Elements of Christian Church History (ebook download)

My ebook titled Elements of Christian Church History is available free at my book page. It is an informal review of the history of the Christian Church from the first generation to the present.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/garrison-clifford-gibson/elements-of-christian-church-history/ebook/product-21635069.html

Tillich’s Paradigm for Uncertainty and Faith

The theologian Paul Tillich was one of the most interesting philosophers of religion of the 20^th century. It is reasonable to decide that his paradigm explaining the ontology of faith continues the work of the Protestant reformers Luther, Zwingli and Barth while anticipating the work of Sartre’s existentialist inquiries into the subjective nature of human experience.

Tillich’s book ‘What is Religion’ edited by Luther Adams is a summary of the complex worldview of Tillich on religion. Rather than being simply an apologetic for Christian faith that explains the circumstance of faith, election and salvation from a solely Biblical perspective as would Barth, Tillich’s thought encompasses a philosophy ground for human existence and thought in their relationship to the Creator-the Unconditional.

Evidently, and just evidently for I am learning what Tillich’s ideas are just now for-myself, and with Adam’s intro ideas about Tillich, Tillich considers the reason for the possibility of faith and uncertainty by the conditional (mankind) in regard to the Unconditional (God) this; if man had absolute certainty of God man would have the possibility of being like or thinking of himself as a little god regarding God as the conditional. Mankind could regard God as the subjective other instead of the all-encompassing, transcendent Unconditional.

It is useful for me at least to consider some of these theological paradigms in light of what is known in contemporary cosmology of the construction of the Universe or Universes even in case they branch out forming a contiguous vast right and/or left wing Multiverse with read and blue shifts in space-time independence. One must wonder how red and blue shift-the Doppler effect, would apply to time dilation when time exists inherently within a particular Universal field and its own thermodynamic configuration. Inter-Universally as between several branched Universes the time dilemma would be a significant challenge for causal explanation.

At any rate, if the steady state mass-energy of the apparent visible Universe has some Unconditional foundation transcending the Higgs field or virtual particles from a non-dimensional origin the human experience of being is still what it is-phenomenal and yet contingent and conditional subject to whatever the true and theoretically non-temporal origin is. For Tillich the immediate transcendence of the Unconditional is the basic paradigm to relate a description of additional social categories of faith and governance.

Russian Withdrawal From Space Station a Goad for U.S. Moon Base?

The International Space Station always was a bridge to nowhere. Finally Russia may stop throwing money away on it and stimulate the U.S.A. to return to the moon to build a base that is a little more on solid ground.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9248353/Russia_threatens_to_pull_out_of_space_station_partnership?source=rss_latest_content

There isn't anything wrong with a Mars colony of course-yet it's really Boston-creme-pie-in-the-sky sort of fluff without a local build from local materials program. Mars combat engineering of shelters made of local dirt and with good mirrors for concentrating sunlight to make electricity along with super-conducting storage materials and water-making from ice would be far more practical than the Martian Yurt and inflatable house program.

If materials from the Earth must go into building above-ground shelters at a Moon base supplied by free enterprise space-shippers they should be reliable, lightweight foam filled hollow log cabins. That would have been enough for Abraham Lincoln and ought to be for generations of gardeners tilling lunar regolith in solar-tube lit greenhouses and niches along crater slopes.
image credit-N.A.S.A. Grail Mission

Boko Haram's Aducted Company of Female Swag in New Video

Kidnapping young women for Muslim swag Boko Haram has featured them in a new video. The young ladies are eligible for a prisoner swap according to the Boko Haram leadership. Evidently Muslims do not recognize national borders (the U.S. 'Democrat' Party doesn't seem to have enough interest in halting illegal migration over the Mexican border either), they just recognize religious groupings. That explains why there are no Shi’a mosques in Sunni countries and vice versa. It also makes the administration palaver about democracy in Muslim nations and religious pluralism incompatible political facts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/world/africa/boko-haram-video-kidnapped-nigerian-girls.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0

Long ago when the Sultan and the Sublime Port (government of the Ottoman Empire) ruled Turkey and occupied territories such as Serbia the taking of slaves from Europe to serve nefarious purposes was sop policy. European kids-Janissaries were trained to war on Europe. Some rights of Christians were tolerated (cf Dhimmitude) yet Christians were second-class citizens and prosyletization verboten. Even the Orthodox Church leadership was controlled by the Sublime Porte. It is not surprising that the historical facts of Islam prevail in Nigeria as the rebels of Boko Haram work their Dar al Harb.

Reading on the future of artificial intelligence (video)

The future of artificial intelligence is an interesting topic. I read a post with voice-over Alaska images on the future of artificial intelligence.

The Abstract Form of Monarchy, Corporatism, Hierarchy and Sectarian Conflict

This is a starter (like Windows 7 starter I suppose) on the abstract form of hierarchical power precipitating social conflict inclusive of sectarian war. Perhaps I will write more on the issue later. One finds the U.S. Government bureaucracy stimulating wars in Syria, conflict in Egypt and strife in Ukraine with sectarianism being an issue in each instance. There are other parties involved of course, and the assignment of blame isn’t plain and simple or evens my intention here. The purpose of this post is to not the action of social hierarchy as the causative agent for religious conflict.

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ wrote a brilliant conservative thesis named The Leviathan describing the right of the absolute monarch to be in effect the only real individual around whom every citizen receives light. That is an extreme representation of the nature of hierarchy manifesting in imperial, corporate and ecclesiastic power. As power and wealth are concentrated dissent is increasingly eliminated. Absolute power tolerates no dissent. Free expression and political independence dies. In the Orwellian state thought is for-itself usurped by hierarchical programming of citizens. The nature of bloody religious wars is inextricably linked to hierarchical government and church structures. Especially in Erastian or government rule of religion, yet also in established hierarchical bureaucracy doctrine is all-important. Free thought and reform are verboten. Absolute hierarchies are intolerant of doctrinal differences and any sort of pluralism politically or ecclesiastically. Thus Martin Luther’s world-changing concept of justification by faith rather than doled out by bishops.

Luther; a monk, learned of the problems of monastic life and the corruption of Rome and the papacy after visiting Rome himself. He found the sale of indulgences and more church practices that weren’t justified by Biblical guidance. Various Popes had become too powerful believing that had a right to rule not only Christians but government too. This isn’t then place for a critique of the troubles of the papal form of church government with a more equal than other bishops primate-they were at war with themselves too now and then even with as many as three rival popes at once. The issue is the hierarchical structure of the church. Pope Hildebrand thought it best for priests to be celibate in order that they would be more like an international collection of soldiers (of a spiritual sort). A Pope would be something like an Eisenhower. Pope John Paul II-just canonized, was a Polish Catholic, and Polish catholic historical efforts to take over Ukraine for Poland resulted in the formation of a half-catholic, half-orthodox Uniate Church as well as an Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Today there are Protestants in Ukraine too.

‘Bloody’ Mary Queen of Scots and England executed nearly 300 Protestants and other Catholic persecutions of Protestants occurred. She died in 1578 and with her the brief Catholic restoration. In 1572 Catholics massacred Protestants across France and Ireland in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. The back and forth 16^th and 17^th century reprisals against the reformation of the Christian Church probably was a probably reason that the Puritan Cromwell invaded Ireland and treated them so badly in 1649. John Milton-the author of Paradise Lost was a member of Cromwell’s government. Puritans were founders of the U.S.A. too.

The Bishop’s war of 1639 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops%27_Wars is said to have been a prelude to the English civil war. Charles I wanted an Episcopal church form (with Bishops) instead of that of a Presbyterian (elders) structure. There are innumerable historical examples of church hierarchies ruled by government as well as of governments ruled by religious hierarchy. The problem is not religion-at least not Christian religion-as a source for conflict, but the sociological structure of hierarchies exerting the taught controlling power over citizens.

Hierarchy cannot tolerate doctrinal dissent and political free thought. The Inquisition and other government and church executions of individuals killed far more people of faith than scientifically inclined people, yet of course moderns would almost have one think that the church was a great repressor of science generally rather than its sponsor. The church with the benefit of modern science and technology ought easily move toward a priesthood of believers egalitarian structure with three ranks-beginner, intermediate and elder reading standardized with room for improve liturgies in role sharing groups. That might help the ecumenical movement, support real rather than corporate democracy and reduce international conflict.

Positional Initiative and Dynamic Advantage in Political Play

The art of positional advantage is the title of a chess instruction video by  GM Roman Dzindzichashvili. He produced a simple to follow yet excellent lecture. It is a metaphor of analysis for political and weather related ventures too. Humans  inevitably look for an advantage in market economics, land acquisition , taking and holding political power and in myriad work assignments. Positional advantage is demonstrated in a chess game between Rybka and Shredder-to of the top computer programs in the World Championship for Computer Programs .

Computer programs generally have great calculating powers. They have the ability to calculate moves that produce the best acquisition of pieces and advantage mathematically. One of the programs-Rybka- a chess engine, wasprogrammed to not only calculate but to take initiative, make sacrifices etc in order to force through a winning dynamic advantage.

American politicians since Ronald Regan have failed to use general principles of conservation of position for national advantage. Rybka follows general chess principles and won the computer chess championships. Taking shortcuts in political economy for short term gain usually results in degradation of the well being of the nation in the long run.

Reform Points About Basketball Bigotry (repost from Jan. 1 2014)

Some believe that the purpose of capitalism is to concentrate wealth. During the Second World War when the tax rate on the rich was 90% America’s rich suffered. Finally after the end of the cold war Clinton deregulations followed by the Bush II tax cuts lowered the rates on taxes to 35%. Yet it required the first black millionaire President to make those tax cuts permanent by singing them in to law proving that the nation’s affirmative action class millionaires are loyalists to the rich too. So how can affirmative action theory be used to further advance the concentration of wealth? Plainly that can only be accomplished with more diverse sports millionaires.

http://www.amazon.com/Temporal-Currents-Garrison-Clifford-Gibson-ebook/dp/B00KSC1SKG free novel download

Plainly the N.B.A.’s allocation of points per field goal has worked against an egalitarian assortment of player personnel in the league. As professional players setting an example for civil society one would expect inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness in the point distribution. Reforming the bigoted, anti-affirmative action N.B.A. point structure is the better approach to assuring social equality with a fair concentration of wealth to the owners.

Because of the history of slavery created by foreign slave importers in the colonial era, straight white male basketball players would get one point per field goal, desendants of former slaves two, underrepresented Hispanic players three, vastly underrepresented Chinese players four, women five and a pair of homosexual players making a one hand each on the ball field goal ten points. With that redistribution of points per field goal market forces can go to work bringing basketball social equality an invisible hand of government making brilliant behind the back passes.

It would be fair for the U.S. Congress to appoint a points allocation Tsar to determine if endangered basketball player species require new points distribution to bring their numbers up to a sustainable level. N.S.A. and I.R.S. behavior monitor teams could over-watch the citizens to detect sentiment of non-compliance wherever it may exist in the homeland or in the dar al harb.

Joyce Kilmer's Poem; 'Trees'

Joyce Kilmer was killed at the second battle of the Marne at the age of 31. A sniper shot him as was common. A few years before he wrote the poem 'Trees' about the simple natural things of life. Some have criticized Kilmer for being too sentimental. Kilmer was a priest of course. He may have contemplated trees in the denuded landscape of western Europe during the First World War when shell craters filled with cold water, leftover poison gas and ubiquitous mud effected a bleak landscape.

Trees

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,	5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.	10
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Media Lynch Mob Exacted Corporate Power Over Donald Sterling

If Donald Sterling isn' racist the quick summary judgment and pulling of the trigger on L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a remarkable example of corporatism executing thought and speech control, political correctness and so forth. Mussolini actually invented corporatism and Adolph Hitler used it in developing NAZI Germany, yet George Orwell best described the matured corporatist or communist state in his novel 1984.

Corporate control of the broadcast media made the sports networks a lynch mob of the Clipper's billionaire owner. While one shouldn't be synthetic with the inadequately taxed billionaire class neither should Americans that value free speech be unconcerned about the illegal surveillance of what they say in private and the way it's interpreted by the broadcast media after two or three seconds of analysis.

 http://time.com/86690/v-stiviano-says-donald-sterling-is-not-a-racist/

Sterling's former employee or girlfriend has said that he is not racist. The administration and broadcast media have an Al Sharpton approach to issues seeking an opportunity to profit from anything that might be useful for racial populism. The better approach would be to raise taxes on billionaires to 60% and increase earned income credits for the poor. The broadcast media wavelengths should be given over by act of Congress to ordinary citizen podcast rebroadcast use locally and not be a toy for the rich to control and dumb down the masses.

The U.S.A. Today is one of a number of media outlets that are working a this is your life racist job on Donald Sterling.  They ran an article with a story of how a Clippers basketball player who is white encountered racism. It is sort of a mystery though what exactly the racism described is; to much pay for white players that don't necessarily play so well perhaps being over rated, or not enough pay or what. Maybe the implication is that Sterling like Isaah Thomas who believes Larry Bird was overrated and was the equal of an ordinary black player considers white players as having an inherent advantage of being over-rated.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2014/05/04/donald-sterling-jj-redick-los-angeles-clippers-owner-racism-ban/8698265/

J.J.Redick is quoted as saying he isn't even conscious of basketball players being black or Mexican (Do the Clippers have Mexican players?). He may have a call awaiting him to the ministry after his playing days are over if so, yet with a $27 million dollar contract the color of money may be what he sees in team mates that play the game well. Even so better stories about racism need to appear if someone is to be seriously financially harmed and given such arbitrary punishment. Of course the corporate world has a different, higher standard of ethics than mere ordinary people. They are just not free to talk about  anything  that might be politically incorrect.

It is remarkable that political correctness rises to make puerile claims about character and the perfect lambs within lions mind set of the present generation of basketball players. If J.J. Redick is colorblind towards male players maybe that's sexist. It is improbable that he didn't notice the race of women he dated. 

I am a little skeptical about the lambiness of minorities playing basketball. That seems a convenient tactic to take until they become a majority before they drop the boom and become 'a black league' as Charles Barkley described the N.B.A. I recall travelling to San Francisco and promptly getting arrested and held in the San Francisco juvenile detention facility when 16. When playing basketball I was one of only two white guys in the game. The blacks exercised ball control and I just never got an opportunity to shoot. Basketball seemed inherently a gang sport.

All the b.s. about race is no substitute for competent politics, full employment, recovery of the ecosphere and less of a gap between rich and poor.