Category Archives: Belief Systems

More on Moore

Belief Systems, Broken in the USA, Government Issues

More on Moore

My prediction was that Roy Moore would win the Alabama Senate Election with a 4% margin. Like my prediction on the outcome of the Presidential Election it was just flat wrong. While Moore has never been extremely popular among Alabama conservatives I really thought the state’s massive Republican majority would carry the day. I suspect that the untimely sexual misconduct allegations tipped the scales in Jones favor. In my opinion that is unfortunate. Allegations, as such, should never be a factor in the voting decision process. It is easy to make accusations.

In our country we are deemed innocent until “proven” guilty. That is the rule of law. As an Alabama voter if you did not vote for Judge Moore simply on the basis of the allegations then shame on you. Since Roy lost he will not have the opportunity to face his accusers via a Senate Ethics committee investigation. If he is truly not guilty then he would be advised (and justified) to pursue defamation suits against his accusers. I do wonder how this will play out?

Make no mistake, I am not a fan of Judge Roy Moore. In my opinion he stands on the fringe of ultra-conservative politics. He does not represent the average Republican Conservative, much less the average citizen. His belief system flies in the face of established facts and rational thinking. He has made frequent racist statements on multiple levels and ignores the separation between church (his version of Christianity) and state. Regardless, he deserves his day in court and I hope he chooses to pursue it.

Civilization, did it commence 6,500 years ago?

Belief Systems, Education, Just for Fun

Chapter 35
Civilization, did it commence 6,500 years ago?
In a prior blog I presented information on the history of man and the possibility that sentient life may have existed long, long ago. Here I would like to discuss locations where we have absolute scientific proof of civilizations that thrived significantly prior to 6,500 years ago, the approximate age of the Universe according to Biblical fundamentalist beliefs.
Until fairly recently the generally accepted view of mainstream archeologists was that that the Sumerians were considered the “cradle” and had established the earliest “civilization”. That time tends to coincide generally with the earliest time frames described in the book of Genesis.
However, please refer to the following text from Wikipedia: “The earliest emergence of civilizations is generally associated with the final stages of the Neolithic Revolution, culminating in the relatively rapid process of state formation, a political development associated with the appearance of a governing elite. This neolithic technology and lifestyle was established first in the Middle East (for example at Göbekli Tepe, from about 9,130 BCE), and Yangtze and later in the Yellow river basin in China (for example the Pengtoushan culture from 7,500 BCE), and later spread. But similar “revolutions” also began independently from 9,000 years ago in such places as the Norte Chico civilization in Peru and Mesoamerica at the Balsas River. These were among the six civilizations worldwide that arose independently.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%c3%b6bekli_Tepe ”The oldest of these, “Göbekli Tepe (AKA “Potbelly Hill”) is an archaeological site at the top of a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa. The tell has a height of 15 m (49 ft) and is about 300 m (984 ft) in diameter.[4] It is approximately 760 m (2,493 ft) above sea level. It has been excavated by a German archaeological team that was under the direction of Klaus Schmidt from 1996 until his death in 2014. The tell includes two phases of ritual use dating back to the 10th-8th millennium BCE. During the first phase (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)), circles of massive T-shaped stone pillars were erected. More than 200 pillars in about 20 circles are currently known through geophysical surveys. Each pillar has a height of up to 6 m (20 ft) and a weight of up to 20 tons. They are fitted into sockets that were hewn out of the bedrock.[5] In the second phase (Pre-pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)), the erected pillars are smaller and stood in rectangular rooms with floors of polished lime. Topographic scans have revealed that other structures next to the hill, awaiting excavation, probably date to 14-15 thousand years ago, the dates of which potentially extend backwards in time to the concluding millennia of the Pleistocene.”
What this reveals is that a very advanced civilization was alive and thriving as far back as 11,000 – 15,000 years ago, just as the last major ice age was retreating!

Review of major belief systems – The Good, the not so good & the ugly

Belief Systems

26 f) Review of major belief systems – The Good, the not so good & the ugly

The Good: Churches & Denominations of each have accomplished a great deal of good overall. Espousing moral & ethical behavior is indeed laudable. Living our lives using the behavior of Jesus, Gandhi or Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha) as examples would resolve all of our issues. Some denominations encourage their faithful to assist others that are less fortunate and organize to accomplish this. If we had an inventory list of the good that has been accomplished by churches it would be impressive.

The not so good: Unfortunately there have numerous denominations that have taken the organization of a faith based dogma to an extreme. Fringe interpretation of so called “scriptures” by over-zealous true believers does not further the cause of harmony among humanity. Everyone is entitled to buy-in to whichever system of beliefs that they find acceptable, regardless of how over the top it appears to the rest of us. However, when those same persons decide to impose their beliefs on others then I object. There are literally thousands of religious sects/denominations. Who among us is so wise to pick out the true belief system? If I was born in Pakistan there is little doubt that I would have been programed in Islam and no doubt I would have been a zealot. If a current Islam resident of Pakistan was raised here there is a high degree of probability that he would be raised in one of the Christian based faiths. Think about it, please.

The ugly: There is an excellent reason that our Constitution espouses the separation of church and state. How many wars and terrorist attacks are based on different faith based views where a country (or significant portion of a country)? In fact the primary reason for armed conflict is to further the cause of a country or group to gain power and territory. It should surprise no one that religious belief systems have been used in this regard. The Torah is full of examples of conflict that were essentially based on different beliefs. Constantine recognized the value of controlling a belief system to further his political and economic ambitions. The Crusade was a faith based conflict. The inquisition tortured and murdered thousands in the name of God. Over time literally hundreds of millions of people have been murdered in the name of whichever “god” this or that group was championing.