tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post4087782880980650352..comments2024-03-28T10:44:30.518-06:00Comments on American Creation: A Brief Note on the Idea that Religion was Left to the States during the American FoundingBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-83108796501463489192010-02-11T10:07:31.893-07:002010-02-11T10:07:31.893-07:00I wrote about America's Godly heritage on my s...I wrote about America's Godly heritage on my site. Good stuff...<br /><br /><a href="http://whatisthebible.com" rel="nofollow"> what is the bible? </a>Andrewhttp://whatisthebible.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-36507079159260633072009-09-06T13:26:00.363-06:002009-09-06T13:26:00.363-06:00.
On the contrary.
I am complimented.
..<br />On the contrary.<br /><br />I am complimented.<br /><br /><br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-18286368618108237952009-09-06T13:22:30.787-06:002009-09-06T13:22:30.787-06:00If we are slipping into an era of nihilism, it is ...<i><br />If we are slipping into an era of nihilism, it is our own fault. We have allowed run-a-way capitalism to turn us into consumers bereft of a life of meaning without the latest possession.</i><br /><br />I don't mean to anger or embarrass you, but you're echoing Pope John Paul II.<br /><br />http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Catholic/2000/01/Whats-Wrong-With-The-World.aspxTom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-55629194835118575512009-09-06T13:13:02.183-06:002009-09-06T13:13:02.183-06:00Speaking of American History.
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America is leaving...Speaking of American History.<br />.<br />America is leaving an era in which the words to this song gave meaning to life for many people.<br /><br />Time Waits For No One<br /><br /><br />Time waits for no one<br />It passes you by<br />It rolls on forever<br />Like the clouds in the sky<br />Time waits for no one<br />Goes on endlessly<br />It's just like a river<br />Flowing out to the sea<br />You'll find that love is like this<br />Each precious moment we miss <br />Will never ever return again<br />So don't let us throw one<br />Sweet moment away<br />Time waits for no one<br />Let's make love while we may<br /> -------------------------<br />[Words and Music by Cliff Friend and Charlie Tobias]<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />We are the ones that create the era in which we live out our life.<br /><br />If we are slipping into an era of nihilism, it is our own fault. We have allowed run-a-way capitalism to turn us into consumers bereft of a life of meaning without the latest possession.<br /><br />Now, we are experiencing a time when it is more and more difficult for us to possess that which we think we must have. Life is losing its meaning. We are lost.<br /><br />But, it is an opportunity to get back to basics.<br /><br />Our being is like a river fed by tributaries we call experience. Some of us get hung up at the eddies where our experiece meets who it is we are coming to be. We have to learn how to let loose of those tributaries and to get back into the main flow of our life so we can get on with the purpose of our being.<br />.<br />Life is soooooo fascinating.<br />.<br />Our Ship of State is on dark waters. Our captain is struggling. He needs our help.<br />.<br />.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-44981929479647398892009-09-06T12:32:44.192-06:002009-09-06T12:32:44.192-06:00Are YOU doing YOUR part?
Not enough, I'm sure...<i>Are YOU doing YOUR part?</i><br /><br />Not enough, I'm sure. Perhaps soon. I'm developing my arguments with the kind assistance of folks like you.<br /><br />I certainly agree about the nihilism.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-18359663383394838272009-09-06T12:04:36.704-06:002009-09-06T12:04:36.704-06:00.
So, Tom, you're a lot like everyone else in ....<br />So, Tom, you're a lot like everyone else in this mixed up world where consumerism is king.<br />.<br />Or, is that kink?<br />.<br />My surmising of what our Revolutionary ancestors were all about causes me to get into a studious mode about where we presently find ourselves.<br />.<br />Moses, in the Old Testament is confronted by God. Or was it that God was confronted by Moses?<br /><br />Anyway, there was an exchange and God said something like this to Moses in response to a question about who God was:<br /><b>"I am the One that is coming to be who it is that I am coming to be."</b><br /><br />We Americans are who it is that we are coming to be--nothing more and nothing less.<br />.<br />If we are somewhere between those two extremes you're pointing out, so be it.<br />.<br />A couple of weeks ago I visited the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. When I entered the main lobby, there--at the other end--Pirates (manikins) were scaling the walls climbing ropes. Of course, it was an advertisement for one of the special feature events.<br /><br />I bought my ticket and entered the exhibit on pirates.<br /><br />I learned about England's unbridled age of capitalism and how slavery came to be such an important aspect in the grand schemata; how pirates commandeered slave ships and recruited slaves to help them plunder from capitalists.<br />.<br />In the same sense, I'm learning about our ancestors and how it was that they created the era that brought about our American Revolution. And, I am seeing the thread of the intellectual elites and how they steered our ship of state safely on a stormy sea to a course on which we sail today.<br />.<br />Run-a-way capitalism has taken a great deal away from We the People; but, there is an old belief that the Voice of God is eventually heard coming up from those of us who are <b>the</b> people.<br />.<br />We're working through it and our intellectual elite are commissioned with the responsibility of getting us out of our present nihilistic mess.<br />.<br />Are <b>YOU</b> doing <b>YOUR</b> part?<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-36506381748251352012009-09-05T22:05:20.249-06:002009-09-05T22:05:20.249-06:00Well, if we can touch on our mutual friend Leo Str...Well, if we can touch on our mutual friend Leo Strauss [via Plato], the permanent problems of humankind remain permanent.<br /><br />"Perennial," I think Strauss put it. They come up every year, every generation or era. They just take different form, like Peter Singer and Harriet McBryde Johnson in our era, but it's still about the meaning of life.<br /><br />Sort of a pendulum swinging between godless assholes and Puritan assholiness.<br /><br />It brings to mind the classic post-Puritan Calvinist Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."<br /><br />As I understand it, Edwards actually planned the end of the sermon to be about how much God loves us and all, but the people wanted chastising so much that they went so nuts that Edwards never got to finish.<br /><br />The pendulum swings, and each age requires its own balancing.<br /><br />In our age, 2009, I think we've heard the arguments of the last age, science and reason and all that, and are now asking, is that all there is? <br /><br />If so, what a drag.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-2147255176087591212009-09-05T21:01:42.738-06:002009-09-05T21:01:42.738-06:00I read the first half today and I plan to finish i...I read the first half today and I plan to finish it tomorrow.<br /><br />The people that live in an era exist and interact in a culture specific to the particular time. They, in effect, seem to create the era as a result of their nature and character.<br /><br />There are a few Puritan types around still. Generally, they give us a pain.<br /><br />Think of an entire society of Puritans.<br /><br /><b>Woof!</b><br />.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-3647687829817010332009-09-05T20:51:55.450-06:002009-09-05T20:51:55.450-06:00I am beginning to get a feel for what kind of peop...<i>I am beginning to get a feel for what kind of people they were. Fascinating.</i><br /><br />Y'know, Pinky---Phil---that's been my goal too. I think it's the real goal of the historian, too. If I imposed on you to read about Harriet, it was to "feel" it.<br /><br />Because we're more than our posturings, our abstract thoughts. Harriet McBryde Johnson was a human being, not an idea, not a statistic. Once we reduce each other to positions and equations---and historians are way guilty of this---we lose our reason for studying history in the first place, to discover what we have in common [or are different] than those who came before us, and our opportunity to learn about ourselves.<br /><br />Cheers, and thanks.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-45896113870175165572009-09-05T19:50:32.158-06:002009-09-05T19:50:32.158-06:00.
So, do such people represent some sort of a thre....<br />So, do such people represent some sort of a threat to our way of life?<br />.<br />I am coming to be fascinated about the nature and character of our ancestors during the eighteenth century and want to understand what it was that caused them to change during the decade of the 1780s.<br /><br />I am beginning to get a feel for what kind of people they were. Fascinating.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-12062123202179244742009-09-05T16:44:23.789-06:002009-09-05T16:44:23.789-06:00Men in civil societies live by science, reason, an...<i>Men in civil societies live by science, reason, and multi media.</i><br /><br />Pinky, there are a lot of people these days, not just Ms. VDM, who assert this. [We'll skip the multi media part, although that has its own frightening implications.]<br /><br />If we're to hand over this nation to such an ideology, I simply want us all to know what we're getting into. For one thing, it sure wasn't the Founding, it's a whole new ballgame.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-47431172064039268242009-09-05T15:16:56.615-06:002009-09-05T15:16:56.615-06:00.
I asked Tom the purpose of his bringing up a lin....<br />I asked Tom the purpose of his bringing up a link to some very touching experience of a woman who was born with a very debilitating physical situation in her encounter with a person who promotes abortion in cases where there is great risk for the quality of life of a new human to be born and Tom responded with, "The role of reason, its possibilities, its limits."<br />.<br />Do you want to discuss the human condition in which we all exist, Tom? Or is there some other focus we should make to fulfill your purpose?<br />.<br />.?????<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-66496491317892535642009-09-05T15:01:24.893-06:002009-09-05T15:01:24.893-06:00The role of reason, its possibilities, its limits....The role of reason, its possibilities, its limits.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-60631980100758348352009-09-05T14:23:43.444-06:002009-09-05T14:23:43.444-06:00.
O.K., I'm humoring you.
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What is the purpos....<br />O.K., I'm humoring you.<br />.<br />What is the purpose you want your readers to appreciate?<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-32556700594332881362009-09-05T11:48:12.779-06:002009-09-05T11:48:12.779-06:00Hehe.
http://americancreation.blogspot.com/2009/0...Hehe.<br /><br />http://americancreation.blogspot.com/2009/07/christian-nation-well-kinda-mebbe.htmlTom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-7427599021511852852009-09-05T06:58:02.384-06:002009-09-05T06:58:02.384-06:0017 Pages printed out.
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Seems likje it deserves it...17 Pages printed out.<br />.<br />Seems likje it deserves its own thread.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-70541659255642014492009-09-04T22:22:05.978-06:002009-09-04T22:22:05.978-06:00Singer represents what will become of universal he...<i>Singer represents what will become of universal healthcare. People will have no choice, as the choice will be made for them</i><br /><br />Let's just stop there for now on this level of agreement, that we see the same future for our current course of politics. And thx very much for reading the article, Angie.<br /><br />However, you see "rights" and "choice" as synonymous, and write that often. So do many people these days, and acknowledged that in my reply<br /><br /><i>As to sovereignty, I think you put it well, Ms. VDM, and Barry Shain's thesis argues against a "radical individualism" in the Founding, although for many, such a radical individualism is precisely what freedom and justice require. Or as Scalia puts it, notions of common law have been replaced that with the law of human rights.</i><br /><br />If you've been following the very good discussion we've been having about John Locke and Gary Kowalski's ["Revolutionary Spirits"]<br /><br />http://americancreation.blogspot.com/2009/09/right-to-die.html<br /><br />I must drag in one of Ben Abbott's tender admissions. Although he writes about his death, <br /><br /><i>but I also hope to remain committed to a "noble" exit! ;-)</i><br /><br />he also writes<br /><br /><i>Personally, I hope to be able to determine my time to pass, and am more hopeful that those around me will be convincing of why I should continue in the event my will falters ...</i> <br /><br />And so we run up against the Golden Rule, an approximation of Christianity:<br /><br /><i>Do unto others as you would have them do onto you.</i><br /><br />Well, what I'd want done onto me is not abandoning me to my "rights" and "choice," and as Ben puts it,<br /><br /><i>that those around me will be convincing of why I should continue in the event my will falters...</i><br /><br />Y'know, Ben, you made my eyes fog up a little with that one. It was byooful, man.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-4458147028412840882009-09-04T22:08:36.928-06:002009-09-04T22:08:36.928-06:00Pinky, Peter Singer is a world-famous thinker; Har...Pinky, Peter Singer is a world-famous thinker; Harriet McBryde Johnson was a nobody like you and me.<br /><br />The article isn't a waste of your time, and of all the BS I've ever set down here, this is 1000 times more important than my poor power to add or detract.<br /><br />When we make an abstraction of human life and its meaning, and all become dispasssionate brainiacs talking abstract philosophical shit, we lose what it is to be human.<br /><br />We lose what we were talking about in the first place, and in doing so, we lose our own humanity.<br /><br />Please humor me this once and just read it.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-16560290066890603922009-09-04T22:06:16.522-06:002009-09-04T22:06:16.522-06:00BTW, those who think that sex education is doing d...BTW, those who think that sex education is doing damage to our children are not in line with what is "out there". In protecting young people and society from STDs, should we preach abstinence and have teen pregnancies and further spread of STDs?<br /><br />It is impractical and idealistic to think that all young people are goind to be abstinent. Public education demands for there to be concern for these issues, and in touch with the real world enough to know what the statistics say.<br /><br />The Church should be where teens are encouraged about abstinence.Angie Van De Merwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12617299120618867829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-27604414078253590202009-09-04T22:00:31.583-06:002009-09-04T22:00:31.583-06:00TVD
I never said that I believe in utilitarianism....TVD<br />I never said that I believe in utilitarianism. but, I do think that this is what prevades much of scientific reasonings. Utilitarisnism is what scares me about universal healthcare, besides, our loss of privacy.<br /><br />In American Creation's post "A Right to Die", I suggested that people should be allowed the right to choose, FOR THEMSELVES, to end their life. Obviously, she did not think that she nor any other disabled person should be deemed as "damaged goods". I agree. But, her situation was one of a "universalized" standard about the disabled. What if she had felt differently? Would she allow another disabled person to choose differently for their life? <br /><br />Singer represents what will become of universal healthcare. People will have no choice, as the choice will be made for them. And this goes for the young or those too young yet, to choose. Their lives should be protected until they have a right to choose. <br /><br />The protection of life, versus parental right should never be based on expendency. This is where the "proof" of a more serious reason is the requirement of an abortion. <br /><br />Some would deem that there is no reason to abort under any circumstance, but I disagree. I think that if the mother's life is endangered, then the decision should be left up to her. <br /><br />A person's choice is of ultimate value in a free society, and that must be protected at all costs. <br /><br />Legislation should not condemns or criminalizes personal choice, as this does protect those who will choose to abort, irregardless of whether it is legal or not. These decisions are waters left best to those that will bear their choice and its effects.Angie Van De Merwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12617299120618867829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-85820866619579137592009-09-04T21:04:27.970-06:002009-09-04T21:04:27.970-06:00.
Why don't you just give us a thumb nail of t....<br />Why don't you just give us a thumb nail of the lengthy article you've offered, Tom.<br />.<br />It's a mite long, you know.<br />/Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-64498404278996909912009-09-04T20:34:45.724-06:002009-09-04T20:34:45.724-06:00.
The "multi media" as it is being calle....<br />The "multi media" as it is being called is the Press that our Founding Fathers ensured would be free.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-17139109347143011072009-09-04T20:33:58.020-06:002009-09-04T20:33:58.020-06:00Ms. VDM, the utilitarianism you describe is a dyst...Ms. VDM, the utilitarianism you describe is a dystopia. It cannot tell us what is right or wrong, what is good or what is best, only what is useful.<br /><br />Read this and tell me what you think. It's the product of reason and utility.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/magazine/unspeakable-conversations.htmlTom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-23183584770333464792009-09-04T20:26:22.192-06:002009-09-04T20:26:22.192-06:00Okay, I don't know what "page" every...Okay, I don't know what "page" everyone is one. But, people in the West live by the pragmatic questions of science. What works? What is cost effective? What helps? What hinders? What protects the environment? We are a "fix it" society. So, we do live by science, as this is what is driving policy issues...economics, medicine, psychology, even, antrhopology and cultural studies, etc....<br /><br />As to reason, this is what should be used to form a better society, and this is on what science depends.<br /><br />The multi-media influence us all, whether we recognize it or not. We get our information and form our opoinions from that information. And some of us are so influenced by the media that we don't stop to think, but only "see" what is appealing to the senses, and that impacts our judgments about what we hear....no thinking allowed...<br /><br />We are protected by the laws of our land. This is what our individual rights are about. Laws are not prescriptive. They do not tell us what to do. And this is as it should be, a limited government.<br /><br />Please inform me of what I am "missing" or not understanding. That is, if you think I can understand or benefit from it...Angie Van De Merwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12617299120618867829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-40132313469567564942009-09-04T15:00:26.912-06:002009-09-04T15:00:26.912-06:00I have to admit, the "multi-media" part ...I have to admit, the "multi-media" part tripped me up.<br /><br />Regarding science, civil societies do rely heavily upon it. However, as science is a tool used to develop empirical understanding, I hesitate to say societies "live by it" ... same goes for "reason", I think.bpabbotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17047791198702983998noreply@blogger.com