Housekeeping 11/23
It’s been an interesting month. The situation in Israel has led to a vigorous… I won’t say ‘debate’ because one side seems incapable of even seeing the posts of the other… but at least a vigorous posting of violently opposing views. And I have had, and hopefully will continue to have, some very productive exchanges with other people.
I have two fiction works that I am actively posting, and one that seems stuck. And the former marriage posts still are producing echoes, anyway.
Israel
I think my most important post on the subject of Israel is literally just a compendium of posts. I don’t do any commenting on them, except for putting them in categories. (Which I do not insist on, and covet comment). Besides that post I have written a couple of posts, and have some more planned, dealing with some basic logic issues of the ‘debate’.
Views on Israel
I have been busy watching various people write and speak on the Israel war, and it has been a very interesting mix of voices. People on the ‘right’ and on the ‘left’; people on Israel’s side, Hamas’s side, and those trying for some middle position. So I thought I would compile a list, for my reference and possibly for others as well. This list is meant …
The Hard Bigotry of Hyerbolic Expectations
-Note to Christians: I realise that the modern governments of the State of Israel have adopted blasphemous laws concerning such issues as Sodomy. I realise that their culture, like so many ‘western’ cultures is decadent and Godless. I realise that the governments of the State of Israel as a nation and the Jewish people as a whole have rejected their Mes…
Two Great Fallacies on Israel
There are two great fallacies running around in the debate about Israel and Hamas. They sound very different, but I think they both have the same fundamental error. The first is the phrase ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’. The second is the phrase ‘limit civilian deaths’. I think both of these are false and in the same basic way.
Defining Terrorism
My definition for Terrorism is: The deliberate use of tactics against a civilian population which are intended to cause fear (terror) amongst that population and thus cause the leadership of that population to change its policies in a direction desired by those who use the tactics.
Pizza, Sushi, and the Existence of God
I am having a fascinating letter exchange with Fallible Father, who is an atheist, but who said that believing or not believing in religion or not, this religion or that, is about as important as whether you like pizza or sushi. And I don’t think he meant it from the Italian or Japanese perspective :)
Sushi, Pizza, and the Existence of God
So Fallible Father and I have agreed to a letter exchange. It started when he posted a post entitled ‘Religion’ and specifically comes from this line: “Arguing over religion strikes me as the same as arguing over whether sushi or pizza is better.” Regardless of how you feel about Sushi or Pizza (I happen to like both, although I’m not sure I would like …
Pizza, Sushi, and the Definition of Morality
Pineapple Pizza Let me start this post by asking a question: Is pineapple pizza blasphemous? Is it an actively evil thing to put pineapple on pizza? Let’s think about what we would need to do in order to answer that question. We would have to know what pizza is. And pineapple. We would have to know what ‘evil’ is and ‘blasphemy’. And we would have to have…
The Abolitionist
I have begun a new section on the issue of ‘abortion’. In my first post I give my reasons why I don’t think the word ‘abortion’ is the right word to use in that context.
The Language of Murder
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy,
Misogyny and Marriage
I raised a few hackles when I stated that the marriage crisis was ‘The Women’s Fault’ (along with the men). Apparently that is ‘misogyny’. Who knew?
It is the Women’s fault.
And the men’s fault, and the father’s fault, and the pastor’s fault. The problem with the word ‘fault’ is that it can so easily be sidetracked and confused. One can point to the wrong problem, include too many things in the set of problems, or include too few. Or somehow manage to do all of those at once.
Misogyny and Agency
Rick Stevens commented on a note thread about my post: “It is the women’s fault.” . He stated, without preamble: Now that is a misogynist’s POV. Show the data to make your case. I tried, in vain, to ask for details on what data was required and then decided to write this post. It consists of two sections: the first dealing with the issue of ‘data’, and wh…
Contract Marriage
I entered the first chapter of ‘Contract Marriage’ into a fiction writing context. I didn’t win. But I consoled myself with the thought that, ‘when I submit a dystopian story that is a sub vocce moral treatise to a group called the Lunar Awards, I can’t expect great things.’
Contract Marriage Intro
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Latest Chapter
Trader Galloway
Jellia got home, took off her cap, shook out her braid, and went upstairs. A minute or so later, she was in the fresher getting her initial quick rinse. Oh, what a day. They had done dance for two hours, and she had practised her new language until her brain bubbled.
Island People
I’m still regularly posting my YA fantasy (that is really science fiction).
Coming of Age: IP1
← Previous Scene .._____________________________________________.. Next Scene → They say that coming of age is a difficult time--even for Princes. Perhaps especially for Princes, Seth thought as he wandered through the market. Here he was, only 16 years old, and his Father was already talking about his betrothal! His Father had spent time explaining how i…
Marriage
I’m still posting about marriage (no thought of stopping soon, either).
Gender Roles
I read a statement… which I have since lost… where the poster, a radical feminist, stated, “When I get to heaven, I am going to be judged as an individual, not by how well I fulfilled my gender roles.” This is an example of something called a ‘false dichotomy’. There is nothing at all contradictory about being ‘judged as an individual’ and being ‘judged b…
Demography
My marriage posts and my posts on how our society is committing demographic suicide rather run together. After all, statistics show that unmarried women tend to have far fewer children than married women.
Depopulation Solutions
John Carter published an article entitled Depopulocalypse III – From SINK to FLOAT. In it, he was talking about solutions for the depopulation crisis. It was behind a paywall but has since come out. I recommend you read the article and the entire series. His solutions are interesting and cover a wide range of issues.
The Modern Problem with Math
Reading modern fiction, especially science-fiction, but also a lot of fantasy, will lead one to believe that modern people are incapable of doing math. They seem incapable of seeing that while one plus one may equal two, two cannot remain two in most circumstances.
INCHEL
From time to time, the internet is awash with discussions of men said to be ‘INCEL’: men who are involuntarily celibate (ie who would wish to have sex, but are not doing so for reasons they consider beyond their control). The definition and the discussion, range wildly from that point, but I would like to put forward another word for another group. The …
What is a Woman?
If the (radical trans activist) progressives really wanted to destroy Matt Walsh’s film ‘What is a Woman?’ they could do it easily. They could publish a definition, signed by all of the most influential progressive thinkers, of ‘what is a woman’. Not the film, the woman. They could produce a Webster’s worthy modern definition of ‘woman’.
I’m Still Hoping
I still live in hope that some of my previous exchanges will revive: with Don Pato (gun control and evolution) or Andrew Dad Explains (What is Marriage?). Or for others to take up the fallen gauntlet.
What is Marriage?
What is Marriage #1B
So, this is my first letter in this ‘letter exchange’ substack article series. I encourage you all to read what Andrew wrote in his first post, laying out the format and everything. He’s definitely a better formatter of Substacks than I am. In his letter he lays out a bunch of questions and thoughts about what marriage is, dealing with both historical is…
What is Marriage? 2B (or not 2b, I suppose)
So, Andrew has written his next ‘letter’ in our series. The series so far includes this post, and… 1A By Andrew: Where he lays out a bunch of questions and thoughts about what marriage is, dealing with both historical issues (how our view of marriage has changed over the years) and definitional ones (legal vs religious).
Creation vs Evolution
Examining Adam
Let’s hop back in our time machine. But this time, we are going to grab a passenger. We will go back to one day after Adam was created and take him on a ride… To a hospital. A big hospital with all sorts of different doctors in the various attached buildings. And we are going to take Adam from doctor to doctor, and we are going to ask them his age.
Attacking Evolution #1A
Matthew 1:21-23 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being inte…
The Best Gun Control is a two-handed grip
Mar 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Ok, so this post is hopefully the first post in a ‘letter exchange’. with Daryl. It all started from a notes thread, so nothing to link to, but the general issue was ‘gun control’. As I have a rather serio…
IllAdvised Opinions
Well, the Supreme Court has started its new term, and I am still behind on my posts on the last one!
It's not a Game!
This post is just a shot across the bow. I will have a lot more to say on this subject. But there is something that is not only annoying but is profoundly evil and that needs addressing: Justice is not a game! I often hear lawyers say (and hopefully not mean) “Well, they had their day in court.” This is an ugly phrase with no possible good translation. …
The Racism of Justice Jackson
Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. There are many varieties of racism. Indeed there are so many varieties that I despair of the word ever being useful. Judge Jackson is so seeped in one of those varieties t…
The Oracle
Well, I’m a little stuck in the middle of ‘The Oracle’. Maybe some comments will help me along.
I Found It
← Previous Post .._____________________________________________.. Next Post → Mabel tramped up the trail. Everyone had heard the story but, as far as she knew, no one had yet been up the trail to see. And she wasn’t fool enough to believe she would find an oracle, but the walk would do her good regardless.
The Future
I’m hoping for some more letter exchanges. I was sent this link, with the suggestion that we might find things to exchange about:
And I welcome any other suggestions! And I above all welcome those who would like to have a letter exchange. Let’s get talking!