The lesson of the gospel is this, that no matter how necessary the law is, morality doesn’t live at the level of collective action. It lives at the level of individual transformation. Jesus didn’t die to fix something about the laws of his country, or the collective consciousness of his country or conventional attitudes. HeContinue reading “The dwelling place of redemption”
Author Archives: Mr Nobody
How tech changes culture
It’s interesting, reflecting on how the culture of safetyism got started, and the role of the media in producing it simply by following the story. One big high profile case led to a radical restructuring of what people believed the world was like and what people were like and how they treated them. The media,Continue reading “How tech changes culture”
Muck
In the current culture of muckraking and accusation and everyone constantly flinging dirt at everyone, there are two types of people who can escape and thrive. Those who absolutely refuse to get involved and stay out of the puddle, and those in the middle who are so inured to the mud that they don’t evenContinue reading “Muck”
Parenting challenges
I sometimes feel like every day I’m giving lectures on the theory of how basic human society works. I feel like a lecturer confronting a reluctant classroom. I feel like a crisis negotiator. My girls are constantly getting into fights. And the hardest task is to not pick sides, but to try to explain toContinue reading “Parenting challenges”
Fairness and parenting
Fair play is when we decide that neither of us is subjectively in charge of the rules of the game. Instead, we set up rules both of us have to play by and submit to and agree to, an independent arbiter that can be appealed to, regardless of who the actor in question is. InContinue reading “Fairness and parenting “
How different are science and philosophy?
What has not been broadly understood about science is that it is far more like philosophy than anyone imagined. For a long time it was envisioned as a kind of different, better, more objective way of resolving questions and settling disputes. It was less human, less fallible, less easily influenced, more trustworthy. What modern scienceContinue reading “How different are science and philosophy? “
The proper uses of grace
Grace has a powerful but often misunderstood role. It is like a powerful anasthetic that neutralizes negative feelings and severs the connection between the reality of our perceived identity and the reality of our perceived life outcomes. It gives us a free pass, essentially. This makes it both terribly dangerous, when used incorrectly, and aContinue reading “The proper uses of grace”
Some ideas no one will thank you for saying
I believe all these points can be strongly proved by direct evidence or argumentation, but because they run counter to one or the other of the different popular narratives in favor today, they will likely not be accepted. Certainly not all of them together, in combination. But my principal argument is that it is onlyContinue reading “Some ideas no one will thank you for saying”
The essential unity of humanity
From one man and woman God created all nations. This idea that we are meant to carry with us is thus: the essential brotherhood and sisterhood of all mankind. The idea that divisions of race are but the growth and accident and artifice of time and development. That we are all one at heart, inContinue reading “The essential unity of humanity”
Why a balanced perspective sucks
Sometimes I hate being able to see the arguments and mistakes of both sides, because I can see how everyone is making good points and both are also wrong, and both are completely oblivious that they’re making the exact mistakes they accuse the others of. I can see the principles, and they only see theContinue reading “Why a balanced perspective sucks”
The lies of omission
The myths of our time, that don’t tell us the truth about the world. They have power because they are a skins of partial truth, or they’re a counterbalance to the abuse of the actual truth. They have the right spirit, but the wrong content. Instead of correcting the truth, they contradict it. And theContinue reading “The lies of omission”
The problem with “solutions”
The mistake so many people make that causes so much conflict and confusion is that they want to have unitary answers. They want a universal solution to a problem or question. A specific and definitive right and wrong choice. And when they disagree and can’t work out their conflicts, they either get resentful at theContinue reading “The problem with “solutions””
Why people equivocate in the face of tragedy
I imagine that people equivocate because even in circumstances of objective personal tragedy, they don’t want to surrender to having the terms of the meta-narrative that tragedy is being used as an element of dictated to them. Because it’s not a personal story, it’s a specially selected local incident elevated to national attention for veryContinue reading “Why people equivocate in the face of tragedy”
Incitement to violence and Christianity
Kill the white devils! Viva la revolution! The key difference between King and many other revolutionaries who have preached similar ethics about the need to directly overturn systems of order for the sake of justice is that King was deeply committed to the doctrine of Christian love as the guiding and restraining principle that tamedContinue reading “Incitement to violence and Christianity”
What makes sexual alternatives attractive?
I’ve been rolling a lot of ideas around in my head for a long time, trying to figure out what it is that’s attractive about numerous aspects of sexuality. Specifically, pornography, prostitutes, and certain aspects of other alternative sexual cultures. One huge problem with almost everything everyone has to say about sex is that theyContinue reading “What makes sexual alternatives attractive?”
Glorifying non-conformity
From a reply to a social media post about Christianity being for the outsiders and about accepting the outsiders, that that’s who Jesus liked, not the insiders. To which I said that, yes, it kind of was, but not because of their outsider-ness or insider-ness. That that wasn’t in itself the quality that made themContinue reading “Glorifying non-conformity”
The value of discrimination
Discrimination is the foundation of morality. All moralities. All ethics. Business, scientific, sexual, economic. It is the key to survival and to success, to health and sanity. The question to be asked about value hierarchies and discrimination isn’t, do they exist (because they are default bad for us, they’re the foundation of the definitions of,Continue reading “The value of discrimination “
Thoughts on my thesis
Here is my Masters thesis. I’ve never let anyone read it. Apart from my committee. Even I haven’t opened that file for about ten years. But I’m letting it go. If you do read it, you will find it quite long, about 60 pages. It’s actually much more readable than most graduate-level philosophy, extremely so,Continue reading “Thoughts on my thesis”
Truth or noble lies?
Most information in the media these days can be classified as “noble lies”. Not outright untruths, but polemical constructions, deliberate narratives, with a practical or political goal in mind that shapes and provides the primary organizing principle for the information. I believe Jonathan Haight gave a lecture about this conflict in the university, that itContinue reading “Truth or noble lies? “
Love and trust
The two most valuable resources a child has is their parents’ love and their parents’ trust. Yes, both parties have a say in the future of both. Especially as the child grows and the relationship becomes more complex and reciprocal and less dependent and authoritative, good action on the part of either can make aContinue reading “Love and trust”
Making Nobody Happy 