tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post6966764247412753589..comments2023-10-17T08:19:58.196-04:00Comments on FreeThinke: FreeThinkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-20251898019777556632012-10-11T12:17:06.362-04:002012-10-11T12:17:06.362-04:00it is a source of "poetic" inspiration a...it is a source of "poetic" inspiration and not to be confused with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierian_Spring" rel="nofollow">Pierian Spring</a> of which the "Modern" drinkers are so fond... ;)-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-47239037522266591602012-10-11T11:10:55.389-04:002012-10-11T11:10:55.389-04:00It's more commonly/familiarly known as the Hip...It's more commonly/familiarly known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrene" rel="nofollow">Hippocrene</a>.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-44947305561043538982012-10-08T18:57:29.398-04:002012-10-08T18:57:29.398-04:00Aw shucks! I should have scrubbed Anonymous' c...Aw shucks! I should have scrubbed Anonymous' comment, but since attention is still a bit sparse, I'll take anything i can get -- except "Stephanie," and "Liberalvermin" and their ilk.<br /><br />One thing I will not tolerate is Canned Boilerplate Idiocy and Malevolence.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for the clarification about The Horse's Spring. I was curious, myself.<br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-72497422960303025432012-10-08T12:36:30.697-04:002012-10-08T12:36:30.697-04:00No, it's where Pegasus lives.No, it's where Pegasus lives.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-58058499679696722352012-10-08T10:56:39.618-04:002012-10-08T10:56:39.618-04:00horse's spring? You mean they washed themselve...horse's spring? You mean they washed themselves in horse piss?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-20918364892026537782012-10-08T10:22:11.717-04:002012-10-08T10:22:11.717-04:00He wore no sandal on his foot,
And stepped like fl...<i>He wore no sandal on his foot,<br />And stepped like flakes of snow.<br />His gait was soundless, like the bird,<br />But rapid, like the roe.</i><br /><br /><br />Foot fetish...<br /><br />Hesiod, "Theogony"<br /><br /><i>...queenly Hera of Argos who walks on <b>golden sandals</b>.<br /><br />...Rarely does the daughter of Thaumas, <b>swift- footed</b> Iris, come to her with a message over the sea's wide back. <br /><br />...From the Heliconian Muses let us begin to sing, who hold the great and holy mount of Helicon, and dance on <b>soft feet</b> about the deep-blue spring and the altar of the almighty son of Cronos, and, when they have washed their tender bodies in Permessus or in the Horse's Spring or Olmeius, make their fair, lovely dances upon highest Helicon and move with <b>vigorous feet</b>. <br /><br />...And they, uttering through their lips a lovely voice, sing the laws of all and the goodly ways of the immortals, uttering their lovely voice. Then went they to Olympus, delighting in their sweet voice, with heavenly song, and the dark earth resounded about them as they chanted, and <b>a lovely sound rose up beneath their feet</b> as they went to their father. <br /><br />...Strength was with his hands in all that he did and the <b>feet</b> of the strong god were untiring. </i>Joe Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02696367580635901992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-89890574122089099632012-10-08T10:08:37.218-04:002012-10-08T10:08:37.218-04:00How can consciousness exist beyond this physical e...<i>How can consciousness exist beyond this physical existence</i><br /><br />How does "gravity" exist w/o a Higgs field? Midi-chlorians?<br /><br />The "logos" or "quintessence"Joe Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02696367580635901992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-43423350314358672762012-10-07T23:57:09.377-04:002012-10-07T23:57:09.377-04:00The only ghost I ever saw
Was dressed in mechlin -...<i>The only ghost I ever saw<br />Was dressed in mechlin -- so <br />He wore no sandal on his foot,<br />And stepped like flakes of snow.<br />His gait was soundless, like the bird,<br />But rapid, like the roe.<br />His fashions quaint, mosaic,<br />Or, haply, mistletoe.<br /><br />His conversation seldom,<br />His laughter like the breeze<br />That dies away in dimples<br />Among the pensive trees.<br />Our interview was transient --<br />Of me, himself was shy;<br />And God forbid I look behind<br />Since that appalling day!</i> <br /><br /><br />~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)<br /><br />One can have glorious adventures in the mind contemplating exactly what the poet might have meant in writing this stealthy, delicately eerie exercise.<br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-76458238113231875802012-10-07T23:43:14.586-04:002012-10-07T23:43:14.586-04:00Here's a working definition of God that actual...Here's a working definition of God that actually makes sense on a purely rational basis, if you think.<br /><br /><b>God is Principle, Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, Truth and Love.</b><br /><br />In metaphysics those seven intangibles all of which are essential to the development and furtherance of a decent, wholesome, creative, productive and humane civilization are SYNONYMOUS and INTERCHANGEABLE. <br /><br />Once one starts to look at Existence through THAT prism, things begin to make more and more sense.<br /><br />What is "prayer," but THOUGHT.<br /><br />Ergo it well behooves us to think concentratedly every day about what each of those seven synonyms MEANS, and how their meaning applies to whatever it is we may confront each day.<br /><br />It has worked wonders for me for over fifty years.<br /><br />Faith of that sort is ultimately pragmatic not dogmatic, natural not supernatural.<br /><br />Good night.<br /><br />~ FreeThinkeFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-51461813692108117712012-10-07T23:21:34.596-04:002012-10-07T23:21:34.596-04:00Why was I born?
Why am I livin'?
What do I get...<i>Why was I born?<br />Why am I livin'?<br />What do I get?<br />What am I givin'?<br /><br />Why do I want for things<br />I dare not hope for?<br />What can I hope for?<br />I wish I knew<br /><br />Why do I try to draw you near me?<br />Why do I cry, you never hear me?<br />I'm a poor fool but what can I do<br />Oh baby I was born to love you.</i><br /><br /><br />The answer she came up with may not be as banal as it sounds.<br /><br />~ FT<br /><br /><br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-6444153973423416372012-10-07T23:16:37.275-04:002012-10-07T23:16:37.275-04:00Whatever God is, it's something that we can...Whatever God is, it's something that we can't even comprehend or perceive. Is it an entity? Is it a consciousness?<br /><br />If God is a consciousness, then how can such a consciousness exist? The human conscious ist just brain impulses, electrical signals. How can consciousness exist beyond this physical existence?<br /><br />What I do "know" is that there had to have been a beginning to all of this. It's not like everything just exists, and that's it. Whatever God is, it's probably the beginning of what we know as existence. Perhaps even the impetus behind it. Perhaps God exists as an energy, like the Brahmin. Maybe God is made out of dark matter. I don't know.<br /><br />It's a mystery, and I'm not comfortable thinking I have the answer. Believing in the traditional Judeo-Christian God doesn't do it for me anymore. It's not much different than believing in Zeus, or Jupiter, or Chukwu.<br /><br />I find it interesting that the conceptualization of God, in most cultures and mythologies, bears an incredible resemblance to a human. I'm inclined to believe that perhaps the Hindus/Buddhists got it right. Whatever God is, it's something we can't perceive, and attatching human qualities to it is folly.<br /><br />Or, you're right and I'm wrong. Who the hell knows?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-92227735713732991802012-10-07T23:13:50.307-04:002012-10-07T23:13:50.307-04:00...the meaning behind the meaning...the meaning <a href="http://joeyconservativescorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/just-be-cause.html" rel="nofollow">behind the meaning</a>-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-24030931340018163582012-10-07T23:06:44.003-04:002012-10-07T23:06:44.003-04:00...and you are perfectly right, ducky. Free will ......and you are perfectly right, ducky. Free will is also "unproveable."-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-28531320631334670982012-10-07T23:05:39.220-04:002012-10-07T23:05:39.220-04:00..."ceases to exist" in its' previou......"ceases to exist" in its' previous form. Thats' all that can be said with "certainty".-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-15003549838967915602012-10-07T22:01:22.847-04:002012-10-07T22:01:22.847-04:00The mind (functioning brain) of every individual i...The mind (functioning brain) of every individual is their spirit, That which gives them the ability to think rationally and logically. The unique physiological make up of cells, neuro-transmitters and receptors, the evolutionary progression of man's ability to achieve ever higher potential for reasoning.<br /><br />But like with all living forms sooner or later the light goes out. <br /><br />Whichever of the critical functions the brain depends on for support that short circuits or ceases to function first will result in the death of the brain. Sometimes the brain simply experiences overload (think Stevie)and it shorts out. <br /><br />When this happens the spirit (brain/mind) ceases to exist.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-66070890114380546602012-10-07T21:35:59.450-04:002012-10-07T21:35:59.450-04:00"I've never met or seen a ghost."
H...<i>"I've never met or seen a ghost."</i><br /><br />How could you be sure, Waylon?<br /><br />They don't all wear white sheets and say "WOO WOO," you know. ;-)<br /><br /><i>I met a man upon the stair<br />I knew he wasn't really there.<br />He wasn't there again today.<br />Oh God! I wish he'd go away!</i><br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-54179737488763094562012-10-07T21:30:59.646-04:002012-10-07T21:30:59.646-04:00Les,
You raise a point worth addressing.
What ex...Les,<br /><br />You raise a point worth addressing.<br /><br />What exactly is it that's missing from the human brain the second an individual dies? Precisely <i>what</i> is it that has departed that makes that brain no longer functional?<br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-26217504267568575742012-10-07T21:28:08.433-04:002012-10-07T21:28:08.433-04:00"I don't want to live in a world where th...<i>"I don't want to live in a world where the only barrier against nihilism is theism."</i><br /><br />Yo may not have the luxury of being able to make that choice, Jack.<br /><br />Of course, before any of us could reject something, we would first have to know what it is, wouldn't you say?<br /><br />People bandy words about all the time, and haven't any real idea what they're talking about.<br /><br />What does the name "God" mean to you -- or what do you think it's <i>supposed</i> to mean?<br /><br />~ FT<br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-513323013116155202012-10-07T21:05:40.390-04:002012-10-07T21:05:40.390-04:00Of course their exits the "spirits" of a...Of course their exits the "spirits" of a liquid variety that since men found grapes mankind has been enjoying every since. :) Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-59496212106063044312012-10-07T21:03:38.310-04:002012-10-07T21:03:38.310-04:00Without your functioning brain you'd be nothin...Without your functioning brain you'd be nothing as well. Therefore, does it not stand to reason ones brain (mind) is indeed their spirit?<br /><br />A philosophical and ethical (moral) question I am sure some could discuss for days.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-70301094672099842042012-10-07T16:20:34.335-04:002012-10-07T16:20:34.335-04:00... and we don't gt to choose free will any mo...... and we don't gt to choose <i>free will</i> any more than we get to choose the after life?<br /><br />This isn't working out.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-87597159283750260362012-10-07T16:18:12.867-04:002012-10-07T16:18:12.867-04:00We are given free will?
That always gives me paus...We are <i>given</i> free will?<br /><br />That always gives me pause.<br />How can we know?Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-81978827337364413702012-10-07T16:04:28.427-04:002012-10-07T16:04:28.427-04:00You misunderstand my purpose FT. I am not trying ...You misunderstand my purpose FT. I am not trying to disprove the existence of God. I'm only trying to open people up to the possibility that God may not exist, precisely because so many people place so much emphasis on how the existence of God somehow makes them special.<br /><br />I take issue with the notion that life would be meaningless without God. It's much along the lines of thought that if there was no God, then there would be no morality, or natural rights.<br /><br />I would say that I put just as much effort in disproving the existence of God as I do proving the existence of God, if that makes any sense. I don't have an agenda: I just want to discover the truth, a truth that I know no human can possibly discover.<br /><br />I don't really care whether or not people believe in God. I only get annoyed when some people try to tell me that they "know" whether or not God exists. I'm not accusing you of such a thing, just saying that it gets under my skin. A person has to be pretty arrogant to say that they are capable of knowing the unknowable--whether you're an atheist or a hard core evangelical type.<br /><br />And yes FT, I know you're not all about orthodoxy. You and I have banded together on a few occasions over at Silverfiddle's blog.<br /><br />I fear a world in which we think that the only meaning life has to it, that the only reason we're good to one another, that the only impetus for compassion is our belief in God. I don't want to live in a world where the only barrier against nihilism is theism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-6315199044963494642012-10-07T14:26:42.561-04:002012-10-07T14:26:42.561-04:00Some religions, at least, extoll nonviolence. The...Some religions, at least, extoll nonviolence. The same claim cannot be made for the "revolutionary" precepts of resentment which motivate Marxism.-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-63392710049825715702012-10-07T13:51:17.151-04:002012-10-07T13:51:17.151-04:00...and many are the non-religions like "Commu......and many are the non-religions like "Communism" and "Facism" who have killed countless MORE in the name of "country" and/or "internationalist" <i>universals</i>.-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.com