Monthly Archives: June 2015

The Confederate Flag Fiasco, and Why it’s a Win For Collectivist Authoritarianism

Epistemology, , , , ,

Ignoring the usual specious messages concerning the Confederate battle flag, let’s look at this another way.

Since ostensibly our government is a representative one, we can make the claim that public property–the government land subsidized by the citizens–is property belonging to the PUBLIC (setting aside for the moment the fact that collectively-owned property is an impossibility, which makes the whole argument about what should or shouldn’t be displayed upon it thus irrelevant). This being the case, any private citizen should be able to petition the government to display his or her works upon public property; that is, if we want to consistently apply the idea of public property–property owned by the people, which is (theoretically) the very definition.

There can be no rational and therefore no moral reason to deny any such petition other than if the display is in service to an expressed intent to violate the life or property of another citizen. (For example, if someone wanted to display a swastika on public grounds to openly express his or her desire to kill all the Jews, this would make such a display immoral, and thus it should be denied.)

Since symbols are subjective, one cannot deny such a petition on the grounds that the symbol ITSELF is offensive, or means this or that…because again this is an attempt to invoke the logically impossible argument that symbols have objective meaning. To claim a symbol means something to EVERYONE is clearly overstepping one’s own epistemology, since it is impossible for you to know what something MEANS to someone else unless they concede YOUR definition of it.

The only other alternative is to ban, in a rank display of contradiction, ALL symbols from the private citizen upon public grounds. But this of course would need to include ALL monuments and flags pertaining to the State itself, since (again, ostensibly) the government represents an extension of the people; thus, there can be no such thing as purely a “governmental” or “national” symbol.

You see, what those calling for the arbitrary removal of the confederate flag from all state grounds are doing is attempting to reconcile two mutual exclusivities. The symbols of the Central Authority (the government) AS BEING and AS REPRESENTING the symbols of the private citizen, thus making government or national symbols acceptable but private symbols illegal. Insofar as it is impossible to make that which is COLLECTIVE a symbol of and for he or she who is INDIVIDUAL, it is impossible to declare the moral and legal display of national symbols while declaring the display of private symbols upon government grounds immoral and illegal. As soon as you appeal to the right of the nation to display ITS symbols on public grounds, you MUST appeal to the right of the individual to do the same, since the first CANNOT exist without the second. That is, if you mean to be rational. Which is only an assumption, of course. Looking at the nature of the predominant philosophies in circulation today, one might just as easily assume the collective eschewing of rationality.

Anyway…

Nevertheless this is the argument being made, and that we are being asked to swallow; and those rationally minded among us simply cannot concede that it is ever a good idea to exchange reason for madness simply because not doing so is “offensive”–whatever that means.

The idea that the government has the right to display its symbols and monuments upon public property but the individual does not, due to the risk of “offense” , is merely conceding the right of the State to subordinate the citizen to itself. Which is PRECISELY what this flag nonsense is all about. Nothing more nor less. This is a fight not for the rights of the oppressed minority, but an attempt to spread oppression to ALL people because it is now commonly accepted–either consciously or tacitly–that the only moral individual is one who is being sacrificed to the Group; and ALL Groups derive their just meaning and purpose from the State .

In other words, the only good individual is a dead individual.

The Marxist Lie of “White Privilege”

Uncategorized, , ,

In order to acknowledge “white privilege” one has to make the individual human being an extension of a concept. In this case “white”. Since “white” absent the individual can have no inherent existence, and certainly no meaning, it is impossible to claim that anyone can be “white”…as though “white” has some kind of power in itself to determine an individual’s existence. White is a function of the individual, not the other way around. Thus, no one can be born OF WHITE; which means no one can be born with some kind of endemic advantage simply because they fall into a conceptual category. This IS Marxism–that you are a function of the group–the “whites”–and thus, your existence is defined by it. With respect, this is utter horse shit. It is rational bankruptcy.

Also, and more obviously, not every white person in the world is privileged. But to claim “white privilege” is to claim ipso facto and BY DEFINITION that all people born white ARE automatically privileged. This is so clearly false I cannot believe anyone takes it seriously.

Moreover, and most importantly, “privileged” is a subjective term. I don’t concede the definition–which I am not rationally nor morally obligated to do–thus, I do not concede “white privilege” exists. Clearly, Rachel Dolezal did not consider it a privilege to be born white.

And do we mean biologically white? Or only those who self-identify as white have such privilege?

Ah…but we never got around to that discussion because the Marxists hoards became too distracted, like a dog fetching a ball, with banning symbols instead examining their own anthropological, biological, and philosophical  premises. How typical. You cannot keep a Marxist engaged for long when massive state force abounds just begging to be unleashed upon those with whom they disagree.

What Makes America So Fascinating is Also What Makes it So Terrifying

Physics and Metaphysics, Uncategorized, , , ,

What makes America so fascinating and terrifying? Here’s one thing:

Literally within the span of a couple of weeks we go from a national dialog on the nature of race and how it is defined by individuals as an expression of their own personal self-identification; a dialog which had the potential of radically changing the very root philosophy with respect to race, most likely to the benefit of ALL human beings everywhere–that is, a rejection of collectivist anthropology which can only divide, never reconcile individuals–to what we have today. Which is this: a seedy, obtuse, collectivist demagoguery of the issue altogether, and the feral, mindless, intellectually inhibited demand that the government use its overwhelming physical force to ban public displays of patently subjective symbols and implicitly morally blackmail private retailers into likewise banning said symbols.

This does two things, neither of which are remotely edifying, and neither of which do anything except lead ALL races down the primrose path of blind, zero-sum philosophy to inevitable misery and destruction at the hands of an absolute central Authority which destroys humanity for destruction’s sake alone. The first is that it eschews rational dialogue–that is, reason–for rank violence (state force) as the ultimate (and thus only legitimate) moral imperative; and second, it drives a wedge of animosity and distrust between a large segment of US denizens and their “representative” government.

Naturally, and predictably, this is the tragedy that never makes it into the public consciousness. And why should it? Guns and sophism have always been more effective at changing the world than reason and thought. It’s what we are most comfortable with. And just as Huxley predicted, comfort bought with the currency of murder and oppression is the only real mark of “existence” when we concede the nihilist consequences of an irrational metaphysic: Since man is not of himself, he does not own himself

Would it be Inappropriate to Suggest That the Charleston, SC Shooting is Just Too Convenient?

Uncategorized, , , ,

I suppose it is merely a coincidence that just as the “racial identity” conversation regarding white NAACP chapter president, Rachel Dolezal, (who successfully masqueraded as black for several years), was getting interesting, with the potential of philosophically redefining all racial politics in this country, we get the Charleston, SC shooting. A shooting which comes complete with a young, white, blond-haired, male, uber-racist, bearing a frightening, psychotic, kill-em-all scowl, a seething racist “manifesto”, and a portfolio absolutely buxom with Confederate-flag-waving scenes…a vault of hateful images to rival even the most prolific of Ku Klux Klan propagandists. And I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the conversation has now shifted back to the same old, tired, yet dependable, rile-up-the-base demagoguery of arguments concerning public displays of the confederate flag, institutional and systemic racism, and gun control.

Yes…I’m sure I’m way off base thinking that there is anything more here than what the news is telling me

Your Absolute Dependence Upon Pastoral “Authority” for an Efficacious Rendering of Reality (i.e. Your Sanity): Part FOURTEEN of “Collectivism Masquerading as the Christian Orthodox Ideal”

Calvinism/Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, , , , , , , , , ,

“Let’s face it; we’re all prone to wander.”  (P. 32, “Community: Your pathway to progress; North Point Ministries, 2008)

Well…no.  This is simply not true.  Useless conjecture; but even worse, it is patently deceptive.

We are not ALL prone to wander.  I could rattle off a half dozen people off the top of my head who I know are not “prone to wander”…whatever that means; I’m guessing here, because they haven’t defined it.

Ah…now that’s telling isn’t it?

Tell you what.  Hold that thought for a sec.

Furthermore, how in the hell is it possible to empirically verify such an assertion?  Did the authors interview every human being on earth both alive and dead to determine if they ever wandered?  And who decides what it means to “wander”?  And by what criteria and what consensus do they decide? And did the subjects they interviewed concede the definition?  And if they did not concede the definition, were they then excluded from the survey?  And if they were not excluded, by what rationale did the researchers decide it was legitimate and consistent with objective research protocol to disregard the opinions of the subjects with respect to the proper definition of terms?  And further, if they WERE excluded, does not that invalidate the initial claim–that “We are ALL prone to wander”–because, if some people are excluded from the survey, is not the hypothesis automatically disqualified on the basis that not ALL people were interviewed?

Also, what makes them the experts on what constitutes “wandering”? I mean, we can probably agree that, say, farming, homesteading, sharecropping, and squatting are pretty obviously not “wandering”.  But what about hunter-gatherer societies? Are they considered wandering? What about military families who move a lot?  Or traveling salesmen, or musicians, or acting troupes, or circuses?  Do they suffer from the blight of wandering as defined by North Point Ministries?  Should we demand they stop being so damn irresponsible and grow roots and put them down?  Or…um…is “wandering” merely a figurative term?

Hm…yes.  I think we may be on to something.

*

You see, once we understand that “wandering” is a euphemism for “sin”, and that only the “orthodox” ecclesiastical authority is allowed to define “sin”, this obviously absurd and impossible-to-substantiate claim (“we are all prone to wander”) is quickly revealed as an important and foundational part of the American Church’s very profitable deception.

Now, I’m sure it has, at this point, not escaped your attention that the author does not define “wander”.  And that, incidentally, is a glaring omission common in reformed literature, since the days of Calvin and Luther…at least.  You see, “sin” is never specifically defined in writings dealing with doctrine; and that’s because sin as a concept must have a fluid definition in order for it to be profitable as a tool of manipulation.  In other words, “sin” is whatever the ecclesiastical authority–(defined as those “standing in the stead of God” to shepherd (compel by violence, threats, or both) your spiritual “walk” (trail of tears))…yes, “sin” is whatever the ecclesiastical authority says it is at any given moment, in any given circumstance.  This way they can control the moral narrative of your life, and by this control the practical fruits of your labor; your existence.  Which is the whole point. The treasure is not in heaven as they have told you, but rather it is the fruit of your labor, and it is meant to flow upward, to the top of the hierarchical pyramid…and this is collectivism 101.  The government (the moral and intellectual supreme authority) of the church, just as it is in Marxist autocracies, is the only agency which really matters.  Said in an ironic way, you exist to NOT exist…that is, you exist to be sacrificed categorically to those who are “called” to ‘lead” you–where “lead” is a euphemism for “possess”.

You see, according to the metaphysic of reformed doctrine, there is no “you” distinct or autonomous from your “sin” (the reformed human metaphysic being, succinctly stated: man IS Evil; or man IS Sin).  Thus, in the process of purging you from your “sin nature”, YOU, the self-aware agent, must also be purged (and your awareness is an illusion at best; however, a self-indulgent lie and proof of your categorical apostasy probably better describes how individual consciousness is perceived by the eldership).  This purging is most effectively accomplished by destroying your cognitive ability to anchor yourself to a rationally consistent conceptual paradigm. And this is done by constantly manipulating the meaning of terms so that you remain in a perpetual state of confusion with regards to apprehending reality; that is, through manipulating concepts by implicitly teaching the constant vacillation of the meaning of words, the ecclesiastical leadership keeps you permanently dependent upon them for your sanity.  A denial of their “authority” is a denial of reality and condemns you to a state of madness from which there can be no salvation.  Of any kind.  Because “salvation” (or “Christ”, or “God”, or “YOU”) cannot have any meaning at all apart from their AUTHORITY.  That is, without them interpreting your life FOR you, you cannot tell which way is up or down.  You are as likely to wind up in hell as in heaven, and it doesn’t matter anyway because there is no functional difference.  It’s all misery because it is all undecipherable, disconnected images combined with sounds and utterances that have no reference in objective reality.   Truly it is psychological abuse and manipulation of the worst kind.  And psychological abuse is the worst kind of hell, because it lives INSIDE you.  There is no escape.  And this is why the American Spiritual Industrial Complex is so insanely profitable.  The threat of hell is, or can be, in a sense, and ironically, the worst kind of hell.  And make no mistake, it is FEAR which drives the payroll.  It is the insertion of a living and active hell into the minds of men which makes men dependent on any half-witted knob who merely claims, with absolutely no appeal to reason whatsoever and none asked for,  to have the “words of eternal life”.

*

Now, a rational definition of “sin” is pretty much that of which any sane person will assume; a definition, incidentally (for all your biblicists), one could easily garner by an honest, unfiltered, and unmolested examination of Scripture:  don’t do things that violate the the sanctity (the right to individual self-ownership) of your neighbor.  Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet, don’t blaspheme…pretty straightforward moral standards not unlike those found in a rather significant, but oft ignored (because it’s far too easy, you see), moral code known as the Ten Commandments.  But since ALL of Scripture is merely a function of the Reformed “gospel narrative”, the ability to grasp the true meaning of these moral imperatives eludes you, because you, unlike your Pastor, have not been given the divine enlightenment necessary to determine for yourself what “not-coveting” or “not lying” or “not stealing” really looks like (remember, they must provide the definitions for you, moment by moment by moment, in perpetuity…for this is the only reference for “reality”…for conceptual meaning).  Thus, your pastoral “authority” is forced to interpret the “narrative of reality” for you, because you, having not been called to stand-in-the-stead as they have, and thus having NOT been divinely bequeathed enlightenment (for according to reformed epistemology, truth is not learned but is bestowed) you cannot possibly understand the Ten Commandments because you cannot possibly understand what sin really is because your absolute sin-nature has precluded you from any reference of a rationally consistent reality by which you could interpret “sin” in the first place.  Simply put:  since your consciousness is an illusion, you cannot define anything you claim to see.  Thus, they must define everything for you, according to their pastoral “enlightenment”, and this “enlightenment” is the utterly irrational metaphysical construct of a “gospel-centered” interpretation of ALL reality; which is ironic because such an interpretive lens makes defining “reality” in any rational sense impossible.

It is by no accident that the interpretation of reality always begins and ends with discussions, though no consistent definitions, of “sin”; that is, sin is always a function of the present context; it is always in the NOW, which is why even after salvation we are all still “functional” sinners (active reprobates by nature); sin is NEVER relegated to the past; there is no cure for sin because there is no cure for YOU; your existence IS, and IS NOW, and thus sin is always “with you” because sin IS you. 

This is done to serve the narrative that your sin is perpetual, of course; that there is absolutely no moment of your life which is untainted or untouched by your debauched nature.  If they can convince you that you are always doing wrong simply by breathing, they can convince you that doing right is quite impossible, but only if it is outside of their “covering” of course. Naturally then, and quite logically, being humanity’s “covering” is a highly lucrative position.  And this is why there are so many churches, and so many wealthy churches, with so many very wealthy “shepherds”.

So now you understand why there is no consistent definition of sin, as you might see in the Ten Commandments where morality is referenced to the autonomy and right-to-life and right-to-self-ownership of the self-aware agent (God and Man).  “Sin” is only ever remotely  defined with any specificity when the ecclesiasty perceives a threat–real or imagined–to their authority; their ex post facto ownership of your mind, body, and property.  “How dare you question our beliefs?” They say.  “How dare you question our vision and how dare you impose the temerity of your blindness upon us? Your gossip and your lies and your recalcitrance trail behind you like a cloud of darkness, infecting and corrupting all the wonderful things God is doing in our church family. You are probably not even saved.  In fact, no…you are not saved.  I declare it. And I will rattle my keys under your nose in mockery of your apostasy.” Yes, this is the only time sin is given anything even approximating an objective definition.

And if this sounds too profound to be true…if you are curling your lips and upturning your nose at the absurdity of my assertions, well…then whatever “God-appointed” authority to which you’ve been lending your ear is admittedly doing his or her job with exceeding facility.  You are supposed to think people like me merely polemic.  You are supposed to recoil in fear and wince horror at such suggestions.  You are supposed to blow raspberries at anyone who would dare question the motives of those who have everything to gain from exploiting your love and, even worse, your fears, and who make it a blatant point to reject reason and to offer no further apologetic for their doctrines than “who can ever really understand His ways? [shrug]”.  You are supposed to instinctively reject any possible connection between the doctrines they teach and the destructive outcomes so frequently observed in the American Church (child sexual abuse, financial scandals, sexual harassment and exploitation of women, embarrassing and psyche-demolishing church-splits, heartless and vindictive attitudes towards non-believers, open and unrepentant hypocrisy amongst the leadership, rejections of Christ en masse by former believers…to name just a few).

They’ve been perfecting their approach for thousands of years.  Your knee-jerk rejection to the idea that you could possibly be exploited by these people for their own selfish benefit, either willfully or out of ignorance, is proof that practice has indeed made perfect.  I mean, let’s face it:  you won’t be convinced to jump in front of a train unless someone spends a lot of time practicing the approach necessary to convince you that your life is ultimately beside the point; that the train cannot go where it must go with you in the way…and that being in the way means existing at all.  That is, and ironically, unless you jump directly in front of the speeding train, you cannot help but to hinder its divine mission, which, you have been convinced, is somehow worse for you than rejecting the very life you believe God created and gave you in the first place!

Yes, and thus, like the proverbial frog slowly boiling to death, you sit in the sanctuary and stare at the plexiglass podium and nod at your reformed pastor’s message dutifully, unaware of the grave reality of your condition.  And upon hearing my message you psychologically assume the fetal position, terrified at my hyperbole and paranoia.

You see, for me to declare to some people that their lives matter and that human life matters has become a yarn of madness to them, and sends them into  fits of moral indignation, a sputtering of denial, and compels them to cry aloud “God-hater!” and “Heretic!”.

And when they’ve finished, I confidently proclaim my case rested.

According to the Duggar Girls, Sexually Assaulting Siblings is an Entirely Normal Part of Male Puberty

Calvinism/Philosophy, ,

I watched a bit of the interview of the Duggar daughters last night on the Kelly Files. They said, “He was just curious about girls”.

Umm…what in the hell were these girls told to get them to accept that somehow rank sexual assault is merely a normal product of male puberty? What must these girls think about men?! That all men are designed by God to engage in the most heinous violations of the most innocent of human beings?! What must this do to their own sexual and social development?!

I was a fourteen year old boy. Yes I was “curious” about girls (and “curious” is a euphemism for exactly what you think it’s a euphemism for). No, those girls did not include my sisters. My sisters were gross and had cooties and were annoying as hell and still are for that matter (;-)). And the “girls” I was interested in at 14 were also 14. Well, between 14 and 30. Alright…14 and 50 (some of the older teachers were still kinda hot).

THAT’S normal. And the fact that the Duggar daughters would offer the “it’s just puberty” argument as a means of excusing their brother’s rank sexual deviancy is all you need to know about how sick and twisted this whole affair really is. Someone lied to these girls in order to convince them that the sociopathy to which they were exposed was not only legal, but moral; and thus, in keeping with “God’s perfect design and Will”. And that of course makes any destructive psychological effects these girls may suffer THEIR fault. If they are confused or upset or angry or their own sexual development is arrested it’s because they are “not trusting God”; or “not trusting their parents”, or their pastor, or not believing the Bible, or whatever other lies pass for “sound doctrine” in Christianity today. Their desires for justice and for protection and for healing, however obscure and inarticulate such desires may be in young children, is chalked up to THEIR lack of forgiveness; THEIR unregenerate hearts, which puts them in danger of God’s punishment for THEIR evil assumption that somehow their inherent human total depravity warrants any justice at all; as though unforgiving, grudge-holding reprobates like themselves can expect anything but wrath and condemnation from a God who obviously “allowed” the very thing they claim in their sinful blindness was wrong (insofar as a young child can articulate “wrong”). Since “God controls all things”, according to the Platonist apostasy which passes for Christianity today, then He must at least on some level have been pleased to subject them to their brother’s sexual interlocution. And what does this say about the girls’ lingering doubt about the benevolence of the situation and the innocence of their brother; that it’s all just biology?

It says that if they suffered by the circumstance, clearly they deserved it. God allowed it to show them how evil they are, and how much further they have to go before God can approve them. That in the willful coddling of their own pain God reveals a nature so debauched and so unregenerate that they may never be truly saved.

The Duggar girls explained that mommy and daddy told them that the choice of whether or not to forgive their brother was theirs alone.

Not only is relegating this responsibility to a child who has been sexually assaulted evil and abusive in its own right, CLEARLY these children had no choice at all.

Welcome to the Church. Where there are no innocent victims, not even children; and all victims ex post facto deserve their abuse, and thus the green light is divinely granted for them to be perpetually re-victimized