Housekeeping 9-23
Well, I really found my last ‘housekeeping’ post useful, even for myself, so I thought I’d try another. As always, I’m hoping for feedback from my readers to let me know if these help, or what I could have done differently.
Sections and Threads
What is Marriage?
Dad Explains and I have had quite a conversation about “What is Marriage?” We agree more than we disagree, but the differing perspectives have been very interesting. He’s had to take a bit of a break because he has a new job, but I’m hoping he will pick up again soon.
In my first post I lay out the claim that marriage is real: “What difference does this make? All the difference in the world. If marriage is a real thing, then all we can do is recognise who is, and who isn’t, married. If marriage is just a linguistic convention, then it would depend on what language we are speaking. If marriage is a legal relationship, then it would depend on what legal system we or they are operating under. If a sociological convention, we would need to take a poll of the social sub-group and the larger culture.”
My most popular post has to do with sex, and I lay out my definition: Marriage is a permanent covenant to exclusive sexual[3] union between a man and a woman that has been and is being consummated. It was ordained by God for the purpose of producing a Godly seed, in order that man should take dominion; to which end the woman is his helpmeet, and their children are arrows.
Along the way I also speak about the covenant of marriage, and have a sort of side discussion on that topic with Ryan. The posts linked above have links, so you should be able to get to the whole discussion
Creation vs Evolution
Another fun thread has been about evolution. It is a rather confusing thread, as it involved at least four people, two creationists and two defending evolution. So all in all there are at least four different concepts floating around.
In my first post on the subject, I begin with an attack on the subject of ‘Methodological Naturalism’: Modern, atheistic, materialistic Science cannot disprove religion, because Science has ruled religion out of bounds before its inquiry ever began. It has castrated and thus cannot bid the geldings be fruitful. The result of the gelding is ever visible in the destruction of the most basic human understandings. A society which cannot answer the question “What is a Woman?” cannot stand.
Gun Control
I have enjoyed writing on gun control, but so far the responses have been only in the comments section. Which is fine but not as fun as a real letter exchange. And while I take a rather radical position, my opponents seem more interested in nuance and questioning than laying out any particular principles themselves.
My most popular post on Gun Control I called ‘The Best Gun Control is a Two-Handed Grip’, which I fully confess is not original: “I believe that society is best served when there is open, casual, frequent carry of firearms by normal civilians. I believe that this is most important in any area where there are vulnerable people: such as hospitals, schools, etc. I believe it is immoral for a society to disarm its populace.”
I also address the missing moral components of gun control: “The idea of gun control fails the moral test on at least two levels: the level of the individual and her personal protection, and the level of the group. It disarms the individual and leaves them helpless in the face of her rapist. It treats one class of people, the rich and powerful, as worthy of self-defence and another, the poor and powerless, as unimportant chaff to be mowed down by criminals and governments.”
Island People
I’ve started putting up one of my old books on Substack. It’s a light fantasy YA that I wrote a number of years ago, and I’m hoping people will comment on it and I can improve it. I wonder if there’s a place for beta reading on Substack?
IllAdvised Opinions
I really like reading Supreme Court opinions and analyzing them from the direction of God’s Law (theonomy).
My most important post in this area is ‘It’s Not a Game’: “We must never forget that, however imperfect we are as human beings, the actual goal of a ‘justice’ system should be to end up in a ‘just’ result… not a ‘fair’ one. It doesn’t matter one whit if everyone ‘played by the rules’, if the end result was unjust. It isn’t a soccer game! It is life and death and freedom and slavery and innocence and guilt.”
The Oracle at Toko-Ri
This is a really fun book that I am having fun writing, but am also struggling with. I would love comments and corrections and suggestions and all that. I call it a ‘light, moralistic, fantasy’ and I’m shooting for something like Aesop’s Fables. The underlying premise is an oracle shows up in town, who offers to give you what your heart desires, as long as you are willing to pay the price.
The Future
Comments and Letter Exchanges
Where is this stack going in the future? Well, I hope to continue my current letter exchanges and pick up some new ones. I love good comment threads, but I like turning them into letter exchanges even better. I find letter exchanges easier to follow, and much more substantial to write. So, if you like to argue… let’s pick a topic.
Contract Marriage
Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed, and thus how a society can go wrong.
Unlike those dystopias Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality; of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.
My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues, and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).
Other Fiction
I have lots and lots of fiction sitting around on my computer, and I’m thinking about which ones to put on Substack.