Author Topic: Strange Connections  (Read 85382 times)

Offline Daniel

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(Strange Connections) Why I am in favor of educational alternatives to Darwinism
« Reply #110 on: December 20, 2007, 03:17:26 pm »
First to be clear, let us define Darwinism as it is being taught in most educational systems. Darwinism or Evolutionary Biology looks specifically at the origin of species as a result of genetic mutation and diversification, and believes exclusively that behaviors or genetic mutations that lead to the survival of the species are those which define our current understanding of their behaviors. There is almost nothing wrong with this claim, it is mostly scientific sound and examines many aspects of zoology from a biochemical stance. There is one small thing, though, that maintains this as a Theory, and not a scientific fact. Genetic mutations do occur, of this we have no doubt, as does biodiversification and the diversification of animal behavior.... what is in debate is the specific purpose for this genetic mutation and biodiversification. Is it, as Darwinism claims, the survival of the species? This is not something that can be scientifically proven. It makes sense, perhaps, so it's a good place for a starting hypothesis. But right now we have no means of testing it. It is a philosophical conundrum.

Now, let us look to one of the more prominent alternatives: Intelligent Design. And by Intelligent Design, I do not mean Creationism. Creationism is a religious philosophy that has little or no groundings in scientific reality. Unfortunately there are many proponents of Intelligent Design that yield to Creationism, allowing their religious fervor to take them out of the scientific and philosophical community. But I am referring to the scientific theory of Intelligent Design. In this sense, Intelligent Design looks specifically at the origin of species as a result of genetic mutation and diversification, and believes exclusively that changes in behavior or genetic mutations are following a natural organizing principle of the Universe. This also makes sense to some, so it's a good place for a starting hypothesis. But right now we have no means of testing it. It is a philosophical conundrum.

It is the same evidence, with a different interpretation. I think the crux of the matter is that both fields claim that life is self-organizing, but the conflict lies in the perception of why it is doing it.  The why's and how's of life are ultimately philosophical in nature, and it is dangerous that Darwinism includes within its principles a philosophical perception which is taught as scientific fact. That is why Darwinism is a theory. I am not saying that Intelligent Design is a fact either, it is a theory as well.

Now, let's look at some of the philosophical conflicts between Darwinistic Evolution and Intelligent Design. These philosophies are not part of the scientific perceptions, but just related to the perception of principles that are driving the natural processes.

Darwinism   ---> Social Darwinism --> Eugenics --> Racial Supremacy --> Social Programming --> Psychological Programming (Evolutionary Psychology)--> Genetic Programming

Intelligent Design --> Integral Philosophy  --> Integrated Genetic Anthropology --> Integrated Individualism  --> Integrated Psychology

I don';t know about you, but I personally am leaning toward intelligent design... I had to research it myself. It wasn't taught to me in public school. http://www.integralinstitute.org
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Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #111 on: December 20, 2007, 03:34:11 pm »

    While I would give no genuine thought of credabillity to either of these suppositions myself, I am open to the
realities of them as you have stated.
    I dont think that the changes were something that the design was made from a thought process.  Either from
some diety on high, or from the species or lifeform itself.  I do believe in the Darwinian theory as to it resulting in
the survival of the fittest. Just as any matter in the universe is subject to a reaction by all that is in its contact, so
is the change in a species a result of all the products that come to play on its life or form.  Therefor the ones that
are able to make necessary changes to the situation as needed, are going to survive.  The ones that cannot or do not.  Are not going to survive. 
     That to me is what is meant by natural selection.  There is no real design there.  It is simply the result of the
formentiioned fight.



     Beautiful mind

Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #112 on: December 20, 2007, 03:46:19 pm »
That's fine if you believe that... I'm not going to try to force my opinions on you... :) The point is, neither should the government. If the government is going to teach opinions (through its public education system), it should teach them as opinions rather than as facts.
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Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #113 on: December 21, 2007, 10:16:21 pm »
I think I am being filled with an immense spirit of love and beauty.... and unlike the Aurora Phantasy, this is not a female spirit, but a male. The combination of Ave Maria being sung by Slava Kagan... which I had always thought was beautiful but never really heard in exceptional clarity until I got my new headphones... Now that I have them..... Mon Dieu! His Voice! It's beyond exquisite! I find my heart screaming in joy and exultation and weeping in beauty's grasp at the same time.... enthralled as I am with the power of the voice raised towards spirit-filled heavens with little behind it but the human heart and its effort to be one with the Divine! I am writing in some sort of spirit-torn agony, hyperventilating in the sheer pleasure of the experience that is aesthetically between the sweetness that one can die in and the isolation of the human identity from all others... What a bizarre and phenomenal experience!

And I'm not entirely certain why, but perhaps it has something to do with the way the human spirit works, I am now finding it much more possible to feel and think and acknowledge almost from a divine perspective those things in my life that I knew were beautiful... that I had surrounded myself with because they were beautiful..... and to truly experience them as Beauty! With my eyes and ears and heart changed by Ave Maria I have re-examined myself and the thing that most captivates my emotional self at this time, the Luke and Noah storyline on As The World Turns that had previously captured my heart and my attention, but never my soul in this arching, beautiful, and divine circumstance.

How could I have missed such beauty before? What blindfold was held there? What once I thought was a nice little dramatic monologue of Luke's has turned into a multidimensional, faceted diamond of infinite beauty. Layers and layers of meaning, spiritual, emotional, profound..... Words spoken beautifully, and deeply empowered by divine meaning! I had heard them yesterday, but they did not register with me today as something so deep and important, not until I heard The Voice!  I - I - I am speechless..... words cannot describe the beauty that fills my heart. I want everyone who reads this to know that I love each and every one of you, and I would share this brilliant light that fills my being with you if I can!

Oh dear.... I think.... I think I know what it means to swoon.
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
You have a body, a mind, and a soul.... You have a responsibility.

Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #114 on: December 22, 2007, 07:07:44 pm »
Nobody mind me... just playing around with videos and stuff.... :)

[youtube=425,350]Fn9_7KE3dvE[/youtube][youtube=425,350]4SuBRsPt1Mo[/youtube]
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
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Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #115 on: December 24, 2007, 05:52:08 pm »
A Secular Christmas Song

Two thousand years have passed us by
Since hearts and eyes turned to the sky.
In hopes of everlasting faith
enduring through the age.

That hope and mercy all lay bound
in One who fell to common ground
that He might then be raised again
and help make divine sight plain.

Was this Message lost to Man?
That he could deny Providence's plan?
Or was some inkling brave and rare
a-roaring in the spirit's flare?

For when unblinded by candelabra bright,
the Soul surfaced to its own night,
and among the brightest stars of hope
found liberty and truth eloped.

And there in that darkness rare,
yet lit by human tensile flare,
Man continued to prescribe his fate
And with great gusto filled his plate.

No soup was ladled out for him,
No spirit's message against his sin.
Instead he found the dearest truth:
his sin melted in absence of proof.

No darkness his heart meted out.
No blindness was his spirit's gout.
And facing his own truth and light
he lit the others by his side.

Countless, countless, countless times
the Christmas candles burned their crimes.
And with forgiveness meted out
No soul was left to rage and pout.

But whose forgiveness was given, if not divine?
Could it be? It lay in man's own mind?
That from his spirit, his inner being,
could be given, what was most freeing?

Forgiveness, love, unbridled compassion
ordered not in a divine fashion,
but sponsored pure and intelligent
by man's own sentience.

Countless, countless, countless times
the heart of man has given prides
and Christmases have all been filled
with loving, compassionate tears that spilled

Of their own accord, with no divine infusion
or any sort of religious message to lead the soul's confusion.
In the cold, bitter, dark night, man's soul
infused with Christmas wonder and its goal

gave all it could to offer warmth and light,
praised the powers of beauty and of sight,
acquiesced to gratitude's calm and rosy plight,
enlivened other hearts with musical delight,
shared with other souls in hope and fright,
loved all others regardless of their might.

There are those that say this beauteous vision
was forced by God in his comprehension.
But what is forced can never be -
Man reaches out for liberty
and in the light of his own truth,
in perception of vitality and youth,
in loving appreciation of spiritual nobility
finds a glistening, sparkling Christmas Tree.
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
You have a body, a mind, and a soul.... You have a responsibility.

Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #116 on: April 01, 2008, 02:03:55 am »
I think I have made a difficult decision to quit my job of nine years in a pursuit of genuine happiness rather than financial freedom. Although eventually, I hope financial freedom will be a part of that happiness, right now I need to get out of my current work environment. It has become, soul-draining. The entire experience. And I am grateful for the opportunities the job has afforded me. In the past few years it's been so difficult to picture myself away from the job, doing what I actually enjoy doing and somehow paying the bills that way, but the time has come for a change, so change there will be.

Graven Images Oracle Reading
Confinement (Divine 8 )
Amity (Social 1)
Patience (Social 2)
As Above (Social 7)
Sleeper (Social 12)
Joy (Emotion 7)

Card #1: Root of the Question
Confinement (Divine #8)

A sense of being trapped in a situation that appears to have no resolution. This can be a bad marriage, an unsatisfying career, and the like. The warning here is to protect yourself from becoming a victim of circumstances or a prisoner. Even your greatest efforts may not be enough to effect change. Often, the best course of action is to let go, allow the inevitable to occur, and walk away to a new beginning. When the headstone finally crumbles, the iron bands no longer restrain.

Card #2: Immediate Past
Amity (Social #1)

Amity means friendship, and it is to friends and family members that the you must now turn to for advice and guidance. Amity is a card of light; this seeking out of others can be a positive experience. Not only will you gain much needed information on your current project or situation, but it can strengthen the bond of amity by demonstrating a trust of your friend and respect for their insights. Don't hesitate to utilize those closest to you as a resource; they will feel necessary and welcomed in your life. Can also mean new contacts, friends or backers.

Card #3: Immediate Future
Patience (Social #2)

The need to restrain yourself and take the path of moderation. Patience councils you to stick with your plans even when things do not go according to schedule. Let cooler heads prevail, take a deep breath and allow things to follow their natural course.

Card #4: Outside Forces
As Above (Social #7)

Completion. After toil, strife, joy, and setbacks your work, or participation in the situation, is now drawing to a close. The time has come to tally up the lessons learned, evaluate your behavior and actions, and get ready for the next cycle, the next project or adventure. What you learn about yourself now becomes the groundwork for the future.

Card #5: Hopes and Fears.
Sleeper (Social #12)

Sleeper is a card of missed opportunities. That which can now never be. This can denote the actual loss of a child, or the opportunity to create a family (Sleeper is the shadow of Clan). More commonly, however, it is a card of missed subtleties. Hints, veiled suggestions have all gone unnoticed. A blind eye has been turned to flirtations that may have developed into love or companionship. Friendly invitations have gone unanswered. Although there is nothing that can be done about chances gone by, you should awaken to the chances yet to be.

Card #6: Final Outcome
Joy (Emotion #7)

This is a card of unabashed joy and exuberance. The race is run, the challenge has been met and the feast can commence. This can also represent all the happy mile markers of life: the birth of children, weddings, anniversaries, awards, recognitions and the like. In every sense of the word, this is emotional liberation, the spirit within leaping for joy. Celebrate!
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
You have a body, a mind, and a soul.... You have a responsibility.

Offline Kelda

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #117 on: April 01, 2008, 05:28:12 pm »
good luck with the move to happiness D!
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Offline Daniel

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Re: Strange Connections
« Reply #118 on: April 18, 2008, 09:57:31 pm »


Originally published in "The Life of Colonel David Crockett," by Edward Sylvester Ellis.

One day in the House of Representatives a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:

"Mr. Speaker--I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the suffering of the living, if there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member on this floor knows it.

We have the right as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I ever heard that the government was in arrears to him.

"Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."

He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.

Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:

"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.

"The next summer, when it began to be time to think about election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but as I thought, rather coldly.

"I began: 'Well friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called candidates and---

"Yes I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine, I shall not vote for you again."

"This was a sockdolger...I begged him tell me what was the matter.

"Well Colonel, it is hardly worthwhile to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting you or wounding you.'

"I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest.

But an understanding of the constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the honest he is.'

" 'I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake. Though I live in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by fire in Georgetown. Is that true?

"Well my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just the same as I did.'

"It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means.

What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he.

If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give at all; and as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. 'No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity.'

"'Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this country as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have Thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.'

"The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from necessity of giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution.'

"'So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you.'

"I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go to talking and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I was so fully convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:

"Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.'

"He laughingly replied; 'Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.'

"If I don't, said I, 'I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of people, I will make a speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it.'

"No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. 'This Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you.

"'Well I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must know your name."

"'My name is Bunce.'

"'Not Horatio Bunce?'

"'Yes

"'Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend.'

"It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence, and for a heart brim-full and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him, before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.

"At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.

"Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before."

"I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him - no, that is not the word - I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.

"But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted - at least, they all knew me.

"In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:

"Fellow-citizens - I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only."

"I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

"And now, fellow-citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.

"It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so.'

"He came up to the stand and said:

"Fellow-citizens - it affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today.'

"He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before.'

"I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress.'

"Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday. "There is one thing which I will call your attention, "you remember that I proposed to give a week's pay. There are in that House many very wealthy men - men who think nothing of spending a week's pay, or a dozen of them, for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased--a debt which could not be paid by money--and the insignificance and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $20,000 when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it."
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
You have a body, a mind, and a soul.... You have a responsibility.