My new article this week. Serious Warning: Viewer Discretion Advised.
https://open.substack.com/pub/chumark54/p/the-sex-the-violence-the-hideous-d37?r=1rk5hn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

It's a way longer piece than Lot's story. Though it's again from the Bible, the holy book, this is more graphic and brutal; way more.

Thanks.

Thanks for that. It was a hard read. I remember being upset when reading it for the first time in the Bible.

How the Bible is still considered in any way related to divine guidance or morals, I'll never know.

What struck me about your essay the most was your compassion. I've come to realize that empathy and compassion are not as common as I thought.

Your comments about how people suffered also led me to think about how animals suffer too, forced into horrible situations. I can barely let my mind think about the cruelty to humans.

How can someone read that story and not realize we are doing the same horrible stuff today, justified by God? The Bible reveals human nature, and it isn't pretty. Humans form warring tribes and fight over their breeding vessels (aka women) and resources. Stupid animal humans.

dagny Wrote:
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> Thanks for that. It was a hard read. I remember
> being upset when reading it for the first time in
> the Bible.
>
> How the Bible is still considered in any way
> related to divine guidance or morals, I'll never
> know.
>
> What struck me about your essay the most was your
> compassion. I've come to realize that empathy and
> compassion are not as common as I thought.
>
> Your comments about how people suffered also led
> me to think about how animals suffer too, forced
> into horrible situations. I can barely let my mind
> think about the cruelty to humans.
>
> How can someone read that story and not realize we
> are doing the same horrible stuff today, justified
> by God? The Bible reveals human nature, and it
> isn't pretty. Humans form warring tribes and fight
> over their breeding vessels (aka women) and
> resources. Stupid animal humans.

I can't say it better myself. Yes, humans and animals suffer; there's so much evil in the world. In fact, in order to just survive, one has to destroy another. Lions have to eat zebra, wolves have to eat deer. The design of life is flawed; life is pain. All we can do is, like you say exactly, be more empathetic.

dagny Wrote:
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>
> Your comments about how people suffered also led
> me to think about how animals suffer too, forced
> into horrible situations. I can barely let my mind
> think about the cruelty to humans.

I just watched this clip,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD8RCiicEQI&ab_channel=TheDodo

A dog was abandoned, out in the deep snow, -30 degrees. She was out there for a while, trying to burrow a nest to hide; she was running a fever.

She was rescued, and now doing very well.

Unfortunately, she's the lucky one. Many, many other creatures didn't/don't have the luck.

Sigh.

> The design of life is flawed;
> life is pain.

    Using the word "design" in conjunction with a critique of humankind creates what I consider to be a false narrative.

    Life is ... just life!  Using hindsight to say one is able to see a design can be done, but one is almost always going to apply one's peculiar beliefs/assumptions, and Reasonable Men will always differ in their conclusions because of the differing beliefs/assumptions used to reach their conclusions.  Circular reasoning for a circle of life and endlessly biting our tails.

    Nature & Survival seldom, if ever, plan ahead for the obvious decline in natural resources that success in dominating one's environment will bring.  All hail The Cat's best friend, the Tardigrade!



    Here's a 'dicho' I learned while on my mission: "Cada quien habla de la feria segun le fue en ella."  In English: "We each talk about the fair according to what we experienced there."

elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
>     Using the word "design" in conjunction
> with a critique of humankind creates what I
> consider to be a false narrative.
>
>     Life is ... just life!  Using hindsight
> to say one is able to see a design can be done,
> but one is almost always going to apply one's
> peculiar beliefs/assumptions, and Reasonable Men
> will always differ in their conclusions because of
> the differing beliefs/assumptions used to reach
> their conclusions.  Circular reasoning for a
> circle of life and endlessly biting our tails.
>
>     Nature & Survival seldom, if ever, plan
> ahead for the obvious decline in natural resources
> that success in dominating one's environment will
> bring.  All hail The Cat's best friend, the
> Tardigrade!
>
>
>
>     Here's a 'dicho' I learned while on my
> mission: "Cada quien habla de la feria segun le
> fue en ella."  In English: "We each talk about
> the fair according to what we experienced there."

Actually, when I said "design," I wasn't talking about human's creation of evilness. I was focusing on my observation that in order to survive, a life must destroy another. If there is a God or Gods (I kind of have my doubt), then this "design" is flawed and questionable.

Indeed, if we're talking about human's devilish actions, they're human's own responsibility. Though in psychology we might to a degree have some debate about that, but I believe we choose our actions, no doubt about it.

Here is a quotation taken from MarkC's blog post:

"humans are irrational. They find a million excuses to justify their beliefs."

Put another way, like the rest of the animal kingdom, we humans are ruled by our emotions. That is the one truth religious texts (and not just Christianity) continue to tell us, though many fail to recognize it for what it is.

blindguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Put another way, like the rest of the animal
> kingdom, we humans are ruled by our emotions. That
> is the one truth religious texts (and not just
> Christianity) continue to tell us, though many
> fail to recognize it for what it is.

YES. We need to be aware of it and try to restrain ourselves from being ruled by emotions.

Unfortunately, however, some are even proud of it, and have the guts to call themselves "critical thinkers."

If God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, who was left to tell the tale? So this guy's village was destroyed after his neighbors wronged him. His wife died along the way under mysterious circumstances.

Doesn't that make Lot the prime suspect in both the annihilation of the towns and his wife's death? "Lot, you have a lot of explaining to do".

The biblical account reads like a revenge fantasy screenplay. Lot goes Rambo but uses God as his instrument of death. Don't you think if that stuff worked the GAs would routinely use it?

bradley Wrote:
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> The biblical account reads like a revenge fantasy
> screenplay.

Well said, that's exactly how I feel too. Of course, I don't think we can be sure all the stories are not real, but at least I personally won't be so sure they're 100% true.

Thanks for reading!

Didn't I see someone comment that republicans like the Bible or something like that? I was going to come back and comment on that but it was gone. Or maybe I misread...?

Anyhow, in case it used to be here, I think it's in most cases fair to say that. Well, liking the Bible is fine, but using it to justify prejudice is WRONG.

I feel that many republicans are good people with integrity, but many, many republican politicians are bad, bad apples. It makes you worry about the future of this country. Yikes.