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https://www.benespen.com/2014-7-24-the-long-view-tragedy-and-hope/

An excerpt I stumbled upon while rereading the final chapter of Tragedy & Hope, which was written when American liberalism still had a modicum if sophistication and intelligence, back in the Kennedy era.

Very apt observation by a secular historian. Astonishingly neutral and accurate take, given how hate-blinded the liberals of the last few decades have become.

old town 11mo ago

God programmed us to be evil then makes us worship him to counter act his shitty code.

Noice one God

𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕙𝕒 11mo ago 💬 1

I was not aware of the Puritan tenet that external, tyrannical despotism is necessary to restrain man's inherent evil.

Does that mean they came to th New World to create a righteously despotic society?

I think that interpretation is going to be replaced by decentralized systems that constrain the unlimited outpouring of evil.

I almost wonder if that's why God gave man a calling to create/build things himself.

The extent that we can build highly functional societies without losing ourselves to evil... is that part of the greater plan?

In the absence of systems, man must revert to force.

Engineering lets us influence incentives, applying soft force, indirectly.

Space boi could attest.

𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕙𝕒 11mo ago 💬 1

I mean with reference to the Puritans that colonized the Americas from Britain. Was this their belief and their intention?

When you look at the formation if the republic in regards to constraining future tyranny, I would certainly say yes.

Despotism here is being deployed from a secular POV. I don't believe puritans believed themselves despots.

The order within puritanist colonies was highly authoritative, but deferential to God, and distributed geographically, so small in scale. Localist.

There has never neen a puritanical politic at large scale.

I like where you're going with this philosophical thought, and I'd like to share my thoughts on this too.

Ideally, cooperation should take precedence over conflict.

We should aspire to engage in good actions driven by benign intentions, as most of us seek a fulfilling experience on this shared rock.

Yet, this pursuit for mutual coexistence is filled with challenges. The avatars (bodies) we inhabit are bound by the laws of this 3D world, including resource scarcity and the inexorable fundamental need for survival.

Co-habitation flourishes in conditions of abundance; when quality calories are plentiful, harmony becomes attainable. However, in times of scarcity, conflict arises, morality erodes, and our awareness of our higher selves diminishes.

In such moments, we are forced into a state of survival dictated by the unforgiving rules of this realm.

This contemplation compels me to question further: is the physical realm inherently 'evil'? It seems that worldly desires perpetuate a cycle of suffering by design - an instance of poetic cruelty...

Nothing like the cruelty of nature to summor our ingenity and faith, in best cases, but also animal spirits and genocidal tendencies.

Spiritually, it seems to serve God to have Man wrestle with finiteness.

That type of pressure seems instrumental to raising a people to Him.

And perhaps that is also the driving force that we "build the kingdom" against.

To establish balance between the good and evil in ourselves within the cruel coldness of nature.

I am not sure that scarcity is evil; it seems more like a trial to me.

When we attempt to dismiss, distort, or reach beyond the finiteness of Creation, we get burned.

When we embrace, respect, and leverage it: we advance to the next chapter.

I almost wonder if God is helping us learn how the world could be Created out of the scarcity of it's absence.

Look how much is being created (little c) out of the scarcity of 21m.

Scarcity seems to hold potential, not emptiness.

Indeed, it appears to be a recipe for dynamic results.

A catalyst for creation.

What existed before the world...?

Potential, perhaps.

God seemed to have the desire of raising a people even minutely worthy of His glory, to which creating the universe was the solution.

We, awash in the scarcity of the universe, must persist against it, exercising inventiveness and ultimately raising eachother up, or destroying ourselves.

I have to wonder whether, at the end of time, if all of this worked to allow a people to stumble their way towards God's approval.

It makes you wonder how many civilized attempts we've made to reach godhood.

How close have we come, only to be wiped from history and reset back to smashing rocks and sharpening sticks?

Moreover, Is this our first attempt at Bitcoin? Or have we had successful forms of energy money in the past - perhaps eons ago - and this is merely an inevitable rediscovery?

How many times have we done this before? What 'version' are we on? 😅

"Potential" Nice... Succinct yet profound.

Nothing contains all the possibilities of everything.

Sleventy3 11mo ago

Except for everything itself

I only understand haikus.

Can you translate that for me?

😉

Sleventy3 11mo ago

All is infinite

A blackhole of everything

God is everywhere

#haiku

I got you.

Not sure I captured the feelings of te thread or not…?

Pass ✅

Robert 11mo ago

This is a deep rabbit hole... 🐇🕳️

Well put Laser.

We're programmed to behave within these codified (written and spoken) parameters of existence.

How can our quantum 'coded' being defy the Generator, Operator, and Destroyer (GOD) without being obliterated by our own hubris?

It seems the only way to 'win' is to engage in the game of life as it is designed and strive to attain His grace once more - lest we forget and punish ourselves with our own undoing of sin.

🤝🏻

🤝

Spot on! Beautifully put, we think alike.

While we are bound by the axioms of the 3D realm, we also exist in 'invisible' higher dimensions, unbound by its limitations yet interconnected within the hierarchy of it all.

If worldly pleasures appeal to you, embrace them; allow your desires to take you on a roller coaster ride of suffering and bliss. However, if you seek ascension, you must prove yourself worthy of that higher path.

This conversation reminds me of the apt quote: “The roots must descend to hell before the branches can reach heaven". As well as the tale of the

“Harrowing of Hell.”

"Knowledge of pure evil will straighten a man out." -Jordan Peterson