the following is an email sent off to dave clark and soundview last summer. it's definitely an instance of Scripture being a double-edged sword. quite a sharp one. flesh wound inducing, really.
---
So I have two main reasons for writing this email:
1. Conveying the overwhelming love for you folks and what God is doing at S/V that He stirs in my heart - the continuing affirmation that you are beloved members of the Church and that Christ is at the center of your work: the only thing that ensures its eternal endurance and status of current praise/glory/exhibition before the Throne.
2. Following up on a brief conversation I had with Blain (?) whilst facilitating. Since I don't have direct access to him, I hope you don't mind being an intermediary. And I'm sure you'll enjoy the rambling foolishness that is to follow.
To recall that setup, we were out at the ropes course and I asked how the LIT Bible study had been going. Blain responded by saying that it had been really good/deep; he then began to summarize what they'd been discussing - something about (and I know I'm butchering this here) which sins are really 'the worst' in God's eyes. The sort that will elicit a "What the hell (literally) were you doing?!" on the day of judgement. Blain continued by noting how Russell suggested that pride occupied the darkest role in the categorization of sin. I responded with some skepticism about the usefulness of such a discussion (in my experience, these kinds of discussion are objectively interesting but tend to lead to the actual practice of self-righteousness and self-absolution) and we agreed that the only Person really qualified to say anything objective about such a hierarchy was God Himself.
In the interest of actually being responsible, we had to focus on transfers and harness checks at that point and so we left it at that. The subject has been on my mind a bit since then, namely ascertaining what God has to say about 'truly detestable sin.'
Oh, and I'm going to ignore the passage in Matthew 12:22-32 where Jesus refers to 'blaspheming the Holy Spirit' as an unforgivable sin, namely because I'm not at all sure what that objectively means. But it should be noted.
---
My overall claim is this: the sin that God truly detests and which underlies nearly all other sin is idolatry. This may sound strange to postmoderns who can walk the streets of Seattle and not see anything that resembles a physical incarnation of a deity, but go with me here. We'll come back to the relation to pride by the end.
As Blain and I agreed upon, the only Person Who has Authority to objectively answer this question is God Himself. Therefore we will dispense with all hypotheticals and intuitive psychology/spirituality (that we so often engage in, often led by the Spirit but with the danger of being ungrounded) and go straight to Scripture and God's messages to His people.
- Consider the Ten Commandments. In the canonical Christian reading, the first and second commandments comprise a condemnation of idolatry of any form and an affirmation of the centrality of Yahweh as God of the Israelite nation. There idolatry is given the definition of worshiping anything other than the Creating God. Therefore idolatry is much more expansive than bowing down before a carved pig or reveling in front of a golden calf. More to come on this soon.
- The Israelite nation consistently walked away from God throughout the Prophetic period of the Old Testament. The Prophetic books of Scripture as such are much less about the practice of prophecy as a Biblical version of fortunetelling as they are God's use of messengers to call His people out on how much they were walking away from Him and their resultant need for repentance. Curiously, the most consistent and overhwleming call God makes to His people through the prophets is to stop comitting idolatry. Some of the most gripping and powerful sections of the old Prophets are found in Ezekiel's (Chapter 16 primarily) description of Israel as the bride-of-God, whoring herself out to the gods of her neighbors. Of all the rebellion that His people engage in, God's primary concern is their consistent and blatant idolatry. A thorough study of idolatry in the Old Testament will pull up this theme over and over again and affirm its status as God's central complaint in the midst of a cornucopia of sins.
- Idolatry is even worse. It can almost always be identified as the core of why we sin. Consider the word of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10, writing to a church that is, to put it mildly messed up (my church is currently going through the whole book; the sermon series is accurately titled 'Christians gone wild'): getting drunk during communion, sleeping with each other in ways that freaked out the Romans (a son with his mother for example), scorning the poor, &c. I quote from the NASB where Paul writes about how to overcome the temptations that face them:
'No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.'
- I Corinthians 10:13-15
Paul's response to conquering the massive amount of soon-to-be-repentant sin present in the Corinthian church is to tell them to flee idolatry.
Keep in mind that the Corinthians don't have statues of gods that they worship after singing hymns to Jesus. They aren't sacrificing food/people/anything to carved idols & such and in fact some factions therein are quite worried about eating food sacrificed by pagans to idols (see the beginning of Chapter 9). My point is this: the command to flee idolatry seems to drop out of nowhere and seems almost completely irrelevant.
Here Paul correctly identifies the root of the Corinthians' many sins: idolatry - the construction of a miniature god which you satisfy so as to absolve you from your personal conception of hell. Examples:
1.
Personal hell: loneliness, the absence of community, being unloved
Functional saviour: community and the presence of friends
Acts of service/worship to the saviour: going out of your way to put aside your own time so as to be able to spend time with people [and thereby avoid loneliness]
Sin derivatives: people-pleasing, covetousness and envy, falsehood and lies
2.
Personal hell: being single
Functional saviour: relationships with a significant other
Acts of service/worship to the saviour: seeking out relations for the sake of a relationship; maintaining a bad relationship out of fear of life without close contact
Sin derivatives: ignoring the will of God (rebellion), lust, adultery, deep lies
3.
Personal hell: not being respected
Functional saviour: being shown respect by people
Acts of service/worship to the saviour: demonstration of how worthy of respect you are by being uber-responsible
Sin derivatives: extreme anger, violence, murder, self-centeredness
4.
Personal hell: working too hard/not having free time
Functional saviour: time off, relaxation, vacation
Acts of service/worship to the saviour: half-hearted presence in work/needed deeds; anxious waiting (and thus disengagement of the heart) of rest time
Sin derivatives: sloth, anger, etc.
5.
Personal hell: being lazy, in perception and/or fact
Functional saviour: work-a-holism
Acts of service/worship to the saviour: large numbers of hours invested in work; disregarding your personal needs in the interest of getting more work done
Sin derivatives: self-righteousness, pride, anger
I could go on.
Note one of the common themes to all of the idolatry forms listed above: they are about the pursuit of and enslavement to *good things*. Community is a blessed thing; a God-centered relationship is an encouraging sight and a soothing presence to all; respect is a deep-seeded need in both sexes and all human interaction; rest is a need mandated by God Himself; Paul writes about how our work is to be commendation to the unbelieving world. Thus we see idolatry as the giving over of ourselves to *good* things that God gives, rather than to the God Who created them.
Oh, and about pride.. C.S. Lewis identifies pride in 'Mere Christianity' as perhaps the darkest/blackest sin. That may very well be true, but pride must first be traced back to the idolatry and worship of the self. As such, it is a form of idolatry (which Scripturally is why we see a handful of references to pride and a ton for idolatry).
Anyway, I think that's enough for now. That's a lot of rambling to walk through. =p
Love you all in Christ. May His chief love descend upon and surround you all.
---
obedience or rebellion: that's the choice. and it is perilous!
27.6.07
when people say 'persistence,' they mean 'bryan johnson.'
dear reader, perhaps you are already acquainted with the truth and overwhelming reality of this statement. but perhaps you are not. and so the thought likely comes: 'from whence came such a claim!' ai! experience teaches much, and here we find a clinic rich in depth and meaning. what words can I use, what flourish and rhetoric employ to capture what can only beheld through direct communication. oh skeptical reader, I implore you to seek and find and thereby imitate. your hesitancy is naturally borne of ignorance that cannot be quenched by mere thought: you must encounter and imitate bryan johnson, understanding through volition. and there you will stand, unable to do any other!
my soul is still shaking from this most recent lesson. groggy and confused, it stirs like my flesh towards my cell phone; appalled and ignorant, it is confronted by the full force of persistence and 'lo it recoils! 'precious rest' it cries to no avail. battered and love-abused, it concedes like that corrupt judge and only then (in that choice!) finds what it senselessly beholds. the phone opens and strange words follow, speaking of celebration, happiness, and birthdays. what madness is this, that couples love to stubborness so strongly that the distinction disappears?
it is the madness of bryan johnson, revealed time and time again to all those humble enough to draw near and suffer at his hand. ah, but my reader, you must understand, you must surely understand! this suffering is a joyful burden like few others. take it on with willing heart and explore its depths.
---
ha! love ya bro.
---
and now for some don mcintyre, who we love and miss dearly, eagerly awaiting his return from the sovereign state of california.
I am the fisherman
the simple fisherman
very busy with my task
and my meager wage
I am a practical man
I don't chase rainbows
because I'm not very fit
for a man my age
did He know what He was saying?
the words don't sit comfortably
He said "follow Me."
I am the leprous man
filled with leprosy
I see how ugly I am
in every face I see
and I pray to know for just one moment
what it's like to feel
someone in love with me
and I'm so weary, weary
of the horror that's in everyone's eyes
"be cleansed" He said with power
"be cleansed" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since He spoke those words to me
I am the woman at the well
I wait religiously
for Messiah to bring me paradise
but it's taking so long
so I sell my loyalty
to any rich fool
who can pay the price
and I'm so thirsty, thirsty
for some water that will satisfy
"I AM" He said with power
"I AM" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since Messiah came to me
'I am wealthy'
'I have demons'
'I am paralyzed'
'I am sitting in a tax booth stealing from my own people'
'He delivers, He is healing'
'giving back my eyes'
'saying, "sell everything you have"'
'and "come and follow me!"'
I am the pharisee
I know my Bible
I'm working hard for God
and I'm not quite done
I've got questions for Him
maybe He will stumble
then we'll really see
just who's the righteous one
I've got plans to attend to
Who is this Who calls Himself a King?
"beware" He spoke with power
"beware" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since He spoke those words to me
I am the crippled man
my legs are worthless
what good is it
for me to be alive?
I tried to matter in this world
but it's all so pointless
Who is this Man
Who says to me, 'arise?'
'arise?'
---
on a total side note, life is assuredly getting more interesting. in a good way. yuppers.
okay, back to work.
to the God Who brings True Life in the form not of a concept or idol but Himself as both Truth and Life, we glory in Your present redemption.
my soul is still shaking from this most recent lesson. groggy and confused, it stirs like my flesh towards my cell phone; appalled and ignorant, it is confronted by the full force of persistence and 'lo it recoils! 'precious rest' it cries to no avail. battered and love-abused, it concedes like that corrupt judge and only then (in that choice!) finds what it senselessly beholds. the phone opens and strange words follow, speaking of celebration, happiness, and birthdays. what madness is this, that couples love to stubborness so strongly that the distinction disappears?
it is the madness of bryan johnson, revealed time and time again to all those humble enough to draw near and suffer at his hand. ah, but my reader, you must understand, you must surely understand! this suffering is a joyful burden like few others. take it on with willing heart and explore its depths.
---
ha! love ya bro.
---
and now for some don mcintyre, who we love and miss dearly, eagerly awaiting his return from the sovereign state of california.
I am the fisherman
the simple fisherman
very busy with my task
and my meager wage
I am a practical man
I don't chase rainbows
because I'm not very fit
for a man my age
did He know what He was saying?
the words don't sit comfortably
He said "follow Me."
I am the leprous man
filled with leprosy
I see how ugly I am
in every face I see
and I pray to know for just one moment
what it's like to feel
someone in love with me
and I'm so weary, weary
of the horror that's in everyone's eyes
"be cleansed" He said with power
"be cleansed" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since He spoke those words to me
I am the woman at the well
I wait religiously
for Messiah to bring me paradise
but it's taking so long
so I sell my loyalty
to any rich fool
who can pay the price
and I'm so thirsty, thirsty
for some water that will satisfy
"I AM" He said with power
"I AM" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since Messiah came to me
'I am wealthy'
'I have demons'
'I am paralyzed'
'I am sitting in a tax booth stealing from my own people'
'He delivers, He is healing'
'giving back my eyes'
'saying, "sell everything you have"'
'and "come and follow me!"'
I am the pharisee
I know my Bible
I'm working hard for God
and I'm not quite done
I've got questions for Him
maybe He will stumble
then we'll really see
just who's the righteous one
I've got plans to attend to
Who is this Who calls Himself a King?
"beware" He spoke with power
"beware" His glory shone
His eyes pierced through like sunshine piercing through the sea
my soul has been on fire
my world turned upside-down
ever since He spoke those words to me
I am the crippled man
my legs are worthless
what good is it
for me to be alive?
I tried to matter in this world
but it's all so pointless
Who is this Man
Who says to me, 'arise?'
'arise?'
---
on a total side note, life is assuredly getting more interesting. in a good way. yuppers.
okay, back to work.
to the God Who brings True Life in the form not of a concept or idol but Himself as both Truth and Life, we glory in Your present redemption.
12.6.07
life update schtuff
1. demyth. morality part ii will be coming shortly. a beautiful thing with writing is that it is often exploratory and you behold things that you did not foresee. and so it is here.
2. kj2 (i.e. the younger kj, kathryn anne jensen) graduates from high school tomorrow. if you know her and how to contact her, do so and give her proper congratulations. love on the katie kathryn.
3. in general, the family is very well. I am eager and proud to say that my parents have renewed their commitment and love for each other in a way I never thought possible in such a short timespan. humility and commitment provide the foundation for so much more.
4. the last two days of seriously pursued rest have been wonderful. amazing how much large volumes of sleep helps.
5. serious use of the word 'research' to describe my life begins tomorrow. thank God.
---
things on my mind/heart presently:
- soundview. particularly our young men. for too long there's been a sickness among us. I'm thinking primarily about the male lit program. the issues that seem the most obvious to me are as follows:
i. a vacillating lack of commitment.
ii. an absence of binding community.
iii. a general lack of initiative.
iv. little apparent hunger for character/integrity-development.
v. too much performance before women.
the first matter (commitment) is by far the most important for many reasons. I pray for a God-inspired, God-authored kick-to-the-ass to awaken the taking-the-Kingdom-seriously so desperately needed. simply yelling and/or shaming has nothing to do with God, for submission is assisted and begun by Him but accepted and loved by the Christian.
- I've been far too severe lately. it has been with fiery eyes that I've come to see some of the ferocity and severity of God, bringing with it confirmation of my own fire and intensity as given by God. however I have made indulgence of confirmation rather than looking for instruction and discipline. mercy and grace alongside fire and the sword: that is the picture of Jesus as He reveals Himself.
- what a life it would be where the heart actually knew its own state and acted accordingly. especially in relation to women. ha!
- Christ is unique in the following way: He commands us to something akin to an Absolute morality, but does not offer protection for our conscience. He does not suffer us to drift in the idolatry of subjective ethics any more than codified idolatrous Ethics. the question "who will command my conscience?" is laid waste and replaced with the monstrosity of unconditional love. and thus the first sin is undone and turned back upon itself.
---
man versus himself
man versus machine
man versus the world
mankind versus me
the struggles go on
the wisdom I lack
the burdens keep
piling up on my back
so hard to breathe
to take the next step
the mountain is high
I wait in the depths
yearning for grace
and hoping for peace
dear GOD INCREASE!
healing hands
of God have mercy on us
clean our souls once again
Jesus Christ!
Light of the world
burning bright
within our hearts forever
freedom means love
without condition
without a beginning or an end
here's my heart
let it be forever Yours
only You can make
every new day
seem so new
HALLELUJAH!
---
time to run.
to Christ the Perfect Redeemer, Who we Know without knowing, Whose Revelation subsumes and conquers our feeble knowledge, Who initiates, achieves, and completes Real submission, we cry out in Your love. amen.
2. kj2 (i.e. the younger kj, kathryn anne jensen) graduates from high school tomorrow. if you know her and how to contact her, do so and give her proper congratulations. love on the katie kathryn.
3. in general, the family is very well. I am eager and proud to say that my parents have renewed their commitment and love for each other in a way I never thought possible in such a short timespan. humility and commitment provide the foundation for so much more.
4. the last two days of seriously pursued rest have been wonderful. amazing how much large volumes of sleep helps.
5. serious use of the word 'research' to describe my life begins tomorrow. thank God.
---
things on my mind/heart presently:
- soundview. particularly our young men. for too long there's been a sickness among us. I'm thinking primarily about the male lit program. the issues that seem the most obvious to me are as follows:
i. a vacillating lack of commitment.
ii. an absence of binding community.
iii. a general lack of initiative.
iv. little apparent hunger for character/integrity-development.
v. too much performance before women.
the first matter (commitment) is by far the most important for many reasons. I pray for a God-inspired, God-authored kick-to-the-ass to awaken the taking-the-Kingdom-seriously so desperately needed. simply yelling and/or shaming has nothing to do with God, for submission is assisted and begun by Him but accepted and loved by the Christian.
- I've been far too severe lately. it has been with fiery eyes that I've come to see some of the ferocity and severity of God, bringing with it confirmation of my own fire and intensity as given by God. however I have made indulgence of confirmation rather than looking for instruction and discipline. mercy and grace alongside fire and the sword: that is the picture of Jesus as He reveals Himself.
- what a life it would be where the heart actually knew its own state and acted accordingly. especially in relation to women. ha!
- Christ is unique in the following way: He commands us to something akin to an Absolute morality, but does not offer protection for our conscience. He does not suffer us to drift in the idolatry of subjective ethics any more than codified idolatrous Ethics. the question "who will command my conscience?" is laid waste and replaced with the monstrosity of unconditional love. and thus the first sin is undone and turned back upon itself.
---
man versus himself
man versus machine
man versus the world
mankind versus me
the struggles go on
the wisdom I lack
the burdens keep
piling up on my back
so hard to breathe
to take the next step
the mountain is high
I wait in the depths
yearning for grace
and hoping for peace
dear GOD INCREASE!
healing hands
of God have mercy on us
clean our souls once again
Jesus Christ!
Light of the world
burning bright
within our hearts forever
freedom means love
without condition
without a beginning or an end
here's my heart
let it be forever Yours
only You can make
every new day
seem so new
HALLELUJAH!
---
time to run.
to Christ the Perfect Redeemer, Who we Know without knowing, Whose Revelation subsumes and conquers our feeble knowledge, Who initiates, achieves, and completes Real submission, we cry out in Your love. amen.
2.6.07
demythologizing morality (part i.)
writing borne out of a recent conversation:
there are several issues at hand. they build upon each other and so we may as well begin sensibly. many of the following thoughts will feel like tautological statements, but I maintain that many of them pass beneath the vision of everyday life and should therefore be pointed out. moreover, many nearly definitional observations (most notably dostoevsky's 'without immortality..') still find considerable opposition among the supposedly educated.
i. the vacuity of morality. (or, ethics and criteria as expressions of preference) (or, the non-Value of a priori reasoning)
ii. totalitarianism as insight. (or, the corporate realization of non-binding ethics)
iii. ever-present idolatry. (or, the fundamentally religious expression of behaviour)
iv. the necessity of the ubermensch. (or, the contrasting roles of arbiter and Arbiter)
v. perilous choice. (or, why honest discussions between Christians and non-Christians employ the same data)
vi. the hope of Christ A. (or, the Absolute call to love)
vii. the hope of Christ B. (or, Salvation from the underground of the arbiter)
---
i. the vacuity of morality.
a. individual human conduct is self-governed by what we describe as either the ethical or the Ethical*, depending upon what the individual appeals to as the source or Source of its governance. this largely constitutes a definition with the additional note of free will; in other words, behaviour is either truly self-governed or bears the volitional appearance of self-governance. conduct which does not bear the volitional appearance of self-governance (an obvious example is a seizure) is not considered to emerge from the e/Ethical.
b. the criteria for evaluating behaviour/thoughts/emotions/et al are contained within the e/Ethical.
c. the ethical is an expression of preference alone. in other words, there is nothing binding about a particular ethical system. the selection of "first principles" from which a person derives his conduct is entirely up to the individual and summarizes this expression.
-> example: the governing value of science and modern philosophy is that self-contradiction is fatal, whether in a model for physical interactions or in the reconciliation of a person's values with their behaviour. but this principle must be proposed as an axiom rather than a piece of knowledge deduced from the cognito. the notion that a self-contradictory ethical system should be discarded relies upon a statement that is either axiomatic or flows from an axiom. that axiom embodies at least a piece of the preferential nature of a person's ethics.
d. the transition between any two ethical systems is therefore an expression of a change of preference and nothing else (my rhetoric is harsh here for a reason: romantic and 'progressive' idealism conceals this fact with words, and so with words the fact should be revealed so that it is seen clearly).
e. however, the transition from the Ethical to the ethical requires something more than a change in preference (for the presence of the ethical indicates preference). the transition should also be described as a rejection, for it also requires such a rejection of the Source that belied the Ethical. this rejection is more than a preference if and only if the Source exists in the Absolute sense. in either sense it constitutes an act of metaphysical rebellion against the (real or perceived) Absolute.
f. in either event, we have the possibility of a fundamental distinction between the ethical and Ethical: the absence or presence of rebellion against something larger than individual preference, in particular against the Absolute.
f. in either event, we have the possibility of a fundamental distinction between the ethical and Ethical: the absence or presence of rebellion against something larger than individual preference, in particular against the Absolute.
g. ethics does not have the capacity to find anything more than its own suppositions when confronted with any other ethics or Ethics. this applies at the level of theory and evaluation. it therefore hopelessly circular.
h. the same is true for Ethics if and only if the Source does not exist in the Absolute.
i. therefore only Ethics has the possibility of saying something Meaningful about anything. ethics and therefore morality are vacuous notions when they are taken to mean anything more than an individual's choice of supposition.
j. up to this point I have defined Ethics in relation to the perceived Absolute. we note that Ethics in relation to a false or nonexistent Absolute bears a precise resemblance to ethics. in other words, idolatrous Ethics are an expression of the ethical.
k. the statements above about non-idolatrous Ethics do not depend upon the human capacity to establish precise knowledge of the Absolute; at no point did they invoke epistemology or the question 'how do we *know* if the Absolute is True?' these matters are important but nonetheless secondary.
l. (summary) we find that the fundamental (existential) distinction between e/Ethical systems is a distinction between the Ethical rooted in an existent Absolute and any other e/Ethics. the latter represents preference, the former an expression of the True Absolute; transition between two systems of the latter reflects a change of preference, while transition from the former to the latter would be an act of rebellion against the Absolute in addition to such a change.
-> extension: this section is essentially tautological, but often rejected at the level of the question in (k.) that rejection is not a logical refutation but rather a statement of "it doesn't matter." this is fundamentally unilluminating and reflects a preference: that the Absolute must be confirmed Absolutely in order to be relevant. this statement must be recognized as an axiom and its products therefore suffer from the flaw of a priori reasoning. then the question is, why bring up this series of definitional statements in the first place? the answer: in order to maintain a clear understanding of human behaviour, we need to begin by demythologizing ethics/morality (thus the title of this piece). the use of the term is deliberate: any last vestige of importance other than preference assigned to the ethical bears the psychological function of a myth, one that must be recognized in order to see the regulation of conduct clearly.
-> extension 2: in this sense, this section is an exposition on Ivan Karamazov's summary "without immortality, everything is permitted."
* here and throughout I take the convention of referring to qualities (innate, derivative) of the Absolute (i.e. God) as capitalized nouns.j. up to this point I have defined Ethics in relation to the perceived Absolute. we note that Ethics in relation to a false or nonexistent Absolute bears a precise resemblance to ethics. in other words, idolatrous Ethics are an expression of the ethical.
k. the statements above about non-idolatrous Ethics do not depend upon the human capacity to establish precise knowledge of the Absolute; at no point did they invoke epistemology or the question 'how do we *know* if the Absolute is True?' these matters are important but nonetheless secondary.
l. (summary) we find that the fundamental (existential) distinction between e/Ethical systems is a distinction between the Ethical rooted in an existent Absolute and any other e/Ethics. the latter represents preference, the former an expression of the True Absolute; transition between two systems of the latter reflects a change of preference, while transition from the former to the latter would be an act of rebellion against the Absolute in addition to such a change.
-> extension: this section is essentially tautological, but often rejected at the level of the question in (k.) that rejection is not a logical refutation but rather a statement of "it doesn't matter." this is fundamentally unilluminating and reflects a preference: that the Absolute must be confirmed Absolutely in order to be relevant. this statement must be recognized as an axiom and its products therefore suffer from the flaw of a priori reasoning. then the question is, why bring up this series of definitional statements in the first place? the answer: in order to maintain a clear understanding of human behaviour, we need to begin by demythologizing ethics/morality (thus the title of this piece). the use of the term is deliberate: any last vestige of importance other than preference assigned to the ethical bears the psychological function of a myth, one that must be recognized in order to see the regulation of conduct clearly.
-> extension 2: in this sense, this section is an exposition on Ivan Karamazov's summary "without immortality, everything is permitted."
---
section ii will come as soon as possible. possibly monday evening after our hot qcd project is complete. maybe sooner. anything's possible.
ad majorem gloria Dei.
31.5.07
a house divided
a curious combination: 'purity of heart is to will one thing, and that thing the highest.' with 'self-division is the signal of the paroxysm of the underground.'
a curious question: what picture would I behold if my life and person were taken to the absurd? if my personality, characteristics, religion, et al were taken to an extreme but logical extension of themselves?
a seamless transition: 'I begin with total freedom and end with total despotism.'
a perilous choice: identical evidence belies Ivan and Alyosha, the skeptic and the believer.
a disquieting thought: self-justification is, at our age, a largely passive process.
a stop: self-sacrifice alone is self-idolatry.
---
how does a scientist exorcise his demons? analysis alone will begin from a broken place and only explore its compact realm. and even if reason detects the lie, falsification and self-contradiction is not sufficient to destroy possession. the possibility of specific revelation is exchanged for fear and self-flagellation. but specific revelation is constructive and full of light.
writing seems to me to be the simplest route.
a curious question: what picture would I behold if my life and person were taken to the absurd? if my personality, characteristics, religion, et al were taken to an extreme but logical extension of themselves?
a seamless transition: 'I begin with total freedom and end with total despotism.'
a perilous choice: identical evidence belies Ivan and Alyosha, the skeptic and the believer.
a disquieting thought: self-justification is, at our age, a largely passive process.
a stop: self-sacrifice alone is self-idolatry.
---
how does a scientist exorcise his demons? analysis alone will begin from a broken place and only explore its compact realm. and even if reason detects the lie, falsification and self-contradiction is not sufficient to destroy possession. the possibility of specific revelation is exchanged for fear and self-flagellation. but specific revelation is constructive and full of light.
writing seems to me to be the simplest route.
5.5.07
appeasement wench & more
Royal wars of poll violence
---
22% Believe Bush Knew About 9/11 Attacks in Advance
---
Christian-Muslim wounds still "very deep": Khatami
almost as deep as the wounds against jews that khatami has decried so strongly. oh wait, I got mixed up. the jews are supposed to be nuked, that's right. or was that just nuance?
against violence and extremism, eh? right up there with palestinian demonstrations against violence.
unless it's violence against americans or jews.
maybe she should take kim jong il out for coffee. I'm sure we can exhume hitler and prop up his body at the table for precedent. after all, dialogue is the key to conflict resolution.
---
in contrast:
"Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."
“You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.”
"I would make this war as severe as possible, and show no symptoms of tiring till the South begs for mercy."
"If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast."
- William Tecumseh Sherman
---
and this is much of the modern west: sufficiently diseased and perverse that we eagerly seek our own self-destruction. well, to be fair, not *our own* self-destruction, just that of all the whores who don't feel super-duper-guilty for the west's culturally imperialistic past, because they deserve it.
reductionist fools that know too much information but long ago took leave of their capacity to think. but then again, a priori reasoning makes understanding the world very easy. you get to voice sophisticated arguments that ultimately are dressed-up statements of the initial presumption; arguments maintained by those too self-absorbed to realize that they've done nothing more than state their preference.
---
'for it is written,
'and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper..'
- romans 1:28
---
diseased thinking is a demonstration of God's wrath.
Slipping in the polls ahead of France's presidential vote on Sunday, Socialist Segolene Royal launched a last-minute broadside against right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy, warning his election would unleash violence across the country. In her most outspoken attack yet on Sarkozy's "dangerous candidacy", Royal said she had a "responsibility to issue an alert over the risks ... regarding the violence and brutalities that will be triggered across the country. Everyone knows it but no-one says it. It is a kind of taboo." Her comments Friday on RTL radio were taken as a direct warning to voters that a Sarkozy victory on Sunday could set off riots in the high-immigration suburbs similar to ones in November 2005.you mean the great car-be-que that, umm, never stopped? hundred cars a night baby. every night.
Speaking in the city of Lorient, she launched another personal attack on Sarkozy, saying "there is something indecent in this campaign." Sarkozy "is a candidate who has never stopped paying court to all that is dark in human nature, who has never stopped whetting every kind of fear and vengeance." Instead the French should "turn towards the light. Reject the spirit of vengeance, refuse the lies and the hate," she said.way to call out the politics of fear.
---
22% Believe Bush Knew About 9/11 Attacks in Advance
Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure. Republicans reject that view and, by a 7-to-1 margin, say the President did not know in advance about the attacks. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 18% believe the President knew and 57% take the opposite view.this of course begs the question: how many of those polled are truthers?
---
Christian-Muslim wounds still "very deep": Khatami
Former Iranian president met Pope Benedict on Friday and said the wounds between Christians and Muslims were still "very deep," including those caused by a controversial papal speech last September.definitely deeper than the wounds inflicted on christians that were killed in the ensuing riots. yep, no doubt.
almost as deep as the wounds against jews that khatami has decried so strongly. oh wait, I got mixed up. the jews are supposed to be nuked, that's right. or was that just nuance?
At Friday morning's conference, Khatami, speaking through a translator, said that Christianity and Islam needed to rediscover their common roots as monotheistic religions in order to improve relations. "If Christian and Islamic societies could only rely on love and justice and get back to these founding principles and if together we fought against violence and extremism ... then we can lay the foundations to heal any wound," he said.
against violence and extremism, eh? right up there with palestinian demonstrations against violence.
unless it's violence against americans or jews.
it's worth noting that the man in the picture above is another iranian advocate against violence. minus certain incidents involving embassies in, say, 1979, and mild threats of 'wiping' some random meaningless nation 'off the map.'
but again, smart people will tell you that such foolishness is just media manipulated rhetoric and that the man is actually quite kind. in fact, he never said that israel should be annihilated. that's why he defended those media manipulated comments you see.
---
Syrians bolstered by 'good American' Pelosi
Many Damascus residents say her private visit with Mr. Assad and senior ministers shattered Washington's attempt to isolate the regime. "She was enormously popular here, a hero," said one such resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This is the best thing that has happened here, if it proves [Mr. Assad] was right not to give concessions." Along with recent visits by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and officials from the European Union, the resident added, Mrs. Pelosi's trip "bolsters the regime with the Syrian people, and it shows that isolating Syria won't work."oh goody. what's next, a card of congradulations for offing hariri?
maybe she should take kim jong il out for coffee. I'm sure we can exhume hitler and prop up his body at the table for precedent. after all, dialogue is the key to conflict resolution.
---
in contrast:
"Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."
“You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.”
"I would make this war as severe as possible, and show no symptoms of tiring till the South begs for mercy."
"If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast."
- William Tecumseh Sherman
---
and this is much of the modern west: sufficiently diseased and perverse that we eagerly seek our own self-destruction. well, to be fair, not *our own* self-destruction, just that of all the whores who don't feel super-duper-guilty for the west's culturally imperialistic past, because they deserve it.
reductionist fools that know too much information but long ago took leave of their capacity to think. but then again, a priori reasoning makes understanding the world very easy. you get to voice sophisticated arguments that ultimately are dressed-up statements of the initial presumption; arguments maintained by those too self-absorbed to realize that they've done nothing more than state their preference.
---
'for it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,1 corinthians 1:19
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."'
'and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper..'
- romans 1:28
---
diseased thinking is a demonstration of God's wrath.
27.4.07
whoa nellie
fridays are majestic. this friday will be quite majestic after the higgs talk is over in, oh, 5.5 hours. in just a few moments I'm going to get my act together and finish up details..
which brings us to facilitator training this weekend and the conclusion of one of the busier seasons of my life. reviewed weekend-by weekend, we've had:
04/27-04/29: facilitator training
04/20-04/22: spokane
04/13-04/15: olympia & tacoma
04/06-04/08: olympia, easter
03/30-04/01: soundview (high ropes adventure)
03/23-03/25: soundview (high ropes) & continuing in seattle (debbie's crew)
03/16-03/18: soundview (facilitating) & olympia
03/09-03/11: spokane & s/v people
and I'm pretty sure there was serious stuff going on every weekend before that leading back to new years.
and so, in just a few days, forced rest. thank God.
having a full life has been a tremendous blessing in many ways and has led to self-blindness in so many others. and that blindness isn't tolerable anymore. it just isn't healthy and it detracts from honest worship before God.
---
alrighty, back to work.
oh, and a sad comment on society: it's not good when the media is sufficiently pervaded with newspeak that, upon reading an editorial/article, the reader can intuit (and later confirm) more of the actual events from the way the article is written and the rhetoric is chosen than from the misleading tripe actually published.
honest and clear discussion is at the heart of the functional/beneficial discourse that drives a healthy republic. the citizen should and must be as committed to vigilance on this front (for it is the internal defense against authoritarianism) as he is committed to vigilance against external threats.
which brings us to facilitator training this weekend and the conclusion of one of the busier seasons of my life. reviewed weekend-by weekend, we've had:
04/27-04/29: facilitator training
04/20-04/22: spokane
04/13-04/15: olympia & tacoma
04/06-04/08: olympia, easter
03/30-04/01: soundview (high ropes adventure)
03/23-03/25: soundview (high ropes) & continuing in seattle (debbie's crew)
03/16-03/18: soundview (facilitating) & olympia
03/09-03/11: spokane & s/v people
and I'm pretty sure there was serious stuff going on every weekend before that leading back to new years.
and so, in just a few days, forced rest. thank God.
having a full life has been a tremendous blessing in many ways and has led to self-blindness in so many others. and that blindness isn't tolerable anymore. it just isn't healthy and it detracts from honest worship before God.
---
alrighty, back to work.
oh, and a sad comment on society: it's not good when the media is sufficiently pervaded with newspeak that, upon reading an editorial/article, the reader can intuit (and later confirm) more of the actual events from the way the article is written and the rhetoric is chosen than from the misleading tripe actually published.
honest and clear discussion is at the heart of the functional/beneficial discourse that drives a healthy republic. the citizen should and must be as committed to vigilance on this front (for it is the internal defense against authoritarianism) as he is committed to vigilance against external threats.
18.4.07
a deep chasm
"without immortality, everything is permitted."
here is a reality that few acknowledge and millions more would deny with infantile reasoning and wasted breath. it constitutes an abyss, a jagged hole in the mind of man. for how else can we examine even the prospect of absolute anarchy?
---
say there is no God. or say that there is a God but He cares not in the slightest how we live towards Him or each other.
then there is no standard or absolute code of living.
"yes, yes, of course" the half-aware, half-educated mind chides. "we know all that already." ai, but you don't! if you understood more than the words you wouldn't be able to chide; such nonsense would fracture in your mouth and your tongue would cease to move. fear and insanity; these are the only true and honest responses to this hell.
and thus dialogue ensues within three archetypes.
response 1: the social contract theorist.
"while this statement of immortality and permission may be a truism of sorts, it's rather meaningless. after all, what is more important is what a person actually chooses rather than what is merely possible. as though anything became possible before recognizing this statement! anyway, you've fogged up the whole matter. self-interest with respect to cultural norms, that's the object you should focus on. to be more clear, yes, a person can choose to commit horrible acts against others, but in any reasonable society this will come at a horrible cost to himself. thus we stave off the anarchy that you are concerned with and maintain all-necessary order."
but of course this is just a red herring. the issue really isn't the maintainence of order, but rather the saving of man from destruction before such a perilous truth.
with enough power in the hands of the offender, social checks and punishment cease and the abyss you think you've cleverly avoided is staring you right in the face. for you desparately want to avoid it! that desire taints your reasoning at every step. you still want to see Hitler as objectively evil despite the fact that your social contract only condemns Hitler when society is more powerful than him and doesn't agree with him. for the abyss you look into here is deeper than a lack of condemnation and the force of restraint. you rely on whatever words you can employ to remove the obvious, that even the most gut-wrenching act you can think of can only be condemned insofar as it doesn't fit into culturally accepted norms. and what sort of vacuous condemnation is that?
for what happens when norms break or the power of society falters? here the abyss is revealed clearly, but it did not magically appear. it was there always and you simply chose to hum words of encouragement to yourself and cover your eyes while telling yourself how progressive you were for your clear understanding of anthropology.
despicable, contemptible idiocy.
response 2: denial.
perhaps I'll write more on this later. not much more to say other than to call this denial out for the mindlessness-posing-as-meaning it is.
response 3: nietzche (my take anyway).
nietzche's response is sufficiently unique and honest that it deserves to be described. he simultaneously embraced this truth (to some extent realized in the idealization of the ubermensch) and was driven insane by it, as its reality was so discordant with his conscience that he could not reconcile the two.
---
observations:
1. any notion of true Good can only be rooted in the Absolute. any other notion can only be conscience and mere human sentiment. what I, on my own, define as good is therefore only that which I perceive as good - not what is Absolutely good!
1.a. and so how can I legitimately rebel against God for anything? if my conscience tells me to rebel, that telling can only be Good if it is originated in the same Absolute I would rebel against! otherwise, no matter how noble the feeling or rhetoric, my rebellion is only an expression of preference.
2. it's interesting that the denial of God (and therefore of any Absolute means to assess conduct) in the West is shortly followed with sudden and severe self-righteousness. memo to folks in the West: you can only be morally indignant when you believe in morality! we're not talking about difficult things here. so, for example, if you deny absolute morality but say that those who judge things/people to be evil are acting unjustly/hellishly, you're a pitiable fool.
2.a. more interesting is how this indignation is almost always on behalf of actual evil. see chomsky. there's the whole spectrum: denial of absolute morality, condemnation of his fellow citizens, and expulcation of guilt for mass murder (the khmer rouge incident of course being the most prolific; intellectual justification for the murder of jews via justification for palestinian terrorism is another one).
---
"everything is permitted."
there is an abyss. it cannot be avoided. if you reject it, then
you should examine yourself to see if your rejection of God is as
complete as you might think.
here is a reality that few acknowledge and millions more would deny with infantile reasoning and wasted breath. it constitutes an abyss, a jagged hole in the mind of man. for how else can we examine even the prospect of absolute anarchy?
---
say there is no God. or say that there is a God but He cares not in the slightest how we live towards Him or each other.
then there is no standard or absolute code of living.
"yes, yes, of course" the half-aware, half-educated mind chides. "we know all that already." ai, but you don't! if you understood more than the words you wouldn't be able to chide; such nonsense would fracture in your mouth and your tongue would cease to move. fear and insanity; these are the only true and honest responses to this hell.
and thus dialogue ensues within three archetypes.
response 1: the social contract theorist.
"while this statement of immortality and permission may be a truism of sorts, it's rather meaningless. after all, what is more important is what a person actually chooses rather than what is merely possible. as though anything became possible before recognizing this statement! anyway, you've fogged up the whole matter. self-interest with respect to cultural norms, that's the object you should focus on. to be more clear, yes, a person can choose to commit horrible acts against others, but in any reasonable society this will come at a horrible cost to himself. thus we stave off the anarchy that you are concerned with and maintain all-necessary order."
but of course this is just a red herring. the issue really isn't the maintainence of order, but rather the saving of man from destruction before such a perilous truth.
with enough power in the hands of the offender, social checks and punishment cease and the abyss you think you've cleverly avoided is staring you right in the face. for you desparately want to avoid it! that desire taints your reasoning at every step. you still want to see Hitler as objectively evil despite the fact that your social contract only condemns Hitler when society is more powerful than him and doesn't agree with him. for the abyss you look into here is deeper than a lack of condemnation and the force of restraint. you rely on whatever words you can employ to remove the obvious, that even the most gut-wrenching act you can think of can only be condemned insofar as it doesn't fit into culturally accepted norms. and what sort of vacuous condemnation is that?
for what happens when norms break or the power of society falters? here the abyss is revealed clearly, but it did not magically appear. it was there always and you simply chose to hum words of encouragement to yourself and cover your eyes while telling yourself how progressive you were for your clear understanding of anthropology.
despicable, contemptible idiocy.
response 2: denial.
perhaps I'll write more on this later. not much more to say other than to call this denial out for the mindlessness-posing-as-meaning it is.
response 3: nietzche (my take anyway).
nietzche's response is sufficiently unique and honest that it deserves to be described. he simultaneously embraced this truth (to some extent realized in the idealization of the ubermensch) and was driven insane by it, as its reality was so discordant with his conscience that he could not reconcile the two.
---
observations:
1. any notion of true Good can only be rooted in the Absolute. any other notion can only be conscience and mere human sentiment. what I, on my own, define as good is therefore only that which I perceive as good - not what is Absolutely good!
1.a. and so how can I legitimately rebel against God for anything? if my conscience tells me to rebel, that telling can only be Good if it is originated in the same Absolute I would rebel against! otherwise, no matter how noble the feeling or rhetoric, my rebellion is only an expression of preference.
2. it's interesting that the denial of God (and therefore of any Absolute means to assess conduct) in the West is shortly followed with sudden and severe self-righteousness. memo to folks in the West: you can only be morally indignant when you believe in morality! we're not talking about difficult things here. so, for example, if you deny absolute morality but say that those who judge things/people to be evil are acting unjustly/hellishly, you're a pitiable fool.
2.a. more interesting is how this indignation is almost always on behalf of actual evil. see chomsky. there's the whole spectrum: denial of absolute morality, condemnation of his fellow citizens, and expulcation of guilt for mass murder (the khmer rouge incident of course being the most prolific; intellectual justification for the murder of jews via justification for palestinian terrorism is another one).
---
"everything is permitted."
there is an abyss. it cannot be avoided. if you reject it, then
you should examine yourself to see if your rejection of God is as
complete as you might think.
a few brief thoughts
1. poisoned/diseased thinking is a dangerous spectacle. it willfully nods to evil while maintaining the appearance of sanity and reasonable inquiry.
2. on the va. tech shootings: "I don't even know what I would do in that situation" is a sure marker of cowardice. if you don't cultivate your response (protection, love, self-sacrifice) in the present, do not be surprised if you cower before such hate in the future.
3. death is something we experience every day; but there is altogether too much death and too little dying. for the act of bearing a cross is assuredly described in the present tense for a reason.
4. mercy and forgiveness is usually something that is given when the offender comes before the offended. so what are the mechanics of mercy when the offender is clueless? 'bring up the offense' you might say; but what if that act must be delayed out of prudence and love?
5. perpetual service is a subtle and deceptive sin. it fosters a sense of injustice and resentment while treating the God who can accomplish His own service with childish contempt. as if He needed us! joyfully, it is a sin that is easily turned to the redeemed thing it should be.. if only one has the courage to treat it as severely as it deserves. for the condition here is blindness amid the claim of sight; both must be shattered, not merely noted with delicate words.
6. the severity and ferocity of God must be paid heed; we ignore them at our peril. if we are to carry His death and life within us, His love must burn as bright within our eyes as His untamed severity.
7. a truly sick foolishness: to absolutely deny the Absolute but retain morality. and thus the utter vacuity of the Western intelligensia.
2. on the va. tech shootings: "I don't even know what I would do in that situation" is a sure marker of cowardice. if you don't cultivate your response (protection, love, self-sacrifice) in the present, do not be surprised if you cower before such hate in the future.
3. death is something we experience every day; but there is altogether too much death and too little dying. for the act of bearing a cross is assuredly described in the present tense for a reason.
4. mercy and forgiveness is usually something that is given when the offender comes before the offended. so what are the mechanics of mercy when the offender is clueless? 'bring up the offense' you might say; but what if that act must be delayed out of prudence and love?
5. perpetual service is a subtle and deceptive sin. it fosters a sense of injustice and resentment while treating the God who can accomplish His own service with childish contempt. as if He needed us! joyfully, it is a sin that is easily turned to the redeemed thing it should be.. if only one has the courage to treat it as severely as it deserves. for the condition here is blindness amid the claim of sight; both must be shattered, not merely noted with delicate words.
6. the severity and ferocity of God must be paid heed; we ignore them at our peril. if we are to carry His death and life within us, His love must burn as bright within our eyes as His untamed severity.
7. a truly sick foolishness: to absolutely deny the Absolute but retain morality. and thus the utter vacuity of the Western intelligensia.
1.4.07
nourishment
man cannot live in a vacuum. this fact - true at all levels of living - is inescapable, for it is a piece of the revealed Absolute and therefore should be viewed in relation to the living Truth (in whom full Life is found) instead of a mere object of knowledge. the connection from the destructive (man cannot live) to the constructive (man will live) is found in the pulse that drives Creation.
in simpler words, man must be loved in order to Live Truthfully . the converse action is also true: that man must also love in order to Live.
but what is this love? it is beyond me!
---
my love is feeble and broken. self-seeking and ignorant. prideful and arrogant. presumptuous and flippant. incompetent and awkward. a lie steeped in hate.
so is yours.
this is a lesson of the Cross that must always be before us: that my 'love,' when confronted with the Source of Perfect Love, is unmasked for venom and violence upon the only One who really loves me. that my sin is more than something I do; that it is the rebellion that would execute Jesus in the most humiliating way posible.
---
my love will shatter me and anyone near. it cannot survive the Light of eternity.
something else is required. Real love. it must therefore be derived from the Provider of True love.
ironically His love - the real thing! - also breaks the world. it shatters me, for I am not Real enough for Reality; the weight of glory passes through me.
---
and so I thank you, my beloved soundview family, for the love you have shown me and continue to shower down on me. I find rest in that love. and that true rest is an indication of your submission before God, that your love is covered by Him and therefore made True in me.
you are a light to my eyes and a song to my spirit; even your presence nourishes me and treats many wounds. you have been as angels in my life.
He has made us the family of God. may we never turn away from that gift in which we are bound for this life and the next.
in simpler words, man must be loved in order to Live Truthfully . the converse action is also true: that man must also love in order to Live.
but what is this love? it is beyond me!
---
my love is feeble and broken. self-seeking and ignorant. prideful and arrogant. presumptuous and flippant. incompetent and awkward. a lie steeped in hate.
so is yours.
this is a lesson of the Cross that must always be before us: that my 'love,' when confronted with the Source of Perfect Love, is unmasked for venom and violence upon the only One who really loves me. that my sin is more than something I do; that it is the rebellion that would execute Jesus in the most humiliating way posible.
---
my love will shatter me and anyone near. it cannot survive the Light of eternity.
something else is required. Real love. it must therefore be derived from the Provider of True love.
ironically His love - the real thing! - also breaks the world. it shatters me, for I am not Real enough for Reality; the weight of glory passes through me.
---
and so I thank you, my beloved soundview family, for the love you have shown me and continue to shower down on me. I find rest in that love. and that true rest is an indication of your submission before God, that your love is covered by Him and therefore made True in me.
you are a light to my eyes and a song to my spirit; even your presence nourishes me and treats many wounds. you have been as angels in my life.
He has made us the family of God. may we never turn away from that gift in which we are bound for this life and the next.
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