© COPYRIGHT: Michael L. S. -- 2004, 2005, 2006
NO content of these pages may be used without my prior consent.
RECENT POSTS:
- Carpe Diem... - With a Twist
- Of Religion IV (Final)
- Of Religion III
- Of Religion II
- Of Religion I
- Hello Shalom, Hello Salaam!
- Verities of Life Part Deux; Grammar Warning
- Ante Gotovina and the ICTY
- Verities of Life... EU Expansion
- Arutz Sheva OUTRAGE; Azam Azam Is Free; Disengagem...
Personal Responsibility; More On Religion
Posted on: Thursday, December 30, 2004
Shalom shalom, everyone!
A personal rant coming up. Someone please tell me: whatever's happened to the notion of responsibility? Is it just me or does everybody and his dog nowadays seem to abdicate all personal responsibility for own actions and for consequences of those actions? Correct me if I'm wrong but we are all sane invividuals here. And as such we are the ones making our decisions in life--if we're mentally labile, then other people make choices on our behalf. We are also adequately intelligent to be able to foresee the effects our actions are likely to have. So why is it that certain individuals seem to think it acceptable to reach decisions and then blame everybody but themselves when said decisions result in adverse ramifications? You see it every day on Jerry Springer, Ricky Lake or, in Britain, Trisha. You lie, you cheat, you renege on your promises, you abandon people when the going gets tough... - and then you act perplexed and outraged when your victim reaches the boiling point. Yea, you have the effrontery to victimize YOURSELF! Suddenly the person whom you'd mistreated for a long time becomes the one at fault because they've seen thru your little game and grown sick of the abuse. Suddenly THEIR feelings and promises and sacrifices are belittled even though you'd lied worse than Mata Hari, broken every single promise you'd ever made to that person and never made a single sacrifice; indeed, actively avoided making sacrifices no matter at what expense to the other side. Absolutely pathetic. Fortunately, things have this funny way of working themselves out. Skulduggery and injustice get their just rewards. A "friend" of mine who used to be a cop knows that pretty well and is enjoying a whole new life in Zimbabwe now.
Ultimately though, one doesn't know whether the main protagonist is more pathetic or their friends who come to the studio to cheer them on and sling mud at the person who got screwed by their protege(e). Oftentimes those "friends" know straight jack-diddley-squat about the other person or the real circumstances between the two. Yet, they feel qualified to dispense advice and indeed pass value judgments about the other individual's true feelings and intentions. Of course, the real culprit in the saga is thrilled to get such support. And so more and more water keeps being run on the mill of self-righteousness. The main issue is completely lost in the entire web of "I rub your back, you rub mine" or "I seek to excuse my wrongdoings, you seek to excuse them, too." How supremely sad and stupid. But all the same, the genuine victim in it all should not concern themselves about it. As I wrote last time, there is no point wasting time on people, things, preoccupations and events that do not deserve it. My advice is: be the best person you can, treat others the way you would want to be treated, don't use or abuse anyone, don't lie, don't cheat, don't break promises and enjoy life. Those who are decent and genuine people will love you for it. Those who are not will fizzle out of your life. And good riddance. You've probably conjectured by now that the foregoing was not brought on merely by an edition of Jerry Springer. Yes, I speak from experience. I might write one time about that experience; right now I just can't be assed.
* * *
OK,
¡¡¡ BULLSHIT ALERT !!!
...because the dissenting reactions to my religion work were really a bunch of bullshit. Most people have been nice and civil. So it should behove me to respond in kind. Unfortunately, even the most courteous of statements can be plain stupid. This was no exception. You see, I try, I really try. I endeavor to be polite and explain in the most genteel way possible that "when I said x, I meant...x!!" But when I have to repeat that thing twoscore times, it kind of ever so slightly incenses me.
Because not to be able to understand something that is written clearly and simply has to mean that a person is stupid, playing stupid and/or not in control of their senses. 
Here are some of the reactions. (I can't be bothered with all the quotation marks and attributions so I'll just paraphrase.)
1-- One of my favorites: even though the probability that eg. Xianity is small, it pays to believe just in case. After all, what have I to lose if I believe and it turns out to be false!? The good old Pascal's Wager. It contains such an amount of obtusity, illogic and inaccuracy that it almost incites me to have a fit. Rather than dissecting this crap myself--lest it turns into an essay--I invite you to see what a pal of mine has written on the subject: Bad Arguments --scroll down to number 5 (though I strongly recommend you peruse the whole page).
2-- Oh, another gem: there are so many people in the world who believe that there just HAS to be "something to it". A posteriori, anyone?
OK smartass, according to that, there's gotta be more of "something to it" to Islam than to your strand of Xianity seeing as there are a helluva lot more devout Muslims than there are followers of your particular Xian sect. You don't get it: the only reason Xianity is of any material significance today is that Constantine of Rome accepted it in the fifth century. He did it for rather selfish reasons: to stave off a mutiny. He institutionalized it as the religion of his imperium. And because he was a powerful man at the head of a powerful empire which subsequently dissolved into powerful entities which are still moving and shaking the world today, Xianity became and stayed prominent. Of course, you can see it as "the hand of 'god'." I can see why you would want to view it as such. But then it must also have been that selfsame "hand of 'god'" which occasioned the subsequent events directly related to the institutionalization of Xianity. One of the collective first acts of Xians following Constantine's conversion was the torching of the biggest contemporary library in Alexandria (ie. a source of knowledge; surprised? I think not). Then came the forced conversions of pagans and others, witch hunts, manipulation of people, extortion, etc. And that was just the beginning. We know all about the Crusades, blood libel, Inquisition, Conquistadores, colonialism, the Hundred-Year War and a plethora of other things. So, if all that can be ascribed to the "hand of 'god'", then that "god" is an asshole. Or wait!! Could it be that the bad things were caused by the devil/sinful man? Yeah, I bet that was it.
3-- As the Slovenians would say: ampak to še ni vse! That's not all folks. It really DOES get "better." Here's a classic: I also believe certain things to be true. Eg. I believe that any supernatural entity has not made contact with us or that eg. the Bible contains errors. So, I'm a believer and hence I also have a religion. This is basically that hackneyed old hogwash that "atheism/agnosticism is a religion, too, because we believe that 'god' does not exist." The sheer imbecility of this one also prevents me from tackling it in a structured and reasoned fashion. Let me venture to though. Firstly, if you want to get into semantics, then I don't believe, rather I think. Just like I think DR Congo is a damn hot place. Or that the IQ of George W. is lower than that of Herr Gerhard Schröder. But, you see, these "beliefs" can be conclusively proven to be correct or incorrect using recognized scientific means. My "belief" that the supernatural entity--if it/they exist(s)--has not established or maintained a discernible contact with or impact on the human race can be proven thru empiricism, logic, anthropology, etc. Another important facet to bear in mind is that my "beliefs" about the supernatural play a very marginal role in my life. I do not spend my time, money, emotions or anything else in my daily life on my "religious" "beliefs."
4-- "Do YOU know what happens after we die?" Ie. can I provide a better answer than any religion as to where we "go" upon death? Geez. No, I cannot. If I could, the mystery of life would not be much of a mystery, now would it, Sherlock. But just because I don't know what happens after death does not mean I will take the first "answer" that is given me, regardless of how flawed and illogical it is. Which reminds me: when I was in attendance at a church once, I heard an elderly gentleman--otherwise quite clever--rationalize his being a Xian (the evangelical, fire-and-brimstone type) thus: "I'm a Christian because no-one's ever offered me anything better!" And you could hear Amens shooting out all over the place. "Jesus"... You don't buy a frigging second-hand vehicle on such a basis!!! Let alone do you subordinate your life to a set of rules and beliefs which guide your every action and thought (at least in principle) because you hadn't encountered a better alternative!!? Give me a break. Fact is, we DO not and CAN not know what the purpose of life--and hence its sequel, if any--is. All we CAN know for sure is that this is the only life we have. So don't waste it on asinine things. Forget dictating to other people how to live, hatred, nationalism, chauvinism, pursuit of riches. I've never heard of a person taking their wealth, diplomas or flag beyond the grave. So set your priorities straight and enjoy this life unencumbered. I'll write more about that on some other occasion.
More "arguments" tomorrow!
Posted on: Thursday, December 30, 2004
ב''ה
Shalom shalom, everyone!
A personal rant coming up. Someone please tell me: whatever's happened to the notion of responsibility? Is it just me or does everybody and his dog nowadays seem to abdicate all personal responsibility for own actions and for consequences of those actions? Correct me if I'm wrong but we are all sane invividuals here. And as such we are the ones making our decisions in life--if we're mentally labile, then other people make choices on our behalf. We are also adequately intelligent to be able to foresee the effects our actions are likely to have. So why is it that certain individuals seem to think it acceptable to reach decisions and then blame everybody but themselves when said decisions result in adverse ramifications? You see it every day on Jerry Springer, Ricky Lake or, in Britain, Trisha. You lie, you cheat, you renege on your promises, you abandon people when the going gets tough... - and then you act perplexed and outraged when your victim reaches the boiling point. Yea, you have the effrontery to victimize YOURSELF! Suddenly the person whom you'd mistreated for a long time becomes the one at fault because they've seen thru your little game and grown sick of the abuse. Suddenly THEIR feelings and promises and sacrifices are belittled even though you'd lied worse than Mata Hari, broken every single promise you'd ever made to that person and never made a single sacrifice; indeed, actively avoided making sacrifices no matter at what expense to the other side. Absolutely pathetic. Fortunately, things have this funny way of working themselves out. Skulduggery and injustice get their just rewards. A "friend" of mine who used to be a cop knows that pretty well and is enjoying a whole new life in Zimbabwe now.
Ultimately though, one doesn't know whether the main protagonist is more pathetic or their friends who come to the studio to cheer them on and sling mud at the person who got screwed by their protege(e). Oftentimes those "friends" know straight jack-diddley-squat about the other person or the real circumstances between the two. Yet, they feel qualified to dispense advice and indeed pass value judgments about the other individual's true feelings and intentions. Of course, the real culprit in the saga is thrilled to get such support. And so more and more water keeps being run on the mill of self-righteousness. The main issue is completely lost in the entire web of "I rub your back, you rub mine" or "I seek to excuse my wrongdoings, you seek to excuse them, too." How supremely sad and stupid. But all the same, the genuine victim in it all should not concern themselves about it. As I wrote last time, there is no point wasting time on people, things, preoccupations and events that do not deserve it. My advice is: be the best person you can, treat others the way you would want to be treated, don't use or abuse anyone, don't lie, don't cheat, don't break promises and enjoy life. Those who are decent and genuine people will love you for it. Those who are not will fizzle out of your life. And good riddance. You've probably conjectured by now that the foregoing was not brought on merely by an edition of Jerry Springer. Yes, I speak from experience. I might write one time about that experience; right now I just can't be assed.OK,
...because the dissenting reactions to my religion work were really a bunch of bullshit. Most people have been nice and civil. So it should behove me to respond in kind. Unfortunately, even the most courteous of statements can be plain stupid. This was no exception. You see, I try, I really try. I endeavor to be polite and explain in the most genteel way possible that "when I said x, I meant...x!!" But when I have to repeat that thing twoscore times, it kind of ever so slightly incenses me.
Because not to be able to understand something that is written clearly and simply has to mean that a person is stupid, playing stupid and/or not in control of their senses. Here are some of the reactions. (I can't be bothered with all the quotation marks and attributions so I'll just paraphrase.)1-- One of my favorites: even though the probability that eg. Xianity is small, it pays to believe just in case. After all, what have I to lose if I believe and it turns out to be false!? The good old Pascal's Wager. It contains such an amount of obtusity, illogic and inaccuracy that it almost incites me to have a fit. Rather than dissecting this crap myself--lest it turns into an essay--I invite you to see what a pal of mine has written on the subject: Bad Arguments --scroll down to number 5 (though I strongly recommend you peruse the whole page).
2-- Oh, another gem: there are so many people in the world who believe that there just HAS to be "something to it". A posteriori, anyone?
OK smartass, according to that, there's gotta be more of "something to it" to Islam than to your strand of Xianity seeing as there are a helluva lot more devout Muslims than there are followers of your particular Xian sect. You don't get it: the only reason Xianity is of any material significance today is that Constantine of Rome accepted it in the fifth century. He did it for rather selfish reasons: to stave off a mutiny. He institutionalized it as the religion of his imperium. And because he was a powerful man at the head of a powerful empire which subsequently dissolved into powerful entities which are still moving and shaking the world today, Xianity became and stayed prominent. Of course, you can see it as "the hand of 'god'." I can see why you would want to view it as such. But then it must also have been that selfsame "hand of 'god'" which occasioned the subsequent events directly related to the institutionalization of Xianity. One of the collective first acts of Xians following Constantine's conversion was the torching of the biggest contemporary library in Alexandria (ie. a source of knowledge; surprised? I think not). Then came the forced conversions of pagans and others, witch hunts, manipulation of people, extortion, etc. And that was just the beginning. We know all about the Crusades, blood libel, Inquisition, Conquistadores, colonialism, the Hundred-Year War and a plethora of other things. So, if all that can be ascribed to the "hand of 'god'", then that "god" is an asshole. Or wait!! Could it be that the bad things were caused by the devil/sinful man? Yeah, I bet that was it. 3-- As the Slovenians would say: ampak to še ni vse! That's not all folks. It really DOES get "better." Here's a classic: I also believe certain things to be true. Eg. I believe that any supernatural entity has not made contact with us or that eg. the Bible contains errors. So, I'm a believer and hence I also have a religion. This is basically that hackneyed old hogwash that "atheism/agnosticism is a religion, too, because we believe that 'god' does not exist." The sheer imbecility of this one also prevents me from tackling it in a structured and reasoned fashion. Let me venture to though. Firstly, if you want to get into semantics, then I don't believe, rather I think. Just like I think DR Congo is a damn hot place. Or that the IQ of George W. is lower than that of Herr Gerhard Schröder. But, you see, these "beliefs" can be conclusively proven to be correct or incorrect using recognized scientific means. My "belief" that the supernatural entity--if it/they exist(s)--has not established or maintained a discernible contact with or impact on the human race can be proven thru empiricism, logic, anthropology, etc. Another important facet to bear in mind is that my "beliefs" about the supernatural play a very marginal role in my life. I do not spend my time, money, emotions or anything else in my daily life on my "religious" "beliefs."
4-- "Do YOU know what happens after we die?" Ie. can I provide a better answer than any religion as to where we "go" upon death? Geez. No, I cannot. If I could, the mystery of life would not be much of a mystery, now would it, Sherlock.
But just because I don't know what happens after death does not mean I will take the first "answer" that is given me, regardless of how flawed and illogical it is. Which reminds me: when I was in attendance at a church once, I heard an elderly gentleman--otherwise quite clever--rationalize his being a Xian (the evangelical, fire-and-brimstone type) thus: "I'm a Christian because no-one's ever offered me anything better!" And you could hear Amens shooting out all over the place. "Jesus"... You don't buy a frigging second-hand vehicle on such a basis!!! Let alone do you subordinate your life to a set of rules and beliefs which guide your every action and thought (at least in principle) because you hadn't encountered a better alternative!!? Give me a break. Fact is, we DO not and CAN not know what the purpose of life--and hence its sequel, if any--is. All we CAN know for sure is that this is the only life we have. So don't waste it on asinine things. Forget dictating to other people how to live, hatred, nationalism, chauvinism, pursuit of riches. I've never heard of a person taking their wealth, diplomas or flag beyond the grave. So set your priorities straight and enjoy this life unencumbered. I'll write more about that on some other occasion.More "arguments" tomorrow!
ARCHIVED ENTRIES:
LINKS: