Posts Tagged ‘religion’

It’s all part of the cultural divide

Posted: November 28, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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One of the things that I find interesting about the meltdown concerning “global warming” and the climate change e-mails is how it symbolizes the cultural divide.

Not so much Red vs Blue, Conservative vs liberal, Robert Stacy McCain vs Charles Johnson (great timing changing sides btw Charles) but really in terms of how people look at things and why.

Way back in my HiWired blog days I wrote this to Glenn Reynolds concerning the Haditha debate.

Since the 60’s two unifying forces, for good or ill, were removed from the country: the removal of Judeo/Christian values as the semi-official moral code of the public schools) and the death of the draft/aka Vietnam. (actually ending in the 70’s). These two changes had one thing in common, it took two generations for them to have the following effect:

It is now unlikely that a student going to school today, had a teacher or parent who 1. Served in the military or 2. Was taught that moral code in school. To a whole generation now being born these are things that belong to outsiders. This makes the military and religious people outsiders and strange to one group and vice versa.

One important part of that moral code is truth and honor. Judeo/Christian values stress truth, lies are the work of the Devil. That is why contrary to the pop culture the Church’s role in the promotion and advancement of science and the University system looms large. It is a search for truth and as I’ve said before the only reason to be a Christian in general or a Catholic in particular is because it is true.

The concept of honor comes from the base of truth and is why it is so prominent in the military and also explains why the vast majority of people in the military come from Judeo/Christian backgrounds. The concepts of truth and honor are significant and the shame of violating those concepts are dreadful to a believer. Even if one didn’t believe in the religion itself the shared VALUES of truth and honor of the the Judeo/Christian system applied with great benefit to the culture as a whole.

One of the glories of Science is the reliance on truth. The best science consists of the gathering and measuring of data and the constant testing of it. The whole process of hypothesis, test and conclusion is a relentless search to confirm the known and discover the unknown truths of existence. This relentless search has improved the human condition beyond measure. When Christ says:

“you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

he is pronouncing the first commandment of science. The truth of knowledge frees the potential of the mind in as sure as the truth of Christ frees the soul.

What does this all have to do with the Climate Change e-mails? Just this: In two generations relativism and secular humanism rejection of Judeo/Christan values led to the idea that “truth” is relative and that one need to accept and even celebrate relative “truths” for the sake of various causes. This has been pushed culturally and politically with disastrous (and sometimes comical) results, but when that becomes the case in the sciences then bad things happen.

Would you want to be behind the wheel of a car who’s designer decided that he has his own different standard for how breaking and acceleration should work? Would you want to have him withhold his calculations or defend his actions by calling you a “friction denier”? How would you like to finance his production and have to drive your car under those same rules even if you don’t own one?

The subordination of truth for the sake of a cause and the abandonment of honor as a virtue is bad in any field, in science it leads to societal stagnation and decay. It is why daylight needs to be shined on this fraud and on the elites that decided they were going to protect it for the sake of money, stature and power. If it is rewarded or defended and or ignored then we condemn ourselves and our children to a world of superstition worse than any we have yet experienced.

Update: Nameless? Click on the link to the Glenn Reynolds letter I included in this post or on my amazon reviews and you will find my name very easily.

Update 2: Hey reputable scientists always throw away basic data, and people say Christianity is something taken by faith. Over to you Mahablog is there a climate gate now?.

It is ignorant Catholics like Lawrence O’Donnell…

Posted: November 23, 2009 by datechguy in catholic, internet/free speech
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…who went through the Catholic school system and are culturally catholic but actually don’t know and don’t believe the tenants of the church who do the most to help people justify and ignore sins.

What he doesn’t know or more likely won’t acknowledge is that unlike people in a parish who might privately not agree with one or more tenants of the church, Pat Kennedy has publicly proclaimed his opposition to church teaching on a subject of intrinsic evil. For it is written:

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea”.    Mark 9:42

Yet O’Donnell proclaims the Bishop who actually bothers to do what he SHOULD do for the sake of both Kennedy’s Soul and his own (since as a Bishop it would be a dereliction of duty to not address it.) he is marked as a “political hack” on both TV and radio.

Now if you want to argue that there is a political aspect to what the Bishop says fine, to call him a hack and say he is misrepresenting Catholic belief, only a person who doesn’t actually believe can say that with a straight face. I suspect he will continue to make these proclamations and keep his regular spot on Morning Joe and MSNBC while Bishop Tobin continues to do what he thinks is right for the soul.

Eventually the day will come when they both find out who is right and who is burnt. I presume O’Donnell doesn’t worry about and/or believe this is an issue. That is his privilege for the rest of his days.

After that he’s on his own.

You know lets do a quick three prayers for O’Donnell, an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. He may be a pain in the neck but you know what, his soul is just as worth saving as mine and I’d like to see both of us arguing politics some day when we are both done here. Maybe he can send an e-mail to Almightly Answers.

Some miracles are more possible than others

Posted: November 23, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Today I went to the unemployment office to re-open my claim (hopefully the study and Wednesday’s interview will make it semi moot).

Because of some things at the house the plan to get there before it opens was shot so I was ready, I had my Palin book and my Ipod and was prepared for a two hour wait like the last time…

…they had me taken care of in 15 minutes. Apparently the claim re-opening is the easiest thing in the shop, but 15 minutes with the place packed? That is one serious miracle.

As a believing Catholic I’m prepared for miracles but wasn’t prepared for that.

However some things are almost a miracle too far, like the New York Times covering the hacked Global Warming Documents:

And as a nice sequel of sorts to our previous post on leftwing cognitive dissonance, Orrin Judd spots this staggering moment of hypocrisy from the New York Times’ Andrew C. Revkin of their “Dot Earth” blog on Friday:

The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won’t be posted here.

And they don’t contain any obvious state military secrets as well, unlike say the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War or more recently, the secrets of War on Terror, or any of a number of other leaked documents the Times has cheerfully rushed to print.

Back in 2006, when his paper disclosed the previously confidential details of the SWIFT program, which was designed to trace terrorists’ financial assets, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said on CBS’s Face the Nation, “one man’s breach of security is another man’s public relations.” Of course, much like the rest of the media circling the wagons with ACORN, it’s not at all surprising that the Times circles the wagons when it’s necessary to save the public face of their fellow liberals.

After all the release of this information won’t put American soldiers lives in danger or risk national security so of course it’s not worth printing.

You know eventually if they don’t just fold the paper might decide to just market strictly to their niche liberal market. If that happens then watch it become even worse.

When I first started reading Instapundit there was a blub at the top that said “The NY Times of Bloggers”. I think the Times if they had any brains would set a goal to be called the Instapundit of Newspapers.

If they set that as a goal and acted accordingly what a change that would be.

Update: Investigations come to the fore.

Catholics being Catholic

Posted: November 22, 2009 by datechguy in catholic
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It can be a scary thing in the cafeteria, particularly if you are a pol.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman’s support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

Bishop Tobin should be prepared to be attacked by every media in the MSM, apparently he read the job description and it doesn’t bother him. A commentator on Lucianne nails it:

Reply 16 – Posted by: PatriotGuy, 11/22/2009 7:20:57 AM (No. 6048103)

The Bishop is acting properly to save Patrick’s soul. Anyone who receives Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin eats and drinks his own condemnation.

Of course that is what confession is for. Kennedy’s soul and a bunch of others are what he is after. Of course it’s hard to convince people who don’t believe in the soul that it could be his reason.

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