2024-04-16 22:39
I released a condensed version of the MSL argument
today in this booklet.
I hope that it makes it easier to see the whole argument in one view.
Recently thinking about Islam some, and have… Read More
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A somewhat formulaless blog about my own life, as well as a project to further both belief in God and humanistic altruism, as mutually supportive. Post categories include notes, definitions, parables, book reviews, and long posts.
2024-03-07 07:40
I made a MIDI album that fits in with my overall writing project, called
Afterward.
If you've read this blog a lot, you will probably understand what I was
trying to communicate with i… Read More
2024-02-11 22:54
At some point in the past, a commenter on this blog pointed
out the resemblance between MSLN and Mormonism with regard to soteriology
and eschatology. Having read Gospel
Principles, an i… Read More
2024-01-02 06:02
Review of 2023:
From my perspective now, looking back, 2023 was a year of wrapping things
up and closing out accounts. In terms of the major things that I did, the
only thing that doesn'… Read More
2023-10-23 23:45
I have recently released two
booklets: The Cross: altruism through
self-risking, and Simple
Millennial Holiness: (and Other Religious Thoughts) (which is a
partial rewrite of the Simple New… Read More
2023-10-12 20:12
I wrote a post about cultural
altruism hubs. That post, and this one, which is related,
discuss a kind of organizational or "scenic"
structure or structures that people could build. I… Read More
2023-10-11 20:22
On my subreddit I put up links to individual
videos, websites, or blog posts, etc. Any of these things can be "consumed"
(paid attention to) in one sitting (generally speaking). Those ar… Read More
2023-09-27 03:38
I have often written things in a sort of diaristic way, not knowing
how they would appear to me until I finished and re-read them for the
first time. This blog has been a diary of my thin… Read More
2023-09-25 18:39
In trying to think about my writing, I wrote a page called
Categories of my Writing. I noticed
different trends in my writing: "how can we love?", the "exilic/familial",
"radically theist… Read More
2023-09-20 03:15
Reading New Wine for the End Times makes me think again about
the Bible in more depth. This makes think I should write about
MSL's relationship to Christianity.
One way for me to look a… Read More
2023-09-13 03:31
For a little bit of time, I have been unsatisfied with the terminology
available to describe my writing project. "MSL", or "MSLN", sounds weird,
technical, "mathematical", artificial to… Read More
2023-09-10 21:10
One thing I remember from when I first read New
Wine for the End Times was a sense of simplification in me about
the question of the afterlife. I didn't realize this before reading the
bo… Read More
2023-08-30 21:24
A lot of what I can say about justice and forgiveness is probably
well-known. But I think I should still talk about it in the context
of MSL.
What is "justice"? It seems like it usually… Read More
2023-08-24 17:34
This post is one I may link to outside the blog. If you are coming
from outside the blog, the New Wine System, very briefly, is about
1) how we are required to become completely holy (wh… Read More
2023-08-23 19:27
This review is intended to be linked to outside this blog.
The Potential of the New Wine System
The ideas contained in New Wine for the End Times, by Philip
Brown (the "New Wine System")… Read More
2023-08-22 03:52
What if we could give ourselves up to God, and he could make us holy?
(This idea inspired by New Wine for the End Times.) Does this make
sense in MSL?
We have bodies that tempt us to sin… Read More
2023-08-22 03:44
A theme in New Wine for the End Times: get your focus off yourself
and serve God and others, and God will remove your sinful habits.
Not being self-focused is essential to salvation in MS… Read More
2023-08-21 05:13
I re-read New Wine for the End Times recently, which
serves as a reminder of what kinds of New Wine teachings are in the Bible.
The New Wine component of MSL can be illuminated by
New Wine… Read More
2023-08-16 22:00
When I was younger, I would go on road trips with my family to Texas.
Along the way, we drove down Interstate 10 through southern Arizona and
southern New Mexico. Somewhere in New Mexico… Read More
2023-08-08 22:36
I put out a call to test MSL / find problems
with it and solutions to those problems.
I made an update worth noting, to
How Bad Can Satan Negotiate Reality to
Be?; Tastes vs. Values.
That… Read More
2023-07-28 23:50
On my subreddit I put up links to individual
videos, websites, or blog posts, etc. Any of these things can be "consumed"
(paid attention to) in one sitting (generally speaking). Those ar… Read More
2023-07-28 23:34
It's not uncommon for people to hear voices in their head. Are these
the voices of the unconscious self or evolved neural patterns (materialist
atheist explanation)? Are these the voices… Read More
2023-07-28 23:23
This is an essay.
Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and other people
in a society (for instance, Western society) disagree about many things.
But some things, they all (or… Read More
2023-07-22 20:53
This note was originally written to go
with Testing / Improving MSL.
How many Speakers can there be? There must be at least one. This
one consists of "experience bodies", units of expe… Read More
2023-07-14 15:50
I am thinking of posting links to this post on outside sites.
If you have come from one of those links, this post is about the
New Wine System (a system of Biblical doctrines) developed/di… Read More
2023-07-11 22:33
On my subreddit I put up links to individual
videos, websites, or blog posts, etc. Any of these things can be "consumed"
(paid attention to) in one sitting (generally speaking). Those ar… Read More
2023-07-11 22:03
When people get more serious about something, they tend to
want to be more rational. They want to consider all the evidence and
how it interrelates, looking into whatever concrete partic… Read More
2023-07-04 21:37
I read L. John Van Til's Liberty of Conscience: The
History of a Puritan Idea. I can't say I followed it very closely,
but it did introduce me to thinking about conscience.
My idea of… Read More
2023-06-30 19:47
I have found myself saying "this life", to refer to the life that
each of us lives between physical birth and death. What follows
"this life" is to wait for resurrection. Then, to be
re… Read More
2023-06-25 20:56
I made a print version of Waiting for
Margot.
--
Thinking about things I could do with the blog, I decided one thing would
be to write posts that make sense of MSLN or anything
else imp… Read More
2023-06-13 17:37
On my subreddit I put up links to individual
videos, websites, or blog posts, etc. Any of these things can be "consumed"
(paid attention to) in one sitting (generally speaking). Those ar… Read More
2023-06-01 22:52
I recently finished releasing Waiting for
Margot and Reality, as you may know.
I am now offering the older books I've written
for sale as print books for $15 each.
I like print books and so… Read More
2023-05-25 20:50
I wrote an album of songs in 2020 and 2021 and recorded it earlier this year. Now I am releasing it. It could be seen as a summary of all of my writing so far. It's called Reality Read More
2023-05-22 03:16
In episode 15 of Waiting for Margot, there is some discussion of a
restaurant in Hoheres Wesen called Simple Life:
YOU: Have you heard of Simple Life?
BRIAN: What's that?
YOU: It's a fas… Read More
2023-05-18 15:18
Here is the twenty-first episode of Waiting for Margot, "Farewell".
Synopsis:
A farewell occurs, and then a goodbye Read More
2023-05-17 16:45
Here is the twentieth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Giving Up, Part 2".
Synopsis:
You (Beth) invite your friends to your apartment to eat dinner Read More
2023-05-15 18:51
Here is the nineteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Giving Up".
Synopsis:
Brian feels like giving up on his writing project but you (Beth) push back Read More
2023-05-07 18:57
Here is the eighteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Complaint".
Synopsis:
You (Beth) meet a random young stranger at Mitzi's and impart wisdom Read More
2023-05-02 18:07
Here is the seventeenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Jitters".
Synopsis:
Jitters, nervousness, and weird thoughts afflict the three friends, until someone from Julia's past and pres… Read More
2023-04-25 19:20
Here is the sixteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Inner Conflict".
Synopsis:
You (Beth) are trying to decide whether to volunteer as a writing tutor for Angela's non-profit Read More
2023-04-13 19:55
Here is the fifteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "catholic tastes".
Synopsis:
You all meet Brian's friends at an establishment in a faraway part of Hoheres Wesen, and experience… Read More
2023-04-11 19:58
Here is the fourteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Alte Stadt".
Synopsis:
You (Beth) go with Brian and Julia to Alte Stadt, the site of the original Hoheres Wesen Read More
2023-04-10 19:44
Here is the thirteenth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Breaking the Devil's Backbone".
Synopsis:
A board game summons a woman from Nashville, who dreams of making a cafe to invite in a… Read More
2023-04-05 19:35
Here is the twelfth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Patience".
Synopsis:
Discussions of patience and the playing of a card game named, or misnamed, "patience" Read More
2023-04-04 17:26
Here is the eleventh episode of Waiting for Margot, "Chutes and Ladders".
Synopsis:
A weird day leads to the playing of a board game, and a discussion among friends Read More
2023-03-29 19:05
Here is the seventh episode of Waiting for Margot, "Monopoly". Synopsis: A board game draws out a board game-loving stranger, from the land of church Read More
2023-03-19 19:29
Here is the seventh episode of Waiting for Margot, "Returning". Synopsis: The three of you return from camping in the camp shuttle, talking to strangers as you go Read More
2023-03-18 07:21
Here is the ninth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Selling". Synopsis: A chance encounter with an ex-philosopher drives you and Brian to consider the meaning of "realistic" Read More
2023-03-17 07:43
Here is the eighth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Shopping". Synopsis: The three of you deal with apathy and then you and Julia go shopping at a thrift store Read More
2023-03-14 20:12
Here is the sixth episode of Waiting for Margot, "Camping". Synopsis: You go to ride a bus to nowhere, and happen to meet someone on her own journey Read More
2023-02-16 19:50
Here is the third episode of Waiting for Margot, "Angela". Synopsis: You go to ride a bus to nowhere, and happen to meet someone on her own journey Read More
2023-02-15 19:31
Here is the third episode of Waiting for Margot, "Brian". Synopsis: A regular rainy day at the cafe, until something happens on earth Read More
2023-02-12 17:53
Here is the third episode of Waiting for Margot, "Jackson". Synopsis: You (Beth) spend the day with Robert, your ex, running away from Death the Inevitable at Anderson Reservoir Read More
2023-02-10 08:21
Here is the second episode of Waiting for Margot, "Jackson". Synopsis: Julia is on a first date with Jackson. Meaning and human happiness react -- chemistry. A different element cuts in… Read More
2023-02-03 15:22
In 2019, I wrote a kind of sitcom script called Waiting for Margot. It has taken me all this time to edit it and decide to release it. At first it was ahead of its time in my life, but no… Read More
2023-01-01 08:41
Review of 2022: In the first few months of 2022, I wrote some posts related to the Bible commentary project I have wanted to work on (which I did work on toward the end of 2021). Starting… Read More
2022-12-15 01:37
Let's say you have a single-family house with extra space on your lot. You could build another little house on your property and rent to some tenants. In San Diego, people are doing this… Read More
2022-12-10 00:26
This is something I first posted to the Effective Altruism Forum. -- (I wrote this before the FTX scandal, so it was not intended as part of the following discourse.) I don't think it mak… Read More
2022-11-30 01:48
I decided to quit Twitter, but thought that deleting my Twitter would be too drastic. So I'm resolving not to check it. (I've done this before and we'll see how long I go this time.) I sta… Read More
2022-10-26 23:59
For a few years I've felt like I was supposed to take a break from doing philosophy, but there hasn't seemed to have been a good time to do that. But now I think I will take that break. S… Read More
2022-10-18 02:15
Epistemic status: I could delay posting this to try to perfect it more, but I guess I'm going to err on the side of posting it, then later on fixing it when I become aware of problems. I do… Read More
2022-09-29 05:23
Looking at my blog posts, I realized that they naturally came in different periods or phases. The 2019 posts were one, then there were those from 2020 - 2021, and then those from 2021 - 20… Read More
2022-09-29 02:48
Teaching Children to Care, by Ruth Sidney Charney, is a book I would recommend to some people. I think for what it is it is a good book, but where it fails to be, or where some other book… Read More
2022-09-29 02:47
I read some articles and books about the Long Reflection. I don't have a lot to add to the preview for this reading list (which goes in depth in considering problems with the Long Reflect… Read More
2022-09-29 02:41
These are notes on my readings on the Long Reflection, except for the two books, On the Genealogy of Morality, by Friedrich Nietzsche, and Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Sidney Charney… Read More
2022-09-27 18:57
What are the most pressing problems in the world? Where should those looking to do the most good go? One obvious problem is X-risk. The most urgent X-risk, I suppose, is insufficiently-a… Read More
2022-09-27 18:49
Does it make sense to plan for the future? The most salient threat to the future that I know of is ASI (artificial general superintelligence). I don't think this is an absolute threat to h… Read More
2022-09-27 05:24
This post was drafted at about the same time as Cultural Altruism (Hubs), while hypomanic, and while I do endorse its basic ideas, I feel like in a way it doesn't represent me. Would it b… Read More
2022-09-27 05:24
(...some kind of...) status: I drafted much of this under the influence of hypomania, to the extent that I don't feel like it belongs to me, and I probably won't follow up on it. But may… Read More
2022-09-26 08:44
I read On the Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche as a way to understand the Long Reflection. I think it is a somewhat helpful book for that. I hope my notes give some indicati… Read More
2022-09-24 00:35
Earlier, I wrote about some Indonesian songs, "Anjeun", "Kalangkang", "Es Lilin" (the versions by Nining Meida), and "Cinta Melulu" by Efek Rumah Kaca. I intended to see what the songs mea… Read More
2022-09-24 00:23
Morality could be a cloud. It is constantly changing and is seen from many different angles. It is sometimes roiling and ready to put out lightning and hail. Other times it is light, com… Read More
2022-09-23 02:15
See also the preview for this review. Instead of writing a full review of Along the Way, here are my notes. -- Along the Way notes The authors of Along the Way are:Ch. 1 -- Ron Bruner and… Read More
2022-09-22 19:26
See also the preview for this review. Like with the other reviews released around this time, I don't have much to add to this right now other than the notes I wrote. -- [Notes:] The Meaning… Read More
2022-09-21 20:36
See also the previewfor this review (found toward the end of the post). I wrote the notes for this review a while ago, and don't remember the book very well, which would be better if I were… Read More
2022-09-21 04:06
See also the preview for this review. I wrote the notes for this review quite a while ago, but didn't write the review right after reading the book. This may have been somewhat of a mistak… Read More
2022-09-21 03:49
When I was in my early 20s, there was a young woman visiting from out of town whom I wanted to impress. Around that time I had discovered banh mi, inexpensive and good-tasting sandwiches f… Read More
2022-09-20 21:32
See also Cultural Moloch and Humanistic Purity. Epistemic status: this is somewhat of a mess and is "essayistic" in the "experimental" sense of that term. Probably this could be thought ou… Read More
2022-09-20 21:23
"Moloch" is how competitive actors throw away delicate, nice things in themselves or their surroundings to help them compete. "Delicate, nice" may include things like human flourishing o… Read More
2022-09-20 21:18
Here's a line of thinking I'm not totally certain on, but which currently seems plausible to me: If ASI doesn't take over us, we will take over it (probably). When we take over it, we will… Read More
2022-09-20 21:15
Will AGI be able to do philosophy? Would that be a natural side effect of its ability to reason? By "philosophy" I mean "whatever we take that to mean usually", but maybe more specifically… Read More
2022-09-20 06:40
There are two different lenses through which to view morality. One is the economic: maximizing value. What maximizes value is morally good. What impedes that is bad. The other is the per… Read More
2022-09-20 06:34
Epistemic status: I don't know much about financial or electoral systems, but hopefully it doesn't matter for this post. The voice of this post is different than usual -- maybe I'm tired… Read More
2022-09-18 18:42
Epistemic status: this is not as developed as its title calls for. Moloch is the tendency for competitors to sacrifice delicate values so they can compete more effectively. It's a drift… Read More
2022-09-13 05:33
I've been thinking that heaven is of finite length, but repeats everlastingly. In other words, assuming that God is of finite "size", he has finite memory with which to store who we become… Read More
2022-09-10 05:23
The "exilic-familial" approach to things is to lose, and out of losing be honest. But how can this have any survival value? Maybe it helps people when they are not in power, to keep going… Read More
2022-09-09 06:19
I already wrote one post about how can we trust God given MSLN theodicy. Epistemic status: I don't know much about economics / labor relations in general, or the areas of those particularl… Read More
2022-09-08 05:43
This post is in "essay" format where I try different things, some successful and some unsuccessful (which I guess at this point, to be honest, is what I am choosing because I think there m… Read More
2022-09-07 06:19
In my review of X-Risk, I mentioned that I wanted to read a book called Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Sidney Charney. It looks like it's about teaching children to behave, but maybe als… Read More
2022-08-22 20:30
In the preview for the Long Reflection reading list, I wrote some about what I want to get out of my reading of On the Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche (translated by Carol Di… Read More
2022-08-22 20:27
I want to think more about the Long Reflection. As I understand it, it is a search for the truth about moral values, a long process of reflective reason that seeks some kind of coordinati… Read More
2022-08-17 06:05
Some Christians seem to believe that pride is the chief evil. Humility is also seen as one of the best virtues. It's true that pride can be dangerous, but so can a certain kind of humilit… Read More
2022-08-15 05:56
Something I cut from another post:I think that we can locate value in what people do, and an action is both "from" an actor and "to" a goal. On the "from" side, people do things for pett… Read More
2022-08-15 05:49
In principle, the goals of perfection and control, that things turn out the best way possible, are of utmost importance (by definition). But perfection and control themselves are spiritual… Read More
2022-08-15 05:45
Epistemic status: This is valid as an explanation of MSL, but it should be compared against the Bible at some point, and I'm not at a place in my process right now to do that. There is a… Read More
2022-08-14 08:11
This is an important topic, and maybe I haven't done it justice here, in terms of content. The form, as I re-read it, is scattered, as well. In theory I could make a better version of this… Read More
2022-08-11 05:50
When we are young, we need to feel like we are loved. We need attention, fun, and validation as well. If we are young enough, we need people to give these things to us, and it is right t… Read More
2022-08-07 05:56
Some people choose to be small. For instance, they only want money (lots of money, perhaps) and not "power". Money is power, but distinguishing "money" from "power" makes a certain amoun… Read More
2022-08-04 05:52
Is full maturity required by love? Is salvation to love, or to be loved? Arguably, a loving parent would love their children by teaching them to love. It might then be odd for a parent t… Read More
2022-08-04 05:41
In contrast to "patient vs. impatient", which are loaded such that patience is good and impatience is bad, or "complacent vs. engaged", where complacency is bad and engagedness is good, I c… Read More
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