The Corona Virus and Prayer

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard it from the antichrist before?

I have a friend who attends the Church of the Nazarene (I attend the Roman Catholic Church). As of a couple of weeks ago, I started Church-hopping. I’ve attended two Methodist services over the past two weeks. For Ash Wednesday, I went to the service at the Church of the Nazarene instead of the Catholic one. I find comparing and contrasting services at different Christian Churches to be kind of interesting. Anyway, my friend from the Church of the Nazarene mentioned that their congregation was going to start regularly praying to reduce the effects of the Corona Virus everyday at 10:10 a.m. E.S.T. The particular prayer doesn’t matter (I’m going to say the Our Father). Anyway, I thought it was a good idea and I don’t see why other Christian sects can’t join in (Just target the prayers at the Transcendental Deity and not the pantheistic wannabe). I’m going to set the alarm on my phone to remind me. I figured I would post the idea here to spread the idea around.

Oh, I also heard on Glenn Beck that men should consider shaving because he’d heard that the virus could live in one’s beard. That, however, he was a little unsure of and said as much. But I shaved my beard today, too, just to be safe.

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard it from the antichrist before?

The Idea Box

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard from the antichrist before?

I have the business acumen of a stone as my failed writing career will attest to, but I have had a couple of decent ideas for businesses. So, seeing as I probably will never be able to bring them to fruition myself, I’m going to post them here so maybe somebody else might be able to do something with the ideas.

1. Simpletech—I think there is a market for a business whose primary focus is on simple technology rather than the advanced stuff. Let me give a few examples. I really think motion detectors on toilets and sinks is a bad idea, except in hospitals. And even there, I think you should have a few back up manual toilets and sinks. Power outages are a fact of life. Do you really want to be unable to flush a toilet or turn on a sink for an extended period of time? I don’t think so. This one I’m not sure about, but how about cars? We are all energy aware these days. I’d kind of like to know how much energy all the technical doohickies in the car consume. Would there be enough of an energy savings from removing some of them to make it worthwhile? Obviously not all of them, you still need to modulate fuel flow or whatever is that gets gas mileage high, but would save some energy if you went back to manual windows (which probably won’t trap you inside as easily should something fail), or using the good ol’ fashioned key instead of the wireless fob (I would think that the fob adds another level of complexity and therefore another opportunity for failure). Then there are all the rest of the doohickies in the car—blue tooth smart phones, gps tracking, rear view cameras, etc… I am not suggesting that we legislate to ban these things; that would be idiotic. I just wonder if a stripped down version of a car would get an extra boost in mileage to make it environmentally worthwhile for those who would be willing to drive a car without all those extras. Next up, computers. I’m a little paranoid about Alexa and Corporate Big Brother. Couldn’t somebody make some computer devices that don’t connect to the Internet? I suppose you could probably turn the Internet off on a normal computer, but think of all the wasted circuitry. Plus, the way things are, how can you be sure someone else doesn’t have the capability to just turn it back it on? Word processing programs. I’m a writer, remember? However, I think I need a Ph.D. in Microsoft Word to use the word processor they’ve developed. Enough said. I’m sure other examples abound. And let me be clear, I am not suggesting that these be the only options available to us, but only that they be AN option for us. The older population doesn’t take to newer technology as readily as the younger population. So, I think there may be a market for such things. Of course, with the regulations Uncle Sam is always imposing on us, some things the government may not allow. Which is a good reason to cut back on regulations. Another example: using physical maps should the Internet go down.
2. Craptastic—I don’t know about anybody else, but I grew up in a middle class household and my parents had a mild case of being pack rats … which I think I inherited. Anyway, the end result is that I live in a house full of tons of crap. Not poop, of course, just tons of things accumulated over some fifty years of my parents raising a family of seven kids and buying stuff. We tons of dishes, books, and all sorts of miscellaneous stuff. So far, my family has had two sessions of throwing stuff in the dumpster in the last couple years. I think there may be a market for a company that goes around to people’s homes to remove and recycle or refurbish for someone else’s use some of the crap they have collected. I know there are antiquing businesses, but I’m just talking about junk. Like, maybe, turn old useless CD’s into coasters or something.
3. Open Labs—The problem with being a brilliant scientist (which I am not) is that often you work for a business man who, as terms of your employment, makes sign away the rights to the intellectual property you create, or help create. As a result, businesses and governments possess all the equipment and earn all the money from the scientists in their employ. I kind of thought someone could make a business that was basically a laboratory where the scientists would have to pay to access, but they could keep the rights to the intellectual property they created.
4. House calls—Okay, this isn’t a business, but I really think doctor’s (and vets) should start making house calls again. I cared for my elderly father for two years. All during that time, if my father needed to see a doctor, he had to go to the doctor’s office. I mean, there was some lower level support. Sometimes nurses and physical therapists would come to the house, but no doctors. I realize, part of the problem is that there is a lot of technology involved in medical care, much of which is of a size that makes moving it problematic. I mean, you can’t really bring an MRI machine to someone’s house. But maybe you could pack some of the equipment into a van, and, if there are multiple doctors working at an office, on any given day, one of them could go around and make house calls with the van. All I know, is that my father was 89 years old and most of the time, the trip to the doctor’s office probably did as much harm as it did good.

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard from the antichrist before?

 

The Quicksand of Life

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard it from the antichrist before?

It’s not my favorite movie, but a movie I do like is the movie “The Replacements” starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman. An interesting discussion occurs in the movie in the locker room when Gene Hackman (the coach) asks the team about their fears on the football field. Keanu Reeves (the quarterback) says it is quicksand. When asked to explain, Keanu says that sometimes a game is lost because first one tiny mistake is made, one bad play, one bad call and then, one after another, things start to go wrong. The game becomes a morass with a will of its own that sucks the team down into defeat. Quicksand.

Maybe the writers meant it as an allegory for some lives and I just missed it because I’m too literal. But I think it can kind of relate to the lives of many people like some politicians or even mobsters. Let’s start with the politician. An average person is presented with a decision, perhaps slightly morally questionable but tempting on one side, and one or two other options that are morally clear but offer no other real gain. And there is also peer pressure to make the “questionable” decision. If you support us for this one bill, we’ll see that your constituents get this much money for this project. Simple enough, I’m sure. Then a similar situation arises, but this time the morally “questionable” decision is a tad bit darker. But now, the powers that be have a little bit of leverage on you from your prior decision. And again, you make the morally inferior choice. And so on. And so on. Until you, a man (or woman) who started with the best of intentions wind up utterly corrupt. Quicksand. Or maybe we should call it slowsand as it may take a little bit of time.

The same thing may play out in the life of a mobster. One small decision gone awry leading from decision to decision inexorably to a life of death and corruption on the streets, always on the wrong side of the Law. Again. Quicksand. Or rather, slowsand as it may take some time.

Personally, I think I started on a path like this in my brief stint as a writer. I never really earned much money and in my desperation for money, I made a few morally questionable decisions. For example, I scheduled a couple book signings for which I posted ads around town. Then, after the book signing, I deliberately left the ads up rather then remove them as I should have. I made the strategic business decision to get some much needed free advertising for my book after the signing was over. I kind of sort of pretended that I “forgot” to remove the ads. Not a huge sin, by any stretch of the imagination, but a sin none the less.

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you heard it from the antichrist.

Rituals, Relativism, and Morality

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard it from the antichrist before?

For the record, I despise moral relativism. However, I think I understand where it comes from and why. And, to a certain extent, I’ve come to believe that some (but not all) truths are relative. I think one of the things that can lead an individual to embrace moral relativism is the multiplicity of religions. Every religion has its own beliefs, precepts, and practices. The relativist, not wanting to play favorites, wishes to treat all religions equally. So, in a gesture of what I would argue is sloppy reasoning, the relativists posits that all religions are equally true in all their varied aspects. And they are equally true in their entirety; that is, each is 100% true, for their practitioners. The fact that these religions differ on certain critical beliefs is handled relativistically and this is where logical problems start to arise. So, Christmas is holy for Christians, while Hannukah is holy for Jews. Likewise, it is true that there is a Triune God for Christians, but a single, solitary God for Muslims. I’m inclined to think that a relativistic approach works in the first of these cases, but fails in the second. I know Christians say the Trinity defies logic, but if you embrace relativism here, you might as well just say God is utterly incomprehensible, because at this point God is not only a monotheistic singularity, but a “monotheistic” trinity, as well as a polytheistic plurality (thanks to the Hindus) and also a weird sort of nothingness (if I recall correctly—from, was it Buddhism?). Maybe each of these descriptions is like a facet on a gemstone—one aspect of a greater incomprehensible reality—but then again, maybe not. I always kind of thought that God should be simple.

So, if some things are relative in religion, what things are? And what things are not?

I’m inclined to think the concept of holy, itself, is relative, but it is NOT the final arbiter on the moral. As I said, Christmas is holy (if you can put aside the commercialism) for Christians, but not Jews. And the reverse is true for Hannukah. The Holy Land is holy for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. But not for Buddhists. Sunday is holy for Christians, but Saturday is holy for Jews, and I think Friday is holy for Muslims. Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. Cows are holy to Hindus. Those are all examples of relative truths, I think. Although, in all honesty, I’m not sure if God thinks they are all true or they are all simply different aids we, humans, use to grow more holy (more moral) ourselves. That said, I think we are the ones determining the respective significance of these holy items and God largely remains silent. I’m inclined to think morality transcends mere holiness. In other words, relativistic holy things can lead to screwy results. A Hindu who saves a cow in preference to his own child is making a moral error, I think. Likewise, anyone engaging in ritualistic human sacrifice to appease or win the favor of any god or goddess is, again, making a moral error. A purely relativistic approach can’t make either of those judgments, I don’t think.

So, what of religion and it’s certain relativistic aspects? Is it a waste of time? Is a non-relativist correct if he disregards all religions because they all contradict each other? I don’t think so. From my own experience, I was raised Catholic. I pretty much wandered away from it in college. I’ve sort of 70% returned to it in later years. And, I think I am better off for having done so, morally. I’m more aware of my moral actions and the state of my soul when I think God is watching me. That said, I don’t like things I can’t understand, which is why I put 70% and not 100%.

As for religion and ritual and all those relativistic aspects thereof, I kind of think of them in terms of a Christian analogy. Imagine God to be a Father, and we are all his children. God gives us many gifts. In return, we do likewise. Muslims give one type of gift (Islam), Christians give another (Christianity), Jews a third (Judaism), etc…. Sometimes, we, as humans, screw up our gifts. We practiced human sacrifice. We waged holy wars back and forth. I think that’s equivalent to pretty much giving your father a rotting dead rat for his birthday. I don’t think God was pleased in either of these cases.

Also, I am convinced I am the antichrist and Satan is the universe, and he’s been running around impersonating deities. So, all the ancient gods were really Satan in disguise. The god of the Buddhists, and the Hindus, and even the Jews was Satan in disguise. Yeah, I know, I just insulted the planet. But this is where non-relativistic truth comes in. Either the universe is Satan, or it’s not. It’s not Satan for me (although in a sloppy, imprecise way you could say that), and not-Satan for everyone else. It’s one or the other. And as for absolutes: here’s one: I am NOT omniscient.

Satan is a Liar. And Jesus Christ is the Lord. Repent and be saved. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it before. But have you ever heard it from the antichrist before?

Means and Ends and Political Partisanship

I recently had an insight regarding the seemingly perpetual conflict between the Right and the Left in politics. Means and Ends. Maybe everyone else figured this out long ago, but it took a while for me to grasp it. I’m inclined to think that, many times, the Left and the Right agree on Ends but disagree on Means. For example, healthcare. Despite the Left’s protestations to the contrary, the Republicans do want the population of the country to have access to healthcare when required. They just don’t want the government to be the means to such … for a number of different reasons. For myself, I’m inclined to agree with the Republicans (Disclaimer: I collect disability because I’m the antichrist.)

As a Constitutional Conservative, I want the entire population of the United States to have healthcare, to escape the shackles of poverty, and to live a meaningful life. I’m inclined to think that most people on the Left agree with those goals. Our disagreement arises, as I said, over the means to secure them. If you think that makes me evil, I think you are simply confused. I just want government to be as small as possible.

Laws are like threads used to immobilize you. One or two aren’t a big deal. But thousands upon thousands? They will quickly rob you of your freedom and the sad thing is you may not even realize it until it is too late.