglielmo Marconi have access to previous works and added to them with their exceptional talents.
In adoration of these previous intellectual titans I would do my reader a disservice by not noting that all of these men including DaVinci (arguably one of the most brilliant minds in history) believed in God and in Plato's 'Socrates last days' Socrates argued very convincingly through rational thought that the after life does exsist. Einstein is quoted saying on the subject "I believe".
Though our 16th century peasant is a caricature of obsequious self sacarifice just like him, we all need to play our part to create a society that is condusive to open thought for people with the talents to push the boundaries of understanding. Not to the exclusion of physicals pursuits, as such a society is nearly always fertile ground to push our physical boundaries eg. when will an Olympic record ever truly be unbreakable?
Wherever there has been a healthy/not just wealthy society there has been a flourishing of thought that simply refused to be suppressed. Knowledge that grew and fed on itself spurred on even more by healthy competition I cite as an example a number of individuals that went a long way to designing the printing press, the credit for which now goes almost completely to Gutenberg. Or the many clumsy discoveries before the Wright brothers accomplishment. And as an example of the physical - the assult on the 4 minute mile.
It also appears to me that a healthy society and even more accutely, civilisations at their zenith all give women repect and an ideally equal say in not only community matters but also international affairs. However in ancient times the prestige of women was rarely equal and we see now as women have virtually equal social weight we now live in a time of relative peace and stability. I would not underestimate the damage that the suppression of women in some middle eastern and African countries have done which is conducted on pre-Islamic cultural lines rather than Koranic law.
In summation, all I can offer is questions and in truth that is all anyone has. But questions have answers. And as far as faith goes just have faith that you will find the answers. The need of belief in a higher power whether one exsists or not is human. While I don't personally believe I can understand why some people do, though the number and calibre of people that do surprises me, but don't try and sell me beliefs in the place of facts. It doesn't matter if 1 million people believe you are right, if 1 person can prove that you're wrong.
Still this hunger exists and I underestimate it. A case in point is that in a country that loves music and is sport crazy and yet the largest crowd ever gathered in an Australian stadium was attracted to the M.C.G. was by the preacher Billy Graham.
For me it is no longer a hunger but a curiosity of the human condition that always prompts passionate discussion and will probably never be settled.
We should keep our minds open and base any decision on rational thought.
By:Jason Millar
PS. I am a Darwinist (and all these words were revealed to me by God and you try and prove to me they weren't!)
“As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery…we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness.”- Dalai Lama
Ode to my Persephone
Ode to my Persephone
Tic toc, time lost
snip slice, paste stick
stealthy obsession came far too quick
my wife a stranger
and our time share is in grave danger
as my wife strained over scrap work
and solitude drives me berserk
when did this happen
my wife possessed by lecherous scrappin'
alone time together diminished more than ever
but for my wife
it is a labour of love
and her works are memento's of our life
and what remains for me is enough
Tic toc, time lost
snip slice, paste stick
stealthy obsession came far too quick
my wife a stranger
and our time share is in grave danger
as my wife strained over scrap work
and solitude drives me berserk
when did this happen
my wife possessed by lecherous scrappin'
alone time together diminished more than ever
but for my wife
it is a labour of love
and her works are memento's of our life
and what remains for me is enough
Blessed be the birds
Blessed be the birds
Stirred to consciousness by the sun off the window glitters
and in my ear a crescendo of bird twitters
their song is soulful and haunting
and see them in flight
the comparison tween our freedoms is daunting
flapping their wings with all their might
they swoop, hover and soreand in my minds eye I can do no more
than imagine the freedom to flyto so easily escaped ones cares
tis a liberty exclusively theirs
but jealousy is a curse
and I could do much worse
so admiration from a distance
is the bane of my earth bound existence
Stirred to consciousness by the sun off the window glitters
and in my ear a crescendo of bird twitters
their song is soulful and haunting
and see them in flight
the comparison tween our freedoms is daunting
flapping their wings with all their might
they swoop, hover and soreand in my minds eye I can do no more
than imagine the freedom to flyto so easily escaped ones cares
tis a liberty exclusively theirs
but jealousy is a curse
and I could do much worse
so admiration from a distance
is the bane of my earth bound existence
Ode to my muses
Ode to my muses
If I could freeze a time it would be now
my soul awakens like the clear sweet song of a baby magpie
my happiness, joy, fulfillment I liken to the melodious tune of a bardic lyre
my three muses caress the strings of my being
so that my soul resonates and the worth of my life is trebled
but fear lurks for the bard is equally apt at portraying tragedy
and the fates of man can turn on the head of a pin
but for now I will draw deep
for my well is full
my cup runneth over
If I could freeze a time it would be now
my soul awakens like the clear sweet song of a baby magpie
my happiness, joy, fulfillment I liken to the melodious tune of a bardic lyre
my three muses caress the strings of my being
so that my soul resonates and the worth of my life is trebled
but fear lurks for the bard is equally apt at portraying tragedy
and the fates of man can turn on the head of a pin
but for now I will draw deep
for my well is full
my cup runneth over
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