February 2012
8 posts
3 tags
Random Thoughts
That which, on the surface, appears to be simple, can often times prove to be quite the opposite in terms of its inherent complexity. This is often true, given the tendency of humanity to err in our reasoning and in our rush to judgment. We are creatures of immediacy in that we lust for the quick and easy answer which we think best fits our immediate circumstance.
No greater manifestation of...
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“Power is best wielded in the hands of one who would rather not wield it. For...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Politics, in order to attain any sense of just and good action, needs men and...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Big business likes big government.”
– Sotear Chann
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“American politics is no longer centered around the general welfare, but has...”
– Sotear Chann, On the Nature of Modern American Politics
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“The first step to being happy is being honest with yourself.”
– Sotear Chann
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“Einstein put forth his theories based on his interpretation of the data and...”
– Sotear Chann
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“But what is “Reason” when reason is relative to perspective, in that...”
– Sotear Chann
January 2012
6 posts
6 tags
Random Thoughts On Truth
The fragility of truth lies in its inherent tendency to be non-assertive as well as its subjectivity to ever changing circumstances and situations in an often chaotic and unstable world. It’s feebleness is also due to the immense power behind half truths or partial truths or things that could be true given a set of circumstances. My dilemma concerning Truth on a grand, absolute and universal...
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“The choices you have made in the past limits you to a set of choices that are...”
– Sotear Chann, On Human Existence
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“My mind is strong and gifted with knowledge, but alas my heart is weak. Blown...”
– Sotear Chann
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“I am convinced through my studies and through my research that the rule of Law,...”
– Sotear Chann, On The Philosophy of Law & The Role of Government
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“The way you treat others is often reflective of the way you treat yourself. If...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Free markets would choose peace rather than war because war disrupts supply and...”
– Sotear Chann
December 2011
9 posts
19 tags
On Government & Lying In Politics
By Marpheen S. Chann-Berry
Intro: Third essay for my political theory class. Written in context of Arendt’s “Lying In Politics” and lectures by Dr. Ron Schmidt.
If democracy is indeed a form of government founded upon the ideal that government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, then it is near treasonous to...
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Good & Bad Corruption?
By Marpheen S. Chann-Berry
From my perspective, I would argue that Democracy is a gradual process through which citizens engage and participate in the general welfare of their respective nation as a whole. No democracy exists in perfection and can never exist as such because democracy is always a work in progress. This is due to the fact that traditions, values, and beliefs change overtime...
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On Plato's View On Unity, The Polis, The Citizen,...
By Marpheen S. Chann-Berry
In my reading of the Republic, I find myself compelled to agree with him on his ideals of Justice but find it difficult to embrace the theory he lays out in terms of obtaining it in its ideal form. Like Plato, I would argue that Justice exists to protect citizens from varied forms of injustice while establishing a...
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“My pursuit of happiness isn’t one in pursuit of fame and fortune; money and...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Don’t fool yourself into believing that you are different when, in actuality,...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Character and good manners are not a government problem. They reflect individual...”
– Ron Paul, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, January 31 & February 2, 2000
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Newt Gingrich: "Invented"
“I believe that the commitments that were made at the time – remember, there was no Palestine as a state, It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs and were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places.” - Newt Gingrich
If Mr. Gingrich is such a history buff, then how did he forget about...
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Song I wrote for my French Class… Ca te dit?
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“But as with all ideals and ideologies, Capitalism too can be corrupted and as a...”
– Sotear Chann
November 2011
16 posts
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“Alas, I must embrace the idea that Reason is the salvation of Humankind. Pure...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Love can only give you what you need if you learn to let go of what you want.”
– Sotear Chann
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“Knowledge is the means of understanding and understanding the means by which we...”
– Sotear Chann
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“If the people be led by laws, and uniformity among them be sought by...”
– Confucius (Lunyu 2.3; see also 13.6.)
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mymindtank: Can events occur without causes?
Well, based on our observations of the things around us and the processes of production, I would have to say that nothing is without a cause. I believe this is the basis of the cosmological argument, or a posteriori. This argument is most used to support creationism, implying that the “Creator” is the cause for Creation. BUT, as David Hume points out, you can only infer upon the...
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tehkman: what do you think of having a...
What do I think of a self-fulfilling prophecy? I have never had an experience where someone “prophesied” in the religious sense and it came true. If anything, modern day religious prophecies are no different than horoscopes or tarot cards or fortune telling. They are overly generic to such an extent, that they can relate to almost every person. Such things are not truthful or...
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“In the tradition established by Hume, I would argue that it is only plausible to...”
– Sotear Chann
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“We can neither prove nor disprove things we can neither tangibly nor...”
– Sotear Chann
Would you like me to give a philosophical answer...
Send me a question :)
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“In my opinion, it is not due to overpopulation that we have scarcity in terms of...”
– Sotear Chann
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“We were each born for one purpose and one purpose only. The purpose of being one...”
– Sotear Chann
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“In essence, you are saying that you believe the account given by some man, who,...”
– Sotear Chann
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“No, I’m not a pessimist. At some point the world shits on everybody....”
– @shitmydadsays
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“Be reconciled with oneself and be reconciled with others. Then one can help in...”
– Sotear Chann
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“In order to help our world, we must not only see the bad but also the good. We...”
– Sotear Chann
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“You will find that those who have changed the world first began with accepting...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Do you define your world or does your world define you?”
– Sotear Chann
October 2011
23 posts
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“Your freedom is always a threat to someone else’s self interest.”
– Sotear Chann
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“If being me means pissing someone off, then so be it. Too many of us are worried...”
– Sotear Chann
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“Assumption is an enemy; Understanding a friend.”
– Sotear Chann
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“Sometimes letting it out is a way of letting it go.”
– Sotear Chann
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“True peace begins with peace within oneself. For a person at peace with...”
– Sotear Chann
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“I am convinced that true happiness comes about when we lay claim to our...”
– Sotear Chann
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Thoughts On Justice & Modern Media
With certain highly sensationalized cases, I find myself questioning the role that the media plays in regards to justice. It is a principle of justice that a person being accused of a crime shall be innocent until proven guilty. That principle unfortunately is not in the constitution, but it a basic principle of law and justice. When a person is being prosecuted, the prosecution is trying to prove...
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“”Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone...”
– Steve Jobs, Commencement Speech at Stanford in 2005
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“I do not know whether there is a God or not. There are so many myths and so many...”
– Sotear Chann, In Defense Of Agnosticism
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In Defense Of Agnosticism
Anonymous: Do you not believe in God anymore? I don't ask in a condemning way whatsoever, I'm just curious.
Sotear Chann: I'm just unsure. You know, most people would say I do it simply because I want to live my own life... but they're wrong to assume that I do so. I am through and through an agnostic. What irks me most is that people assume I don't know the Bible or didn't do my homework but ask those who knew me the most both in Church and in my private Christian School... I avidly studied arguments and so called facts in support of Christianity. For instance, people instead of making points on their own conclusions just simply brush it of and point me toward a Bible verse they believe supports their position as if I hadn't already read it. It's as if they think that they are the only ones that can think and understand the Bible. I
I am on a search for Truth. And that doesn't mean approaching things from a strictly Christian perspective, which I have shed myself of. I am through and through a skeptic of all beliefs and so called "facts", even that of my own. With the issue of God, I am open to the probability that he exists AND the probability that he doesn't exist.
Anonymous: Would it be okay then to ask some of your arguments against the existence of God, and therefore, the existence of Christ?
Sotear Chann: Beyond my own personal reasons for the non-existence of God (in that for the past seven years I have relentlessly pursued "God" and emerged empty handed), a question that has often perturbed me was the existence of a God-beyond-God. For instance, many Christians claim that because a watch implies a watchmaker, or a house an architect... it therefore implies that this beautiful and creative world was the result of a perfect Being, or God.
1) It puzzles me how you can argue for the existence of a Perfect God with imperfect things such as a house or a watch. A Perfect Being would have created Perfect Things. Now people at this point would probably bring up the subject of Adam & Eve and sin. But my dilemma is, if Adam & Eve were perfect then they wouldn't have sinned in the first place. If God was perfect he would not have created so called "perfect" beings capable of imperfection. To me, something that has the possibility of imperfection is itself imperfect. Because Humans were made with the possibility of imperfection, it therefore implies that God is not perfect. To stress the point, Perfect things cannot create Imperfect Things... A Perfect God cannot create imperfect things because it would be against the nature of His Perfection... therefore a Perfect God does not exist, which then leads me to question whether a God exists at all.
2) If a watch implies a watchmaker, and the watchmaker himself a machine of sorts, implies a Perfect God... then that Perfect God must have had a source from which he draws His "Perfection", other than himself. In other words, who created God? And if there is a God-beyond-God, then what God created this God-beyond-God. And God existing within an eternal and infinite world, therefore would mean that God is not the end or beginning of all things since to imply that he is would undermine the idea of eternity and infiniteness.
Now I am not an evolutionist, but to me personally I do not see the difference between God creating something out of nothing, and matter "creating" matter out of nothing. When Christians ask "well where did the matter come from?", they forget to ask "Where did God come from?"
If God is the only God, then how did He create himself? How did God come about? How was God (for Christians) and how was Matter (for Evolutionists) just formed out of thin air? Both sides end there at the exact same spot. From there many people will argue for the existence of God based on purpose, that without God there would be no purpose, just survival of the fittest. My argument then would be, do you believe in God because you want purpose, or do you believe in God because he actually exists? In other words, did God create us or did we create God to provide us comfort or to advance our agendas and gain power?
Now let me repeat myself, I did not say that I didn't believe God existed. I am open to the possibility of both His existence and His non-existence.
Anonymous: Okay, before I bring some points up to continue this discussion with what you've just said... can I please ask what your definition of perfection is?
Sotear Chann: I don't have a definition for perfection because nothing is perfect. So when I speak of perfection, I speak of it from the Christian's perspective.
But honestly, I already have enough people wanting to "continue the discussion" with me. And frankly, it is as if people think I have no other life other than to answer the same questions over and over again. It is getting annoying being asked "Why don't you believe in God anymore" constantly.
It is it even more annoying knowing that the very people who ask those questions have never opened themselves up to a different perspective and have never viewed another perspective through the lens of that perspective but rather through the lens of their preconceived judgments about that perspective.
Not to be rude or anything, but you must understand that I have already answered this questions multiple times and you must understand that I used to be a devout Christian, a devout Creationist, a devout Apologist. And above all, you must understand that I have made up my mind based on the research I have done on my own time within the last seven years.
And just because I have a different view of the Bible doesn't mean I haven't "read it", or even that I have a bad interpretation of it.
Anonymous: Just something to think about...you said if GOD is perfect then he couldn't have made anything imperfect (like man/woman) but he gave us free will that's where we become imperfect...
Sotear Chann: Hmmm... Well to summarize what I said in that entry and to put things in context, a Perfect God cannot create an Imperfect Thing. If a Car Manufacturer was perfect, he would create the perfect car without defect and without the possibility of breaking down because.. well its Perfect!
You say that "he gave us free will, which is why we are imperfect." So are you saying, then, that God made us imperfect from the very beginning? If so then they would not have inhabited the garden from the first place. If I recall, the Garden was supposedly only for those who obeyed the commands of God, those who were "perfect".
If you read it thoroughly there seems to be an inconsistency. It says that if they eat of the tree, they will gain knowledge of good and evil. Does that mean they didn't have knowledge of good and evil in the first place? Within this context Is Free Will the ability to make choices between right and wrong, good and evil? So if they didn't have knowledge of good and evil in the first place, how were they able to freely choose between two choices? Does lack of knowledge allow you to freely choose, or does it only allow you to choose while enslaved to speculation?
An analogy can be made to a child who is told not to touch a hot stove, yet still does it and ends up with an injured hand. Is this child willfully choosing to touch the stove, or is he pressured by mere curiosity? And any inkling he has not to touch the stove is powered by his mothers command to not do so. Think back to when you were a child, if you touched the stove, would you say you were in control of yourself or was your curiosity in control? If you didn't touch the stove did you choose not to do so just for the sake of it or did you not do it because your mother told you not to do it?
In the Garden, the Serpent had a hand in convincing Eve to partake of the Forbidden Fruit. Now if Eve was perfect, how was she able to be fooled by a Serpent? Maybe she just didn't have free choice because she didn't have knowledge of good and evil, she had no knowledge of whether the choice she was making was right or wrong, but only that God told her not to do it. Is that free choice? If she had knowledge of good and evil in the first place, wouldn't she have known who the Serpent was, and would have had him kicked out?
If you read the story, Adam and Eve appear to be really dumb and stupid. They didn't even know they were naked for goodness sake! Not until they ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil... oh and after they ate of the fruit they saw that they were naked and ASHAMED... does that mean being naked is evil and that the fact that they didn't know they were naked before was because their minds were veiled aka dumbed down? And if they were dumbed down, then how were they able to have free will? With this in mind... does it mean they were more animalistic then they were reasonable?
I don't think God gave them free will because he didn't allow them to make informed choices. "Don't eat it or you'll die!" well in terms of spiritual and physical death, he was VERY vague... VERY VERY VERY and dangerously vague. So the Serpent was able to manipulate them because he knew they wouldn't die physically. Maybe if God had told them that there was spiritual and physical death and what exactly would happen if they ate of the tree, then maybe they would have avoided the whole debacle.
So if you are saying that Free Will is what makes is imperfect or what made is imperfect, then you are owning proving my point that God isn't Perfect because he created something imperfect. And the account in Genesis points toward an irresponsible and lazy God who didn't bother to tell them exactly why they shouldn't eat of the tree and exactly what happened if they did, and creating dumb creatures who were so susceptible and unable to tell whether the serpent was good or evil or not because... they didn't have knowledge of good and evil.
In conclusion, because they did not have knowledge of good and evil... I propose that they (and we) don't have Free Will at all. In this case I would argue that there is no free choice/will, but that everything has a cause. They were caused by their lack of knowledge to disobey a command, that lack of knowledge was caused by the laziness and irresponsibility of God both to provide them knowledge and for allowing the Serpent (who he himself supposedly had "free will") to fall, etc... etc... etc.... and so on and so forth and whatnot and whether not and forever and ever shall I continue to write if I do not stop... now!
Anonymous: You are trying to justify the choices you make by making GOD lazy in order to make your choices ok...we both know no one is without sin and anyone who says they are without sin is calling GOD a lier...this is our journey of choices...hopefully to glorify
Sotear Chann: I was NOT trying to justify my choices by making God lazy in order to make my choices "ok". That is an assumption you yourself have made.
I am merely making observations of a text and pointing out what, to me, seems like inconsistencies. Now unless you have VALID reasons as to why my questions about certain statements and passages and the observations I have made are invaild, other than the fact that I am trying to supposedly "justify" myself, then by all means!
But PLEASE, for the sake of this discussion, do not assume that I am merely trying to justify my choices. I have made a paradigm shift in my thought and in my overall philosophy, in no way am I trying to justify myself... I am simply putting things forth from my perspective. And why would I try to justify my choices if I believe in the first place that those choices are what suits me? A person would only justify their choices if they at first doubted that those choices are suited for them.
And when did I say I was without sin? I didn't, you assumed, you passed judgement before you made a case. But to appease your curiosity, no I don't. Good and Bad are subject to cultural preferences and changes and by societal projectivism. And at what point did I call God a liar? And hinging it upon the honesty of God, whether he is honest or a liar, is to limit me to a false dilemma. I either believe there is sin and that God is telling the truth, or I don't believe there is sin and that God is lying. That is what some would call a fallacy in terms of arguments.
Now please, valid reasons and objections... not this Christianese mumbo jumbo. Not everyone believes in the Bible so you can't just assume that everyone believes their is sin. And you need to ESPECIALLY stop assuming that people are trying to justify their lifestyles. Can non-believers truly be genuine in their beliefs or is that only reserved for believers?
Anonymous: You do believe in GOD...and that is why your free will choice was to go to a christian college...i make no assumptions about you or pass any judgements...i don't know you at all...your writing caught my attention purely by chance...i wish you no harm...
Sotear Chann: I do not believe in God, which is the reason why I left. I do not know whether there is a God or not. There are so many myths and so many stories that at this point God is but a myth, a story, a crutch for the weak, an excuse for the greedy, a means by which power hungry people gain their power and their fame. In the name of God people have been butchered, in the name of God people have been killed, slaughtered, mutilated... in the name of God people wish to subject others to their belief system, their code of ethics, their moral law. God has been used for many things, so what I am left with is the idea that God does not exist, but rather was created by those who would wish to wield power over the masses. And all I view of the Christian God is one who is sugar coated with love, with mercy, and whatever else he is sugar coated with so that he is easier to swallow.
I went to Valley Forge because I had been told and taught to believe in God through the private school... in that case I was not making a choice based on free will but by the influence ( aka Cause) of others. (I am not even sure there is Free Will in the first place, since our choices are not as much influenced by our own will as it is influenced by the choices of others). I left VFCC because I had a paradigm shift in thought and overall philosophy and one of the outcomes was that I abandoned by belief in God based on research I had done apart from what the professors put forth, I researched other point of views, other perspectives, other ideas and interpretations of existence... and quite frankly there is a plethora of different beliefs, which leads me to doubt that there is one universal belief system that all people with their all unique and varying beliefs can hold to.
And I would be careful saying that you weren't making any assumptions or making any judgments especially when you said "If you say there is no Sin then you are calling God a liar" that is passing judgment and making an assumption and an appeal to the metaphsyical (that which is supposedy transcendent of the physical realm) to somehow validize your arguments against what I have observed and pointed out.
You were making an assumption that I was trying to justify my life choices instead of taking into alternatives that I might have genuinely made a shift in belief systems based on the data I had accumulated and sifted through.
To save yourself from further misinterpretation, please take precaution in the words you choose.