George - 26 November 2008 12:46 PM

Socrate’s pupil - 26 November 2008 12:26 PM

I have the feeling that all on this site are after the same thing - peace on earth and goodwill to all man.

And that certainly seems to be the trend if we look at our violent past and compare it with the, well, “almost peaceful” present. The question though is: are we consciously making this happen based on some deliberate decisions or is non-violence simply more advantageous in Darwinian terms? I believe it is the later one and that makes me optimistic to think that one day we might really find a heaven on earth—or something as close to it as possible. And if this is a universal trait in the whole cosmos, maybe there is even a chance that one day even an all-loving God will be born.

It must be said that the most consitently violent force has been Christianity (1700 years of it!). No, man has not changed one iota. If pushed (as in the case of the Watts riots) he can be very dangerous.
We are not making this conciously happen, (look at what we are still doing in the world).
As to Darwin? He showed us Evolution but nothing more. Behaving like grown adults comes and goes. Will it ever change is argueable. We need a world government but we are centuries away from this. And this government must be controlled by people as one of the acient Greeks said, by intelligent men. Let’s go for this!
I don’t expect that ‘one day’ you spoke of above to ever arrive.

George - 26 November 2008 12:57 PM

I am not sophisticated at all, John. I actually think of myself on this forum as the cheapest house in a very expensive neighborhood.

And if you want I’ll give you an advice on how to navigate yourself on this site: treat it as if it was a real life! We are, after all, all humans—well, except maybe for Doug who will never get angry and is probably never wrong.

This would be greatly appreciated, George. I need some help, obviously!

There are many people speaking at once - where is our common identifying trait.
I was born poor, raised an Irish Catholic and believed fervently in the ‘teachings’ of Jesus, my hippie friend.
Too bad he wasn’t a god, he would have made a good one.

Give me some tips to guide me and speed up my slow moving carcass. Thanks

Socrate’s pupil - 26 November 2008 01:19 PM

Give me some tips to guide me and speed up my slow moving carcass.

John,

Spend a few days reading other people’s posts, and try to find out who’s ideas you agree with and with whom you disagree. Those are the two categories of people you’ll probably have the most fun trying to engage in a conversation with. You might not get a response each time and other times you might not like what they will answer. But again, this is exactly what happens to us in our daily life. Imagine you just stepped into a party, and as you hold your glass of wine and move from a group to group, look for something of an interest. Once you’ll find it, you’ll know.

Also, make sure you click on all the new posts, even though the topic might not necessarily interests you. That way it will be easier for you to track new posts next time you visit the forum.

That is a good image - walking into a party (takes me back to high school) and I remember even today how uncomfortable one often felt!
I will guard this image the next time I answer or enter onto a ‘thread’. About Chekhov; Why were the Russians so superb? Such literature!

Socrate’s pupil - 26 November 2008 01:03 PM

..that makes me optimistic to think that one day we might really find a heaven on earth—or something as close to it as possible.

[As to Darwin? He showed us Evolution but nothing more. Behaving like grown adults comes and goes. Will it ever change is argueable. We need a world government but we are centuries away from this. And this government must be controlled by people as one of the acient Greeks said, by intelligent men. Let’s go for this!
I don’t expect that ‘one day’ you spoke of above to ever arrive.

If we can achieve world government for and by our species, our wealth will leap immediately as we no longer fund the militarists. Next, we could stabilize the earth and our environment so that we have 500 years of absolute peace (a nice ante at least). Finally, there is every prospect that we could give each other into each other’s hands, toward other lives. My definition of the sacred.

Yes, this is where I am - a dreamer of something that is possible. Maybe only 50 years will show us great progress toward this non-religious world? Dwight Jones, you, Martinus, and many others like us, are striving(?) toward or wishing for this. But, religion has to be taken out of the ingridients of world government. It has confused issues ever since the rise of Christianity in the fourth century.

Christianity got a tremendous advantage in 1500 when the Italian from Genoa, Columbus, on Spanish Galeons, discovered the New World and the English and the Dutch quickly followed on their heels thus salvaging North America for Protestantism, Capitalism and Big Business. Hence, our domination of the world today. Imagine what it could have been had the masters of the seas at that time not been Catholic Spain and Portugal and the Protestant Great Britain and the Netherlands?

Yes, being the masters of the seas gave them proirity in their aggressive exploitation of the New World under the guise of bringing civilization to these savages. And, had it not been for Luther the control of our Western world would have been the Roman Church. Nevertheless, agressive and righteous Christianity has dominated history since 1500 along with the Capitalism of Northern Europe.

Socrate’s pupil - 01 December 2008 01:19 AM

Christianity got a tremendous advantage in 1500 when the Italian from Genoa, Columbus, on Spanish Galeons, discovered the New World…

Or maybe it was the other way around: the New World was discovered thanks to Christianity. Many of these trips were “sponsored”  by the Jews. They were simply accused of heresy and lost their money as a result. Actually this was very popular throughout most of Europe. Need money? Blame the Jews for the death of Christ and steal their money.

George - 01 December 2008 08:04 AM

Socrate’s pupil - 01 December 2008 01:19 AM

Christianity got a tremendous advantage in 1500 when the Italian from Genoa, Columbus, on Spanish Galeons, discovered the New World…

Or maybe it was the other way around: the New World was discovered thanks to Christianity. Many of these trips were “sponsored”  by the Jews. They were simply accused of heresy and lost their money as a result. Actually this was very popular throughout most of Europe. Need money? Blame the Jews for the death of Christ and steal their money.

Now, there’s a twist! Yes, when it comes to money, blame the Jews. (The French, perhaps all Europeans, thoroughly believe the Jews control the United States. Isn’t that amusing?)
No - the Jews invented our religion and the Greeks invented our philosophy and science and the Church of Rome, through their Protestant branch in the north, invented capitalism. The Jews were conveniently used as a front.

“And if you want I’ll give you an advice on how to navigate yourself on this site: treat it as if it was a real life! We are, after all, all humans—well, except maybe for Doug who will never get angry and is probably never wrong.”
Advice that it takes me awhile to appreciate. Am I like Doug - I never get angry and am never wrong? Maybe this is indeed my problem? My how we used to argue during the Cuban Missile Crisis! It was such fun and so stimulating. Now, I live in nostalgia - very bad, very sad!