Philosophical Musings

Philosophical Musings

Thursday, October 6, 2022

The Ideological Results of Atheism

It makes a difference, what you believe about the Universe, humanity, life, & eternity. Western civilization was built upon principles based on a belief in a Supreme Being, or some kind of Higher Power, over the affairs of men. From that belief, sprang several world & culture changing movements.

1. The Reformation. 'Sola Scriptura' was the cry, as well as the concept of of ALL men being equal, no aristocracy, no divine right of kings, nor a holy priesthood, with special endowments from God. This was humanity's ticket out of the dark ages, & the ideological basis for most of what followed.

2. The Scientific Revolution. Instead of science being a mandate from Religious Professionals, it became a process.. a methodology that was based on the uniformity of nature, & order in the universe. The printing press & a common language in scientific inquiry built a knowledge base, & many added to it. Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, & many others sparked this revolution, which had at its root the concept of an orderly Creator, whose Laws were immutable & consistent.

3. The Age of Reason. This was closely tied with science, & had the same roots. These were the enlightenment philosophers, who promoted the concept of Natural Law, an overriding moral law that was over everyone, & the ruling elite were not exempt. It has been summarized as the right to life, liberty, & property, & was codified as a mission statement for governance in the American declaration of independence.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

These 'movement's were foundational for western civilization, & resulted in an ideology that found its purist expression in the American Experiment in self rule. Natural Law, human equality, and an acknowledgment of a Supreme Being were the foundation upon which America was founded, & were the core beliefs that influenced most of western civilization for over 100 years.

It began in the mid 1500s, when the reformation blew apart the status quo of the religious elite. Concurrently, Copernicus promoted scientific thinking, refuted a geocentric view of the universe, & laid the foundation for further scientific discovery. The ruling elite became fallible, & the illusion of them as 'speaking for God' was shattered. Truth was not a monopoly of the elite, but was a process of discovery. The printing press contributed to this as well, making the knowledge base available to a wider audience, & breaking the monopoly that the elite had over information.

Then, as human minds became free to think, unfettered by superstition & dark ages mandates, the CONSEQUENCES of this scientific enlightenment spread to the philosophical concepts of governance & human freedom. This was the spark that began the abolitionist movement, & from there led to women's suffrage, & even addressed the social evils of intemperate drunkenness.

By the 1800s, aristocracies were ending.. by peaceful or revolutionary means. Slavery was abolished in all of the 'civilized' countries. Women were getting the vote. Morality & human equality were elevated over the decrees of divinely appointed elites. Science was explaining the universe. Technology was building upon the scientific discoveries. Superstition was dying. The former belief in a naturalistic 'cause' for life for centuries, was debunked by Pasteur, as his experiments refuted the notion of 'spontaneous generation'. But at its peak, the winds of ideology began to change. In the late 1800s, 2 major events began a new movement in human ideology. Marx & Darwin represented a new ideological basis for a growing philosophical view:

Naturalistic Atheism

Two major works laid much of the foundation for the growing view of naturalistic atheism.

Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 1859

Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto, 1848

Darwin laid the foundation for a naturalistic explanation of origins. There was no need for a Creator, as everything happened by some cosmic accident, then evolved to where we are today. Life is constantly evolving, & humans are just advanced animals. Some are more advanced than others, & they should manage & oversee the universe, based on their superior evolved intellect.

Marx had a social elite, and needed an atheistic world view to crush the evils of religious elitism, whom he saw as the opiate of the masses. But he only substituted a different elite, same as the old ones, but with different hats. His was a rule by altruistic elites, who could control the evolution of man, producing a New Man, who would live in harmony in their collective utopia.

So the result of this blend of new ideologies were many fold:

1. Keep the elite. Manifest destiny, eugenics, & a superior ruling class grew from this ideology, based on evolved superiority instead of divine appointment. Human equality can be ignored, as well as Natural Law, for the expediency of 'evolving' a New Man.

2. Science is no longer a process of discovery, or an inquiry into 'what God hath wrought', but became a god itself. The methodology was ignored, & the mandate of elitist superiority took precedence over scientific inquiry. Naturalistic Atheism became a mandated belief, not dispassionate scientific inquiry.

3. Return to dark ages practices of mandates for Truth, instead of open inquiry.

Many movements in the late 19th & early 20th centuries built upon these new foundational ideologies. Russia found itself in a great civil war, & substituted the oppression from the Czars & the ruling aristocracy for oppression from the Bolsheviks & their new ruling aristocracy. Hitler's National Socialism built upon both marxism & darwinism, promoting an elite based on superior evolved strength, intelligence, & state control of everything. American eugenics was foundational in the progressive movement early in the 20th century, & darwinistic beliefs became the monopoly of thought through judicial decree. Other forms of socialism, despotism, & communism, all had at their root a naturalistic atheism basis. It is the foundational belief system for most of the revolutionary movements in the 20th century. Only Islam, with its similar elitist control, provided any competition for an ideological basis for human governance. The American Ideal became corrupted with progressive thought, & seized control of all the institutions in America, distorting the original intent, & slowly morphed the enlightenment principles it was based on, into collectivist elitism, with only an illusion of self rule.

The Great Deception of the 20th century: Naturalism is fact. God is dead.

Naturalistic Atheism is a return to the animal ideal, where the stronger rule over the weak, & power is esteemed over morality. 'Might makes right', is the only rule.

Its foundations are not built on Scientific Truth, but mandated beliefs, just like the dark ages.

It is a move away from the enlightenment principles of human equality, freedom, & Natural Law, & back toward dark ages principles of elitist rule & Truth by Decree.

Indoctrination & propaganda, not open inquiry, are the methods used for imposing the ideology upon the people. Lies & beliefs are presented as proven scientific principles, when there is no scientific methodology to support it.

Information is controlled & censored. Open inquiry is not allowed, but conformity to the ideology is required.

This is the result of naturalistic atheism, as a controlling worldview. It is not based on enlightenment principles of human equality, freedom, & self autonomy, but the dark ages views of control, elitism, & oppression. This is the root of progressive ideology, as it usurps the American Ideal. This ideology is in control of almost all of the institutions in America, & they dominate every facet of governance, law, & justice.

Dark Ages --->>> Oppression, control, elitism, Truth by decree.

Reformation, Enlightenment, Reason, & Science --->>> Freedom, natural law, open inquiry, self rule & autonomy.

Marxist/Darwinist elitism-->>> Elitism, state control, Truth by decree, oppression --->>> Back to the Dark Ages, & the circle is complete.


Friday, September 16, 2022

Box of Rocks

Most Christians i have known are dumb. I mean, 'Box of Rocks!' dumb.  The preacher role seems to be a magnet for anti-intellectuals. Scientific knowledge is sniffed at as 'worldly!', or something 'unspiritual!'  So Christians listen every week as sermons malign empirical knowledge and celebrate the Virtue of Ignorance.

"To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge." ~Nicolaus Copernicus

I get it. Christians are intimidated by an illusion of knowledge that atheists, and their godless conclusions about the nature of the universe, project. So, in their zeal to be 'spiritual', they throw out the baby with the bathwater, abandon science, reason, and pretend 'Faith!', is some mystical practice that overrides the reality of the material world.  'Science bad! Only faith good!'  And the atheists are only too happy to promote this narrative, and portray Christians as 'Science deniers!, 'Haters!', or some other scientific term of endearment. Faith and science are portrayed as competitors. 

But this is not the Reality of our Creator. He who made the mind, does He not reason? 'Come now, let us reason together', our Maker calls.

Is God displeased with us discovering the wonders of His creation? No! Never! Our Creator has placed within us a 'holy curiosity', to understand and appreciate this world we live in.  We are filled with awe and wonder, as we begin to grasp the intricate nuances of this world. The vast spaces. The microscopic detail. The incredible interrelationships of everything as this world spins through infinite space. The majesty of nature. The mystery of life. The beauty and profound intricacies of the creation fill everyone,  even hardened materialists, with a sense of wonder for the universe we live in.

“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God.” ~Louis Pasteur

Christians may be dumb as a box of rocks, but there is something dumber.  Atheists take pseudo knowledge, declare it, 'Truth!', and worship at the altar of lies. They distort the truth of creation into a lie of godlessness, and promote their fantasy with jihadist zeal. They subtract from the sum total of human knowledge with imaginary fantasies.. a tribal origins myth that makes all others seem reasonable. 

"The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who in their grudge against traditional religion as the `opium of the masses`, cannot hear the music of the spheres."  ~Albert Einstein

Parents are pleased and proud when their children take an interest in discovering their world. They share the awe and wonder at their first glimpse of the ocean, interactions with nature, and the intriguing wonder of animals.  A baby giggling at a kitten is a delight to the proud parents. How much more is our Creator pleased when we seek knowledge of His creation? 

Seeking understanding of the mysteries of creation is an act of worship. It is not a 'worldly!' activity, but one of reverence and wonder, as we seek a glimpse of, '..what God hath wrought.'  An unfolding truth is like finding a rare gem, or a gold nugget.. even better, because it opens our heart and mind to the majesty and beauty of our Maker.

Rom 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

Get past the rocks. Leave them in mindless ignorance, and let the knowledge of your Creator fill you with awe.  

Hos4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.."

True knowledge is essential to knowing God. False knowledge is a deception, to divide us from our Maker. In Opposite World, lies are called truth. Truth, lies. Evil is good. Good, evil. Everything in this world is designed to distract and divide us from our Maker. 

The creation does not do that. It draws us near to the Almighty. It declares the glory of God, and shouts of His majesty on every hilltop. The very stones cry out, 'Hosanna!  Hosanna to the King!' We just have to open our ears and eyes to hear and see His marvels.

Don't be fooled by the lies of this world. Don't be intimidated by false 'knowledge', that divides you from your Maker. The truth leads us to God. It is inspiring, faith building, and edifying. The Heavens declare the glory of God. Listen in awe as it opens to us the knowledge of our Creator.

Review: Graphene Superlattices

 I was asked to examine the claims of an article linked to in another post.


It is pretty long..  sorry.


Review:

out-of-equilibrium criticalities in graphene superlattices


This article on graphene superlattices is an example of media hype and journalistic sensationalism used to grab headlines, fool the gullible, and make clickbait to monetize a pseudoscience article that does not support the claim.


I'll review the original study, in part, and point out some of the flawed assumptions and extrapolations of the journalistic fluff piece. 


This is becoming increasingly common, in pseudoscientific circles, because of the lack of skepticism/critical thinking, and the desperation to prop up the belief in atheistic naturalism.


"Something from nothing!"


..is the claim.


 "Spontaneous generation proved possible!"


But is it? Does this study actually suggest that "Something!', can come from 'nothing!"?


Or is it another example of seizing sensational headlines, to make unjustified claims and clickbait to dazzle the gullible? 


Here is the original study:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi8627


If you do a search, you can find a pdf of the entire study.


It is a highly technical study of current flows using graphene, and applying it to quantum theory.  Nowhere does this study claim, 'something from nothing!' Nowhere is a suggestion of 'spontaneous generation!' made. This is more about the SUBSTANCE, graphene, and the superlattice constructed, for conductivity and high current properties.  It relates to the Schwinger Effect, and they allude to a possible connection, but they do not claim this experiment 'proves!' Schwinger's theory.


That is left to the Journalistic Hype of this article, that seized on some implications, dropped a few techno babble terms, and made wild claims for a study that does not even pretend to suggest them.


https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/something-from-nothing/?fbclid=IwAR0sLcIiNM-GHPGU0CdR8wrR99KJ1KnEXWLVy_6-ua01seBt8ltmOAArBpI


"Collide two particles in the abyss of empty space, and sometimes additional particle-antiparticle pairs emerge. Take a meson and try to rip the quark away from the antiquark, and a new set of particle-antiparticle pairs will get pulled out of the empty space between them. And in theory, a strong enough electromagnetic field can rip particles and antiparticles out of the vacuum itself, even without any initial particles or antiparticles at all."


That is the theory from the Schwinger Effect, which posits the ability to split electron-positron pairs, under a high electrical charge. The result is another pair (with loss of energy), giving the illusion that the split 'created' a new pair.


"But in early 2022, strong enough electric fields were created in a simple laboratory setup leveraging the unique properties of graphene, enabling the spontaneous creation of particle-antiparticle pairs from nothing at all."


Problems


1. Quantum theory is not an exact science. 

From wiki:

Since its inception, the many counter-intuitive aspects and results of quantum mechanics have provoked strong philosophical debates and many interpretations. The arguments centre on the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, the difficulties with wavefunction collapse and the related measurement problem, and quantum nonlocality. Perhaps the only consensus that exists about these issues is that there is no consensus. Richard Feynman once said, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." According to Steven Weinberg, "There is now in my opinion no entirely satisfactory interpretation of quantum mechanics."


Making empirical claims on a topic that is by nature ambiguous and fluid, is absurd. There are too many variables..  ..too many unknowns, to make dogmatic statements in quantum theory.


2. The speculations and conjectures from the fluff piece have no support in the original study. It is another example of overreach and desperation. Piltdown man, the Lenski E.coli experiment, and others are cousin examples of running beyond what the evidence suggests, and desperation to prop up the beliefs of atheistic naturalism. 

3. The conclusions made are not scientifically compelling. There are other possible explanations for the split pairs that do not suggest 'spontaneous generation!' Even wiki disputes the 'something from nothing!' claim in their article on the Schwinger Effect: "The Schwinger effect can be thought of as vacuum decay in the presence of an electric field. Although the notion of vacuum decay suggests that something is created out of nothing, physical conservation laws are nevertheless obeyed. To understand this, note that electrons and positrons are each other's antiparticles, with identical properties except opposite electric charge."

4. The laboratory and highly technical conditions that this study utilizes is unthinkable in a cosmic vacuum of nothingness. That energy would suddenly 'split!' a charged pair (that does not yet exist), using energy with no source, becomes so imaginative and speculative that any other tribal origins myth has more credibility and plausibility. Neither the theory nor the study provide any support for the belief in the spontaneous generation of matter in a godless universe. 


Conclusion 


The original study is about the electrical properties of graphene, and possible applications to the Schwinger Effect. The journalistic piece is a sensational headline, made for clickbait, and to provide wishful thinking for the absurd belief in spontaneous generation and atheistic naturalism.

The End of Christianity

 Every generation of anti-christian bigots has announced the demise of Christianity.  Every generation has had millions of people reborn, renewed, revived, given hope, meaning, love, and eternal life, through the Message of Redemption that Jesus brings.

Long after the prophets of doom for Christianity are dead and forgotten,  Jesus will still be redeeming souls, giving Peace, restoring hope, and changing lives.

I wouldn't bet on the critics of Christianity.  They have a poor track record.

The Religion of Atheistic Naturalism

 The Religion of Atheistic Naturalism 

1. Atheistic Naturalism (aka, Atheism), is an elitist religion, pretending superior intelligence and advanced evolution of its devotees.

2. It promotes religious bigotry, by constantly denigrating Christians and Christianity. 

3. Atheistic Naturalism promotes proselytizing and is militant in its interactions with those of competing beliefs, especially Christianity. Overt hatred and seething hostility defines most of these religious ideologues and their interactions with Christians.

4. Atheistic Naturalism is exclusively established by the state, and any competing worldviews are censored.

5. State academic institutions, public television, radio, the news media, big tech, entertainment, and almost every human institution is dedicated to promoting the religious belief of Atheistic Naturalism, and actively censors competing worldviews.

6. There are clear examples of these religious devotees everywhere in the public discourse, especially in any venues where the Christian worldview is discussed. 

Atheistic Naturalism is OBVIOUSLY a religion. A militant, intolerant, proselytizing, censoring, hostile worldview that is indoctrinated into almost everyone on the planet by state decree. These religious indoctrinees, proclaim THEIR beliefs as 'Fact!', and others (especially Christians), as 'Liars!'

Atheistic Naturalism is not science.  It is not philosophy. It is not just an opinion or belief. It is a militant, almost jihadist  religious belief where mostly young men are indoctrinated to promote it, and attack the competition. Revisionist history, vicious attacks, phony narratives, and Opposite World accusations typify the actions and tactics of these agenda driven ideologues.

'Religion is to Blame!

 "Religion (they mean, Christianity) is responsible for all wars, oppression,  and evil in the world!"

 ..is a flawed, irrational belief with no basis in human history. Atheistic political systems are no better for the citizens than theistic ones. An argument can be made, historically,  that they are worse. Genocide, oppression, and tyranny almost always accompany Atheistic political systems.  There have been far more benevolent theistic political systems, over the millennia. The few atheistic ones have ALL been oppressive. 

To chant the mantra and false narrative, 

"Religion is the cause of all the evil in humanity!"

..is absurd and blatantly false. It is just the RELIGIOUS belief of atheistic naturalism pretending to be 'better!' than other religious beliefs.  It is not. It is worse.. much worse. 

Atheism codified into political systems brings death, genocide, and oppression. Don't believe the lie. The Creator IS .

The Decline of Christianity?

 "Why is Christianity and church attendance in decline?  It must be wrong!"

..is a claim i hear increasingly.  

1. Church attendance does not equal "Christians!"  Business networking, socialization, habit, and cultural similarity are historically big draws for church attendance. 

2. Decades of state indoctrination, anti-christian propaganda, and censorship, spinning false narratives about "Evil Christianity!"  has deceived many people, and driven them from Christianity.

3. True Christianity is about knowing God, not participation in a social club.

4. A great Apostasy (falling away) is predicted for the end times. Perhaps this is it.

5. Following the crowd is no safeguard for Truth. The opposite is usually the case.

6. Corruption and watered down, mealy mouthed 'teachers!', especially in large, corporate denominations, has diluted the Gospel message, corrupted it, and obscured its power. Heresy has corrupted the power of the Message. 

Seekers of truth should not be distracted by crowds or mobs. They seldom have Truth driving them.  Usually,  it is lies and manipulation. 

Don't follow the crowds.  Think. Seek your Maker.  He is the only source of Truth.