tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92226252813474197872024-03-15T18:52:48.789-06:00Ethics ForumThinking about ethics and current events
(Began 1 April 2008)Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comBlogger4266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-90999165582548966402024-03-14T13:17:00.000-06:002024-03-14T13:17:52.132-06:00My Political Apology<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnzJRYp844O1aMuCkG66e4Z88n25yc3eWIgb7hECSOKucAkiBO6wHINwWHKUCx3vRoAsDAMAHkuHXIAE7lXR8BhouzrlF3dbs7wZHkgjJNjw1U1oG618GCMnxzil22LKC7Wauw0ho-XJYaD4IpFEqe7H0jqcA2uem4VFHze_QqehGV0Aq9a90Q5MgtdA/s597/BillOfRights-Original-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="597" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnzJRYp844O1aMuCkG66e4Z88n25yc3eWIgb7hECSOKucAkiBO6wHINwWHKUCx3vRoAsDAMAHkuHXIAE7lXR8BhouzrlF3dbs7wZHkgjJNjw1U1oG618GCMnxzil22LKC7Wauw0ho-XJYaD4IpFEqe7H0jqcA2uem4VFHze_QqehGV0Aq9a90Q5MgtdA/w336-h180/BillOfRights-Original-2.jpg" width="336" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Dr. Alice C. Linsley</p>History suggests that nations rise and fall because of leaders who put their own interests ahead of the welfare of the people they are supposed to serve.<div><br /></div><div>I support Nikki Haley because I believe she has integrity and truly cares about our country. She is a seasoned and sane political figure whose life is not wrapped in criminal accusations.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has an expansive view of world events. She is not an isolationist. Neither is she a war monger. I believe she would make an excellent president. Perhaps that will happen in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a lifelong conservative Republican, I cannot vote for Joe Biden. Neither can I in good conscience vote for Donald Trump who has shown himself to be arrogant, self-serving, and abusive. Even people who have supported him have experienced the abuse. Just ask Pence, Haley, some of Trump's former legal advisors, and others who served on Trump's cabinet.</div><div><br /></div><div>I value our republican system and hope it is preserved. Political demagoguery threatens our freedoms. </div><div><br /></div><div>I appreciate the uniqueness of the US Constitution. Our Bill of Rights is truly exceptional and is the target of censorship by totalitarian governments around the world.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Having lived in other countries, including Iran, Greece, Spain, and the Philippines, I appreciate what the United States of America has to offer its citizens. We work hard. We think big. We are an innovative people, offering the world useful technologies, advancements in science and medicine, and intellectual property. </div><div><br /></div><div>We grow our economy, even in economic downturns. We support thousands of non-profit service organizations. The number of nonprofit organizations based in the USA is staggering. A Child's Hope International, American Medical Resources Foundation, Compassion International, World Vision, Samaritan's Purse, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>We are a generous people. Only the hardened cynic would suggest that all US foreign funding is self-serving. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>For me, the 2024 presidential race is a choice between two equally weak candidates: Biden and Trump. I will not be voting in November.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some have argued that by not voting, I am voting. That misses the point. This is a matter of conscience. With Nikki Haley I had a choice. The Trump machine has taken that choice away from me. That is another reason for me to deny Trump my vote. His grasping for power appears to have no limits. Such men are dangerous.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pray for our nation.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-57857506885062957752024-01-26T09:09:00.008-07:002024-01-26T09:21:13.271-07:00Peter Kreeft's Book "Ethics for Beginners"<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLprXXmwa2xjQRaDAs8r45HSfCOavixL6Xl7tsUQrFwwMoVGTIomgH8fHVuv8nlmfB4XghpUGT32ptcQ_VtdxCPaV38YDjJrZ5D9gQ9T4yBaN7rP0KyuVbYdMZHHvVcQlOTYJAMc8XCvCPN78PjCmB_jnbiZiH31K1fzMVuv6JjaUtqfdzq-MTCqu2oB4/s1706/Ethics-fo-Beginners-Boxshot-Front_v2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1706" data-original-width="1166" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLprXXmwa2xjQRaDAs8r45HSfCOavixL6Xl7tsUQrFwwMoVGTIomgH8fHVuv8nlmfB4XghpUGT32ptcQ_VtdxCPaV38YDjJrZ5D9gQ9T4yBaN7rP0KyuVbYdMZHHvVcQlOTYJAMc8XCvCPN78PjCmB_jnbiZiH31K1fzMVuv6JjaUtqfdzq-MTCqu2oB4/s320/Ethics-fo-Beginners-Boxshot-Front_v2.png" width="219" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br />Peter Kreeft has taught philosophy at Boston College for more than 50 years. In this book Ethics for Beginners, he provides a good introduction to ethics for people of religious convictions, especially Roman Catholics. Bishop Robert Barron (<a href="https://institute.wordonfire.org/"><span style="color: #990000;">Word on Fire</span></a>) recommends the book which he describes as<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span>"a digestible introduction to moral philosophy woven together with Kreeft’s trademark wit and humor."<div><br /></div><div>The book presents the thoughts of 32 great thinkers of history. Kreeft believes that studying the ideas of the great philosophers helps people to take responsibility for their own thoughts and opens the mind to arguments on both sides of controversies. <div><br /><div>He asks:<div><br /></div><div>What qualifies you for ethical wisdom? It is not your ideological beliefs or scholarly expertise but your character traits. And those character traits come in pairs, so that it is very easy and very common to emphasize one half of each pair and forget the other one. These traits include:<br /><br />• Adamant, committed honesty and flexible, experimental open-mindedness;<br />• A hard (logical) head and a soft (loving, empathetic) heart; toughness and tenderness;<br />• Fair, unbiased, impersonal detachment and personal commitment and loyalty;<br />• Impatience (passion) and patience (maturity);<br />• Idealism and practicality; and<br />• Profound seriousness and lightness, playfulness, and a sense of humor.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Peter Kreeft asserts that ethics is real, that good and evil are knowable, and that we are happier people when we act well. Kreeft claims that the study of ethics is important in answering life’ questions: What is the meaning of life? How should I live? How should I treat other people?</div><div><br /></div><div>This book is especially appropriate for use with high school students.<br /><div><br /></div><div>The book is available to <a href="Studying the great ideas of the great philosophers will help you to think things through yourself, and to take responsibility for your own thoughts, and to open your mind to arguments on both sides of controversies. [Studying philosophy and critical thinking will help you take responsibility for your beliefs and values.]"><span style="color: #990000;">purchase on Amazon</span></a>.</div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-13738270772735328572024-01-19T10:28:00.003-07:002024-01-19T10:29:48.389-07:00Stolen Picasso and Chagall Paintings Recovered<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahiaytxu4gq1Adaii0I1oOSW4Z0kkev1P3Fj20lLgfi8wbK3JfPsWgPNn81FqVG3QSKzcaxrHwTnBCMkW-wmOONeCAKERgSRW1gxn14446j9ThyFhp6QstEnQhyphenhyphenk99qLUosfpuDxUtEpGfH-PCKzsU0r5mKIl2ruZ18BcQql0kBLvgJ4D-LVLuykD0WQ/s1908/240117093018-03-antwerp-paintings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1908" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahiaytxu4gq1Adaii0I1oOSW4Z0kkev1P3Fj20lLgfi8wbK3JfPsWgPNn81FqVG3QSKzcaxrHwTnBCMkW-wmOONeCAKERgSRW1gxn14446j9ThyFhp6QstEnQhyphenhyphenk99qLUosfpuDxUtEpGfH-PCKzsU0r5mKIl2ruZ18BcQql0kBLvgJ4D-LVLuykD0WQ/s320/240117093018-03-antwerp-paintings.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><p></p><br /><br />Paintings by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall stolen 14 years ago from a Jewish family were recovered by police during a search of a cellar in Antwerp.<br /><br />The works are Picasso’s portrait Tête (1971) and Chagall’s L’homme en prière (1970). Both were found in their original frames and in good condition. They were stolen were from the home of an art collector in Tel Aviv in 2010. At the time of the theft the works were collectively valued at nearly $1 million, local authorities said <a href="https://5370.f2w.bosa.be/fr/blog-post/communique-presse-parquet-namur-police-judiciaire-federale-namur-picasso-chagall-voles"><span style="color: #990000;">in a statement</span></a>. <div><br />Some $680,000 worth of jewelry was also stolen from the collector in the same heist. However, the trove of jewelry remains missing.<div><br /></div><div>The local prosecutor said the main suspect has been arrested. Read more <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/stolen-picasso-chagall-paintings-found-antwerp-basement-1234693259/"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2012/10/paintings-stolen-in-rotterdam.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Paintings Stolen in Rotterdam</span></a></div></div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-39632676477517048042024-01-08T15:59:00.007-07:002024-01-09T10:44:05.588-07:00Rulers of the Ancient Water Systems<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGjnwmooLhF7RkmhOgiv6VC8LKNKWupYWkn6-b5v_yX4mmzPCNSe7nHS5u6pudLAu68SI8NDBiYMuqrstslCv7RuefeB2fanK5s3NEOjDQYapevp55OgwiWPsrAPYux_-rBo_zKZX_u-Ey80iZk-0B5aW7MMh7uQKFBeIJGPtSm_vzNfQM3_xnRfbvf4/s1024/AP_17230623824207-1024x705.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1024" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGjnwmooLhF7RkmhOgiv6VC8LKNKWupYWkn6-b5v_yX4mmzPCNSe7nHS5u6pudLAu68SI8NDBiYMuqrstslCv7RuefeB2fanK5s3NEOjDQYapevp55OgwiWPsrAPYux_-rBo_zKZX_u-Ey80iZk-0B5aW7MMh7uQKFBeIJGPtSm_vzNfQM3_xnRfbvf4/s320/AP_17230623824207-1024x705.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Dr. Alice C. Linsley</p>Before the first civilizations appeared in the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, human populations were drawn to ancient water systems. Rivers and lakes came under the control of local chiefs. The water systems were a source of wealth for these early lords, and places where religious rites were performed. Water came to be regarded as a substance of life, healing, fertility, and cleansing. <div><br /></div><div>As technology advanced, local rulers relied on the skills of boatbuilders, masons, smiths, and scribes to build and expand their territories. The early Hebrew ruler-priests were in the service of the early kingdom builders such as Nimrod, a Kushite kingdom builder (Gen. 10). </div><div><br /></div>Nimrod left the Nile Valley and through marriage to the daughter of a Sumerian king named Asshur he became established in the region of Mesopotamia. <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2023/12/nimrods-sumerian-wife.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Nimrod’s Sumerian wife</span></a> may have served as a singer or dancer at the water temple of Uruk/Erech which was initially constructed around 5500 B.C. The later “<a href="https://www.artefacts-berlin.de/portfolio-item/uruk-re-constructing-the-stone-cone-building/"><span style="color: #990000;">Stone-Cone Temple</span></a>” was built over it. Among Nimrod's descendants were other kingdom builders such as Arpachshad, Asshur, Nahor the Elder, and Abraham’s father Terah. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2cu3SG3bcJW0fYAM_D3SECWQsEsZ3X7_30HJmrxaX9H6x-3bbv81x-A0pXF_G2JVpQqMBUjIkQlUi9Skft_tAfMVyWlrp_XjOhOI_6Ntihy-Bl1AFv_0OYgZgFOlwX4EH5iZQsv1D9ivgjCr62lPaqyWBPDU6bf5wzIlQNFvp2RkLemIXA3j1mW9yS0U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="296" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2cu3SG3bcJW0fYAM_D3SECWQsEsZ3X7_30HJmrxaX9H6x-3bbv81x-A0pXF_G2JVpQqMBUjIkQlUi9Skft_tAfMVyWlrp_XjOhOI_6Ntihy-Bl1AFv_0OYgZgFOlwX4EH5iZQsv1D9ivgjCr62lPaqyWBPDU6bf5wzIlQNFvp2RkLemIXA3j1mW9yS0U=w298-h322" width="298" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>The advances of the early civilizations were under the powerful leadership and authority of "the mighty men of old" (Gen. 6). These "<a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2023/10/why-first-lords-of-earth-matters.html"><span style="color: #990000;">first lords of the earth</span></a>" were governed by <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2010/12/ancient-moral-codes.html"><span style="color: #990000;">sacred law codes</span></a> as early as 3200 B.C. They established commerce, built temples, patronized masons, metal workers, priest-physicians, and astronomers. Royal scribes were conversant in multiple languages and able to write using the various scripts of the Fertile Crescent and the Ancient Near East.<br /></div><div><br /></div>The royal water shrines were tended by priests who used the water to tend their flocks and herds. The water shrines were under the control of regional lords, but visitors were welcome to the water. Wells and water shrines were neutral ground and natural gathering places. Biblical narratives speak of Hebrew men meeting their future wives at wells, water shrines, or oases.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Royal Women and Water Shrines</b></div><div><br /></div>Royal mothers ensured that their sons received the best foods available, the best medical attention, and training in kingship so that they would be prepared to rule and maintain power. The queen mother’s role was never separate from the identity of the royal house and its political strategy. She played an important role in securing proper marriage partners for her sons. These marriages formed political alliances. Hebrew mothers were instrumental is preserving the caste’s unique identity by arranging caste endogamous marriages for their sons and daughters. They were consummate matchmakers.<div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>Royal mothers exerted authority in their own rite. They engaged in rituals at royal temples and shrines and attended royal banquets. These queen mothers held royal titles such as <i>eresh</i> (queen), <i>šarratum</i> (queen), <i>gore/kore</i> (a female head of state), <i>gibrah</i> (from the Hebrew <i>gibor</i>, meaning powerful), and <i>ra-bitu.</i><br /><br />The wives and daughter of these early Hebrew ruler-priests served at the royal water shrines. One title for royal ladies who served at Bronze Age water shrines was rabitu. The term is likely related to an Ancient Egypt word bity and to the earlier Akkadian words for water (<i>raatu</i>) and house/shrine (<i>biitu</i>). The emblem of the rabitu was the spindle. In the Ugaritic story of Elimelek, the queen mother holds the title rabitu and her emblem is the spindle.<div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>Many women had names associated with Neith as she was the patroness of water shrines, rivers, pregnant women, and women in childbirth. It is likely that Neith was a holy woman who lived at one of the early water shrines along the Nile before Egypt emerged as a political entity (c.3000 B.C.). Joseph's wife Aseneth was named after her. She was the daughter of a priest at Heliopolis, a prestigious shrine city on the Nile River.<br /><br />Earlier in history, a queen named Merneith (Beloved of Neith) gave birth to a son known as Hor-Den. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_(pharaoh)"><span style="color: #990000;">Hor-Den</span></a> was his Horus name and testifies that he was a devotee of God Father (Ra) and God's son (Horus/HR). This was when the Upper and Lower Nile regions were first united (c. 3000 B.C.), and Den was the first ruler depicted as wearing the double crown as the sovereign over the Upper and Lower Nile regions.<br /><br />Hebrew wives and daughters who were associated with water shrines include Abraham's wife Keturah at the Well of Sheba (Beersheba), Sarah at Hebron which had four water sources, Asenath at Heliopolis (biblical On), and Moses' wife Zipporah who he met at the well of her priest father in Midian. Likewise, Jacob met Rebekah at the well of her father. Judah had sexual relations with Tamar at <a href="https://biblehub.com/topical/e/enaim.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Enaim</span></a>, the cult site of Two Springs (Gen. 38:14).<div><br /><div>These women grew up at rivers, wells, and oases over which their fathers ruled. Though these were women of high social standing within their communities, they did not live pampered lives. Rebekah and Zipporah drew water for the livestock, a physically demanding task.</div><div><br />Because water is universally perceived as necessary for life, women seeking to conceive and deliver healthy children visited water shrines where they prayed and made offerings. Water shrines could be at rivers, lakes, wells, or oases. They might even be a ritual bathhouse such as the mikveh. The mikveh is associated with natural water systems. By law, it must be composed of stationary waters and must contain a percentage of water from a natural source such as a lake, river, sea, or rain.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-hebrew-were-caste.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Hebrew Were a Caste</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2010/03/women-at-well.html"><span style="color: #990000;">A Woman at a Well</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/04/wells-and-brides.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Wells and Brides</span></a>; <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2023/01/cousin-brides-among-hebrew.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Cousin Brides Among the Hebrew</span></a>; <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2024/01/think-like-biblical-anthropologist.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Think Like a Biblical Anthropologist!</span></a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/08/first-lords-and-their-authority.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The First Lords and Their Authority</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-3195511514958541122023-11-18T14:42:00.001-07:002023-11-18T14:46:10.304-07:00Beauty as Spiritual Therapy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbacdrxYL4AAmrAIrzkmpgC_ivjalNvzXrcGeZ6swUdsZCWX4dMHHzrfNXM-VHjs5oLuY88vWdzAkzTomyWA1vY06HPgd0Dwo67cSasIgdvrYYC1C8sSoHgvKTTTccQeLCsW4ttDbLHLx3vKQyWCYr19XfaYGgmIcdHCYC80leF9MCDB0omOFOmMMHQO8/s1281/luminosity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="641" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbacdrxYL4AAmrAIrzkmpgC_ivjalNvzXrcGeZ6swUdsZCWX4dMHHzrfNXM-VHjs5oLuY88vWdzAkzTomyWA1vY06HPgd0Dwo67cSasIgdvrYYC1C8sSoHgvKTTTccQeLCsW4ttDbLHLx3vKQyWCYr19XfaYGgmIcdHCYC80leF9MCDB0omOFOmMMHQO8/s320/luminosity.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /> Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and the creation and appreciation of beauty. <br /><br /><p>Dr. Alice C. Linsley</p><p>In this series on aesthetics, we have been exploring impressions of beauty. Is it true that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" or is it possible to speak of an absolute, universal perception of beauty? Clearly, the perception of beauty is subjective and grounded in the individual's sentiments, personal history, and values. Yet the very fact that aesthetics is effectively used instrumentally suggests that humans recognize beauty has value in itself. That may be the truest statement to touch on the universal appreciation of aesthetics.</p>Arthur Schopenhauer believed that exposure to beauty can help humans overcome misery. It is an antidote to the depression we face as mortals. In his book <i>The Beginning of Wisdom</i>, Leon Kass offers this insight: "Death is the mother of the love of glory, of a beautiful name for splendid deeds. Death is also - and similarly - the mother of beauty, of a concern with the beautification of an ugly world, fated to decay, rife with death." (p. 155)<div><br /></div><div>Clinical psychologists use beauty therapy to elevate mood. Children struggling with difficult life issues often find an emotional outlet through art. In this instrumental view, beauty, art and music are a means to an end. They are tools for building a better future, moral improvement, or bringing a greater measure of health.<p>St. Paul urged the early Christians to dwell on the good and the lovely. He wrote, "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8) Thoughts are elevated when we ponder the good and the lovely.</p><p>In the great world religions, we find beauty is associated with spiritual elevation. Hinduism urges its adherents to "think of all beautiful things" and God is recognized as the source of goodness, truth, and beauty. (Rig Veda 5.82.5-7) </p><p>In Judaism, beauty is a <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/timeless"><span style="color: #990000;">fleeting reminder</span></a> of God's goodness. </p><p>Islam asserts "God is beautiful and loves beauty." (Hadith of Muslim)</p><p>In Confucianism, we find the instrumental claim that a neighborhood is made beautiful by Goodness (Analects 4:1). </p><p>The arts can never be a replacement for religion. In his book <a href="https://itiablog.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/2937/"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>What Good are the Arts?</i></span></a>, John Carey writes, “Turning art into a religion often carries with it the assumption that there is a higher morality of art, distinct from conventional morality.” (p.136) That is the position of Aestheticism, the opposite of aesthetic instrumentalism. Aestheticism asserts that art belongs autonomously to the realm of the aesthetic. It has no interest in the application of the arts to religion or emotional or spiritual elevation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-first-look-at-aesthetics.html"><span style="color: #990000;">A First Look at Aesthetics</span></a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/beauty-as-good.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beauty as the Good</span></a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/09/symbols-of-beauty.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Symbols of Beauty</span></a>; <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics/article-abstract/22/4/337/138314"><span style="color: #990000;">Aesthetic Instrumentalism</span></a></p></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-14479325283560568102023-09-24T15:19:00.010-06:002023-11-18T15:06:48.012-07:00Symbols of Beauty<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72YXuOpoUijJsneY4pzo1MxtjpkzjnTjmqMKNpW1EufMuARG19gXUgcH3myfPwPsna0si-rR4IOnDVzdvbed7XNiTM2GK8qgZNLMJvdeLCiRfwrlrZ12Pkp1DrgS__r6Pya1srUaYgXf_64e4_tV9FsVJ3KAGLhqF0F1KK33F3MnHhI2enik5T-vN7k8/s226/Trinity%20Sunday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="226" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72YXuOpoUijJsneY4pzo1MxtjpkzjnTjmqMKNpW1EufMuARG19gXUgcH3myfPwPsna0si-rR4IOnDVzdvbed7XNiTM2GK8qgZNLMJvdeLCiRfwrlrZ12Pkp1DrgS__r6Pya1srUaYgXf_64e4_tV9FsVJ3KAGLhqF0F1KK33F3MnHhI2enik5T-vN7k8/s1600/Trinity%20Sunday.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Dr. Alice C. Linsley</p><p><br /></p><p>Judging beauty is likely to stir controversy. It is difficult to escape the impression that the discernment of beauty is highly subjective. Many philosophers and poets agree on that point. The Irish poet Oscar Wilde wrote, "Beauty has as many meanings as man has moods. Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals everything, because it expresses nothing. When it shows us itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world."</p><p>Likewise, David Hume believed that beauty is a matter of one's mental disposition. He wrote, "Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty. One person may even perceive deformity, where another is sensible of beauty; and every individual ought to acquiesce in his own sentiment, without pretending to regulate those of others." (Hume 1757, 136)</p><p>Immanuel Kant believed that beauty is known by the pleasure it gives to the viewer. He wrote, "The judgment of taste is therefore not a judgment of cognition, and is consequently not logical but aesthetical, by which we understand that whose determining ground can be no other than subjective. Every reference of representations, even that of sensations, may be objective (and then it signifies the real [element] of an empirical representation), save only the reference to the feeling of pleasure and pain, by which nothing in the object is signified, but through which there is a feeling in the subject as it is affected by the representation." (Kant 1790, The Critique of Judgment, Third Critique, section 1)<br /><br />Hume and Kant perceived that when beauty is treated as a subjective state, it is no longer recognizable as a universal value. Beauty cannot hold a place among the universal forms of Truth, Goodness, and Order. Beauty subjectively judged is fleeting. Such beauty cannot be an eternal form. </p><p>In the East, beauty has been recognized through the contemplation of icons. Icons give pleasure and spiritual attunement. They speak of luminosity and numinosity at the same time. They are designed to mediate the presence of God through beauty. Eastern Orthodox churches are adorned with icons usually on every wall and the ceiling. The colors are vibrant, and the gold reflects light so that one seems to be standing inside a jewel box.<br /><br />Following the thought of Plato, perfect beauty exists only in the eternal Form of beauty (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_epistemology"><span style="color: #990000;">Platonic epistemology</span></a>). He believed that the love of beauty in the material sphere can lead to the love of the Ultimate Beauty. Icons are vehicles for apprehending the Ultimate Beauty of God. They are like windows through which something of the eternal can be seen. In this sense, icons are symbols of beauty.</p><br />Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-first-look-at-aesthetics.html"><span style="color: #990000;">A First Look at Aesthetics</span></a>, <a href="https://stinnocentmonastery.org/iconsglimpsesofbeautyandtruth"><span style="color: #990000;">Glimpses of Beauty and Truth</span></a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/beauty-as-good.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beauty as the Good</span></a><div><br /><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-29434749081780796002023-08-05T15:10:00.002-06:002023-08-08T11:06:43.340-06:00First Lords and Their Authority<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBV37smlYQtTWTOSadYoJt5VlDFowKb-G1tk-amgjh0YIvg6rTAgKuOYaGPVZ7Ps08hOmJPWvsrkVxWxOa-bLtNgckGZcQBJksdXTVY0mq2wAdofodt8poZthk9kvvZxmjh0JD-KA6J7h3qEglm1ePSQsPbo1XnKJmPlKQAjk6dle9QZnKo4O6UT-2lE/s3469/Book%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2625" data-original-width="3469" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBV37smlYQtTWTOSadYoJt5VlDFowKb-G1tk-amgjh0YIvg6rTAgKuOYaGPVZ7Ps08hOmJPWvsrkVxWxOa-bLtNgckGZcQBJksdXTVY0mq2wAdofodt8poZthk9kvvZxmjh0JD-KA6J7h3qEglm1ePSQsPbo1XnKJmPlKQAjk6dle9QZnKo4O6UT-2lE/w415-h290/Book%20cover.jpg" width="415" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dear Readers,<br /><br />It has been 40 years coming, but my book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1961282968/"><span style="color: #990000;">The First Lords of the Earth</span></a> is now available to purchase on Amazon. Options include Kindle, paperback, or hard cover. All are priced to accommodate book lovers on a tight budget.<br /><br />This book identifies the social structure and religious beliefs of the early Hebrew ruler-priest caste (6200-4000 years ago), their dispersion out of Africa, their territorial expansion, trade routes, and influence on the populations of the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Near East.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>The biblical Hebrew recognized three types of authority: <b>derived</b>, <b>attributed</b>, and <b>achieved</b>. Because the ruler was seen as God's earthly representative and the one to enforce divine law, his authority was derived from God.<br /><br />If the ruler proved over time to be just or righteous in his actions and decrees, the priests would attribute deification. This was noted by the SR designation in the ruler's epithet and or royal name. The <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-temple-castes-were-dispersed-among.html"><span style="color: #990000;">historical ruler Osiris</span></a> was deified as is evident in his name O-SiR. Among the Sumerians and Akkadians SR designated a king (šarrum) and a queen (šarratum).<br /><br />The early Hebrew rulers were judged after death and the righteous were often deified. Deification or apotheosis was an expression of the flamboyant honor shown to royal masters by their servants. <div><br /></div><div>Clan chiefs, regional rulers, and high kings achieved authority by victory in combat, great skill in hunting lions, and by living lives of high moral standing. <div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Readers of this blog will find the sections on authority and ancient moral codes of special interest. This is an excerpt from Chapter 11 of the book:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoTitle"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Rights of Kings</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In the ancient world, it
was understood that a king had the right to control trade through his kingdom
and to be treated with honor. Emissaries arrived with gifts. Subjects came
before the King with tribute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In April 1892, the New
York Times reported on the refusal of the King of Jebu to allow cargo to pass
through his independent country which was the only access to the interior of
Africa from Lagos. After an unfriendly meeting between the King and the acting
British governor of Lagos, the trade route was closed. The British then formed
a treaty with the King of Jebu that included payment of £500 to keep the roads
and rivers of his country open. However, the British overstepped in requiring
the King to forgo his royal right to assess tolls and taxes on the merchants
traveling through his kingdom. Eventually, the treaty was broken. The situation
became tense when the King threatened to attack Lagos, then the capital of
Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In the context of the
rights of ancient kings, the £500 would have been regarded as a token of honor.
However, to deny the King his right to control commerce through his territory
was a tragic misstep on the part of the British. It was a diminishment of the
King’s authority. Further, that was taken as disrespect of the High God from
whom his authority was derived.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Take freedom or property
from the average person and you diminish his humanity. Take away the rights of
a king and you have cause for war.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />There is ancient history, anthropology, and Biblical studies wrapped into one fascinating read. I hope you will find it helpful and informative.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><br />Best wishes to you all,<br /><br />Alice C. Linsley<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-23774672566363565692023-07-03T20:20:00.005-06:002023-07-03T20:20:46.392-06:00Pennsylvania Art Theft Suspects Plead Guilty<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCLK88LfFr_I03TgfcwU4j0zjCKY3Uesu-OrcZAslR4KnIryjf9QnklRxAeITaOKLL-QTgz-q-DGz8krgc29e1s2Z3oBi0TnLcOX5nkCBoL-hPQukLoVVmvfv2WxRv6bMrDVq65FiMIb-cBm8U5HehZHgUZshkWaHadKLmcJnaSAXJ_WtBrPtDjE_yHE/s992/andy-warhol-la-grande-passion.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="941" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCLK88LfFr_I03TgfcwU4j0zjCKY3Uesu-OrcZAslR4KnIryjf9QnklRxAeITaOKLL-QTgz-q-DGz8krgc29e1s2Z3oBi0TnLcOX5nkCBoL-hPQukLoVVmvfv2WxRv6bMrDVq65FiMIb-cBm8U5HehZHgUZshkWaHadKLmcJnaSAXJ_WtBrPtDjE_yHE/s320/andy-warhol-la-grande-passion.jpeg" width="304" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Thieves stole a copy of this silkscreen from the Everhart Museum in Scranton in 2005.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Three suspects have entered guilty pleas in the case of a <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/feds-charge-nine-art-heists-2322782"><span style="color: #990000;">Pennsylvania burglary ring</span></a> that stole millions worth of artworks and sports memorabilia over a period of over 20 years, including a Jackson Pollock painting and Andy Warhol screen print.</div><br />On Friday, 45-year-old Ralph Parry and 50-year-old Francesco “Frank” Tassiello, 50, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Daryl Rinker, also aged 50, pled guilty on the latter two counts.<br /><br />The three were among nine suspects from Lackawanna County that the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/nine-charged-conspiracy-steal-major-artworks-and-sports-memorabilia"><span style="color: #990000;">United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania</span></a> charged last month in connection with 18 heists targeting antique weapons, trophies and medals, and other valuables.<br /><br />Among the institutions hit were the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, Ogdensburg, New Jersey ($400,000 in gold nuggets in 2011); the USGA Golf Museum and Library, Liberty Corner, New Jersey (Ben Hogan’s U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt in 2012); and the Franklin Mineral Museum in Franklin, New Jersey (various gems and minerals in 2017).<div><br /></div><div>Read more <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pennsylvania-burglary-ring-suspects-plead-guilty-2331399"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-47410215371130508792023-04-21T10:28:00.005-06:002023-04-25T19:58:08.137-06:00Binary Reasoning Informs Christian Morality and Ethics<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAJ7yB48FhsdIomKX9NmaP6QFCPpHrzOFrjd9ncEw3q3MwAg2qqXRgaWga0DNyQS2ixqtZqYZSlY2yOS4mKfoqKARSabHWuXTBn2VhETYmmDR40_Ljicu-nTpcQWQuIZ8E7TiPblsUjfcT_5MnZFqge4A0K8vDztt9x64pTtMGkDZQtLlkBgLGKS9/s1091/342395533_765493595211728_2379851174271899923_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAJ7yB48FhsdIomKX9NmaP6QFCPpHrzOFrjd9ncEw3q3MwAg2qqXRgaWga0DNyQS2ixqtZqYZSlY2yOS4mKfoqKARSabHWuXTBn2VhETYmmDR40_Ljicu-nTpcQWQuIZ8E7TiPblsUjfcT_5MnZFqge4A0K8vDztt9x64pTtMGkDZQtLlkBgLGKS9/s320/342395533_765493595211728_2379851174271899923_n.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Alice C. Linsley</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><br />Thank you, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bishop-paul-hewett-05b338141/"><span style="color: #990000;">Bishop Hewett</span></a> and the reverend fathers who invited me to speak at this beautiful and historic All Saints Episcopal Church in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. <br /><br />I will try to keep my remarks brief. What a speaker really needs is a conclusion and I hope to get there before you stop listening. <br /><br />The late Colorado oil magnate, Raymond Duncan, once said, "If the speaker won't boil it down, the audience must sweat it out." <br /><br />For the most part my remarks will be directed to the choir, as they say, so feel free at any time to shout “Amen!” or “Hallelujah!”, in a seemly Anglican manner, of course. <br /><br />A few of you may be aware that I lived in this area for 16 years. I lived for 5 years in Malvern in a small Mennonite community. The women of the community taught how to grow and preserve vegetables, how to sew, smoke hams, and repair a broken lawn mower using parts from their supplies of cannibalized machines. A strong bond of affection developed between us, and the year before I left to go to seminary, the women asked me to lead a one-day retreat at their church on the book of Ruth. <br /><br />During those years my family and I worshipped at the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli. The rector at that time was the Rev. Daniel Kilmer Sullivan, a Canadian by birth and a good priest. As demonstrated by Fr. Rix, Canada has produced some very fine clergy! <br /><br />Fr. Dan’s assistant was the Rev. Dr. Henry Lawrence Thompson III who became the Dean of Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge. <br /><br />Looking back, I recognize that Fr. Sullivan was under pressure from the Diocese to put forward a woman for ordination from his parish. After a year of discernment, I met with Bishop Lyman Ogilby with whom I established immediate report when he learned that I had spent part of my childhood in the Philippines. Bishop Ogilby had been a missionary bishop in the Philippines when it was still a U.S. territory. <br /><br />While I lived in this area, I saw radical developments in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. In 1974, eleven women were irregularly admitted to the priesthood, including several lesbians. The late Louie Crew was promoting gay activism and in that same year he founded the first chapter of Integrity. In 1977, Bishop Paul Moore of New York ordained the lesbian Ellen Marie Barrett, who had served as Integrity's first co-president. <br /><br />In 1983, I began my seminary studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mount Airy. While there, I studied Anglican Polity under the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Steenson who Pope Benedict XVI appointed as the first Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter on January 1, 2012. Dr. Steenson was the first person to challenge me on the question of women and the priesthood. <br /><br />I did my internship at All Hallows, Wyncote, and I served as a deacon for 9 months at Trinity Episcopal Church in Swarthmore. Then I served as the Chaplain at the Church Farm Church in Exton, Pennsylvania. <br /><br />During those years I was having many significant dreams which I recorded in journals. One dream proved to be prophetic. In the dream, I was vested and standing in the procession of priests. We were preparing to process into the church. Suddenly, off to my right there appeared a gleaming white pearl and I knew that it was the “Pearl of Great Price”. The only way I could take hold of it was to leave the procession of priests and turn my back on my bishop. That is what I did on the Sunday of Gene Robinson’s consecration. <br /><br />I left the Episcopal priesthood, turning my back on Bishop Stacy Sauls to take hold of something or rather Someone of infinitely greater value; the Son of God, who came into the world to save sinners like me. And to Him I offer my joyful praise and adoration. I can do no other. <br /><br />I recount this personal history as a backdrop to the doubts that began to form in my mind about women and the priesthood. I was ordained to the priesthood by Allen Bartlett in June 1988. There was a disquieting smirk on his face when I turned to give the final blessing. <br /><br />Honestly, I sometimes wonder if he would have approved this Bible-believing traditionist for ordination if it had been up to him. I did not aspire to break the glass ceiling like Barbara Harris, the first African American female bishop, or to defy the Church's teaching on marriage like the lesbian bishop Mary Glasspool, or to distinguish myself by breaking from my religious roots, as did Bishop Geralyn Wolfe, a convert from Judaism. <br /><br />My doubts about women’s ordination launched me into a ten-year study of that dangerous innovation. In my investigation I drew on my background in anthropology, philosophy, and linguistics. I noted that no women served as priests among the biblical Hebrew. Likewise, men did not serve as midwives. This suggested that men and women have distinct types of blood work: the priests in the place of blood sacrifice where women were forbidden to enter, and the woman in the birthing chamber where men were forbidden to enter. Two <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-women-were-never-priests.html"><span style="color: #990000;">types of blood work</span></a> in two distinct places and the two were always maintained apart. I pondered that a great deal. <br /><br />Among the biblical Hebrew who delivered to us the authoritative moral law, male and female are distinct physiologically, anatomically, emotionally, and in the work they were created to perform. This seems obvious even to those who minimize the distinction between males and females. Some realities cannot be denied. <br /><br />Consider the recent news about University of Pittsburgh professor Gabby Yearwood. When he was asked by swimmer Riley Gaines if an archeologist can differentiate between two sets of 100-year bones as male and female, Professor Yearwood answered “no” to which the entire audience laughed. Yearwood responded, "I'm not sure why I'm being laughed at! I'm the expert... I have a Ph.D.!" Those college students recognize that someone can get a Ph.D. in anthropology and still be ignorant of basic facts about the difference between males and females. Forensic medicine has been identifying the sex of older human remains since the 16th century, and today we have the advantage of genetic testing as well. <br /><br />Pondering the two distinct types of blood work took me deeper into consideration of the binary reasoning of the biblical Hebrew. That reasoning is based on empirical observation of the hierarchies in the order of creation. These hierarchies are expressed in a small number of binary sets: Creator-creature, life-death, heaven-earth, male-female, and sun-moon. The Apostle Paul uses this binary reasoning in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 when he contrasts the Creator and the creature, the sun and the moon, and the perishable and the imperishable. <br /><br />The spiritual rot we are experiencing in some parts of our Anglican world is due to rejection of the authority of Scripture and the binary reasoning of the Bible. We have too few bishops like Bishop Hewett who will defend the Faith and uphold godly practices. <br /><br />Too few Anglican priests proclaim our catholic Faith; many because they do not understand it, some because they do not believe it. Our divisions are the fruit of theological waffling by generations of leaders who have heeded the noise of our culture rather than the voice of the Spirit of God. <br /><br />Many of our parishes do not focus on the study of Scripture. One is more likely to find a group studying a contemporary devotional or a popular spiritual self-help book. I hope each of your parishes makes the study of Scripture a high priority. <br /><br />Do not neglect women’s Bible studies because wives have a profound influence on their husbands. Wives need to study the Bible so that they may recognize God’s truth and help to form their children in that truth. Your parish will prosper when the women become rooted in sound teaching and in the wisdom of God. <br /><br />It is evident that when the Scriptures are neglected, people go astray, and wolves at the door gain access to the flock. The wolves seek to eviscerate the Gospel because they hate the Lord of Life. <br /><br />We must remain vigilant against ideologies that promote rebellion against God’s order, and we must teach our children to recognize expressions of that rebellion such as radical feminism, gay activism, and Godless political ideologies. Rebellion is evident in the slogan of the 2019 American Socialist Party Convention that met in Chicago. <br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuGzEJz7Rs1cwDLJrQHu-Iy2Y5veJxcvTQ1BWBvFZgSTmRLVSZArTuOl9jcPwnm3lP5r_VJ8BnDlFeDJdhwEaYH-6SlRoT227CMQYD4WwJM5HXtE3LIJ89kLOUqURr5JFkFiwrHFibV9PIDM-JmEOsD4MnlHJZj1mdhquo0SqBdwgJsNleWkNat3RC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="940" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuGzEJz7Rs1cwDLJrQHu-Iy2Y5veJxcvTQ1BWBvFZgSTmRLVSZArTuOl9jcPwnm3lP5r_VJ8BnDlFeDJdhwEaYH-6SlRoT227CMQYD4WwJM5HXtE3LIJ89kLOUqURr5JFkFiwrHFibV9PIDM-JmEOsD4MnlHJZj1mdhquo0SqBdwgJsNleWkNat3RC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
We must impress upon our children that the Christian Faith and the authority of Scripture remain unchanged and are unchangeable. Anglicans have not been as protective of the Faith as we should have been. Our confession is Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. Until His arrival, we make disciples, strengthen one another, and receive Him in the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist.<p></p><p>The kerygma and the Nicene Creed express Anglican dogma, and the Bible informs and shapes our doctrine and practice. We require nothing to be believed that is not attested by these our authorities. That is why we reject innovations, be they from Rome, the Episcopal Church, or the Church of England. That is why we refute falsehoods, be they ideological or theological. <br /><br />The Church receives its Tradition concerning Jesus Messiah from the early Hebrew through the Apostles. That sacred Tradition builds a hedge around the observable order of creation. What the Creator has established is to be guarded. Life is greater than death. Thus, the Hebrew were never to boil a baby goat in its mother's milk (forbidden three places in Scripture). This blurs the distinction between life and death because the mother’s milk is to sustain the life of the offspring. <br /><br />There is a binary distinction between humans and non-human animals. Bestiality is forbidden as it blurs the distinction between humans and animals. <br /><br />Homosex is forbidden because it blurs the distinction between male and female, a binary set established by God in the beginning and by which humanity is to survive extinction. <br /><br />The hedge extended even to the sowing of seed and to textiles. They were not to sow two types of seed in the same field or weave cloth of two different types of fiber. <br /><br />To us moderns, such prohibitions sound strange because we have blurred the binary distinctions. In fact, some have rejected binary reasoning entirely though it is the logical outcome of empirical observations of the order of creation. <br /><br />The spilling of human semen (<a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2021/12/onanism-spilling-seed.html"><span style="color: #990000;">onanism</span></a>) was regarded as an unrighteous act because this violates the divinely established order in creation. The seed that should fall to the earth is the seed of the plants with roots in the earth. The seed of man should fall on his own type (the womb), from which man comes forth. <br /><br />In 191 A.D., Clement of Alexandria wrote, “Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted.” (<a href="https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/bringing-up-children-according-to-st-john-chrysostomos/"><span style="color: #990000;">The Instruction of Children</span></a>) <br /><br />The prohibition against onanism reflects the ancient wisdom that was informed by observation of immutable (fixed) patterns in nature. It is based on reality, not imagined entities or moral relativism. Dr. David C. Innes of King’s College in New York City, recently wrote, “Living in reality also means living in principled awareness of who is in charge of all things and thus living in recognition of what is true.” <br /><br />You may be wondering how this relates to the binary reasoning that informs Christian ethics and morality. Consider what Bishop Hewett wrote in his homily for the First Sunday after the Epiphany:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></p><blockquote><i>Ethics is man’s study about what is good and right and true. Morality is God’s revelation to man about what is good and right and true. Ethics come from man and morality comes from God. God reveals the moral law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Law comes from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost. The moral Law is the straight edge against which everything must be measured.</i>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></blockquote>I am reminded of something C.S. Lewis wrote in his book <i>Reflections on the Psalms</i>. He wrote, “Some give morality a wholly new meaning which we cannot accept, some deny its possibility. Perhaps we shall all learn, sharply enough, to value the clean air and ‘sweet reasonableness’ of the Christian ethics which in a more Christian age we might have taken for granted.” <br /><br />We daily encounter a general contempt for Christianity. May it teach us to value the sweetness and solidity of the moral path God has laid before us. <br /><br />As Christ’s followers, we understand that Christian ethics cannot be separated from the moral law established by divine authority. The Scriptures and our catholic Faith inform us as to what is good and right and true. When we drift away from these authorities, we become complacent about the Gospel. Complacency leads to decadence, and decadence leads to corruption. <br /><br />Attempts to revise Christianity come from those who reject divine authority. Rejection of divine authority expresses itself in the invention of identities that have no basis in the observable order of creation. A boy can declare himself a girl and his delusion must be accepted by school authorities, or they will face a lawsuit. Rather than affirm what is wholesome, the headlines promote the anomalous as normal. Such delusion is the product of senseless and darkened minds as Paul attests in the second chapter of Romans. <br /><br />Anglicans are to meet the rejection of God’s authority in a reasoned and compassionate way. We must seek, as God does, to reason together using the authority of Scripture. We cannot claim Scripture as a primary authority if we reject the binary reasoning of the Bible. <br /><br />This evening we will examine that binary reasoning in greater detail so that we may be understand how it informs our Christian morality and ethics, and that we may be better prepared to defend the Faith against seemingly overwhelming attacks.<div> <br /><br />
What is “binary reasoning”?</div><div> <br />The biblical Hebrew were very concrete thinkers. Their perceptions of God were based on their empirical observations of the order in Creation. They noticed that trees only reproduce trees, and birds only reproduce birds. The Book of Genesis speaks of how each reproduces according to its “kind”. They observed that humans only reproduce humans and that humans come in two sexes: male and female. They noticed that the loss of blood brings death and they logically associated blood with life. <br /><br />In the Bible we find binary sets, that is sets of two entities that appear to be opposite yet complementary. The four basic sets for the biblical writers are:<br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Creator-Creature</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Life-Death</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Male-Female<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Sun-Moon</b></span></p>
<br /><br />Note that one of the entities of the set is greater than or superior to its opposite. The creature is dependent upon the infinitely greater Creator for all things. The Creator is greater than the creature. That is the very definition of God which even an atheist must admit. It is the greater that stoops to save the weaker. The Almighty condescends out of His compassion. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." (2 Cor. 8:9)<br /><br />Life, or immortality, or the imperishable is superior to death, decay, and extinction. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows that life is greater than death. It can be argued based on 100,000 years of burial in red ocher, a symbolic blood covering, that humans hope to escape mortality. We yearn for the immortal nature for which we were first created. God told the Israelites to choose life rather than death. Life comes through loving obedience. Death comes through disobedience and spiritual rebellion.<br /><br />The male of our species is larger and stronger than the female. The sun’s brightness surpasses the brightness of the moon.<br /><br />Note the consistent logic here: Without the Creator there would be no creature. Eve comes after Adam as she is taken from his side. Without the sun, there would be no refulgent light from the moon. <br /><br />The binary sets present hierarchies, and in our society the term “hierarchy”, like the term “binary”, has become a bad word.
<br /><br />The entities of the binary sets are not equal in function, strength, or glory. The binary reasoning of the biblical writers is diametrically opposed to the dualism of Eastern religions that arose in the Axial Age (900-200 B.C.). There is no Ying-Yan in the Bible because the sets observed by the biblical writers are not equal. <br /><br />The binary sets of the Bible are not arbitrary and subjective. They are based on empirical observation and experience. The biblical binary sets are not subjective. The opposites of tall and short do not constitute a binary set because those descriptions are subjective. Were I standing next to a Watusi warrior I would appear short. However, were I standing next to a Pygmy, I would appear tall. <br /><br />On the other hand, it is universally evident that males are anatomically larger and stronger than females. The larger and stronger is to protect the smaller and weaker. <br /><br />When we come to the sun and moon, we recognize what is stated in Genesis, chapter 1: God created two great lights in the heavens. The sun is the greater light, and the moon is the lesser light that rules the night. Indeed, the moon does not shine at all. It reflects the light of the sun. <br /><br />For the biblical Hebrew ultimate authority rests with the High God whose symbol was the sun. In Genesis 1:16, the sun is said to be the greater light that rules the day. The word “rule” speaks of what is above all and over all. That makes the sun a fitting symbol for the highest and ultimate authority. <br /><br />Let us be clear that the Hebrew did not worship a Sun God. That is evident in Psalm 19 where we are told that God has set a tent for the sun which comes forth as a bridegroom from his chamber and rejoices to run his circuit. <br /><br />Among archaic populations, the sun was perceived as inseminating the earth. One can imagine how this perception developed as people observed particles of light or sunbeams filtered through the forest canopy. The meteoritic iron found on the earth's surface was worn by chiefs and rulers because it represented power from on high. King Tut's dagger had a gold sheath and a tip made of meteoritic iron. <br /><br />This binary reasoning poses ultimate authority with the God who is a king, not a queen. In his book on <i>Women and the Priesthood</i> (p. 240), the late Fr. Thomas Hopko wrote, "In his actions in and toward the world of his creation, the one God and Father reveals himself primarily and essentially in a 'masculine' way."<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the sun-moon set, the sun is regarded as having masculine qualities and the moon as having female qualities. This was expressed in the appearance of the king and queen. The king appeared with sun-darkened skin and his queen appeared with whitened skin.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEievUOeAL0KdFhAnJDA1P-RwcHxHTBUUeMvoc1zr1URHEtvxmoFvFUAOX36dOeRphPAxEb4KwotNiy1LklgwQdC5a5kMoKbvGhKEBx9_XHCyvuqFLu5UlkME66q2VMJl_Kv9H9YdAW4iEtTJ6IeBTZa-DD5eOR_oHw5Be_--x2MXSqo_PGQ-szKcFlp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="986" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEievUOeAL0KdFhAnJDA1P-RwcHxHTBUUeMvoc1zr1URHEtvxmoFvFUAOX36dOeRphPAxEb4KwotNiy1LklgwQdC5a5kMoKbvGhKEBx9_XHCyvuqFLu5UlkME66q2VMJl_Kv9H9YdAW4iEtTJ6IeBTZa-DD5eOR_oHw5Be_--x2MXSqo_PGQ-szKcFlp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
In the Ancient Near East, the sun-moon binary set was expressed in the way royal couples presented themselves in public. The king appeared with skin darkened by the sun and the powdered queen appeared pale as the moon. The sun-moon binary set among the early Hebrew is often a reference for a royal couple. Joseph speaks of his father and mother as the sun and the moon (Gen. 37:9). This attests the high social rank of his Hebrew parents.<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><br />Two Wives Establish a Kingdom<div> <br />It was common for high-ranking Hebrew rulers to have <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/03/pattern-of-two-wives.html"><span style="color: #990000;">two wives</span></a>. One was usually a half-sister as was Sarah to Abraham. The second wife was usually a cousin, as was Keturah to Abraham. Abraham’s father had two wives. The Hebrew priest Elkanah had two wives: Peninnah and Hannah. Other Hebrew rulers with two wives include Lamech, Jacob, Amram, Moses, Jesse, and Joash. <br /><br />In 1 Chronicles 4:5, we read that "Ashur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah." <br /><br />In 1 Chronicles 4:17-18, we read that Mered had two wives and one was "Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married." <br /><br />The two wives in the Song of Solomon represent the two horizons or dusk and dawn. One of Solomon’s wives is described as having sun-darkened skin ("dark as the tents of Kedar") and the other is described as having skin as pale as the moon (S. of S. 6:10). For the rulers of the Ancient Near East, the two wives represent a claim to a vast territory that extends from horizon to horizon. <div><br /></div><div>The two wives’ settlements were at the extreme boundaries of the ruler’s territory. Abraham's north-south territorial boundaries were marked by the separate settlement of his two wives. Sarah resided in Hebron and his <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2023/01/cousin-brides-among-hebrew.html"><span style="color: #990000;">cousin wife Keturah</span></a> resided in Beersheba to the south. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNZl4okEPxY_b4v8jKLUA0CTCfRMrd_lKVvnIs5aIsYpMwJ0WueZrT9UNO7D3-wMKCYQ2RlS_f9lLezN4e3Mn7ITX4Cv-6wBKNs5cQGuXoiHxzxkzO0KTzu8MW1Iao4I_fWX5UFsBWb-_fedk0qg81bRfmSsK7bQQJ5hHWFdaiJtn_ikn5koL8AkC/s438/Idumea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="438" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNZl4okEPxY_b4v8jKLUA0CTCfRMrd_lKVvnIs5aIsYpMwJ0WueZrT9UNO7D3-wMKCYQ2RlS_f9lLezN4e3Mn7ITX4Cv-6wBKNs5cQGuXoiHxzxkzO0KTzu8MW1Iao4I_fWX5UFsBWb-_fedk0qg81bRfmSsK7bQQJ5hHWFdaiJtn_ikn5koL8AkC/w365-h281/Idumea.jpg" width="365" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<br />Consider the story of Lamech’s two wives in Genesis, chapter 4. Their names, Adah and Tzillah, are derived from the words for dawn and dusk. <br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB20bWrF1uHSZ2bDZ1O8rchTrxF1_XNqHMkpKE0Z7CNHhW2Mu6trZXdU8WrSCm46H5NJksA5MbyvgiiBDJ74jtRXPtEss9I53zTj9-Ly7K5E65CDWupMkesyTQPIsDwa5dSe43DLz9nU9P12h3S9ZT23kRl5kk86W0rno3frApTCyvImM6hQhy8p_Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="756" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB20bWrF1uHSZ2bDZ1O8rchTrxF1_XNqHMkpKE0Z7CNHhW2Mu6trZXdU8WrSCm46H5NJksA5MbyvgiiBDJ74jtRXPtEss9I53zTj9-Ly7K5E65CDWupMkesyTQPIsDwa5dSe43DLz9nU9P12h3S9ZT23kRl5kk86W0rno3frApTCyvImM6hQhy8p_Y=w381-h312" width="381" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This narrative suggests that Lamech ruled over a vast territory. The sun-moon binary set and the east-west solar arc are used in the Bible to speak of the authority and sovereignty of divinely appointed Hebrew rulers. They expected a woman of their ruler-priest caste to conceive the Son of God by divine overshadowing, just as happened with the Virgin Mary (Lk. 1:35). <br /><br />The Virgin Mary was a descendant of the early Hebrew ruler-priests. Even the Talmud recognizes that. Sanhedrin 106a says Jesus' mother was a whore: “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.” <br /><br />The divine appointment of the Theotokos is an example of the binary balance of authority among the biblical Hebrew.<br /><br /><br />Binary Balance of Authority and Narrative Representation <br /><br />The social structure of the biblical Hebrew reflects that binary balance. It was neither matriarchal nor patriarchal. It was characterized by a balance of authority between males and females that is extraordinary in any age. <br /><br />Binary balance is expressed in many features of the Hebrew social structure. There were male rulers and female rulers; male prophets and female prophets. Both males and females could inherit property and wealth. Consider the distinct duties and responsibilities of the mother's house (Ru. 1) versus the father's house (Gen. 38:11). Some Hebrew names honor a male ancestor and some honor a female ancestor. <br /><br />In the Hebrew double unilineal descent pattern, both the patrilineage and the matrilineage are recognized and honored, but in different ways. <br /><br />There is binary balance in the biblical narratives also. The blood symbolism of the Passover associated with Moses has a parallel in the blood symbolism of the scarlet cord associated with Rahab. Consider the two occasions when death passed over. Moses' people were saved when they put the blood of the lamb on the doors. Rahab's household was saved when she hung a scarlet cord from her window. <br /><br />The abusive behavior of drunken Noah toward his sons has a parallel in the abusive behavior of drunken Lot toward his daughters. Their behavior causes trouble for their children. Noah curses his son and/or grandson. Lot impregnates his daughters. <br /><br />Consider the gender distinction expressed between the oak and the palm. The male prophet at Mamre sat under a firm and upright oak, representing the masculine principle. Deborah sat under a date nut palm, representing the feminine principle. <br /><br />In the stories of the Moreh’s oak and Deborah’s palm, we also find directional distinctions of a binary nature. The Moreh’s oak is located on an east-west axis between Ai and Bethel. Deborah’s palm is located on a north-south axis between Bethel and Ramah. <br /><br />There is binary balance in the New Testament narratives also. At the presentation of Jesus in the Temple His identity as Messiah is affirmed by the priest Simeon and by the prophetess Anna. Jesus restored the widow of Nain's deceased son to his mother (Lk. 7:11-17). Jesus restored Jairus' deceased daughter to her father (Mk. 5:21-43). <br /><br />The binary reasoning of the Bible involves recognition of fixed sets and the distinction between the entities in the set. In his commentary on the book of Genesis, Leon Kass notes, “Opposition is the key to the discovery of the distinction between error and truth.”<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, p. 238.)</span>
<br /><br />In the Johannine writings the Church and the world are a binary set comprised of unequal entities. Because the Church belongs to the One who has overcome the world, the Church is the stronger entity of the set. 1 John 4:4 reminds us that, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” <br /><br />Consider the implications of that reality. Persecution does not defeat the Church. Censorship does not silence the Church. His resurrection power is invincibly at work in us. <br /><br />Now with a clearer understanding of the binary reasoning of the biblical writers, we may take up the implications for Christian morality. <br /><br />
<br /><br />Family life <br /><br />Speaking of family life, the Anglican Divine Jeremy Taylor says that marriage is the seminary of the church which “daily brings forth sons and daughters unto God…Marriage is the mother of the world, and preserves kingdoms, and fills cities, and churches, and heaven itself!" <br /><br />The Church opposes homosexuality and adultery equally because they destabilize families and societies. These have destabilized many local churches as well. <br /><br />Gregory of Nyssa minimized the distinction between males and females, believing that we were created to become sexless angelic beings. However, most of the Church Fathers held the institution of marriage in high esteem and encouraged it for the procreation of children to be brought up in the Faith. <br /><br />St. John Chrysostom observed a binary hierarchy in both family and church. He wrote, “Were there is equal authority, there never is peace. A household cannot be a democracy, ruled by everyone, but the authority must necessarily rest in one person. The same is true for the Church: when men are led by the Spirit of Christ, then there is peace. There were five thousand men in the Jerusalem church, and they were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they were subject to one another; this surely is an illustration of wisdom and godly fear. Notice, however, that Paul explains love in detail, comparing it to Christ’s love for the church and our love for our own flesh.”<br />
<br /><br />Church life <br /><br />Paul’s chain of command in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 reflects the biblical hierarchies. He explains, “the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” He also says that the head of the Church is Christ (Col. 1:18). Paul is not imposing hierarchy upon the Church. Rather, he wants the Church to reflect the divine order of creation. <br /><br />Homosexuality, <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-bible-on-transvestism.html"><span style="color: #990000;">transvestism</span></a>, and gender and species confusion oppose the order of creation and deny divine authority. The Triune God has a purpose for each person. Rebellion against His purpose brings gradual loss of the divine image. Therefore, those who oppose His authority are to be pitied and we are to humbly pray for them.<br />
<br /><br />Christian Ethics <br /><br />How does the binary reasoning of the Bible inform Christian ethics? Remember that biblical binary sets are comprised of two entities that are not equal. The Church and the world are not equal in power and glory. As we are joined by grace to the glory of the Almighty through our baptism, we become part of the stronger entity, the Church. <br /><br />The weak of the world need our voices to defend them, our hands to help them, and our witness to give them hope. <br /><br />In reference to abortion, we are to defend the defenseless and advocate for the unborn. <br /><br />In reference to euthanasia, we seek to maintain space for God to work to the natural end. <br /><br />In reference to the poor who Jesus declared the “least among us”, we are to provide their basic needs, encourage them, and treat them with dignity. <br /><br />In reference to the sick whose weakness makes them vulnerable, we are to visit, offer prayer, anoint with oil, and encourage. <br /><br />In reference to prisoners who can be set free by the Gospel, we are to visit, lead Bible studies, proclaim salvation, and encourage through counsel and prayer. <br /><br />In reference to orphans and widows, we are to be their family, and the local parish is to be their home and a place of protection. <br /><br />I conclusion, the binary reasoning of the Bible presents us with a clear picture of the Creator’s immutable authority to which the humble bow and against which the arrogant rail. The lawlessness and spiritual rebellion of our day is not a new development. The Apostles Paul, Peter, and John offer us appropriate warnings. <br /><br />Writing in the second century, Irenaeus said we are to avoid heretics, “while cherishing with the utmost diligence the things pertaining to the Church, and to lay hold of the tradition of truth. . .. What if the apostles had not in fact left writings to us? Would it not be necessary to follow the order of tradition, which was handed down to those to whom they entrusted the churches?” <br /><br />In 372, Bishop Basil of Caesarea wrote, “The teachings of the fathers are despised, the apostolic traditions are ignored, and the churches are filled with the inventions of innovators. The shepherds have been driven out, and in their place, they bring in ravening wolves to tear apart the flock of Christ.” (Epistula 9:2) <br /><br />We should not be surprised that there is a crisis of authority in Anglicanism. Nor should we be discouraged that the world considers us weak. God exchanges our weakness for strength. We are regarded as foolish, but our wisdom is of God. <br /><br />We hold fast the faith proclaimed by the Apostles and we uphold the authority of Scripture. When discouraged, we remember our Lord’s assurance: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18) <br /><br />He is the Lord of Life who was with God in the beginning. In him was life, and that life is the light of the world (Jn. 1:4). He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33)</div><div><br /></div><div> <br />Related reading: "<a href="https://www.academia.edu/100716849/_What_Does_it_Mean_to_be_Contrary_to_Nature_Christian_Bioethics_29_2023_58_76_opening_pages_">What Does it Mean to Be Contrary to Nature?</a>" by Dr. David Bradshaw<p></p></div></div></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-26495518058996925052023-02-17T14:23:00.009-07:002023-02-17T14:42:21.147-07:00Beauty as the Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKYhrPWDPr5Ypke3bDGMpK6StlZjNScmSFhBYr7C-gBzARG3XfqY6PaY1G6yhUZ3doB4xE3foYv77nW5ppfWP-kF0HPQ51RyD4TiEteoHMvgClVHLfU3QXba0SZNnQwFV5-ve_TKTv-yBNdOP50K7YKvtlvrNAffOlMeZiaSFpQHUmrZRRXmxqV5d/s960/High%20Places.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="466" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKYhrPWDPr5Ypke3bDGMpK6StlZjNScmSFhBYr7C-gBzARG3XfqY6PaY1G6yhUZ3doB4xE3foYv77nW5ppfWP-kF0HPQ51RyD4TiEteoHMvgClVHLfU3QXba0SZNnQwFV5-ve_TKTv-yBNdOP50K7YKvtlvrNAffOlMeZiaSFpQHUmrZRRXmxqV5d/w179-h260/High%20Places.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Bellinzona, Switzerland is a place of extraordinary beauty.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">Alice C. Linsley</div><br />What follows is a general consideration of beauty as the Good. The topic is addressed from different cultural perspectives and time periods. Doubtless, the reader will decide whether the concept of “beauty as the Good” is important, substantial, and valuable. Richard Hooker, a bright light of the English Renaissance, holds our human reasoning in high regard. He wrote, "Of things created, the noblest and most resembling God, are creatures indued with the admirable guifte of understanding." (The Dublin Fragments; V: <i>The creation and governance of the world not yet considered as being evill. And touching the first beginning of evill in the World.) </i>It is hoped that the reader will employ that admirable gift.<br /><br />Is beauty simply a physical attribute? Or is there a spiritual dimension to beauty that is perceived as good? Can the arts: poetry, painting, sculpture, etc. fully capture the essence of beauty? <div><br /></div><div>Around 600 B.C., the Greek poet Sappho asserted that “what is beautiful is good” but Plato argued that poetry is inferior to Beauty as a Form. The German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) wrote that “physical beauty is the sign of an interior beauty, a spiritual and moral beauty.” Yet as history proves many physically attractive people have shown themselves to be quite evil. <br /><br />When Plato speaks of beauty, he is not referring to that which is physically appealing or attractive. He is speaking of an Ideal or a Form. The Form is eternal and unchanging. Therefore, beauty is not subjective or dependent upon cultural norms. It is something other, and a testimony to eternal realities.<br /><br />Plato conceives of rational inquiry into the truth and the good as superior to the arts. Sculpture and poetry are good in a much as they have the potential to point to eternal realities. Plato encourages consideration of beautiful things because such contemplation can point to the soul’s eternal nature, a very Greek concept. For Plato, there is pleasure in such contemplation of the eternal.<br /><br />The Hebrew mindset also finds pleasure in the contemplation of beauty. In the Hebrew Scriptures beauty is equated with glory, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/7420930/The_Semantics_of_Purity_in_the_Ancient_Near_East_Lexical_Meaning_as_a_Projection_of_Embodied_Experience"><span style="color: #990000;">purity</span></a>, honor, and pleasantness. In the Bible, beauty has a direct reference to God. The Hebrew delight in the “beauty of holiness”. <br /><br />Clearly, there is a cultural difference between the Greek and the Hebrew understandings of beauty. For the Greek, beauty is the preoccupation of the soul. For the Hebrew, beauty is righteousness. Both conceptions are well defined within their immediate cultural contexts. Both generally agree that beauty has certain qualities: balance, symmetry, harmony, luminosity, etc.; qualities which are also ascribed to Goodness.<br /><br />Christian theology contributes to this discussion by asserting that all truth is God's truth; all goodness is God's goodness, and all beauty is God's beauty. In this view, truth, goodness, and beauty have God as the point of reference. This cannot be proven by empirical observation. Further, there is the danger of slipping into pantheism or panentheism. <br /><br />For the modern person there is no aesthetic value in the soul or in righteousness. Instead, aesthetic value is linked to what gives the individual pleasure or satisfaction and therefore is highly subjective. It becomes freedom from moral constraints and duty, as Friedrich Schiller claimed. Or in the thinking of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) the value lays in art as an instrument for improvement of the self or society.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-first-look-at-aesthetics.html"><span style="color: #990000;">A First Look at Aesthetics</span></a>; <a href="https://religiousaffections.org/articles/articles-on-aesthetics/beauty-in-the-hebrew-bible/"><span style="color: #990000;">On
Beauty and Aesthetics in the Hebrew Bible</span></a>; <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/51685/beauty-truth-goodness-and-love"><span style="color: #990000;">Beauty, Truth, and Goodness as the Three Transcendentals</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-90230584533074034352023-02-05T06:01:00.005-07:002023-12-06T16:32:53.089-07:00A First Look at Aesthetics<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLPUEb3Yzm9nY3H-T-CB2FEMhLvJHI5v_Ns3tDNuVhyCWd97AvGK3HKz85wGqnznzVDvTl6g9Ey8e0dwS2F1TOdMXLwKTsIg15_ORpaQDvSzo73rdnV98xvnOH5ZEYvCpmTn93Zzp_yYVpjyM9-U8ezaAe-o70sDHNOI-vm8Y18m7xOMYDPVYSFrN/s525/Aesthetics-Digital-Cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="350" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLPUEb3Yzm9nY3H-T-CB2FEMhLvJHI5v_Ns3tDNuVhyCWd97AvGK3HKz85wGqnznzVDvTl6g9Ey8e0dwS2F1TOdMXLwKTsIg15_ORpaQDvSzo73rdnV98xvnOH5ZEYvCpmTn93Zzp_yYVpjyM9-U8ezaAe-o70sDHNOI-vm8Y18m7xOMYDPVYSFrN/w255-h330/Aesthetics-Digital-Cover.png" width="255" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Dr. Alice C. Linsley</p><p>This is the first in a series on Aesthetics, the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste. It necessarily touches on Truth also. "Beauty is an effect of Truth that manifests when the object closer to the Truth is perceived by the subject." This is why Aesthetics cannot be set apart from ethics.</p><div>Beauty is recognized where one is closer to Truth. Thus, Truth is fundamental and beyond subject-object duality. This approaches Plato's understanding of beauty as transcendent eternal Forms. In Plato's philosophy beauty is not about art or nature. Were we to ask Plato: what is beauty? he would answer: “Forms are beautiful, the perfect being is beautiful, and among these forms, the form of Good is the most beautiful.” </div><div><br /></div><div>For the Ancient Greeks, beauty was not a matter of personal taste. According to Aristotle, beauty could be measured. Literally. “The chief forms of beauty are order and symmetry and definiteness, which the mathematical sciences demonstrate in a special degree,” he says in Metaphysics.</div><div><br /></div>An expert on Greek and Roman art, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/arts/15bothmer.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Dr. Dietrich von Bothmer</span></a> (1918-2009) explained, "Beauty was considered an excellence, like honesty or bravery. Physical beauty was important, but it had to be coupled with goodness of spirit as well."<div><br /></div><div>The Neo-Platonist, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotinus"><span style="color: #990000;">Plotinus</span></a>, insisted that beauty inspires an enquiry into its own source (ontology), and that this world is beautiful because it reflects the beauty of a supreme, undivided, transcendent "One". This One "is prior to all existents" and identified with the concept of Good and the principle of Beauty. </div><div><br /></div>Plotinus has influenced those whose discontent with things as they are has led them to seek the realities behind the appearances of the senses. One of those persons is the German philosopher <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/schopenhauer/"><span style="color: #990000;">Arthur Schopenhauer</span></a> (1788-1860).<br /><div><br /></div><div>Schopenhauer believed that art and aesthetic experience provide escape from an otherwise miserable existence, and that these allow one to attain greater objectivity than science or empirical knowledge. The more a person's mind is concerned with the world as representation, the less it feels the suffering of the world as will. Schopenhauer analyzed art from its effects, both on the personality of the artist, and the personality of the viewer.</div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes beauty, either as Truth or as an antidote to misery, it is difficult to escape the impression that discernment of beauty is highly subjective. The Irish poet, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde"><span style="color: #990000;">Oscar Wilde</span></a>, wrote, "Beauty has as many meanings as man has moods. Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals everything, because it expresses nothing. When it shows us itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world."</div><div><br /></div><div>In this series on Aesthetics, we will consider three topics:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/02/beauty-as-good.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beauty as a Form of the Good</span></a></div><div>2. <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/09/symbols-of-beauty.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Symbols of Beauty</span></a></div><div>3. <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2023/11/beauty-as-spiritual-therapy.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beauty as Spiritual Therapy</span></a></div><div><br /><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://justgreatthought.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-physicist-looks-at-beuty.html"><span style="color: #990000;">A Physicist Looks at Beauty</span></a>; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1987/01/27/beauty-through-history/301f7256-0f6b-403e-abec-f36c0a3ec313/"><span style="color: #990000;">Feminine Beauty Through History</span></a>; <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-the-aesthetic-movement"><span style="color: #990000;">The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900</span></a></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-34157807938962187842023-01-10T13:59:00.000-07:002023-01-10T13:59:09.481-07:00Turkiye Attacks Christians, Yazidis, and Kurds<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H8GLee8Kg5ctQPSd_dNBaQcc2VrNx69lF7L6b4NF6zkwdx8xRbQzK9lQkjVURk-_Zw0LrDtp6Mql0HsbejsnuuUMDkWQ4Jtx2M04_NcD8hWG5kTyTMbIbkD1xjWvL_ltjYFsp2dWRshyKZZJmf894ybir6SofoLJZ4-XLLXiXQ74lKUdwzW523-Z/s1000/Turkey-Kurds-Syria-IMG_20210904_114651-1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H8GLee8Kg5ctQPSd_dNBaQcc2VrNx69lF7L6b4NF6zkwdx8xRbQzK9lQkjVURk-_Zw0LrDtp6Mql0HsbejsnuuUMDkWQ4Jtx2M04_NcD8hWG5kTyTMbIbkD1xjWvL_ltjYFsp2dWRshyKZZJmf894ybir6SofoLJZ4-XLLXiXQ74lKUdwzW523-Z/w382-h235/Turkey-Kurds-Syria-IMG_20210904_114651-1.webp" width="382" /></a></div><br /><p>Zeynab Serekaniye’s grave is seen in Tal Tamr, Syria on Sept. 4 after she was killed by a Turkish drone strike. Her mother placed a bride’s veil on the grave, saying: “I did not imagine that I would bury my daughter with her unfulfilled dreams. I wanted my daughter to wear this veil at her wedding, not to bury her underground.” SOLIN MUHAMMED AMIN <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/20/turkey-airstrikes-kurds-syria-ypj-ceasefire/"><span style="color: #990000;">FOR FOREIGN POLICY</span></a></p><div><br />Many in the West heard of the severe atrocities the jihadists of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) committed against the religious minorities of the Fertile Crescent, especially Christians and Yazidis. Several Western governments later classified these atrocities—which included massacres, crucifixion, torture, and sex slavery—as genocides.<br /><br />Today, however, few are unaware that these same genocidal atrocities have resumed against the very same religious minorities who most suffered at the hands of ISIS in northern Syria—this time by another Muslim force with caliphal aspirations: Turkey, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.<div><br /></div>Between November 20-25, 2022, Turkey launched 2,500 attacks—air, mortar, drone, artillery, etc.—several miles deep into Syria's northern border. Governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), this also happens to be where most of the formerly persecuted religious minorities, Christians, Yazidis, and Kurds, live.<div><br /></div><div>Read the <a href="https://www.meforum.org/63993/turkey-latest-genocidal-campaign-2500-attacks-on"><span style="color: #990000;">full report here</span></a>.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2202871/middle-east"><span style="color: #990000;">Payback Time as Turkiye Strikes Syrian, Iraq Bases</span></a></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-35005761753974471502022-12-29T13:40:00.002-07:002022-12-29T19:46:53.656-07:00What Albert Einstein Thought of Christianity<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYbIzs_fuyRFl6rUNQhZbjLPAYfsSheebjtDON_8D_72Nw1JDGoixXH5znNGhnHH5TTkWwzsuekMYQzRJogVNV2F1WeL9kweHyEOrc8qa1tcgoeulY6Wx3mQvPtJdBpP5KaqinDENw2aAGs36K2rXCXp-8vN1t9A0GcTAGkFexszs9GgSeftRI-sa/s900/COjdGq_UwAAw72a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="900" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYbIzs_fuyRFl6rUNQhZbjLPAYfsSheebjtDON_8D_72Nw1JDGoixXH5znNGhnHH5TTkWwzsuekMYQzRJogVNV2F1WeL9kweHyEOrc8qa1tcgoeulY6Wx3mQvPtJdBpP5KaqinDENw2aAGs36K2rXCXp-8vN1t9A0GcTAGkFexszs9GgSeftRI-sa/s320/COjdGq_UwAAw72a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Albert Einstein wearing a yarmulke at a synagogue in Berlin.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Einstein's preference for Judaism as a moral system.</p><p>Mein Weltbild, Amsterdam: Querido Verlag, 1934</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curbing all the social ills of humanity.</p><p>It is the duty of every man of good will to strive to steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can. If he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and trampled underfoot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the community to which he belongs lucky."</p></blockquote>(Albert Einstein, <i>Ideas and Opinions</i>, New York, Bonanza Books, 1954, pp. 184-185. Also, Einstein's <cite>The World as I See It,</cite>Philosophical Library, New York, 1949, pp. 111-112)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>He believed that "Judaism is not a creed: the Jewish God is simply a negation of superstition..." (<i>Ideas and Opinions,</i> p. 186.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div>Einstein's attitude toward the Roman Catholic Church.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a <a href="http://www.drjudithreisman.com/archives/2010/11/religion_german.html"><span style="color: #990000;">1940 issue of Time magazine</span></a>, Einstein expressed a change of heart toward the Catholic Church for its role in opposing the Nazis:<blockquote style="border-left: none; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 32px;">"Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."</blockquote><p> </p><p></p><p>Einstein's appreciation for the uniqueness of Jesus.</p>Einstein expressed his attitude toward Jesus in an interview by George Sylvester Viereck that he gave to <i>The Saturday Evening Post</i> (October 26, 1929). He was asked, "To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?<br /><br /><div>Einstein replied, "As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."</div><br />When asked if he had read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus, Einstein stated, "Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot."<br /><br />In the same interview, Einstein was asked if he accepted the historical Jesus.<br /><br />He answered, "Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different, for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes of antiquity like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus.” (Einstein, as cited in Viereck 1929; see also Einstein, as cited in the German magazine <i>Geisteskampf der Gegenwart</i>, Guetersloh, 1930, S. 235).<div><p>George Sylvester Viereck said, "Ludwig Lewisohn, in one of his recent books, claims that many of the sayings of Jesus paraphrase the sayings of other prophets."</p><p>"No man," Einstein replied, "can deny the fact that Jesus existed, nor that his sayings are beautiful. Even if some them have been said before, no one has expressed them so divinely as he."</p><p><br /></p><p>Einstein on the relationship of Science and Religion.</p>"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." ("Science, Philosophy and Religion: A Symposium", 1941.)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2013/11/einstein-was-right-about-education.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Einstein Was Right About Education</span></a>; <a href="https://justgreatthought.blogspot.com/2022/12/albert-einstein-on-bertrand-russell.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Albert Einstein on Bertrand Russell</span></a></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-8852953592604327852022-12-03T14:45:00.001-07:002022-12-03T15:32:10.209-07:00American Evangelicals Fail to Support Palestinian Christians<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
Alice C. Linsley<br />
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American Evangelicals seem to turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses in Israel. They generally support Israel as the Holy Land promised to <a href="https://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2022/05/abraham-hebrew.html">Abraham the Hebrew</a>. This unexamined claim is both historically and biblically inaccurate. <a href="http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2014/03/edo-edom-and-idumea.html">Abraham's territory</a> was in the land of ancient Edom, between Hebron and Beersheba. It did not correspond to the boundaries of the modern state of Israel.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>Israel justifies its continued land grab based on the erroneous claim that Jews have a special religious connection to the land. This effort to achieve legitimacy through an appeal to religion fails when examined in detail. <div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1SXkBj35wM/VjuubzQI_8I/AAAAAAAAKeU/3JibyhIPZ5g/s1600/Shrinking%2Blands%2Bfor%2BPalestinians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1SXkBj35wM/VjuubzQI_8I/AAAAAAAAKeU/3JibyhIPZ5g/w473-h269/Shrinking%2Blands%2Bfor%2BPalestinians.jpg" width="473" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on">The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has gone on for more than 100 years with no end in sight.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>Israeli authorities have <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/01/19/occupation-inc/how-settlement-businesses-contribute-israels-violations-palestinian">expropriated</a> thousands of acres of Palestinian land for settlements and their supporting infrastructure. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf">Discriminatory</a> burdens, including making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits in East Jerusalem and in the 60 percent of the West Bank under exclusive Israeli control (Area C), have effectively forced Palestinians to leave their homes or to build at the risk of seeing their “unauthorized” structures bulldozed. For decades, Israeli authorities have <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/24/israel-stop-unlawful-west-bank-home-demolitions">demolished homes on the grounds</a> that they lacked permits, even though the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/E1D4F9F5B3C43C943D9C3F31EABF79B3/S0002930017000100a.pdf/west_bank_and_international_humanitarian_law_on_the_eve_of_the_fiftieth_anniversary_of_the_sixday_war.pdf">law of occupation</a> prohibits destruction of property except for military necessity, or <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/11/21/israel-stop-punitive-home-demolitions">punitively</a> as collective punishment against families of Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The law of occupation, designed to regulate the exceptional and temporary situation in which a foreign military power displaces the lawful sovereign and rules by force, grants an occupier broad but limited powers to restrict individuals and their rights to meet security needs.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>After more than 50 years of failure to rein in abuses associated with the occupation, the international community should take more active measures to hold Israeli and Palestinian authorities to their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. Other countries and businesses should cease activities carried out inside settlements and change policies that support settlement-related activities and infrastructure, in keeping with their respective human rights responsibilities. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Before 1948, Jerusalem was almost half Christian, now it is barely 2% due to wars, violence, and discriminatory policies practiced by the Israeli government.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Christians fail to support their fellow Christians</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
Ironically, the support of Israel's policies by American Evangelicals puts tremendous burden upon Christians, especially in places such as Bethlehem where they are already persecuted by the Muslim authorities.<br />
<br />Samir Qumsieh, director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Christmas-in-Bethlehem:-the-cross-banished-from-souvenirs-shops-20318.html">reported in AsiaNews</a> that "the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism, you cannot plan anything."<br />
<br />Many Palestinian Christians have immigrated to other countries where they find greater opportunities for their children. Sadly, it is possible that in the near future there may be no Christians living in the homeland of Jesus Messiah.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>The Christian population of Taybeh is beginning to stabilize due to initiatives within the village that have stimulated the economy. One cause of celebration is the <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2009/03/taybeh-beer-festival-cause-for.html">October Beer Festival</a> which draws tourists from Jerusalem in spite of the many roadblocks maintained by the State of Israel. The beer is produced at Palestine's only micro-brewery.<br /><br />A housing area for Jews only has been built in the area. It receives water 7 days a week while the nearly 2000 residents of Taybeh receive water only 3 days a week.<br /><br />About three and a half million Palestinians live in the West Bank and Gaza, but only a small percentage are Christian. While Jews and Muslims slaughter each other the Christian minority is caught in the middle. It is trying to live in peace and to practice Christ's command to love even those who seek to harm them.<div><br /></div>Archbishop Atallah Hannah (Orthodox Church of Sebastia) reports that, "Palestinians, Christian or Muslim, are deprived [by Israel] of visiting holy sites in Jerusalem."<div><br /></div><div>Israeli expansionism punishes all Palestinians, regardless of their religion.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/palestinian-territories/">Palestinian Territories - Open Doors USA</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-57099781481213204132022-06-11T07:25:00.000-06:002022-06-11T07:25:42.209-06:00TEC is the Anglican Communion’s Undisciplined Child<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoK1lkFj89tpJ4jB3V0Gogt6bKGwHJWgnHOvfEZpDd9gmVI9r2pknu5iyTR_Odc_4wwjfmRE2bgRzkasb7AagZV-9vgKoosAPlbPXOCrspts7HutJHp4oy0GJucHSJfCVREfAEYQE56B403KDv6QFrbShd786ea5kMbXFUZ0jZaglpUbZbGudJLW8/s1038/2015-03-29-12-45-40.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1038" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoK1lkFj89tpJ4jB3V0Gogt6bKGwHJWgnHOvfEZpDd9gmVI9r2pknu5iyTR_Odc_4wwjfmRE2bgRzkasb7AagZV-9vgKoosAPlbPXOCrspts7HutJHp4oy0GJucHSJfCVREfAEYQE56B403KDv6QFrbShd786ea5kMbXFUZ0jZaglpUbZbGudJLW8/w350-h197/2015-03-29-12-45-40.webp" width="350" /></a></div><p><br />
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Alice C. Linsley</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">There is no conciliar spirit
in the Episcopal Church USA. ECUSA/TEC has consistently set itself apart from
the received Tradition by its dangerous innovations. It does not care about the
Anglican Communion. It acts on its own impulses like an undisciplined,
rebellious child.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/world/episcopal-church-fast-facts/index.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Rebellious actions</span></a> are
evident in the way TEC has progressively distanced itself from the core beliefs
and practices of Christianity. Catholicity and ecumenical consensus play no
role in the body’s decisions. TEC was the first to break the back of catholic
orders when it unilaterally began to ordain women to the priesthood. Then came the
ordination of partnered gay and lesbian clergy, and the consecration of partnered
gay and lesbian bishops. This was followed by same-sex “marriages” and experimental
liturgies and prayers that ooze political agendas and leftist ideologies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Consider this collect
circulating on Episcopal social media sites:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">“Fire-borne God,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">before the violence of your
passion<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">no separating wall can
stand:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">may your unseen Spirit<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">pour herself upon young and
old,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">male and female, gay and
straight,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">throw our borders into
confusion<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">and give us a new language
of love;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">through Jesus Christ, the
Image of God’s Being.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">The wording is reminiscent
of the 2019 American Socialist Convention slogan: “No Borders, No Bosses, No
Binaries.” The borders are indeed thrown into confusion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUefHjQV0sfrAtIDJt4cHEkCFLfk5Km3FoFnH_9ByEI9Z835BWdpe1ZsHVFTNmlHCgfI-IWWlPPatZWnHF6qdejVHpNSSMq67y38fmWTM36VfrZCvacsiqQo8j5QDMXOGsCB4wol8huB85069BVtlmiTu8328qB1_tIaiQZ-gWVh0yJJ3nr1_fTDFd/s400/no%20borders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="400" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUefHjQV0sfrAtIDJt4cHEkCFLfk5Km3FoFnH_9ByEI9Z835BWdpe1ZsHVFTNmlHCgfI-IWWlPPatZWnHF6qdejVHpNSSMq67y38fmWTM36VfrZCvacsiqQo8j5QDMXOGsCB4wol8huB85069BVtlmiTu8328qB1_tIaiQZ-gWVh0yJJ3nr1_fTDFd/s320/no%20borders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Now the General Convention
of the Episcopal Church is to consider a proposal to eliminate Baptism as a
prerequisite to receive Holy Communion. Resolution C028 reads:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Resolved, That the
Diocese of Northern California requests that 80th General Convention repeal
CANON I.17.7 of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church (2018
Revision, page 88), which states: “No unbaptized person shall be eligible to
receive Holy Communion in this Church.”</i></blockquote><p><i> </i></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">If TEC's definition of
"inclusion" takes precedence over Baptism into the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, we know what the decision will be. The debate has
been heated and there have been some excellent observations by a few orthodox
clergy. Now there is a rumor that the decision will be postponed. The Episcopal
Church cannot afford to lose more people and people leave when they are angry.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">We are empowered by the Holy
Spirit to proclaim the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection. The proper
order is articulated by the Apostle Peter. “Repent, be baptized for the
forgiveness of sins, and receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2). If passed at TEC’s
General Convention, this canon change will overthrow the Apostolic order,
endanger the souls of many people since the Blood of Jesus both saves and
condemns, and put orthodox Episcopal clergy in an extremely difficult position.
Some will leave TEC. Probably the inclusion activists want exactly that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Speaking as an
anthropologist, every society, religious group, clan, and tribe have boundaries
that preserve their identities. The Scriptures indicate that for members of the
Body of Christ the boundary is set at Baptism into the Lord's death and
resurrection. Having put off the old and put on Christ, the new member receives
His Body and Blood, the medicine of immortality. Paul says that it is
spiritually dangerous for the unregenerate to receive the sacrament. Whether we
agree with the Apostle or not, those who are to protect the soul and edify the
Body should not take this decision lightly. The Lord holds them accountable for
the spiritual injuries they inflict. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">The Hebrew (long before
Judaism emerged) were a <a href="https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-hebrew-were-caste.html"><span style="color: #990000;">royal priest caste</span></a>, probably the oldest known caste.
The Hebrew ruler-priest caste protected its identity by marrying only within
their caste, not eating with non-caste members, circumcision, etc. Peter
applies this to the Church, saying that those who serve Jesus Christ are a
nation of royal priests. The Church has every right to protect its identity.
Indeed, this is a sacred duty.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">END<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></p><p></p>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-90543403391966298212022-06-01T16:44:00.004-06:002022-06-01T17:37:38.775-06:00Artifacts Confiscated from New York Met<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxXCabIaGt9yeVnaWAdj2Lpn5pXeKoIYispX_trWMX9ZI55mdyizFovac5AepjGBdHuHTqesEmrx4hyF-N8-5atOp_VwqoqkBFF21EQjs9tzDY7FB0mtjvU2m9oegUS6CRRWfJsdo9QxKAtXLY0TbC0-_pYBJbYLsEAj3gAhSkhi4JC5ogE13nuRI/s2048/30return-item-superJumbo.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxXCabIaGt9yeVnaWAdj2Lpn5pXeKoIYispX_trWMX9ZI55mdyizFovac5AepjGBdHuHTqesEmrx4hyF-N8-5atOp_VwqoqkBFF21EQjs9tzDY7FB0mtjvU2m9oegUS6CRRWfJsdo9QxKAtXLY0TbC0-_pYBJbYLsEAj3gAhSkhi4JC5ogE13nuRI/s320/30return-item-superJumbo.webp" width="224" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This Hellenistic bust of a veiled woman, dating to 350 B.C. was looted from a temple decades ago, and confiscated from the Met in February 2022. It was returned to Libya.<div><br /></div><div><br />Five Egyptian antiques collectively valued at more than $3 million, have been seized from the Metropolitan Museum by the New York District Attorney’s Office. The confiscation is part of an <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jean-luc-martinez-former-louvre-museum-director-charged-1234630057/"><span style="color: #990000;">extensive investigation</span></a> into the international trafficking of Egyptian antiquities that led to the indictment of former president and director of the Louvre, <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/former-louvre-museum-director-jean-luc-martinez-questioned-by-french-authorities-1234629972/"><span style="color: #990000;">Jean-Luc Martinez</span></a>.<div><br />Four of the pieces came from the collection of <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/25/dealer-suspected-of-selling-looted-antiquities-to-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-and-louvre-abu-dhabi-detained-in-paris"><span style="color: #990000;">Roben Dib</span></a>, a dealer suspected by U.S. and French authorities of selling looted objects to art institutions. Dib is currently detained in Paris, where he is awaiting trial on charges of gang fraud and money laundering. The Met has been contending with its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49837860"><span style="color: #990000;">connections to Dib</span></a> for several years.<br /><br /></div>Among the artifacts seized were a resplendent Fayum portrait, a painted panel commonly placed over the face of mummies in Roman Egypt. That work depicts a woman in a blue dress and dates to around 60 BC.<br /><br />The other seized work is composed of five fragments of a wall hanging from the 4th or 5th century AD. They are considered one of the oldest representations of the Book of Exodus.<div><br /></div><div>Read more <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/egyptian-antiques-seized-met-investigation-smuggling-ring-1234630550/"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49837860"><span style="color: #990000;">New York Met Returns Ancient Stolen Egyptian Coffin</span></a>; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/arts/design/ancient-vase-seized-from-met-museum-on-suspicion-it-was-looted.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Ancient Vase Seized from Met on Suspicion it was Looted</span></a>; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/arts/design/met-museum-sculpture-libya.html"><span style="color: #990000;">New York Met Returns Looted Bust to Libya</span></a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2019/10/four-antiquities-thieves-arrested-in.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Antiquities Thieves Arrested in Israel</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-59172282871465147242022-05-09T13:06:00.001-06:002022-05-09T14:25:34.187-06:00Alastair Norcross' Scalar Utilitarianism<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCFTb0xaQwvf_Mt3g7oCy2JRhl_iVvgVfxeSQNywqA9erfRvfbm9VLoWTVpUNFbfJ5M_qkkhVV7i2ao_BDjYxzg8UHXR9u8c9bJ87_vVVYs0rgygX6NQax-NDV8Ci1SWjXYdM-OJdlvDZFmmLJM1goKVirqf0iR4luAsVkxcmLXrrM1MxRbmSA0Oz/s375/norcross.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="375" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCFTb0xaQwvf_Mt3g7oCy2JRhl_iVvgVfxeSQNywqA9erfRvfbm9VLoWTVpUNFbfJ5M_qkkhVV7i2ao_BDjYxzg8UHXR9u8c9bJ87_vVVYs0rgygX6NQax-NDV8Ci1SWjXYdM-OJdlvDZFmmLJM1goKVirqf0iR4luAsVkxcmLXrrM1MxRbmSA0Oz/s320/norcross.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><a href="https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/people/alastair-norcross"><span style="color: #990000;">Alastair Norcross</span></a> is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, specializing in normative ethics, applied ethics, and political philosophy. He is a defender of utilitarianism and "regards all natural rights as nonsense."<br /><br />Norcross maintains that consequentialism does not offer a criterion of right action and it does not answer the question of what we are morally required to do, or what actions are right or wrong. Instead, it only offers a ranking of the moral value of actions. It tells us that action A is morally better than action B, but it does not tell us how far down the scale of goodness moral acceptability extends. <div><br /></div><div>The consequentialist cares about promoting values which come in degrees. In his 2020 book <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712567"><span style="color: #990000;">Morality by Degrees: Reasons without Demands</span></a>, Norcross articulates and defends his approach to ethical theory or scalar utilitarianism. He argues that the basic judgments of morality are essentially comparative: alternatives are judged to be better or worse than each other. Scalar utilitarianism is not concerned with values of right and wrong, but rather addresses actions as comparatively and contextually better or worse in terms of their consequences. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>In Norcross' view, the consequentialist plays into the hands of his <a href="http://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2008/04/deontological-approach-to-ethics.html"><span style="color: #990000;">deontological opponent</span></a> if he makes the distinction between right and wrong actions central to his ethics.</div><div><br /></div><div>Norcross denies divine authority because he contends that any moral theory can be made to bow to "divine command."</div><div><br /></div>In a 2019 interview, Norcross was asked, "If you could ask an honest omniscient being one question, what would it be?"<div><strong style="font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></strong></div>He responded with this question: "Is there continuation of worthwhile conscious existence after physical death? I’m pretty sure the answer is no, so I wouldn’t be too disappointed to hear that. But if the answer is yes, that would be worth knowing."</div><div><br /><div><br /><div>Related reading: <a href="http://www.whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com/alastair-norcross"><span style="color: #990000;">Interview with Alastair Norcross</span></a>; <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44982144"><span style="color: #990000;">A Defense of Scalar Utilitarianism</span></a>; <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/contemporary-debates-in-moral-theory/"><span style="color: #990000;">Contemporary Debates in Moral Theory | Reviews | Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews | University of Notre Dame (nd.edu)</span></a>; </span><a href="https://philosophyintrocourse.com/phi-2600-090-fall-b/lesson-10-lecture-notes-applied-ethics-part-iii/"><span style="color: #990000;">Objections to Norcross' Puppies, Pigs and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases</span></a></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span><br /></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-16077464647319955812022-04-13T19:12:00.001-06:002022-04-13T19:12:17.980-06:00Conflict Between People or Policy?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoRVsvduzbfAWeu9fIucKczl3jM9kuCS0mXWsmk5waRm40HTF1VQHJUzZroUhnn2ZQ_xOcsEWsLr7j0xJho977XvRhs6Q3bHhFeIpV9x2NtPZIf8YBZjzZATmLhQiS6XjWDYxuAgk3dPThjQsh6n0KdIGCPCWDUlNspN53E-8b-NGCNwQnKExwrvE/s1240/Batwa%20iron%20smelting%20in%20Buhoma%20Uganda.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoRVsvduzbfAWeu9fIucKczl3jM9kuCS0mXWsmk5waRm40HTF1VQHJUzZroUhnn2ZQ_xOcsEWsLr7j0xJho977XvRhs6Q3bHhFeIpV9x2NtPZIf8YBZjzZATmLhQiS6XjWDYxuAgk3dPThjQsh6n0KdIGCPCWDUlNspN53E-8b-NGCNwQnKExwrvE/s320/Batwa%20iron%20smelting%20in%20Buhoma%20Uganda.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Batwa iron smelting in Buhoma, Uganda.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i>The conflict between people and policy is seen in stark terms in Uganda where the Batwa people have been forced off their traditional lands to preserve the habitat of Mountain Gorillas. Known as “pygmies”, the Batwa now live in misery as conservation refugees and are in danger of disappearing, even as gorilla numbers recover. The younger Batwa have no memory of life in the forests, but the elderly still yearn for the days of plentiful hunting and wild fruits.</i><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://mercatornet.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a5770d7572ba589e2028df9cf&id=d917b7bd56&e=1e45597c72"><span style="color: #990000;">Mathew Otineo</span></a> of Kenya wonders if environmentalists care that the Batwa paid the ultimate price to save gorillas.</i><div><i><br /></i><br />In 1991, nearly all of the<u> </u><a href="https://minorityrights.org/minorities/batwa/"><span style="color: #990000;">Batwa were forcefully evicted</span></a>, often at gunpoint by rangers from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The three forests were designated as national parks to protect the endangered mountain gorillas who shared them with the Batwa. Never mind that the Batwa <a href="https://www.forestpeoples.org/en/press-release/2021/batwa-uganda-conservation"><span style="color: #990000;">weren’t a direct</span></a> threat to the gorillas or other endangered species.<br /><br />Having never adopted formal systems of land ownership, the Batwa lacked title to their forests. Clearly taking advantage of this, the government of Uganda <a href="https://batwaexperience.org/history/"><span style="color: #990000;">did not compensate</span></a> them and abandoned them on the edges of the forests, with neither land nor the skills with which to make a living outside the forest.<br /><br />In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITzWIBHEPqA"><span style="color: #990000;">years that followed</span></a>, many of the Batwa died, threatening the survival of the tribe itself. Of those that survived, many fell into drug abuse, begging and prostitution. They soon had the highest HIV prevalence rate of any ethnic group in Uganda. This is exacerbated by limited access to healthcare and education. Only 10 percent of Batwa children in Uganda are in formal education.<br /><br />Alongside these losses must be added the greater loss of contact with the home and legacy of their ancestors, which for most of the younger generation is now alien. The only legal way for a Mtwa (singular for Batwa) to enter the forest now is as a guide, on the so-called Batwa Experience at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, in which they re-enact the ways of their ancestors for curious tourists.<br /><br />The mountain gorillas of Uganda, on the other hand, have gone on to multiply. They now number over 400, accounting for nearly half of the over 1,000 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-endangered-gorillas-idUSKCN1IX4NG"><span style="color: #990000;">now living</span></a> in the wild. The species is <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39999/176396749"><span style="color: #990000;">no longer listed</span></a> as critically endangered. The sacrifice of the Batwa people to the cause of great ape conservation has paid off.<br /><br />The government of Uganda <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60825768"><span style="color: #990000;">charges tourists</span></a> up to US$700 to observe the gorillas in their habitat. Practically none of this money ends up in Batwa hands.<div><br /></div><div>From <a href="https://mercatornet.com/the-batwa-paid-the-ultimate-price-to-save-gorillas-do-environmentalists-care/78510/"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Related: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ugandas-batwa-tribe-considered-conservation-refugees-see-little-government-support"><span style="color: #990000;">Uganda's Batwa People See Little Government Support</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-23222210306065953212022-03-25T06:42:00.003-06:002022-03-25T13:13:38.515-06:00The Taliban Has Not Changed<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRZnJLCJCmba97tbWBoSO7bCXLXXdgvVKk6_05iQArpcxGZjOAxFh5dOq50l78Qyi5ZyBWdHuOeRM8plTjZtftVxVu1Edcc2BEbdyZrl6VwmRZ8xMTgvZXv4HZ_2-lLeBlX5iphxc4JwqUCxrQKGUcFIZ4YFID6xtLSRHUx8VE9PwcuhnIAvl_MD0/s1023/02860000-0aff-0242-fbd7-08da0ce0a02c_cx0_cy0_cw90_w1023_r1_s.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1023" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRZnJLCJCmba97tbWBoSO7bCXLXXdgvVKk6_05iQArpcxGZjOAxFh5dOq50l78Qyi5ZyBWdHuOeRM8plTjZtftVxVu1Edcc2BEbdyZrl6VwmRZ8xMTgvZXv4HZ_2-lLeBlX5iphxc4JwqUCxrQKGUcFIZ4YFID6xtLSRHUx8VE9PwcuhnIAvl_MD0/w387-h223/02860000-0aff-0242-fbd7-08da0ce0a02c_cx0_cy0_cw90_w1023_r1_s.webp" width="387" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Afghan girls go to school in the western Afghan city of Herat on March 23.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>When the Taliban returned to power, they promised a softer rule compared with their first regime from 1996 to 2001.<div><br /></div><div>However, the Taliban has returned to its former repressive ways. They have imposed restrictions on women, banning them from many government jobs, policing what they wear, preventing them from traveling outside of their cities, and visiting medical facilities without a chaperone. </div><div><br />Taliban militants have erected posters in some areas to inform residents of the new regulations. In other places, insurgents have driven around with loudspeakers and <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://twitter.com/DaudJunbish/status/1413595860454330379?s=20"><span style="color: #990000;">made announcements</span></a> </span>at mosques.<br /><br />Sara, a 17-year-old student, says the Taliban shut down her school in the district of Aqcha, in the northern province of Jawzjan, after the militants captured it two weeks ago. </div><div><br /></div><div>Adeeba Haidari, age 13, feels as if she is in prison. She is one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August.<div><br />But just hours into classes, the education ministry announced a reversal that left schoolgirls feeling betrayed and the international community outraged.</div><div><br />“Not only me but everyone you asked believed that the Taliban had changed,” said Adeeba, who briefly returned to Al-Fatah Girls School in the capital, Kabul.</div><div><br />“When they sent everyone back home from school, we understood that the Taliban were the same Taliban of 25 years ago,” her 11-year-old sister Malahat added.</div><div><br />“We are being treated like criminals just because we are girls. Afghanistan has turned into a jail for us.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Read more <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2050191/world"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-repression-afghan-women/31358597.html"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-77054451761329754842022-01-27T17:33:00.007-07:002022-02-18T16:25:56.312-07:00Jordan Peterson's Resignation<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitIpQaskrJjYe4EUNF8XI7u26vW-I13vr2t4t3mNXmrOpwLegKt45XESJPcMNxg8t_v8ZAD9Rv16w__9TZ5f9L7CqNSNo1iNVH9AeBt-sMxus3YL91F8bwLJEoSl-23td10Obaygt2kp9JcqaIqVL51MNxXeDGUfL0GT1pTmT5zh6tWgB_Zrm7pQsO=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitIpQaskrJjYe4EUNF8XI7u26vW-I13vr2t4t3mNXmrOpwLegKt45XESJPcMNxg8t_v8ZAD9Rv16w__9TZ5f9L7CqNSNo1iNVH9AeBt-sMxus3YL91F8bwLJEoSl-23td10Obaygt2kp9JcqaIqVL51MNxXeDGUfL0GT1pTmT5zh6tWgB_Zrm7pQsO=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jordan Peterson / Wikimedia</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Jordan Peterson's assessment of the university culture:<br /><br />"We are now at the point where race, ethnicity, “gender,” or sexual preference is first, accepted as the fundamental characteristic defining each person … and second, is now treated as the most important qualification for study, research and employment."<div><br />Jordan Peterson has never been afraid to call out stupidity. His frank countercultural thinking has cost him dearly. Recently he resigned from the Canadian university where he has taught since the late 1990s.<br /><br />“I recently resigned from my position as full tenured professor at the University of Toronto,” Jordan Peterson wrote in a bombshell <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jordan-peterson-why-i-am-no-longer-a-tenured-professor-at-the-university-of-toronto"><span style="color: #990000;">op-ed</span></a> for the National Post.<br /><br />Peterson's fame long ago outgrew the halls of Canada’s oldest college, where he has researched and lectured since the late 1990s in spite of every slur and scandal.<br /><br />“I had envisioned teaching and researching at the U of T, full time, until they had to haul my skeleton out of my office,” he writes. “I loved my job.” Nevertheless, Peterson’s title will soon be downgraded to professor emeritus — and how long he lasts in that role is uncertain, judging from his rationale for stepping down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Read more <a href="https://mercatornet.com/wokeness-has-captured-universities-says-jordan-peterson-as-he-resigns/77060/"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Related reading: <a href="https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2022/01/jordan-peterson-beyond-order-12-more-rules-life-louis-markos.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Jordan Peterson on the Sin of Resentment</span></a></div><div><br /></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-27021693740238760762022-01-22T14:26:00.009-07:002022-01-22T14:28:32.101-07:00Breivik Unchanged, Seeks Parole<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMY_KApiNqN5IrTmbLnsa2s4V6LZ7E0PTs_8sG7ZzAP1oLjF69OlBb9ze390TlvxCLDhrjbQkwTnKoGXfuI5sNNPX6oIEtYWVu8keQtMrq8CDiBTZcFTxbV2AN7tPLAAEEivTnXPvsusgfnd1NcS0LIZmR6n4KPEBYIl6rSLtpGJQVzUhh5LqZJgaB=s1000" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMY_KApiNqN5IrTmbLnsa2s4V6LZ7E0PTs_8sG7ZzAP1oLjF69OlBb9ze390TlvxCLDhrjbQkwTnKoGXfuI5sNNPX6oIEtYWVu8keQtMrq8CDiBTZcFTxbV2AN7tPLAAEEivTnXPvsusgfnd1NcS0LIZmR6n4KPEBYIl6rSLtpGJQVzUhh5LqZJgaB=w406-h260" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Now age 42, Anders Behring Breivik seeks release from prison after serving half of his 21-year sentence. He spends his days in a three-room cell, playing video games, exercising, watching TV, and taking university-level courses in mathematics and business.<div><br /></div>A prosecutor in Norway said on 20 January (2022) that Breivik is "a very dangerous man" and therefore a poor candidate for release after 10 years in prison, as Norwegian law permits.<br /><br />On the final day of a three-day parole hearing, prosecutor Hulda Karlsdottir said in her closing argument that Anders Behring Breivik "has not shown any genuine remorse in court" and his behavior there is part of a "PR stunt."<br /><br />"In the clear view of the prosecution, Breivik's request for parole should not be granted," Karlsdottir said.<div><br />Breivik is being treated leniently though his sprees of violence remain unprecedented in Norway. He killed eight in an Oslo bombing in 2011, and then stalked and gunned down 69 people, mostly teens, at a political summer camp on the island of Utoya.<div><br />During a three-day parole hearing this week, Breivik renounced violence, but also flashed a Nazi salute and espoused white supremacy, echoing ideas in a manifesto he released at the time of his killing spree. The outburst was familiar to Norwegians who had watched him deliver rambling diatribes during his partially televised criminal trial.</div><div><br /></div>A psychiatrist who has observed Breivik since 2012 testified Wednesday that he can't be trusted. A prison official told the judges hearing the parole request "there is an imminent danger" that, if released, Breivik would again commit serious crimes.<div><br /></div><div>Breivik is a mentally ill person who believes he has done nothing wrong and doubtless would continue his acts of terror against perceived enemies. He lives by his own Nietzschean logic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Breivik once said, "As for the Church and science, it is essential that science takes an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings. Europe has always been the cradle of science, and it must always continue to be that way. Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man. I am first and foremost a man of logic. However, I am a supporter of a monocultural Christian Europe."</div><div><br /><p>Related reading: <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2011/07/breivik-darwinian-terrorist.html">Breivik is a Darwinian Terrorist</a>; <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/norway-s-mass-murderer-breivik-tests-limits-of-lenient-justice-system/ar-AAT1xT7">Norway's Mass Murderer Tests Limits of Lenient Justice System</a></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-78119849514774595722021-12-08T04:21:00.008-07:002021-12-08T12:36:47.301-07:00Steinhardt Ordered to Return Looted Antiquities<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ph6_Z5jaHFw/YbCT3WIrQiI/AAAAAAAASlw/8L1Gdg_5PS0phl5D-XYqmU-VYnw7eAkRQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1800/merlin_198869991_b0c1d503-2c31-4c37-8cb8-ae01681c85e5-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ph6_Z5jaHFw/YbCT3WIrQiI/AAAAAAAASlw/8L1Gdg_5PS0phl5D-XYqmU-VYnw7eAkRQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/merlin_198869991_b0c1d503-2c31-4c37-8cb8-ae01681c85e5-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Michael Steinhardt, hedge funder and antiquities collector</div><p><br /></p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/arts/design/steinhardt-billionaire-stolen-antiquities.html">Michael Steinhardt is ordered to return 180 looted artifacts</a> and he will not be charged if he abides by all terms of the agreement that requires that the objects be “returned expeditiously to their rightful owners,” rather than held as evidence. The resolution will also help prosecutors “shield the identity of the many witnesses here and abroad whose names would be released at any trial.”<br /><br />The 180 stolen antiquities worth $70 million are to be returned to their rightful homelands and Steinhardt is barred for life from acquiring any objects created before 1500 AD.<div><div><br />In a statement, Steinhardt’s lawyer, Andrew J. Levander, said: “Mr. Steinhardt is pleased that the District Attorney’s yearslong investigation has concluded without any charges, and that items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries. Many of the dealers from whom Mr. Steinhardt bought these items made specific representations as to the dealers’ lawful title to the items, and to their alleged provenance. To the extent these representations were false, Mr. Steinhardt has reserved his rights to seek recompense from the dealers involved.”<br /><p>The investigation into Steinhardt began in February 2017, after prosecutors determined that he had purchased a statue looted from Lebanon during the country’s Civil War, and subsequently loaned it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. An inquiry into his record of acquisitions only heightened suspicions of further criminal misconduct and led to the formation of a joint investigation with investigators in 11 countries—Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Turkey.<br /><br />“For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement. “His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection.”</p></div><div><p>Read more here: <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/michael-steinhardt-surrenders-looted-artifacts-1234612558/">Michael Steinhardt, Billionaire Antiquities Collector Surrenders 180 Looted Objects</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Preserving Antiquities</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Taliban Destroys Priceless Bamyan Buddhas</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Four Arrested for Smuggling Egyptian Antiquities</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Hamas Seizes Smuggled Antiquities</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Robbery of Ancient Graves</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Four Antiquities Thieves Arrested in Israel</a>; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Destruction and Looting of Antiquities in Yemen</a></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-71474723276494731102021-09-07T12:16:00.004-06:002021-09-07T12:16:59.687-06:00The Increasing Threat of Weaponized Drones<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drF0vw_vm_w/YTermjSJ3cI/AAAAAAAASdk/QKFqBQRreeISmB1D4I3zCgZJ3SOD2rrWQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1000/60b368c6bee0fc0019d5a736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drF0vw_vm_w/YTermjSJ3cI/AAAAAAAASdk/QKFqBQRreeISmB1D4I3zCgZJ3SOD2rrWQCNcBGAsYHQ/w414-h295/60b368c6bee0fc0019d5a736.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div><div>Machines that can make their own decisions – called autonomous systems – raise ethical concerns, especially as it is now possible for anyone with computer experience and the right tools to build drones that can be weaponized. </div><div><br /></div>Autonomous drones have been caught dropping explosives on U.S. troops, shutting down airports, and employed in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/americas/venezuela-video-analysis.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">assassination attempts</span></a>. Azerbaijan recently used its Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to great effect in its conflict with Armenia. A United Nations report says that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/killer-drone-hunted-down-human-target-without-being-told-un-2021-5"><span style="color: #0b5394;">deadly drone "hunted down" a human target</span></a> without being instructed to do so. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The autonomous systems being developed make staging such attacks easier and more devastating. The attraction to those who would kill political enemies is the drone's agility and the targeted attack. <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/asia/kim-jong-nam-antidote-intl/index.html">Kim Jong Un is thought to have assassinated his half brother with VX nerve agent</a> </span>in 2017. A year later, there was evidence that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/01/uk/salisbury-novichok-cleanup-gbr-intl/index.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Russia may have used a Novichok chemical agent in England</span></a>, in a failed assassination attempt of a former Russian spy and his daughter. The<span style="color: #0b5394;"> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/us/politics/russia-navalny-biden.html">U.S. intelligence community linked the Russian government</a></span> to the attempted assassination of Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny in 2020 with a Novichok agent.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Natasha Bajema, the director of the Converging Risks Lab at the Council on Strategic Risks, in Washington, D.C., has written, "Technologists and engineers who work on drones need to be aware when they develop applications that might be weaponized and exploited for deadly effect. And policymakers and military strategists need to be equally vigilant in defending against a highly agile new threat that, while its use has, gratefully, been limited to date, its potential for danger will continue to increase as commercial, off-the-shelf drone technologies mature and proliferate."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Related reading: <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2020/07/notre-dame-ibm-launch-tech-ethics-lab.html">Notre Dame-IBM Launch Tech Ethics Lab</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/robotics-researchers-have-a-duty-to-prevent-autonomous-weapons-126483">Robotics researchers have a duty to prevent autonomous weapons</a>; <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/to-protect-against-weaponized-drones-we-must-understand-their-key-strengths">To protect against weaponized drones, we must understand their strengths</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
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Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-61660549452492113432021-07-14T19:55:00.003-06:002021-07-15T09:54:48.838-06:00Is our Reality a Virtual Simulation?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpXLucaYMv0/YO-PStRP-YI/AAAAAAAASXo/Borku2fk7Tcvo0ujo9wqTln5SynzOMQVgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Gd2TYITXQ42AEwvbFhhV_hologrpahic-universe-1080x675.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpXLucaYMv0/YO-PStRP-YI/AAAAAAAASXo/Borku2fk7Tcvo0ujo9wqTln5SynzOMQVgCNcBGAsYHQ/w418-h251/Gd2TYITXQ42AEwvbFhhV_hologrpahic-universe-1080x675.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Machine learning and artificial intelligence are presenting us with new philosophical and theological questions. <a href="http://%20https//www.resonancescience.org/blog/Between-the-Generalized-Holographic-Model-and-Data-Science">Between the Holographic Approach and Data Science</a> addresses the potential of trained artificial neural networks to replace present scientific models, and the possibility of reality being a numerical simulation as has been proposed by <a href="https://www.space.com/41749-elon-musk-living-in-simulation-rogan-podcast.html">Elon Musk</a> and others. <br /><div><i><br /></i></div><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.01540">Vitaly Vanchurin</a> (University of Minnesota Duluth) proposes that we live in a neural network and believes that only through neural networks can scientists discover the grand unification theory, that is, the theory of everything.<em style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </em>If we treat the world as a neural network which is in the process of learning, then we can better understand quantum gravity, quantum computing and consciousness, writes Vanchurin.<div><br /></div><div>The concept uses neural net theory to unify quantum and classical mechanics. This latest mechanistic hope may explain the meanderings of quantum physics, but it renders the existence of the biblical Creator null and void.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZFsiVvN6Ks/YO-SdszhKKI/AAAAAAAASX0/-5XM7x1xw1A9DLIwAgPT2xDzkUIITBdlwCNcBGAsYHQ/s293/theology-of-digital-physics.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="195" height="325" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZFsiVvN6Ks/YO-SdszhKKI/AAAAAAAASX0/-5XM7x1xw1A9DLIwAgPT2xDzkUIITBdlwCNcBGAsYHQ/w224-h325/theology-of-digital-physics.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>God is posited as a Global Brain. If we may believe the forecasts of the Transhumanists, one day we will be able to upload our minds to this Global Web and thus attain immortality by merging with a Cybergod.<div><br /></div>Such is the fantastic worldview of California resident Alex M. Vikoulov, a Russian-American futurist, evolutionary cyberneticist, and filmmaker. He describes himself as a digital theologian and a transhumanist singularitarian.<div><br /></div><div>Alex M. Vikoulou's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Digital-Physics-Consciousness-Interpretation-ebook/dp/B081DN7W1K">Theology of Digital Physics</a> redefines God by stepping into digital pantheism. Vikoulov gives us a glimpse into how a fractal multiverse must in the end shake confidence in objective reality. The <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2018/02/transhumanism-and-christian-hope.html">Christian hope</a> abides as more objectively true and evident than the fantasies of these men.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><br /><div>Related reading: <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210212094120.htm">New Machine Learning Method Raises Questions About Nature of Science</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/22/11/1210">The World as a Neural Network</a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2018/02/transhumanism-and-christian-hope.html">Transhumanism and the Christian Hope</a>; <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2021/07/immoral-virtual-fantasizing-should-we.html">Immoral Virtual Fantasizing</a></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9222625281347419787.post-2302129035720472682021-07-02T10:10:00.000-06:002021-07-02T10:10:12.809-06:00Immoral Virtual Fantasizing: Should We Call the Cops?<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ytw-2HY37s/YN86H4iIGRI/AAAAAAAASV0/zynBDgnXiwwTWrnOrZz1OX75oiV-hNx7wCNcBGAsYHQ/s225/images.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ytw-2HY37s/YN86H4iIGRI/AAAAAAAASV0/zynBDgnXiwwTWrnOrZz1OX75oiV-hNx7wCNcBGAsYHQ/w251-h255/images.png" width="251" /></a></div><p></p><div><br /></div>X-Rated (XR) Virtual reality is a consumer product that poses serious ethical questions since it often presents violence or abusive behavior. Some authors discuss this and the need for regulatory authorities (<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full#B54">Wassom, 2014</a>; <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full#B20">Madary and Metzinger, 2016</a>). Virtual embodiment can lead to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral changes and Virtual violence and pornography in video games and on the internet can make it will feel more real. The social consequences of this are unknown.<div><br /></div><div><br />The following is an excerpt from an article title <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full">The Ethics of Realism in Virtual and Augmented Reality</a>, an opinion piece that appeared in Frontiers, March 2020.</div><div><blockquote><br />"... XR technology also raises a host of interesting and important ethical questions of which readers should be aware. For instance, the fact that XR enables an individual to interact with virtual characters poses the question of whether the golden rule of reciprocity should apply to fictional virtual characters and, with the development of tools that allow for more realism, whether this should also extend to virtual representations of real people.<div><br />Thus, along these lines, is it wrong to do immoral acts in VR? This is explored in a play called “The Nether” (2013) by Jennifer Hayley<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full#note1">1</a>, where in a fully immersive virtual world a man engages in pedophilia. When confronted by the police in reality (in the play), he argues that this is a safe way to realize his unacceptable drives without harming anyone at all. As stated by Giles Fraser writing in The Guardian newspaper<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full#note2">2</a>, “Even by watching and applauding the production I felt somehow complicit in, or at least too much in the company of, what was being imagined. Some thoughts one shouldn't think. Some ideas ought to be banished from one's head.” But on the other hand, “Policing the imagination is the ultimate fascism. Take Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. But the point is surely this: imagination is not cut off from consequence. We all end up being shaped by what we imagine.”</div><div><br /></div>The latter point was part of an argument by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full#B6">Brey (1999)</a>, who considered ethical issues associated with virtual reality. Following Kantian Duty Ethics (a version of the golden rule), he argued that it is a fundamental moral principle “that human beings have a duty to treat other persons with respect, that is, to treat them as ends and not as means, or to do to them as one would expect to be treated by others oneself.” But does this apply to virtual characters? He gave two arguments suggesting that it does. First, following Kant in relation to treatment of animals, we should treat virtual characters with respect because if not we may end up treating people badly too (note that this is a philosophical rather than an empirical argument). Second, if we treat virtual characters with disrespect or act violently toward them, this may actually cause psychological harm to people that those characters might represent. Of course, this happens in movies all the time (think of the “bad guys” in movies, they are often typified as members of particular ethnic groups or social class). In XR this is different though—in movies it is other people who treat other people badly whereas in XR it could be ourselves doing so, or other (virtual or online) people may treat us badly. While this already takes place in video-games, particularly when the character in the video-game is seen and controlled from a first-person perspective, XR goes one step further in the sense that it can feel more real if the participant is fully embodied as that character. Therefore, Brey concludes that designers of VR applications—also applicable to AR—must take into account the possible immoral actions that they might depict or allow their participants to carry out."</blockquote><p>Read the full article <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2020.00001/full">here</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://college-ethics.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-virtual.html">The Benefits and Drawbacks of Virtual Reality</a>; <a href="https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/66220/1/Wilson_McGill_CHI_PLAY_2018_Violent_video_games_in_virtual_reality_re_evaluating.pdf">Violent Video Games in Virtual Reality</a></p><p><br /></p></div>Alice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.com0