Quantum Theology

A snippet from Donald Miller

For me, however, there was a mental wall between religion and god. I could walk around inside religion and never, on any sort of emotional level, understand that God was a person, an actual Being with thought and feelings and that sort of thing. To me, God was more of an idea. It was something like a slot machine, a set of spinning images that dolled out reards based on behavior and, perhaps, chance.

The slot-machine God provided a relief for the pinging guilt and a sense of hope that my life would get organized toward a purpose. I was too dumb to test the merit of the slot machine idea. I simply began to pray for forgiveness, thinking the cherries might line up and the light atop the machine would flash, spilling shiny tokens of good fate. What I was doing was more in line with superstition than spirituality. But it worked. If something nice happened to me, I thought it was God, and if something nice didn’t, I went back to the slot machine, knelt down in prayer, and pulled the lever a few more times. I liked this God very much because you hardly had to talk to it and it never talked back.

Some people will admit to this idea of God, others won’t. The Prayer of Jabez is nothing more than the slot-machine God with a few layers of rationalization put on top of it. It’s the sort of Christianity that my employers seem to have. It was the sort of Christianity I had even though College. To be sure, I had heaped layers upon layers of rationalization on top of that basic idea. The idea of a slot-machine god is too absurd for a rational being to accept. Yet, when you roll back the layers of rationalization, I was a bit surprised to find the slot-machine God idea at the root of it all. That’s the problem with smart people, we have a way of heaping junk on top of simple concepts until we no can no longer see the underlying concept at the heart of it all.

I haven’t been to church in quite some time now. And, every time I go I find this gut-level repulsion. Sure, I could name half a dozen things why I think I don’t like church. But, those things I could name wouldn’t be IT. They are just layers piled on top of the proverbial slot-machine. No, discovering something so buried takes revelation, and that’s not something you buy at church-mart, despite what the friendly church-mart greeter says.

I can just see a few people saying, ‘Don’t be so negative!’ I am really hating the Pollyanna optimist right now. It seems to me that optimists are really bad at looking toward the future. When the future slaps them in the face, the answer is ‘well, that was unavoidable’, or ‘WTF!?!?!!, Who slapped me?’ all the while the scorned pessimist is shaking his/her head in incredulity.  Hehe, my employer is going to get slapped in the face at the coming monday morning meeting, while some of the other engineers will be shaking their heads. From my recent experiences, it seems that optimism goes hand in hand with gross ignorance and/or denial of the obvious. Optimism needs to be supported by the fundamentals instead of the fundamentals being supported by optimism. Of course, the same can be said of the true pessimists as well. I laughed really hard at the folks who filled their garages with Y2K provisions for when our infrastructure was going to collapse at the turn of the century. Hehe, that’s still good for a giggle.

It’s like I’m living in bizarro world. A world where our illustrious leaders are either incompetent and stupid, or evil and think the american people are stupid. Actually, I’m torn on which one it is.  I’m leading more towards the evil side. I don’t think stupid people make their way into the white house.

Apparently I need to run around looking panicked or something. I think my boss is getting a false sense of security regarding the situation we are in at work. It’s just so hard to panic when for one, failure won’t be my fault in the least. I don’t point fingers often, but when I do there is a good reason for it. If that day comes when people start asking the tough questions, I’ll be pointing that finger with a clear conscience.

The upside to working long hours is that I am building and integrating some really cool stuff. The longer the hours, the greater the reward if it actually works.

I’d like to visit Montana, perhaps even Canada. I would like to go where the winters are harsh, and the mountains majestic. But first … get the HECK outta Texas!

There is much to learn while growing up. So much to learn that there really is not much time to question things. Plus, in a relative state of ignorance, questions may be poorly chosen. ‘I don’t believe you … we never went to the moon!’  Haha, right sonny…

And so, many of us had to believe the philosophy of our parents, whatever that might have been.

There are two parts to philosophies, what makes this one right, and what makes the other wrong. Usually, there is a well reasoned argument why one philosophy is right, while the argument why the other philosophy is wrong is usually nothing more than a straw man argument, which is a easily defeated position which may not even be held by the proponents of the other philosophy.

Assaulting the straw man with vigor is a mark of a true Lemming.  Attempt to replace the straw man with something more realistic, and the Lemming looses interest and moves on. It is this refusal to ’see the other side’ which allows the Lemmings to be controlled so completely. Look no further than the suicide bomber Lemming. heheheee.

So, what are we to do if you don’t think being a Lemming is your calling? Well, you could start by taking a serious look at ‘the other side.’ Unfortunately, you WILL end up spending a lot of time learning n-1 philosphies and risk winding up having the same position that you started with, and 20 years would have passed. Ouch! At the same time, you will notice that you really can’t take a solid and passionate position on anything because you will be trapped by the subtle complexities in every situation.

The problem is that the world really IS complex and it is beyond human ability to grasp it as well as we would like. Attempts to grasp it is likely to lead to a huge investment of time, and you will wake up and realize that you didn’t do anything with your life. Enter the guru on the hill. Wise … and useless.
I’m sure this is no shocker, but religion doesn’t attract very many smart and educated people. Religion is all about being a Lemming. Talk to the few smart and educated Christians, and you will find a lot of similarities in their stories. It usually boils down to fact that they put Reason on hold, and picked up the faith of a Lemming. Why did they do that? To find life, and be effective.

The trouble with a serious faith is that it’s quite probable that you have faith in the wrong thing. Assuming that there is a ‘right thing’, of course. This is only logical if you have a huge mess of ‘possible right things,’ and you pick a small subset of them and declare them ‘the only right things.’

It is typically understood that the Grace of God applies primarily to Christians who muck things up. It’s quite possible that this is in fact true. However, I think it would be awesome if the Grace of God also applied to those poor souls who planted their flag of faith in the wrong spot. Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking though.

So, what things boil down to is that there are merits to being a lemming. Ignorance can be bliss. Red pill or blue pill?

This all leads me to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were kicked out for eating from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I do believe that understanding this story properly is the key to everything. Everything, the ultimate question even. Earth created in billions of years or 6 days … I don’t give a shit … really. I want to know why God didn’t want Adam/Eve to know the difference between Good and Evil. What I am implying is that I don’t buy the typical explanation that has to do with disobedience. Furthermore, people like to say that it’s all Adam’s fault that we have a sin nature. Perhaps that’s true, but I wonder if many of us don’t re-create his mistake every day.

I’m still trying to find a way to get you married so that you will stay here (Dallas)

Hehehehe. I needed some humor today. There is probably a better chance of getting sucked up a tornado and landing OZ.

After being struck with the ugly stick, and a sour and dour personality, I have found that the subset of the population that would date me corresponds EXACTLY to the subset of the population I won’t date. Given that it generally takes me more than a year to warm up to someone, my nomadic wanderings are probably the greatest hinderance to landing a GF. Given that I have no current plans to abandon those nomadic wanderings, I guess I could be the next 40 year old virgin.

I usually don’t write lengthy responses to stupid people. But hey, I could kill two birds with one stone and post it on my blog also. The following is a post I made on a message board where there are an astounding number of Bushites.

Some people seem to be confused over what exactly Scooter Libby did, why he was prosecuted, and so on. For some people, the extent of their knowledge is “he got 30 months of prision for … lying?”

I am just going to summarize what the big deal is all about and leave the main details of the Libby case to Wikipedia. Start by reading the Wikipedia entry then come back for my editorializing.

So, if you have read the Wikipedia entry, and didn’t skip over the parts you didn’t like, you should have found out that the Grand Jury could not indict anyone because of the obstruction of justice ala Libby. Libby is the main reason NOBODY has been charged with the outing of Valarie Plame. That is the reason Libby should be going to jail. When officials at the highest levels are allowed to violate the law without regard to consequences, the rule of law is brought into question.

Now, about the pardon and why it is offensive. If Libby was convicted of a DUI, assault, or some other ‘blue collar’ offense, his pardon would be sickening, but would not rise to the level of offensiveness as this. Libby’s offense was
obstructing the investigation which could have lead further up the chain to Dick Cheney himself. This brings into question the ‘rule of law’ if the president can use the power of pardon to protect people who hinder investigations into illegal acts of the administration. This was a concern when the powers of the President were being discussed.

George Mason said “Now, I conceive that the President ought not to have the power of pardoning, because he may frequently pardon crimes which were advised by himself. It may happen, at some future day, that he will establish a monarchy and destroy the republic. If he has the power of granting pardons before indictment, or conviction, may he not stop inquiry and prevent detection? This is a weighty objection with me.”

In response, James Madison said “If the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty; they can suspend him when suspected, and the power will devolve on the Vice-President. Should he be suspected, also, he may likewise be suspended till he be impeached and removed, and the legislature may make a temporary appointment. This is a great security.”

Again, if Libby had been convicted of an offense unrelated to the Presidential or Vice-Presidential office, Libby’s pardon would have been a much less serious matter.

Now for a bit of context. The administration sought to discredit a dissenting voice during the push to make the case for a war against Iraq. In the pursuit of silencing dissent, the administration went so far as to violate the implicit trust that covert agents have in their employers.

It became apparent to me some time ago that the party loyalty has long since trumped loyalty to the Republic. Congress has failed time and again to check the abuse of powers made by this administration. What we are seeing is the de-facto negation of the separation of powers through the integrating effects of a strong political party system. This is a serious threat in times when we elect people who believe that the end justifies the means.

That is why, Jagg, YOU are a part of the problem with America.  I would oppose you, sir, at any and every time you open your mouth, if only you were important enough. Your belief that Libby’s commuted sentence was justified is akin to saying that you do not believe that the President should be held accountable to the rule of law. I would slap you myself if I could.

I am surrounded by lemmings ….

Sometimes, while going about my daily life, I stop and wonder. Why am I here instead of there. Why am I in Texas, instead of Colorado. Why Colorado instead of California?

I’ve never been one to ask for much. The problem with asking is that it requires talking. My Mom joked about how I talked so little when I was a kid that they took me to see a therapist.  Perhaps I always preferred to let life happen to me. You know, flow with the current. Still, there have times when I decided to see what would happen if I attempted to alter the flow of life around me. It was something simple, I asked if we could go get ice cream. We did.

So, what AM I doing here? I asked. I asked why I must accept boring weather in San Diego, when there are thunderstorms and blizzards in Colorado. Why would I pay 650 a month for the privilege of waking up to the smell and sounds of city, when I can pay 450 to hear birds, see squirrels, and smell the crisp Rocky Mountain air tinted with pine. Why would I buy furniture when I really honestly wouldn’t use it enough to justify moving it around with me. Why would I sit around hearing about how my chances for promotion hinge on people who don’t know me from Adam Smith. Why CAN’T I have that cabin in the woods I’ve always wanted?

So, what am I doing here? Trying to see if I really CAN write code while watching the deer graze in my back yard. Wouldn’t it be crazy if that really did happen?

The issue of immigration reform is too complex to be reformed at this time. Politicians listen to the opinion polls of ignorant Americans. What a great system we have…

What too few people realize is that the world economy is, and has been, in a period of transition. The rules our parents lived by no longer serve us well. New rules are in the making. Given the lack of foresight among our policy makers, I’d just assume they don’t rock the boat until certain global issues settle out.

Too many Americans can’t handle their own finances, let alone understand issues of global economics. How many people have been paying attention to the news about sub-prime mortgages and the blow-up of the CDO market? How many of those actually UNDERSTAND what is being reported? How many people were genuinely surprised when their adjustable rate mortgage … adjusted. Look no further than San Diego to see the extent that people can live in fantasy land.

The fact is that immigrants provide a service. The fact is that there are too many immigrants providing that service to be ignored from an economic standpoint. You just can’t kick them out by force or by enforcing employment laws and watch them leave due to lack of work. With the employment rate at 4.5 percent, there are more immigrants working than the available supply of labor. I understand that the price of fruit went up a lot when Californian fruit was lost due to a frost. Imagine what would happen if there was not enough labor to pick the dang fruits, vegetables, and nuts, all over the country? I’m not sure exactly what you would see if you eliminated the illegal immigrant labor, but I can assure you that the status quo would NOT be maintained. It’s not clear if the net result would be positive or negative in the long run — it’s just too complicated to know. Given the lack of education on the part of the average populace, and the incompetence of the government, I’d just assume the system be left as it is.

I can tell you what IS broke. It’s the continuing expansion of service industry jobs and lackluster growth of ‘white collar’ jobs. What we are seeing is a LOT of multi-income households that are multi-income because people want/need to maintain a standard of living. What’s better, one job at 60k, or two at 30k? Normally we would say that the single 60k job is better because only one person is working instead of two. But what is happening is that 60k job is being replaced with a 50 or 40k job. All of a sudden you need another income earner to maintain your standard of living.

I can tell you what IS broke. It’s the continuing rise in the cost of college education at the same time as it’s value is dropping. As I mentioned before, the growth of white collar jobs has been rather depressed. I don’t know how much longer the trend of outsourcing is going to continue and where the point of wage equilibrium will be reached … but it is not boding well for the value of a college degree.

I can tell you what IS broke. It’s the continuing rise in the cost of health care without a corresponding increase in services. We have a good health care system, only we pay out the nose for it. Has the quality of care risen over the years, or has it just been the price? Just the price.

What do you do when the President goes rogue and corrupt, and the Congress of the United States is too impotent and self-motivated to do anything about it? The Republicans blindly support their party because that is the mechanism which keeps them in power. The Democrats just got pulled out of the water and are too chicken shit to rock the boat again.

Bush is the only one showing leadership, only it’s leadership in a direction that needs to be opposed with vigor.

Can’t vote Republican, can’t vote Democrat … we are in trouble folks. Wake the FUCK UP!!!!!

This next election is too important to sit on the sidelines again. If I have to vote for a tree-hugging eco freak, it would be better than allowing the fuck ups that constitute the Republican and Democratic parties to stay in power.