My God--I saw your essay excerpted and thought "this is exactly how I'm feeling right now, I must read this." And then I see that you read something of mine, and that you're having some of the same thoughts. It's cold comfort, isn't it, but I'll take it.
I appreciated your essay so much. Covid was such an unnerving experience for me. I thought, "Surely, I can't be the only one who thinks the entire world has gone mad?" But it felt like it at the time. I was the most disappointed by my fellow Christians. It used to be the Christians could keep their heads when plague struck. They were often found among the sick, risking death to take care of them. This time, they hid away, watching "church" from home in their pajamas and scolding me for not wearing a mask and for seeing other human beings in person. I have never been so disappointed.
Our church shut down Sunday School for 2 years! I only know a handful of people in the community where I live who didn't give in. The government was randomly stopping and checking cars to see if you were wearing a mask/vaxxed. It was a hard time.
It's back to normal now, but I did start homeschooling my children when I finally couldn't endure it anymore. Now, it feels impossible to get back into the system. Since my children are both Indonesian and American, we'll probably just go with the American system, since it's so much easier. I love homeschooling, but it is lonely. It was kind of becoming a thing here during Covid, but the government has literally made it almost impossible now.
Wow. I’m in South Carolina and the situation wasn’t nearly as oppressive. This is why it shocked me that I would be the only person in a grocery store without a mask. Literally everyone could have bucked the mask mandate in our town and nothing would have been done about it. Even when stakes were that low, few resisted.
I am thinking of what Hannah Arendt said about evil to the effect that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil. Evil thrives in carelessness , hubris, cowardice and negligence. Evil done by those who might otherwise be good , but under duress lose , or abdicate their agency to be their own best council and failing that , look to those with the capacity of descernment . To get back to how you began this very good piece , "judge the spirit by the spirit" which also is from the bible somewhere
This was a great piece to read, thank you for sharing it. Good people do horrific things, and they have been doing horrific things since the cognitive revolution.
There are two books I read last year (or the year before?) that stick out:
- Dr. Robert Sapolsky's Behave
- Dr. Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens
Both are scientific, both are entertaining, both uncover the reality of being a human and forgetting the simple fact that we, too, are animals. We all have our biases borne of experience and learning, and each of us could stand to ask, "What if I'm wrong about this?" a little more.
Are you aware that Harari refers to humans as 'hackable animals' and 'useless eaters', that he's a member of World Economic Forum and advocates for transhumanism? There are videos of him on YouTube saying some very sociopathic statements. He is one of the architects of the 'Great Reset', a global campaign to transform society so that we will all 'have nothing and be happy'.
I've listened to him, and while I don't agree with all his views, I can appreciate views from folks who think differently than I do. As far as I've seen, he doesn't advocate for transhumanism so much as acknowledging its inevitability. Yet, he also says that once we move to transhumanism, we will not be homo sapiens anymore; humans will become something different. Even if you disagree with the majority of what's in his book, culturally his work is still important.
I disagree that we are more than animals if we choose love. Even animals know how to love, and beast mode isn't a bad thing when used for good ends.
I'm content being an animal, but I know enough about my animalness to know when my inner beast is trying to control the situation and when my intellect is. I think that's the gap many need to learn how to fill.
Animals do not choose love. They behave on instinct. Sometimes that instinct mimics love and sometimes that instinct kills it's prey. However, love is not man's measure iny world view. God is our measure and that measure is that while our philum may be animal, we are separate and apart from the animals because we are the only "animals made in the image of God. This means we can think rationally, with reason. We can chose things for our good and things for our bad. We have a will, that supercedes instant. As beings made in the image of God, we can have a relationship with God, whom we cannot see and we can relate to the unseen as real. We understand that there is a category for the material world and a category for the spiritual (unseen) world. We can make things that we can engineer because we have higher order thinking that can dosth, understand science, etc. We can perceived danger yet decide to respond with grace and mercy. We have language, we can learnerany languages, we can comprehend metaphor, analogy, simile, etc. No other animal can do these higher order operations thatan can do. Surely you tell me if dolphins and chpanzees and gorillas. While they can appear to learn methods of communication that mimic human language, they do not naturally possess this faculty outside of the c9 text of human facilitation.
Human beings are not animals on the order of other animals. We have been set apart to worship our creator and we are the only animals that can absolutely reject it's creator, even when rejecting him will only bring us harm and sorrow. No other animal even knows itself as a created being.
You can accept yourself as an animal like any other animal. But God does not. You can reject God but God extends an arm of reconciliation by his Son, Jesus Christ. You are not an animal. You were created to know and honor your creator.
I think that if you click the three dots below and to the right of your comment, you should be able to edit your comment. (Had to let you know, because I hate it when I discover a bunch of typos after I comment!)
I'm not defending him, but under the system, what were his choices? Was he free to refuse the assignment? Did he have flexibility in who he sent to death? What would have happened to his family if he had refused? They weren't above eliminating their own if they thought they'd gone over to the dark side. They made Rommel commit suicide. They hung Bonhoeffer naked, didn't even give him the dignity of dying with underwear.
There is an epic book called “the lucifer effect” which is a scientific look at historical “studies” (aka Stanford prison experiment) which ask exactly this thing … one interesting finding was on the high value people place on being compliant
I'm 81 years old. I'm a good person as described. With honest hindsight I did do bad things. I basically fall into the second category of good people, just went along. I also did bad personal things. Even evil things. Why? With honest hindsight it was because, I was selfish.
When I did bad things, I did not know I was being bad or even evil. I always considered myself as a good person, just like others saw me, even those I was mean to.
Do I feel guilty? Do I consider myself, with hindsight's honesty, a bad person, or even evil?
No. I don't feel guilty or think of myself as a bad or evil person.
I realize I wasn't the good person assumed but human and to err is human.
I know, if honest, knowing what I knew back then, I'd do the bad things over again.
Thank you. I’m not haunted by it. It makes me sad that his last year went the way it did. But, ultimately, I know he is with the Lord and living in fullness of joy and I will see him again. I hope that those who put those policies in place can come to repentance and be there with us someday.
My husband is a army vet. He served over seas. One of the biggest struggles for him as a civilian is living with the things he did and didn't do. He lived in a very different culture under the authority and power of our government and Im sure I don't know all the things he had to turn a blind eye to and all the things he did while violating his conscious but I know it torments him. I think this is very true and very well written. We think of each other and ourselves in very shallow terms when it comes to what each other is capable of. Most sexual abuse is done by people that most would call good. There is none good but God. Even our best works are as filthy rags. Which is why we can be humble and compassionate towards each other. This thought is so true and striking that even as a wife I can apply it. Glory to God that it is through his precious blood we are sanctified and justified and given liberty.
Thank you for reading this and for your thoughtful comments. Active combat and military service are so hard on people. I will pray that God can help him find whatever forgiveness and peace he needs.
There are none good but God. We've distorted the gospel when we are surprise by human depravity.
My God--I saw your essay excerpted and thought "this is exactly how I'm feeling right now, I must read this." And then I see that you read something of mine, and that you're having some of the same thoughts. It's cold comfort, isn't it, but I'll take it.
I appreciated your essay so much. Covid was such an unnerving experience for me. I thought, "Surely, I can't be the only one who thinks the entire world has gone mad?" But it felt like it at the time. I was the most disappointed by my fellow Christians. It used to be the Christians could keep their heads when plague struck. They were often found among the sick, risking death to take care of them. This time, they hid away, watching "church" from home in their pajamas and scolding me for not wearing a mask and for seeing other human beings in person. I have never been so disappointed.
Our church shut down Sunday School for 2 years! I only know a handful of people in the community where I live who didn't give in. The government was randomly stopping and checking cars to see if you were wearing a mask/vaxxed. It was a hard time.
Where did you live? That sounds like New Zealand or Australia.
I'm in Indonesia.
My sister-in-law has a lot of family in the Philippines and it was horrible there, as well. How are things now for you?
It's back to normal now, but I did start homeschooling my children when I finally couldn't endure it anymore. Now, it feels impossible to get back into the system. Since my children are both Indonesian and American, we'll probably just go with the American system, since it's so much easier. I love homeschooling, but it is lonely. It was kind of becoming a thing here during Covid, but the government has literally made it almost impossible now.
Wow. I’m in South Carolina and the situation wasn’t nearly as oppressive. This is why it shocked me that I would be the only person in a grocery store without a mask. Literally everyone could have bucked the mask mandate in our town and nothing would have been done about it. Even when stakes were that low, few resisted.
I am thinking of what Hannah Arendt said about evil to the effect that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil. Evil thrives in carelessness , hubris, cowardice and negligence. Evil done by those who might otherwise be good , but under duress lose , or abdicate their agency to be their own best council and failing that , look to those with the capacity of descernment . To get back to how you began this very good piece , "judge the spirit by the spirit" which also is from the bible somewhere
This was a great piece to read, thank you for sharing it. Good people do horrific things, and they have been doing horrific things since the cognitive revolution.
There are two books I read last year (or the year before?) that stick out:
- Dr. Robert Sapolsky's Behave
- Dr. Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens
Both are scientific, both are entertaining, both uncover the reality of being a human and forgetting the simple fact that we, too, are animals. We all have our biases borne of experience and learning, and each of us could stand to ask, "What if I'm wrong about this?" a little more.
Thanks for reading! A little skepticism aimed at self is a pretty healthy habit, I’ve found. Thanks for the book suggestions. 😊
Are you aware that Harari refers to humans as 'hackable animals' and 'useless eaters', that he's a member of World Economic Forum and advocates for transhumanism? There are videos of him on YouTube saying some very sociopathic statements. He is one of the architects of the 'Great Reset', a global campaign to transform society so that we will all 'have nothing and be happy'.
I've listened to him, and while I don't agree with all his views, I can appreciate views from folks who think differently than I do. As far as I've seen, he doesn't advocate for transhumanism so much as acknowledging its inevitability. Yet, he also says that once we move to transhumanism, we will not be homo sapiens anymore; humans will become something different. Even if you disagree with the majority of what's in his book, culturally his work is still important.
We are more than animals if we choose love. It’s the heart that sends our life energy into the higher chakras and out of the ‘beast’ mode.
This is the mark of the beast spoken of in the Bible. Our actions when taken from fear not love.
I disagree that we are more than animals if we choose love. Even animals know how to love, and beast mode isn't a bad thing when used for good ends.
I'm content being an animal, but I know enough about my animalness to know when my inner beast is trying to control the situation and when my intellect is. I think that's the gap many need to learn how to fill.
Animals do not choose love. They behave on instinct. Sometimes that instinct mimics love and sometimes that instinct kills it's prey. However, love is not man's measure iny world view. God is our measure and that measure is that while our philum may be animal, we are separate and apart from the animals because we are the only "animals made in the image of God. This means we can think rationally, with reason. We can chose things for our good and things for our bad. We have a will, that supercedes instant. As beings made in the image of God, we can have a relationship with God, whom we cannot see and we can relate to the unseen as real. We understand that there is a category for the material world and a category for the spiritual (unseen) world. We can make things that we can engineer because we have higher order thinking that can dosth, understand science, etc. We can perceived danger yet decide to respond with grace and mercy. We have language, we can learnerany languages, we can comprehend metaphor, analogy, simile, etc. No other animal can do these higher order operations thatan can do. Surely you tell me if dolphins and chpanzees and gorillas. While they can appear to learn methods of communication that mimic human language, they do not naturally possess this faculty outside of the c9 text of human facilitation.
Human beings are not animals on the order of other animals. We have been set apart to worship our creator and we are the only animals that can absolutely reject it's creator, even when rejecting him will only bring us harm and sorrow. No other animal even knows itself as a created being.
You can accept yourself as an animal like any other animal. But God does not. You can reject God but God extends an arm of reconciliation by his Son, Jesus Christ. You are not an animal. You were created to know and honor your creator.
It seems that we are not longer able to edit our comments. Her are two glaring typos to my above comment.
*. . . in my world
*. . . Instinct, not instant.
I think that if you click the three dots below and to the right of your comment, you should be able to edit your comment. (Had to let you know, because I hate it when I discover a bunch of typos after I comment!)
It did use to be that way but now there are only three options: share link to comment, hide comment or delete comment. Quite annoying. 😅
I'm not defending him, but under the system, what were his choices? Was he free to refuse the assignment? Did he have flexibility in who he sent to death? What would have happened to his family if he had refused? They weren't above eliminating their own if they thought they'd gone over to the dark side. They made Rommel commit suicide. They hung Bonhoeffer naked, didn't even give him the dignity of dying with underwear.
Superb read. Thank you.
Thank you for reading it. 😊
There is an epic book called “the lucifer effect” which is a scientific look at historical “studies” (aka Stanford prison experiment) which ask exactly this thing … one interesting finding was on the high value people place on being compliant
I’ll have to go find this book.
I'm 81 years old. I'm a good person as described. With honest hindsight I did do bad things. I basically fall into the second category of good people, just went along. I also did bad personal things. Even evil things. Why? With honest hindsight it was because, I was selfish.
When I did bad things, I did not know I was being bad or even evil. I always considered myself as a good person, just like others saw me, even those I was mean to.
Do I feel guilty? Do I consider myself, with hindsight's honesty, a bad person, or even evil?
No. I don't feel guilty or think of myself as a bad or evil person.
I realize I wasn't the good person assumed but human and to err is human.
I know, if honest, knowing what I knew back then, I'd do the bad things over again.
This is very true. It's so much easier to "go along to get along." A supervisor told me that, once. It's what we Christians call the flesh.
Wonderful piece. God bless you. I’m so sorry for what happened to your dad. May you someday find peace about that. ❤️
Thank you. I’m not haunted by it. It makes me sad that his last year went the way it did. But, ultimately, I know he is with the Lord and living in fullness of joy and I will see him again. I hope that those who put those policies in place can come to repentance and be there with us someday.
Excellent article and suggestions. I too was so disappointed by Christian Covid responses.
Moving. Heartfelt. Good for you!
My husband is a army vet. He served over seas. One of the biggest struggles for him as a civilian is living with the things he did and didn't do. He lived in a very different culture under the authority and power of our government and Im sure I don't know all the things he had to turn a blind eye to and all the things he did while violating his conscious but I know it torments him. I think this is very true and very well written. We think of each other and ourselves in very shallow terms when it comes to what each other is capable of. Most sexual abuse is done by people that most would call good. There is none good but God. Even our best works are as filthy rags. Which is why we can be humble and compassionate towards each other. This thought is so true and striking that even as a wife I can apply it. Glory to God that it is through his precious blood we are sanctified and justified and given liberty.
Thank you for reading this and for your thoughtful comments. Active combat and military service are so hard on people. I will pray that God can help him find whatever forgiveness and peace he needs.
Excellent aritle.
Thank you for reading!
Yes. And then, when the monsters are caught out, they take their “loved ones” with them. Such people?? have absoluno concept of love.
ERMAGERD NOTSEESNOTSEESNOTSEES.
If I wanted kneejerk burbling of 100 year old memes I could go to Facebook.