On Erathoniel's blog is an article On Evil , and in the comments, cscoles mentions that "Evil is not working together to make the world a better place." to which Erathoniel responds that that is exactly what *he* believes.  But Erathoniel also states in his article that "Evil is any time man walks away from God, the Creator."  Can those two statements exist peacefully side by side?   There are many belief systems in our world.  The problem is that many advocates of t...

Ok, maybe this isn't philosophy, per se . It's just a little quiz. Oughta be really easy. Here's the question. Who of the following was born on December 25th, born of a virgin, signalled by a star in the east, was killed, was dead for three days, and then was resurrected to ascend into heaven? A. Horus B. Jesus Christ C. Mithra D. All of the above E. None of the above Have fun.

Those who haven't seen the post should know that Champas Socialist recently did something most of us would be petrified to do - a standup comedy gig. In a response, I mentioned loving comedy, and Jythier responded "probably because it's so funny, eh Ock?" To which I replied, basically, that it was that and my understanding of the nature of humor but that that subject was another blog. That's the backstory, and here is that blog. In order to begin, I should mention first that this wil...

I replied to one of the standard religious discussions with this. Careful not to pigeonhole what *I* think by it. There is more here than meets the casual eye. A doctor walked up to a musician. The following conversation ensued. Doctor: There is a God. Musician: There is? Cool! Where is it? Doctor: Well, God is in heaven. Musician: Where is heaven? Doctor: No one knows for sure. Not here? Or maybe here? No one knows. Musician: Hmm, ok. Well when did God get there? Doctor: No o...

So it was a rather steamy Italian day and I was soaking in a bathtub with a copy of Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin. Doesn't everyone? Without going into a big deal about physics - something that is really just a hobby for me and of which I therefore do not feel in any way qualified to "go into a big deal" about - I was taken immediately by what seemed to me an assumption that was being made that might perhaps shouldn't be. The book is about what they call the ToE. Theor...

A thought has been slowly forming. I've been hesitant to post it because it sounds just a little too much like some of the crap we hippy wannabes from the 70s used to spew after a particularly good bong hit, but it's not leaving my head, and I haven't done drink or drug in quite some time now. I'm in the military, for those that don't know me, and the thought I'm about to relay was spawned almost randomly and began as a joke. I was riding in the back seat of a car with some of my frien...

Well, it's pretty cheap to do things this way, but why should I try to say something clever when someone else has said it so well? Some of you may have read For the great honor that is Religion which was a long excerpt from the book "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I read a ton of things on the entirety of JU that make me sad. People adopting blame and guilt that isn't theirs, or the flip side, attributing guilt and blame where it does not necessarily belong. I have practiced some of ...

This is just a quote, but the idea of offering it up here came to me while wading through several blogs. I wish I could write so clearly, but that this was even written at all is enough for me. I hope you enjoy it. "You, who have lost the concept of the difference, you who claim that fear and joy are incentives of equal power--and secretly add that fear is the more 'practical'--you do not wish to live, and only fear of death still holds you to the existence you have damned. You dar...

It's a bloggy day here in Rhode Island, and while there are any number of things I probably OUGHT to be doing, I find myself surfing, and reading other people's stuff here (something I'm actually guilty of not doing enough of for all my implicit claim of being a part of this community.) And because of the fact that it's impossible to NOT stumble across a thought provoking post in a group such as this, I have found my writing duties unfolding before me. After this I swear I'll pick up my des...

The following excerpt from my book entitled "The Book That No One Has Seen Because it Hasn't Been Published (Oh Hell Who Am I Kidding, It Isn't Even Written)" was first digitized from my brain to Drive C:/> about one week before I discovered Blogs full force. It is a work in progress, and is denoted as such, parenthetically - Opus 2, Ramblus 1. It has not been editted at all...this is the raw form, so good luck with it, if it makes no sense, or you strongly disagree, I hope you'll at least smi...

I am the net. Every day I watch the Political Ping Pong balls from the only place on the table that is truly neutral, and I watch it go left, then right, then left, then right. You might know the image, because I'm not alone. No matter what side you are on, who you are pulling for, some part of everyone's attention is always here. On the center. On the net. I am the defining place. I define where a point is lost and where a point is made. I am at once the cause and the effect of the ...

We're all fairly familiar with the ole "i" before "e" rule, I beleive. Well, today I decided to repeal the rule just because I want people typing today to be without stress. So from now on folks, the rule is: "i" before or after "e" it doesn't matter because we'll know what you mean, so don't sweat it . No need to thank me, have a great day Ockham's Razor Keeping it simple since 1962