Check out the disaster playlist on the Suspicious0bservers channel to get acquainted with what Catacomb Resident is talking about here. There is some conspiracy theory with the science industry involved, but that’s irrelevant to the main point. There is evidence, though I don’t think it’s quite conclusive, of a pattern of cyclical disasters every 12k … Catacomb Resident: Prepare for Doom
Anything based on Enlightenment principles, including “human rights,” isn’t courting disaster, it’s slapping the start button on a judgement time bomb. If we want to get to the fundamentals of it, human rights are products of men’s minds, implicit agreements to use force a certain way. The bigger the parties involved, the more complex and … Catacomb Resident: The American Lie
Here’s where a lot of people might get tripped up, on both sides of the religion debate. The idea that a religious concept is good for people, but not so much for God, requires a little parsing. The rituals exist for men, not for God. God isn’t pleased with ritual itself, but rather, if anything, … Catacomb Resident: The Necessity of Ritual
It might be good to point out here that what we think are America’s particular sins, real or imagined, are ultimately irrelevant to the judgment cycle itself. It’s not gays, or that America hates gays, or racism, or lack of universal healthcare, or lack of veteran care, or pollution, or whatever other political scapegoating you … Catacomb Resident: Back to Eden
The subject of the pre-modern view of the supernatural coincides nicely with the most recent post over at History for Atheists, Jesus Mythicism 8: Jesus, History and Miracles. Humean skepticism and falsifiability is so ingrained in how we think that it’s near impossible for even reasonably intelligent people to even conceive that others in the … Catacomb Resident: Futile Philosophy 3
What Catacomb Resident is explaining here is similar to Alvin Plantinga’s sensus divinatus, the faculty that senses and processes ideas about metaphysical things as a form of a priori knowledge, just as philosophically legitimate as the physical senses or logic. Our sensus divinatus is damaged by default because of the Fall, since we are tied … Catacomb Resident: Futile Philosophy 2
I like Rupert Sheldrake a lot when he stays in his lane (biology and science), but he’s off when he’s talking about baptism here. There’s no reason to think John the Baptist held people under longer than what was normal for full ritual immersion in the Hebrew tradition. John was a rather popular rabble-rouser, and … Near Death by Baptism
You’ve been warned: this is a mammoth post. I wanted to get all my exemplary bits of music journalism (if you can call it “journalism”) posted here, for safekeeping. Most of them are from Noisecreep, but the site hasn’t been updated for months, so its demise may be soon Nevermind…it’s still kickin’. Buzzgrinder is still … Ultra Mega Post of Past Music Journalism
This was originally posted on the Radix Fidem forum. I recently read The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ (Randy Singer), about the trial of Jesus under Pontius Pilate, and a few of the milestones that lead up to it. The middle chapters were a mix of Gospel readings, and commentary with personal anecdotes. They were adequate if … Were the Pharisees Hellenized?
Japanese-style public service ads in LA metro Cute, but it feels the novelty could wear off quick. The real reason why network ‘neutrality’ is impossible Interesting technical reasons why this idea is a nightmare. It will cause shortages of service, just like every other time bureaucrats try to make things “fair.” Twitter is done with … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 28
Christine’s comment on my last post inspired me to throw out some song lyrics, as a type of poetry appreciation. The video for the song is at the bottom of this post, but don’t click play unless you’re prepared. At the very least, you can admire Mark deSalvo’s artwork in the video thumbnail, which appears … Other People Write: Advent of a Miracle by Strongarm
Happy Easter! Please enjoy my favorite Easter song. If it’s not your first choice in music (understandable), at least read the lyrics, posted below the video. Crucifixion upon the cross Dying for sins, fulfilling prophecy Beaten for His faith Praying for enemies upon sacrifice Forsaken in the eyes of God Sins of man, to Him … Happy Easter, 2016
Dropping in here for a moment between writing PBS and living a normal work-family life. Upon a recent visit to amazon.com I saw one of their “recommended books”: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. Despite something of an embarrassing cover featuring a photo of that Nazi treasure hunter … Two Books of Note
Read Part 1 here. The New Testament books make up for a smaller section of canon yet they read much more densely because of the theological implications of the words and actions of a Jewish preacher named Yeshua bar Yoseph, which is the original Aramaic name for Jesus Christ. Instead of the religious regulations, historical … Book Review: The Bible, Part 2