(If God can perform gene transforms, why doesn’t God make me ABC/XYZ?)
Some things are easier said than done. For example, time travel.
Suppose that time travel is commonplace and there are many time travellers.
Suppose one day, or from one day onwards, time travellers say that God hates non-time travellers, that non-time travellers are immoral and have no moral values.
How would the non-time travellers feel about it? They would of course wish to become time travellers. But they can’t.
God can do anything. Suppose that God chooses a subset of non-time travellers and performs a gene transform on them, such that they become time travellers. Will they also have this time-traveller pride and say that God hates non-time travellers?
Picking one of multiple contradictory viewpoints and claiming God says what you want to say.
The statement is most likely the same as that which another person used God Mode on you.
This leads to a propagation of God Mode statements.
L-mode
Such a skill is possessed by followers of monotheistic religions based on ancient text written by humans who lived thousands of years ago.
They fail to understand that modern science, technology, and ethics should be used to correct the outdated perceptions of Homo sapiens who lived several hundred years ago.
Actions speak louder than words.
God Mode is not limited to words alone. For example, a homophobic Christian may murder a person because of the victim’s sexual orientation. He can be said to be practising God Mode in action. He thinks his action is right (by following God’s order) but it is clearly wrong. He has chosen to ignore the part of the bible that says he should not kill. He has chosen to follow the part of the bible that says he should get rid of people with non-standard sexual orientations. Also, the person who practises God Mode is an expert at Double Speak, such as “accepting but not affirming” or “disapproval is not stigmatization” or “wicked is good”. He can hold two contradictory viewpoints in his mind and think that they are both true. Those who say they don’t affirm actually don’t accept and hopes the whole world does not accept a certain minority group. Those who express disapproval are actually contributing to the stigmatization of the minority group. This leads to more people using God Mode to justify hate crimes.
To all the homophobic Christians who justify murder:
The sense of superiority that a gay (usually Christian) person has when he (possibly out of innocent ignorance) thinks he is able to “overcome” his homosexual tendencies that he believes is offensive.
Example of usage : He was parading his homophobic pride again, causing more LGBTQIA people to commit suicide or be expelled from homes onto the streets, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Homophobic pride can be very gentle, such as persuading an LGBTQIA person to stop being an LGBTQIA person. Are you really sure they are not born this way ?
Celebration of Diversity
What can we do ? We can accept LGBTQIA people for being who they are. Everybody is born differently. Let us celebrate diversity. Let us practise Ethical Christianity. Let us let love win.
L is perfectly fine with non-L going about their daily activities.
However, there is a subset of non-L people that are actively opposing the equal human rights of L.
These L-phobic people are what L is advocating against.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Let’s be clear about this.
My advice to L:
Despite the injustices that you are facing, please think straight and define the scope of your argument carefully.
Know that there exist non-L people that support your right to live a happy life.
L-phobic people come in two parts. One part has the knowledge that L are born this way. One part has knowledge that L are not born this way. These two parts are L-phobic nonetheless.
The L-phobic part 1 assumes that disabled people are not entitled to the same human rights.
The L-phobic part 2 assumes that L has chosen to be L. Therefore this sin excludes them from basic human rights.
L-phobic people carry out hate crimes against L-philic people, causing them to commit suicide. This fact is obvious to L-philic people but non-obvious to L-phobic people. L-phobic people expel L-philic family members from homes onto the streets, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This fact is non-obvious to L-phobic Christian pastors but obvious to L-philic families. Please, let us love our family members.
Some people use religious texts to justify hate crimes. The religious texts could include but are not limited to the Bible’s Old Testament / New Testament / Final Testament, the Deuterocanonical texts, the Torah/Tanakh/Mishnah/Talmud/Midrash/Kabbalah, the Quran/Fatwa/Sharia/Hadith, the Ancient Buddhist/Hindu/Tibetan/Gnostic/Illuminati/Mormon/LDS/New Age/Sutras/Vedas/Apocrypha/Taoist/Confucian scriptures etc. You see, it is up to the reader’s interpretation. He will use it for his own benefit. If he is an evil person, he will use religious texts for evil means.
Unity Film:
UNITY – Official Trailer
youtube.com/watch?v=TcdEBU1iBqs
I would like to give credit to religions that respect all life forms. An example would be Buddhism. You can see that followers of Buddhism did not harm people because of simply who they were or what they believed in. They (the evil ones) harmed people in order to increase their own self interest.
In religions that devalue certain life forms, evil people harmed other people simply because of who they were born to be or what they believed in.
The principle of Buddhism can thus be seen in a favourable light. A Buddhist Christian can also be called an Ethical Christian.
Happy Utility Fun
Happy Utility Functions
I would like to identify three happy utility functions:
Health
Wisdom
Love
Health is a function of how much you eat, how much you exercise, and how much you sleep.
In the Game Theory of Life, you maximize your own utility functions. Each person seeks his/her own self-interest.
Now for the definition.
A utility function is happy if you can have as much as you want without sacrificing the utility functions of other beings.
Why do I call it happy? The reason is because if everyone maximized these utility functions, this would result in the greatest happiness for all people.
Please Shut Down the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in GuangXi China
Dear YuLin Governor Chen Wu:
We are writing you to request that the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government must cancel the “Dog Meat Festival” that is held on June 22 in Yulin. As foreigners who have great respect for the Chinese people and Chinese civilization, We are saddened to learn that the Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” still exists in a modern civilized society. We believe that this event has no place in the 21st century. We adamantly voice our strong opposition to this barbaric “festival” for the following five reasons:
First, China is the country with the second largest number of rabies cases in the world. The Yulin government itself admitted in 2007 that the city was one of the hardest hit by rabies outbreaks. According to a news report (http://gx.news.163.com/07/0102/14/33RCB62S006300CU.html), 338 rabies cases were reported in Yulin between 2002 and 2006. All of the infected people died from this disease. The annual economic cost to Yulin amounted to 6.67 million Yuan. Based on the toll the disease is taking on the health of the city’s residents, the authorities in Yulin should be doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease. Dogs transported for days in crowded conditions to Yulin, with compromised immunity systems, are known to be vulnerable to the spread of illnesses. Allowing the “Dog Meat Festival” to continue is a sign of a lack of vigilance at the very least. Given the national government’s policy on rabies prevention and control, it might even be construed as wanton contempt and total negligence of the public. In the interest of public health, disease prevention, and enforcement of the national government’s policies, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government should put an end to the event.
Second, the “Dog Meat Festival” can potentially undermine social stability, aggravate existing social conflicts, and sabotage the central government’s efforts to build a harmonious society. A significant number of the dogs sold on the market, according to Chinese activist investigations, are stolen household pets or are watch dogs of rural families. The recent retaliative, brutal assault on dog thieves by victims of dog theft indicates the potentially explosive nature of confrontations between dog owners and the dog meat industry. Frankly, the violent action by the villagers in Guangxi was a reaction to the fact that local law enforcement had long failed to protect the interest of the dog owners. Allowing the “Dog Meat Festival” to continue is like endorsing dog theft, which supplies the dog meat industry. It could seriously damage the authority of the government and the credibility of state laws. If dog theft continues, violent confrontations between dog owners and animal lovers and the dog meat industry will escalate and intensify, potentially leading to mass unrest. The government can prevent such a situation from developing by ending the Yulin “Dog Meat Festival.”
Third, the Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” is a dangerous food safety issue. Dogs sold on the market are sick and dying animals. They suffer from horrendous conditions during the long distance, trans-provincial journeys. China does NOT have dog farms. There are no national or local standards to ensure the safety of dog meat since dogs are not raised for food. Sick or contaminated dogs can pass illnesses to humans in the course of transport, slaughter, and food preparations. It has also been reported that some dogs have been poisoned during their capture and carry toxins in their body. The govenment cannot afford to ignore this public health issue. It is therefore imperative for the government to shut down the “Dog Meat Festival” and prevent the onset of a SARS-like disease and massive deaths.
Fourth, the Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” exposes young people to violence. During the festival, the streets of Yulin flow with dog blood, since dogs are often slaughtered in public. Have the dog meat dealers ever considered the reaction of the people who walk by? Have they ever considered the feelings of the young children who witness the brutality on their way to school? The wanton imposition of bloody scenes on the public can cause severe mental distress and psychological trauma to people, particularly school children. Studies have long shown that exposure to violence can desensitize youth and cause them to later commit acts of cruelty and abuse. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government and its official Women Federation are obligated to stand up and to protect the young people from being forced to witness this brutal spectacle.
Fifth, although the “Dog Meat Festival” has been promoted as a local “folk custom,” it is not really a local culinary culture. It is a commercial activity masquerading as a regional tradition. No culture or local custom is a defense of a practice that runs counter to human progress. Despite strong resistance, foot-binding, opium-smoking, and arranged marriage — so-called Chinese traditional practices — were ended without jeopardizing the Chinese culture. In fact, Chinese civilization has since experienced a spirited rejuvenation and China’s pace of progress has not been slowed one bit. To glorify the Chinese culture, the government must eliminate outdated practices that represent forces of the past and that damage the reputation of the mainstream Chinese culture.
Finally, Guangxi has breathtaking natural beauty that attracts millions of domestic and international tourists. The Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” is internationally perceived as a disgrace to this region. In June 2014, the festival was condemned by more than 100,000 people around the world within a short span of a few days. The event has already tarnished the reputation of Guangxi and will have a negative consequence on commerce and on the tourism industry.
We appeal to you to act in the interest of public health, food safety, child welfare, and the reputation of Guangxi and China. The Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” is not a regional “folk custom.” It is a business operation that undermines the national and public interest. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government is at a historical juncture. The “Dog Meat Festival” must end.
CC:
Mr. Li Keqiang
Prime Minister, State Council, People’s Republic of China
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Agriculture
State General Administration of Food and Drug
State Commission of Public Health and Family Planning
Why was Galileo imprisoned by the Catholic Church?
Because he was using a new frame of reference in which the Earth moved round the Sun.
The Church was using the frame of reference in which the Sun moved round the Earth.
How could Galileo have done better?
He could have explained how to translate easily between the two frames of references.
Frame of Reference
When you explain things to Christians, you have to use this frame of reference:
That the Bible is absolute truth.
Christians are very forgiving. They will forgive themselves for selectively not taking certain parts of the Bible as absolute truth.
Now, deeply learning from Galileo, we need to explain how ethical principles can be translated easily into the frame of reference in which the Bible is taken as absolute truth.
Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence
Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue. It is the exercise of virtue.
Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one’s life. Hence it is a goal and not a temporary state.
Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human happiness depends on the exercise of his reason.
Happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where one displays the virtues of courage, generosity, justice, friendship, and citizenship in one’s life. These virtues involve striking a balance or “mean” between an excess and a deficiency.
Happiness requires intellectual contemplation, for this is the ultimate realization of our rational capacities.
All Christians need to go for a course in Ethics and Integrity.
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Don’t think that something is right just because you “feel” it is right.
If you think just by reading the bible you have a complete understanding of Ethics and Morality, you are wrong.
Hitler read the bible too, and he sure used it effectively in his propaganda, resulting in the Western Holocaust, the persecution of millions of Jews, Homosexuals, Disabled People etc.
Ethical principles are derived from philosophical analysis, from fundamental universal axioms.
Some related readings for Ethical Christianity:
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Charles Camosy
For Love Of Animals
Christian Ethics, Consistent Action
