See below a revised reposting of “Hating that ‘some people are better than others'”, on the Lex Fridman interview of Jordan Peterson re the “spiritual” basis of human equality.
See also new comment on “The single most important thing that we will learn in life, the single most important thing that we will ever do, the single most important contribution that we will ever make to peace and order in the world…” (“Greatest”? When talking about transcendant realities, superlatives are justified.)
This good commentary from Matt Taibbi– “Thankfully, Some Things Never Change: A few reflections on an extraordinary year, as we give thanks and burn the Yule log”, Dec. 24, 2024
https://www.racket.news/p/thankfully-some-things-never-change
Matt rehashes some of the madness that we have lived through over the past decade but concludes, “Mad scientists who think they can redesign human experience are always undone by eternal truths that arrogance won’t allow them to grasp, one being that life isn’t so bad”.
Speaking of madness, former leftist/Democrat Dr. Drew Pinsky
Dr. Drew in just 2 mins, or so, nails mainstream media for propagandizing people to excesses of hysteria and delusion over the past 8 years, to the point that people have become literally mentally ill, losing rationality. He says this madness peaked with Covid. So, deal with these people, says Drew, with “compassionate firmness”. Don’t argue with them as you are not dealing with rationality.
The Woke Progressives driving the hysteria, delusion, and dividing the country have been like a cult, says Drew, and cults separate families, demanding that people should not associate with their families at times like Thanksgiving, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7GcjQGSje4
Varied new scientific reports are confirming that CO2 levels are already “saturated”, a physics term meaning that further increases in atmospheric CO2 will contribute little or nothing to any possible further warming. And the current levels are highly beneficial to plant growth and crop productivity.
“Science Shock: CO2 is good for the planet, peer-reviewed studies suggest”, Chris Morrison, Daily Skeptic, Dec. 24, 2024
Morrison says, “None of this work will be reported in the mainstream since it disrupts a ‘settled’ climate science narrative tied to the political Net Zero fantasy.’
He adds that CO2 levels were much higher in the past and all life flourished.
As always, my conclusion from such evidence- There is no scientifically justified reason to tax carbon or decarbonize our societies, to embrace the mass-harm of Green extremism.
Main site theme: “Don’t be afraid its going to be alright.”
“Alright” both in terms of the long-term improving trajectory of life, improving on all the main indicators of “the true state of the world”- i.e. forests, land species, agricultural soils, ocean fisheries, and other. I refer readers to the single best source of evidence on the long-term improving trajectory of life, evidence that has been re-affirmed by many following studies, notably Julian Simon’s research in the “Ultimate Resource”.
And it’s going to be alright ultimately as we all eventually return to our true home in the no conditions love at the core of all reality. That “spiritual insight” helps to lessen the added sting to death from myths of after-life harm.
This site engages fundamental ideas to transform and liberate human consciousness at the depths of the human spirit, liberate even from the inherited subconscious archetypes that have long deformed human personality and life by inciting and validating the worst impulses in humanity.
This site goes beyond the reformism of tinkering at the periphery of systems of belief, reformism that leaves the core psychopathologies in place, notably the inherited complex of themes in “threat theology”.
Peripheral tinkering reformism avoids the cohering center of narratives- i.e. deity- and thereby does not solve human problems thoroughly for the long-term future. We have to push beyond qualms about “blasphemy” to confront and resolve the core psychopathologies in human narratives that incite and validate our worst impulses. That’s the critical issue in any thorough long-term reformism and improvement.
Note further below the comment on “the greatest lesson, the greatest contribution” as related to learning what “love your enemy” means, the single most potent solution to the peace and order concern in human societies. We have had that powerful solution for millennia (the “weapon from the wise man to slay our monster”). But many refuse to let go of retaliatory justice systems based on theories of retaliatory deity.
Review of some main site topics, among many other things scattered throughout this site: Wendell Krossa
(Ideas to transform consciousness, narratives, and change the world- a summary for visitors)
(1) There is no “climate crisis”. The best of atmospheric physicists (Richard Lindzen, William Happer, etc.) tell us that the warming influence of CO2 is now “saturated” (a physics term). See their research reports at “co2coalition.org”, and “wattsupwiththat.com”, etc. Even if CO2 were to double to 800 ppm, it would add no more to any possible future warming. See also Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore’s comments during his Jordan Peterson interview…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxTBpds2dQA
The mild “1.2 degree C” warming over the past century has been highly beneficial in a still far-too-cold world where 10 times more people die every year from cold than die from warming (Lancet study). Cold, not warming, is still the great threat to life.
The climate crisis crusade is a “profoundly religious movement”, just as the Marxism and Nazism crusades were driven by the same basic themes of “lost paradise, apocalypse, redemption/millennial utopia”. (Sources: Arthur Herman’s “The Idea of Decline in Western History”, Richard Landes’ “Heaven On Earth”, Arthur Mendel’s “Vision and Violence”, David Redles’ “Hitler’s Millennial Reich”, etc.)
(2) The ongoing crusade of elites to re-instate the “elite/commoner” divide in our liberal democracies is the great “threat to democracy” and individual freedom. Varied articles posted here by Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn, etc., try to probe and understand the totalitarian impulse of elites, the psychopathology of elites seeking to meddle in, coerce, manipulate, and control commoners. That busybody meddling and control of citizens is a rejection of Classic Liberal principles, systems of law, and institutions that were created to protect all of us from elite domination by dispersing power back to populations of equal citizens.
Classic Liberalism is the best approach that we have created to protect all of us from our own impulse to dominate. It is the best approach to orient all of us toward “serving” all the citizens of any country by promoting the freedom, rights, and equality of every person. (Sources: Daniel Hannan’s “Inventing Freedom”, David Boaz’s “Libertarianism: A Primer”, etc.)
A metaphysical or spiritual basis for affirming the equality of all people, for arguing that everyone is as special as anyone else, and for appreciating the fundamental goodness of every person- I would argue from the truth that the “God who is love” indwells every human person as inseparable from the common human spirit.
(3) The same complex of primitive mythical themes has dominated human narratives across history, in both religious and “secular/ideological” versions, even scientific versions. (Sources: Books of Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, and other historians of mythology/religion.)
Here, in the following list just below, are some of the main psychopathologies of historical narratives, themes that still dominate the world religions and have now been embraced and repeated in “secular/ideological” narratives, even in “scientific” belief systems.
(4) The myth of a better past: There was no original better world, no original paradise in the past. This is the baseline fallacy in human narratives and mental pathology. It evokes the concern that justice has been offended and a wrong committed that must be made right again. To rebalance justice in the cosmos, to “save something”, we are obligated to restore some critical good that has been lost. Hence, the millennial element in apocalyptic millennial narratives, that if we purge some evil from life, usually differing others that we view as threatening “enemies”, then we may restore some imagined better past.
This feeds the deformed understanding of hope that is dependent on the mass-slaughter of one’s “enemies”, as per apocalyptic millennial books like Revelation in the New Testament.
(5) Humanity is not a fundamentally corrupt or inherently “sinful” species but is the best thing to have ever happened to life. People with creative minds and compassionate hearts are fueling the long-term improvement of life across the centuries. As Julian Simon concluded after detailing the historical evidence that life has improved across the long-term trajectory, “We are more creators than destroyers”.
Bob Brinsmead says that the real story of humanity is not the religious pathology of how far we have “fallen” but the amazing story of how high we have risen from our primitive past. This counters the pathological anti-humanism in both religious and “secular/ideological” narratives today.
(6) I repeat this point again…. Our contemporary narratives, both religious and “secular/ideological”, are still dominated by the inherited themes of primitive mythologies– i.e. the mind-deforming fallacies of a paradise past, corrupt humanity ruining paradise, life declining toward apocalypse, demand for sacrifice/payment, demand for suffering as redemptive, demand for violent purging of some evil threat, demand to engage a tribal battle of true believers exterminating unbelievers, and the promise of restored paradise in utopian communalism.
Historian of mythology/religion, Joseph Campbell, noted that people have believed the same primitive myths all across history and across all the cultures of the world.
(7) The meta-story of humanity is the story of exodus from our animal past to become maturely human in civilization. Emerging and developing human mind, consciousness, language, and spirit is something entirely, qualitatively different from the animal inheritance that we still carry in our brains and bodies. Our meta-story is that of exodus from exclusionary and discriminatory tribalism, from base animal domination, and from retaliatory destruction of differing others. We have been liberated from the animal to explore the future of mature humanity that is oriented to inclusive human oneness, mutual non-dominating service, and non-punitive, restorative justice.
(8) Life is not declining toward some worsening state but is improving and rising toward a better future. Julian Simon, along with many others, have presented volumes of evidence on the main indicators of life that shows, while problems still exist all over the world, life over the long-term continues to improve.
(Sources: Julian Simon’s “Ultimate Resource” (single best book ever written), Greg Easterbrook’s “A Moment On The Earth”, Bjorn Lomborg’s “Skeptical Environmentalist”, Ronald Bailey’s “The End of Doom”, Indur Goklany’s “The Improving State of the World”, Tupy and Bailey’s “Ten Global Trends”, Desrocher and Szurmak’s “Population Bombed”, Matt Ridley’s “Rational Optimist”, and more.)
(9) The Christ myth of Paul has buried the message of Historical Jesus that God is stunningly inexpressible no conditions love. Paul buried that stunning new theology in his highly conditional religion- Christ-ianity.
The basic framework of themes that present Paul’s Christ myth are entirely contrary to the message of Historical Jesus. Paul gave us the “Christ-ianity” that buried the actual “Q Wisdom Sayings” message of Jesus- i.e. what would have been “Jesus-ianity”.
Paul’s Christ myth has been the single most dominant influence on Western narratives, consciousness, and society (James Tabor- “Paul and Jesus”, among others).
(Sources: General “Search for Historical Jesus” research, Jesus Seminar books, and “Q Wisdom Sayings” research, notably the work of James Robinson, John Kloppenborg, and others. See also the essays by Bob Brinsmead- https://bobbrinsmead.com/ )
(10) Paul re-established the primitive theology of retaliatory, highly conditional deity in his Christ myth (i.e. a God who demands the supreme condition of a cosmic sacrifice/payment) and thereby buried the message of Jesus (an unconditional God) that could have liberated humanity as nothing ever before.
The stunning new theology of Jesus stated that there is no judging, condemning God who demands sacrifice/payment (see, for example, the “Prodigal’s Father” parable).
(11) There is no such reality as a tribal deity who favors true believers and damns unbelievers. There is no cosmic Zoroastrian dualism functioning as the divine model validating human tribal dualisms. The human family is one family- i.e. based on varied insights such as that all humans on Earth today are descendants of Mitochondrial Eve, quantum entanglement as fundamental oneness, and the NDE discovery of the oneness of all.
(12) There is no God threatening punishment of human failures through natural world disasters, disease, and death, whether the angry deity of past mythologies/religions or the similarly pissed deity of contemporary narratives- “vengeful Gaia, angry Planet/Mother Earth, punitive Universe, payback Karma”.
The myth of a threatening, punishing God has been the single most psyche-traumatizing myth ever constructed by primitive minds. There is no retaliatory God threatening retaliatory apocalyptic destruction of life. As Historical Jesus argued, there is only inexpressible no conditions love behind reality and life, a generous love that gives the good gifts of life- sun and rain- to all alike, without discrimination or exclusion.
What is my authority for stating these “truths”? The self-validating nature of unconditional love as ultimate good, truth, and reality, the critical missing element in any complete TOE.
(13) There is no dominating “Lord/King” God who interferes, intervenes, or meddles in human freedom and self-determination. This is critical to understand as elites try to re-establish elite domination in our liberal democracies, based on the archetypal belief that domination by elites is a non-negotiable divine reality and pattern. So just accept your fate, commoners.
Dominating deity has long been the ultimate ideal and authority to validate human elitism, whether religious or political elites dominating commoners. See comment on this throughout sections on this site.
Historical Jesus would have rejected outright Paul’s “Lord Jesus” myth because he taught his followers- “The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them… exercise authority over them. It must not be like that among you. Whoever wants to be great must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave”.
Historical Jesus, not Paul’s Christ, was the original Classic Liberal advocating the equal freedom and rights of every person. God, according to Jesus, was a servant reality, a commoner reality. Historical Jesus rejected the Pauline pathology of “Lord Jesus”.
(14) There is no threat of future after-life harm– i.e. threat of eternal exclusion, punishment, and destruction (i.e. hell). There is only an inexpressible unconditional love in the human future and that is our true home.
(15) In his “no eye for eye retaliation” and “love your enemy” maxims, Historical Jesus was advocating for restorative justice as in the robust holding of all responsible for the consequences of their behavior- i.e. the necessary incarceration of violent people to protect others, but then treat all humanely as the Allies did post-WW2 defeat of enemies. So with criminal justice, as Leo Tolstoy said, there is no circumstance where people are not to be treated with love. But also, there can be no pacifist “turn the other cheek” in the face of violence. (Sources: “The Crime of Punishment” by Karl Menninger)
(16) We are not our animal brain with its inherited impulses to tribalism, domination, and punitive destruction of differing others. Our true human self and human spirit is love, inseparable from the Love that is God.
(17) The true “hero’s quest” is not a battle against other people but an inner quest to conquer our inherited animal drives to tribalism, domination, and punitive destruction of differing others. That is our real enemy, the real monster that we face in life and must learn to conquer and vanquish as we struggle to affirm our better human impulses.
(18) The God of Jesus is not a “sky-god” up above in the heavens but is immediately present everywhere in life as all-pervading love, inseparable from the common human spirit in every person- i.e. “The kingdom of God is within you”. The true nature of every human being consists of the same love that is God. “There are no really bad people, just people misled by bad ideas”, Bob Brinsmead.
(19) The “hero’s quest” is the life-long endeavor to learn and manifest love in this world through a uniquely self-crafted life story that is as equally valuable as any other human story. People manifest love through the infinite diversity of their unique life stories, whether in the mundane and ordinary of common work, in home life and raising children, in recreation, or in sports, entertainment, business, politics, science, and all other human occupations.
True religion is to focus on this life and make a unique contribution to improving life in this world, not living for some after-life reality. Not trying to “have a relationship with God” as in focusing on some invisible, metaphysical reality (so “heavenly minded as to be of no earthly use”).
(20) Authentic human achievement, real success in the Hero’s Quest, is about love in the details of daily life, in the mundane and ordinary, when we are not publicly praised or even publicly known, where the true self is living authentically with no cameras to play to with virtue-signaling cosplaying.
The primacy of the ordinary and daily mundane is validated by the new theology of God as a street-level God, incarnated in every person equally, and not impressed with the great deeds of public people but more interested in the secret, hidden actions of common people in daily life.
(21) The God of authentic love opposes tribalism, domination, and punitive destruction.
(22) And then the many postings here on the battle for free speech today, the new totalitarianism emerging from within Western so-called liberal democracies, mainly from the left side of our societies- i.e. the extremist left Woke Progressivism that threatens freedom and democracy.
Note: Neo-totalitarianism, neo-Marxism (neo-collectivism) is coming at us from far leftist Woke Progressivism in our democracies, from activists who are promoting censorship of speech as reported by courageous journalists like Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, Douglas Murray, Glen Greenwald, and others. The Woke Progressive crusade is, once again, about the primitive impulses to tribalism, domination, and punitive destruction of differing others.
(23) Note particularly- The resurgence of tribal dualism in the neo-collectivism of Woke Progressivism. As in the DEI categorization of populations by skin color as good or bad (victim/victimizer). This is the latest addition to traditional Marxist categorization by the tribal dualism of oppressor/oppressed (capitalist property owners versus workers/peasants).
And other topics…
Main articles presenting critical points made on this site:
From Retaliation to Unconditional love– the story of humanity’s exodus/liberation from animal existence to become human.
http://www.wendellkrossa.com/?p=9809
Humanity’s worst ideas, better alternatives (Old story themes, new story alternatives).
http://www.wendellkrossa.com/?p=9533
The Christ myth buried the singularly profound insight of Historical Jesus. The project to recover that insight involves “separating diamonds from dung” (Thomas Jefferson, Leo Tolstoy).
http://www.wendellkrossa.com/?p=8664
Speculating with Joseph Campbell on the meaning of life– the hero’s journey and conquest. The intensely inner battle to conquer the monster of inherited animal impulses, along with the mythical themes that validate such impulses, and thereby tower in stature as maturely human.
http://www.wendellkrossa.com/?p=8661
And then some repeats of good sources and comments on this and that…
“Climate Data Refutes Crisis Narrative: ‘If you concede the science and only challenge the policies… you’re going to lose’’, Climate Depot, Nov. 13, 2023
Quote:
Edward Ring: “If you concede the science, and only challenge the policies that a biased and politicized scientific narrative is being used to justify, you’re already playing defense in your own red zone. You’re going to lose the game. Who cares if we have to enslave humanity? Our alternative is certain death from global boiling! You can’t win that argument. You must challenge the science…”
Also, the critical counter point to climate warming alarmism– 10 times more people die every year from cold than die from warming.
From the best climate minds on the planet at https://co2coalition.org/
“5 Things Climate Realists Can Be Thankful For This Year”, Nov. 29, 2024
Their list includes:
(1) More atmospheric CO2 is increasing crop productivity and feeding the world with crop records consistently being surpassed year after year.
https://co2coalition.org/facts/more-co2-means-more-plant-growth/
(2) Our modern warm trend, not unusual, has been beneficial in lifting us out of the destructive cold of the Little Ice Age of 1250 to 1850.
https://co2coalition.org/facts/naturally-driven-warming-began-more-than-300-years-ago/
(3) Warm periods are considered “climate optima” because they are more beneficial to most life.
https://co2coalition.org/facts/for-human-advancement-warmer-is-better-than-colder/
And more on their site…
Hating that “some people are better than others”, Wendell Krossa (revised, updated)
“Jordan Peterson was in pain for three years, Lex Fridman podcast clips,” on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjEcM11Fg-M
Lex Fridman says that he “has always hated the idea that some people are better than others”. He adds that he is afraid of dismissing people because of his perception of them. That launched some interesting discussion with Jordan Peterson on Lex’s podcast.
The idea that some people are better than others, that some are more important- By what arguments do we counter this perception and affirm the equality of all? The equality of all- Something that most of us recognize as a natural reality or “God-given” right.
I have posted before that in early human tribal existence some tribe members began to elevate themselves above others with claims to know the secrets to the invisible realm of spirits, and how to placate the upset spirits that were manifesting their anger in natural disasters like storms, accidents, and disease.
The earliest elites in human societies emerged as shaman/priests. Those early “better than others” associated themselves with deity as validation of their being better than others. They were specially enlightened and anointed by deity to lecture and dominate others “for their good” (as in how to save themselves from the threats of angry deities- the incited survival impulse as in the totalitarian’s formula of “fear=control”).
Helmut Koester (“History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age”) adds detail on how the belief that some are better than others was developed in Greek biography over the more historically immediate BCE era.
Divinity was associated the powerful deeds, great acts, and extraordinary human gifts of some people. Notably in Greek biography, divinity was manifest in kings/emperors and through their military and political achievements, also in the special abilities of great poets, philosophers, and artists. Their special skills were believed to be divine manifestations that elevated them as better than others. Special abilities and accomplishments were believed to be “miraculous”.
“Hellenistic biographies incorporate miracle stories in a strikingly uncritical manner”.
Koester says the early Christians later adopted this Hellenistic approach in creating the biographical account of their founding hero (Jesus), hence the many miracle stories in the gospels. Further, “It is not surprising that subsequent literature, especially the legends of Christian saints is entirely dominated by miracle stories”, p.131-132.
In those ancient traditions we see the developing pattern of associating dominant figures and their great public deeds as special, making them “better than others.” Note how those “better than others” appealed to deity for validation of their specialness.
With Lex, I hate and reject that fallacy that some are better than others. This is not about the obvious unfairness among the human population in distribution of talents, gifts, or abilities in varied areas. Peterson, his psychological mind kicking in, speaks well to this element.
This is about the inherent value of all human persons, the intrinsic equality that is based on the God-given “natural rights” thing.
We could start in establishing fundamental human equality, as Peterson suggests, by accepting the metaphysical speculation that every human person is created “in the image of God”, whatever “image of God” means.
A better theology to affirm human equality…
I would emphasize, derived from the varied “spiritual” insights noted below, that deity does not value humans according to the standards that we use to judge one another. Consider that God does not value people according to the out-of-the-ordinary, spectacular, and great achievements of the specially talented people that we often celebrate in our societies. There is nothing wrong with celebrating such things as long as we don’t permit that to undermine our appreciation of the inherent and equal valuation of all human beings.
Based on varied “spiritual/metaphysical” insights, I would argue that God does not prize special personal talents, or special success in business, sports, politics, education, etc., as more special than the vast majority of people living out their stories in the ordinary and mundane arenas of common life. The “commoner” lives of the majority of humanity are just as valued by deity as any other human story. None are more valued than any other.
On what basis do I assume this? Why do I affirm Fridman in hating the idea that some people are better than others, more valued than others? And why do I challenge the perception that some people, who appear to have failed at life, are therefore less valued than others?
For one, because I view love is the single most important criterion for evaluating success in human life, the one thing that survives forever, the one feature that everyone can achieve to equal heights of true greatness, aside from the special talents, abilities, or successes of some people in certain areas of life.
Also, this insert to stress something before moving along with this point- The fundamental basis of the equality of all is the metaphysical recognition that God loves all the same. This is a spiritual insight affirmed by Historical Jesus in statements like Matthew 5:38-48, or the similar passage of Luke 6: 27-36. That God generously and inclusively gives the most critical gifts of life- i.e. “sun and rain” for survival in agrarian society- to everyone without discrimination or favor, to both good and bad people.
Continuing…
Like the ancient Greeks, we tend to evaluate and value one another according to great accomplishments in athletics, beauty, commerce/business, political power, etc. And with our tradition of holding these comparative valuations, we tend to diminish the value of the many “commoners” who live lives that appear ordinary, mundane, lacking notable public achievements. Our valuations miss the primacy of love as the great leveler of humanity and the thing that deity values above all else.
An example (again, appealing to metaphysical speculations): Ken Ring in “Lessons From The Light” notes the Near-Death Experience of one person who said that on meeting God, they discovered that God focused on one primary concern while helping that person to evaluate their life story (i.e. the “life review”). As that person recounted, God asked, “Did you learn anything about love? Do you know how to love? Did you love?”
In another NDE account, a successful businessman said that he was shocked to find that God ignored his business successes and was only interested in one thing- Did he love people? Did he learn something about love? All the rest that he had accomplished in his life, and considered of great importance, was ignored by God.
These insights challenge human evaluation criteria. Add that the greatest human achievements in love often take place unheralded in the secret areas of life. They are often anonymous acts, expressed in the ordinary and mundane, not celebrated publicly. Such “love is everywhere” is common among commoners.
Marinate a bit further on this: Our valuation schemes miss the primacy of love, and especially the hidden accomplishments of love in the ordinary and mundane areas of life. I have always appreciated the comments of Jesus in the Matthew summary posted just below where he frames what impresses God most- i.e. the divine dismissal of the great public displays for the hidden, secret acts of goodness, the anonymous displays of love. This also gets to human motivations. It’s comparatively easy to exhibit goodness (“virtue signal”) when the cameras are on, but our true self manifests in the hidden arena of life, especially in the mundane and ordinary interactions with difficult others.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)
And to laser in more on what feature of love takes us to the absolute heights of human achievement and greatness…
If the hero’s quest is fulfilled/accomplished when we conquer our inner monster by orienting our life to universal or unconditional love, then every person has the equal opportunity to succeed in terms of that supreme achievement, to attain greatness in that sense. I am referring to Joseph Campbell’s point that we attain human maturity when we orient our lives to universal love. I would use unconditional love as the more encompassing term.
“Love your enemy”, as the highest expression of universal/unconditional love, points us to the absolute height of human greatness and achievement. There is nothing higher to reach for or to achieve in life. That is the ultimate measure of real success in life. And- here is the levelling truth- we are all equal in terms of the opportunity for greatness in regard to such love.
I suggest “love your enemy” as the single greatest possible achievement in life for any human person to accomplish. There is no higher reach of love- if we understand that love is the defining feature of being human and the key determinant of a successful human life. As Ken Ring noted from the NDE accounts- God’s primary concern was, “Did you learn how to love? Do you know what love really is?”
Bob Brinsmead adds, “If love is not unconditional then it is not really love”.
Historical Jesus answered the question- “Do you know what love is?”- by defining authentic love as unconditional, as “love your enemy”. And that central insight of Jesus was then undermined and buried entirely by Paul with his retreat to arguing that highly conditional love defined God, as in his Christ myth. Paul re-established primitive tribal limits to love, stating that his God only favored and included those who became true believers in his Christ myth, and all others were enemies who would be ultimately retaliated against and destroyed- see Rom 12:17-20 for illustration. Also, books like Revelation.
Paul’s statement of his theology (his view of God) in Romans 12, “Do not take revenge… but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
My point here is the radical reframing of human concepts of deity that Historical Jesus introduced, but that Paul subsequently rejected and buried with his Christ myth. Paul was offended by Jesus overturning long-standing views of divine justice as retaliatory and conditional. Paul then re-established demands for conditions to be fulfilled before love, acceptance, and restoration could be manifested by deity. Paul wanted to restore tribal, limited love in deity. He subsequently re-established the basic narrative of retaliatory justice for any who did not fulfill divine conditions, a narrative that has come down through a long history of human spirituality and religious beliefs.
Yes, in Paul’s New Testament there are scattered fragments of the history and wisdom sayings of Historical Jesus, notably in the gospels, but even that element has been deformed by the Christology of Paul that is used to interpret the Jesus material. Paul’s New Testament is mostly metaphysical speculation on his mythology of a cosmic savior sent to redeem fallen humanity and restore a ruined world to its imagined lost original perfection.
Paul’s Christ embraces the themes of Zoroaster’s cosmic battle of good against evil, with the Christ sent to vanquish unbelievers and establish his totalitarian domination of all. It’s a very tribal worldview with these features of eternal domination and punitive destruction.
Most egregious in Paul’s rejection of the actual message of Jesus was his retreat to re-enforce primitive notions of the love of God as highly conditional love that demanded sacrifice before forgiveness and salvation could be granted. That was a direct rejection of the stunning new theology of Jesus that God loved all unconditionally. Paul’s conditional God and conditional salvation was entirely contrary, for example, to the Prodigal Father parable who welcomed the wayward son back without condition. Paul’s Christ-ianity gave us a highly conditional religion that buried the unconditional message of Jesus entirely.
This site recognizes the great value in the original message of Historical Jesus, but that message has to be pulled out of its context just as Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy argued.
Moving along…
The point that I would make in relation to the Fridman/Peterson interview- There is no higher human attainment than love. We can possess great abilities and make notable achievements in sports, business, entertainment, politics, and intelligence/education and still be an overall failure at life if we don’t learn how to love, especially to unconditionally “love your enemy”, the ultimate reach of love.
As Peterson says to Fridman, great talents given unfairly don’t privilege people regarding moral conduct. He says there is no evidence for any correlation between intelligence and morality. You are not better because you are smart. And in the context of his comments on this, he argues for the value of holding the belief that all are made in the image of God despite immense differences in ability. In other words, we are all fully equal before God, despite the many obvious differences among the human population on so many varied elements.
Peterson’s point– We can assume radical equality of worth despite differences of ability.
I would add that, rather than affirm human equality with the common religious phrase “in the image of God”, I would frame the theological basis of human equality in terms of the truth that we are all embodiments of God. The truth that God indwells every human person equally, much like Jesus stated when he told people- “the kingdom of God is among or in you”.
The reality that we call “God” is not separate from our human spirit and mind. Others frame this as “God has incarnated in all humanity, equally”. Meaning that no one is more special than any other human person. No one is closer to God than any other. None are more privileged than others, more favored by God than others. As Bob Brinsmead says, God has never incarnated only in special holy persons or only been manifest in the great public achievements of special people. “Love is everywhere” means God is everywhere, in all.
This “God incarnate in all equally” is my metaphysical basis for affirming the equality of all people, for affirming that every person is as valued as anyone else, and for affirming the fundamental goodness of all people, despite failures to live as truly human.
Further to this, the God present in all humanity is not present as a dominating, overwhelming reality but a gently persuading influence. God is the “still small voice”, not the thunderous and frightening storm, as per Elijah’s account.
Point? Adding to Jesus’ transformation of fundamental theology- others made this point that God is not manifest in the overpowering, overwhelming and frightening thing, the thunderous fearful storm. But to the contrary, God manifests in the still, quiet thing, the gentle persuading voice. Perhaps this clarifies things for the many who complain that they don’t “feel” that presence of the creator. Because, as with many others across history, they are looking for deity in the spectacular, extraordinary, great thing- i.e. in storm and fire and fury. Consider the alternative- that God is not in the storm but manifests in gentle suggestions for good. The “feeling” to do what is right in the ordinary, mundane events of daily life.
Here is the interesting account of Elijah’s experience in 1 Kings 19: 11-13…
“The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks… but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard God in that, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
That is a stunningly new reframing of theology, similar to Jesus’ comment that true greatness was not to lord over others like the kings and rulers of the Gentiles do, but to serve. He overturned entirely traditional views of God as a dominating, threatening reality. Add his Matthew 6 statement that God prefers the humble, the hidden and self-effacing, the anonymous acts of goodness.
The “stunning new theology of Jesus” framed for us an entirely different view of God, nothing like the human-created deities of history who favored the great public deeds of notable public actors. That is rank elitism appealing to a deformed view of deity to validate the elite/commoner divide in human societies, employing dominating deity to affirm elite domination of commoners.
In the “stunning new theology of Jesus” you get a non-dominating reality, an entirely non-threatening deity, something that incarnates equally in all humanity and interpenetrates throughout the physical realm and throughout humanity as a gentle all-pervading presence, that serves to promote human goodness and love with gentle persuasion, the soft, quiet voice inside reminding us of what is good.
The God of Jesus does not intervene, interfere with, and overwhelm human freedom. That is a radical new framing of the reality of deity that began with historical Jesus. His theology had nothing to do with the “king/lord” deities of old, the tribal judges that struck fear into unbelievers and other free spirits.
Again, the central Jesus message sums it all:
“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Everyone finds it easy to love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Everyone can do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Most will lend to others, expecting to be repaid in full.
“But do something more heroic, more humane. (Live on a higher plane of human experience). Do not retaliate against your offenders/enemies with ‘eye for eye’ justice. Instead, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will be just like God because God does not retaliate against God’s enemies. God does not mete out eye for eye justice. Instead, God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Be unconditionally loving, just as your God is unconditionally loving”. (My paraphrase of Luke 6:32-36 or Matthew 5:38-48.)
Other points:
Further on affirming the basis of true human equality, I would suggest that critical for understanding true equality among people is the insight that we are one human family sharing this venture on earth. The oneness of the human family manifests a greater underlying oneness that affirms the truth that we are inseparable from the creating and sustaining reality that is God, the ultimate Oneness.
Varied insights/truths that affirm this- i.e. quantum entanglement (expresses a deeper oneness), Mitochondrial Eve (all humans on Earth today are descendants of the same African mother), and the NDE insight that we are one with God and with all others, meaning that we have an inseparable union with a greater Creating Consciousness. This was sort of touched on by Paul in his comment that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God.
On this site I am not entirely badmouthing Paul but just acknowledging, with Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy, that we need to get Paul out of the way, so the actual message of Jesus can be made clear. We ought to honor the man Jesus for what he actually said. There is nothing of Paul’s Greek “Lord Jesus” in the original message of Historical Jesus. With Jesus there is no “Lord coming in flaming fire to punish and destroy” (Paul’s first letters to the Thessalonians), nothing of John’s fierce warrior Christ as the destroyer of worlds (see Revelation). Those scriptural elements are due to the influence of deforming Hellenistic mythology on Christianity as noted by Helmut Koester in “History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age”.
The anti-inclusion, anti-diversity, anti-equality, anti-freedom, anti-democracy, “cult” that is Woke Progressivism. Or “Whatever happened to our fellow liberals?”, Wendell Krossa
Lead Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li is pissed, really pissed at the intolerant, bullying cult that she once promoted, that has gone batshit crazy.
“DNC powerhouse fundraiser announces exit from Democratic Party following attacks: It’s like leaving a cult: Lindy Li said she was ‘ostracized’ from the party and labeled a ‘whore’ after criticizing Kamala”, Yael Halon, Dec. 23, 2024
What is most important? Wendell Krossa
(The necessary qualifier every time this is discussed- Love of enemy does not mean the dogmatic pacifism of “turn the other cheek” and let violent people go free. The primary responsibility of criminal justice is to protect all citizens from threat of assault, meaning incarceration of violent people.)
Bob’s response to a discussion group member that unconditional love does not mean “inconsequential”:
“___, may I suggest that you misunderstand and misconstrue the meaning of the adjective “unconditional.” It seems to me you change its meaning as if the word was “inconsequential.” Love is our birthright. We love our children whether they are good or bad just like God sends sunshine and rain on good and bad alike. But to accept love is going to have consequences. Don’t confuse no conditions with no consequences…. I don’t see how any of us are so stupid that we might not accept “genuine love can effect an ethical transformation in our outlook and behaviour.” Since I am a Universalist, I accept what you say unconditionally. Love is unconditional. Love is not inconsequential. For Pete’s sake…. I laugh because this is so simple.”
Moving into the point here…
The adverb/adjective used here “most (adverb) important (adjective)” is not too superlative. It may be under-statement.
The single most important thing that we will learn in life, the single most important thing that we will ever do, the single most important contribution that we will ever make to peace and order in the world, we will do in our local situations with local people (at work, among family and friends, with neighbors, etc.). That most important thing will be when we “love your enemies”, however we frame “enemies”.
“Love your enemies” will be our greatest contribution to the affirmed historical phenomenon of the bottom-up nature of peace and order in society. Yes, peace and order come mainly from commoners learning to get along with one another, guided by Classic Liberal principles, laws, institutions that do the best job of telling us how to treat one another as mature humans.
A critical element here is the “moralizing influence of gentle commerce”, referring to the “mutual benefit” factor in commerce that produces peace among people as they create goods and services for one another’s benefit. For that to succeed in improving people’s lives and society in general, it is critical that people get along with one another (i.e. producers attracting customers). Including getting along with “enemies”.
So “love your enemies” is fundamentally critical to everything else in life functioning properly- as in fostering peaceful society where commerce can flourish. We all make our individual contribution to this most important thing.
“Love your enemies” has a ”spiritual” element. It was best expressed by Historical Jesus, who made a significant advance on the similar advice of the Akkadian Father to his son two millennia previous (2200ish BCE).
First, the short version of the Akkadian Father’s advice: “Do not return evil to your adversary; requite with kindness the one who does evil to you, maintain justice for your enemy, be friendly to your enemy. Give food to eat, beer to drink, grant what is requested, provide for and treat with honor. At this one’s god takes pleasure”.
Excerpts from the longer version…
“Do not loiter where there is a dispute, for in the dispute they will have you as an observer.
“Then you will be made a witness for them, and they will involve you in a lawsuit to affirm something that does not concern you.
“In case of a dispute, get away from it, disregard it!
“If a dispute involving you should flare up, calm it down.
“A dispute is a covered pit, a wall which can cover over its foes; it brings to mind what one has forgotten and makes an accusation against a man.
“Do not return evil to your adversary; requite with kindness the one who does evil to you, maintain justice for your enemy, be friendly to your enemy.
“Give food to eat, beer to drink, grant what is requested, provide for and treat with honor.
(My insert: Get that- Have beer with your enemy. Is there any greater love than that?)…
“At this one’s god takes pleasure.
“Do good things, be kind all your days….
“Do not speak ill, speak only good.
“Do not say evil things, speak well of people….
“What you say in haste you may regret later.
“Exert yourself to restrain your speech.
“Worship your god every day.
“Sacrifice and pious utterance are the proper accompaniment of incense.
“Have a freewill offering for your god, for this is proper toward a god.
“Prayer, supplication, and prostration offer him daily, then your prayer will be granted, and you will be in harmony with god.” Etc.
https://www.mesopotamiangods.com/the-advice-of-an-akkadian-father-to-his-son/
So, the ethic of “loving your enemy” was there long before Jesus. But the Akkadian Father did not make the breakthrough to back that generously unconditional ethic/behavior with a validating theology of an unconditionally loving God.
The God factor is the necessary “belief” element in the “behavior based on similar belief” relationship that has long been vital to the human impulse for meaning.
Basing behavior on similar validating belief has always been people seeking to understand the creating reality, and especially the nature/character of that reality. The nature/character of deity then defines the meaning and purpose of human existence and story.
People, from the beginning, have always sought to validate their behavior and lives by appeal to their beliefs in deity, specifically the nature/character of their deity. Becoming just like the God that they believe in (Bob Brinsmead).
That is fundamentally the “Kids wanting to be like Daddy/Mommy” and that is a normal and healthy human thing.
Note the Akkadian father ended his advice with “make sacrifice to your god”. Meaning his view was that his deity had to be appeased with sacrifices and offerings (offerings as bribes to get good things like sun and rain for crops to survive in agrarian society, and sacrifices to appease pissed deity and to pay for human wrongs and thereby prevent divine punishment through natural disaster, disease, accident, etc.).
The Akkadian Father pushed the same old threat theology fallacy of all primitive mythology and religion. An unbearable mental/emotional enslavement that has long added incalculable misery to already unbearable physical suffering. Threat theology was the basis for the horrendously bloody sacrifice industry that has burdened and enslaved humanity across uncountable millennia, the human-created felt need to appease angry deity.
Historical Jesus liberated people from that burden once and forever with his stunning new theology of a nonretaliatory, unconditionally loving God who generously gave sun and rain to all alike without discrimination, without condition, without demanded sacrifice or offerings. Freely and equally to all, both good and bad. One brilliant insight to overturn and end the entire psychopathology of previous millennia of threat theology.
Then in history’s greatest reversal and retreat to the primitive enslavement, along comes Paul and his Christ myth.
Paul reversed the central theme in the message of Historical Jesus to re-instate the myth of ultimate retaliation against enemies, a central feature of threat theology. He rejected the non-retaliatory God of Jesus to re-establish God as Super-Retaliator- “’Vengeance is mine, I will retaliate,’ says the Lord” (his statement of his theology in Romans 12).
Look at how that turned out, as Harold Ellens said, “If your God solves problems with violence against enemies, then so may you.”
Ellens’ statements on this behavior based on belief relationship:
“There is in Western culture a psychological archetype… the image of a violent and wrathful God… this image represents God sufficiently disturbed by the sinfulness of humanity that God had only two options: destroy us or substitute a sacrifice to pay for our sins. He did the latter. He killed Christ…
“Such a metaphor of an angry God, who cannot forgive unless appeased by a bloody sacrifice, has been ‘right at the center of the Master Story of the Western world for the last 2,000 years. And the unavoidable consequence for the human mind is a strong tendency to use violence’.
“’With that kind of metaphor at our center, and associated with the essential behavior of God, how could we possibly hold, in the deep structure of our unconscious motivations, any other notion of ultimate solutions to ultimate questions or crises than violence- human solutions that are equivalent to God’s kind of violence’…
“Hence, in our culture we have a powerful element that impels us to violence, a Cruel God Image… that also contributes to guilt, shame, and the impoverishment of personality…”.
As Harold Ellens says, “If your God uses force, then so may you, to get your way against your ‘enemies’”.
Ellens illustrates how the behavior based on similar validating belief relationship works.
No wonder then, just for one example given by Gen. Wesley Clark, that the US behind-the-scenes guys that run the military industrial complex staged a post-WW2 coup to take over the military and use it to extend the US empire through violence against “enemies” (intervening, overthrowing democratically elected governments across the world). Wolfowitz is a Jew. Dick Cheney is Christian.
Continuing with “the single most important thing”- “Love your enemies”…
Aim high. What is the ultimate human achievement for a new year? The greatest battle to win? Wendell Krossa
If you want to be the hero that you feel you could and should be, and actually win the hero’s quest as applied to your life story, then understanding the nature of the real battle against evil may help.
The hero’s quest is not a special category of human experience that applies only to the exceptional few. It offers a framework for all of our life stories. It tells us that we go forth to engage a monster (monsters may be physical, mental/emotional, social, etc.), we struggle to defeat that monster, and through our struggle we learn lessons and gain insights to benefit others. We also get wounded in our struggle, but if we succeed, we then tower in stature as maturely human.
We must first understand what that real battle of life is about. It’s not us against other people around us who differ from us. Alexander Solzhenitsyn cautioned about that mistake of thinking the battle of good against evil was about one social/political class against another, differing groups against other groups in society. No, the real battle of good against evil takes place inside us, and is against our real enemy, the enemy within each of us.
In my summary for brevity’s sake- The enemy composed of those inherited animal impulses to tribalism, domination, and punitive treatment of differing others.
And the second element of our “enemy” is those primitive ideas that have long validated the animal impulses. This is the “behavior based on belief” thing, referring to those religious ideas/ideals that validate similar human behavior. The impulse of the kids wanting to be like Daddy/Mommy.
How do we win that struggle?
First, recognize the impulses stirring inside us that are not among the better angels of our nature. Identify and isolate them in the mix of impulses within the human psyche. And then recognize the ideas that validate those impulses as inhuman ideas, anti-human. Then understand the nature of the human or humane alternative ideas/themes and the better angels that they affirm and validate.
And to laser in on my point- The adjective “unconditional” is simply the best feature to reframe deity with, as well as the height of human ethics, and the primary human ideal of love (i.e. that which most defines us as human and not animal).
My alternative list of better ideas to validate our truly human spirit:
Humanity’s worst ideas, better alternatives (Old story themes, new story alternatives).
http://www.wendellkrossa.com/?p=9533
Getting a grip on better alternatives to shape human narratives and life:
Do what Historical Jesus did and go to the core of belief systems- i.e. to the deity ideas that hold a complex of religious themes together. Toss out the old and embrace an entirely new cohering center for narratives, an unconditional deity that will transform everything else in the narratives. That will mean origin stories where an unconditional God did not create original perfection, or originally perfect people and has no problem with imperfection. Where the forces driving life are natural and not evidence of divine punishment against people. Where there is no divine demand for sacrifice, no demand for purging of evil enemies, and no demand to engage the tribal dualism of a battle of righteous people exterminating evil enemies. And no divine promise of communal utopia.
The transformation of our narrative themes with the central emanating influence of an unconditional deity will impact our thinking, emotions, motivations, and responses/behavior, how we treat differing others/enemies.
The embrace of an unconditional deity and reframing of our narratives around that will express at society level in the implementation of Classic Liberalism as the best way to organize a society and to relate to others as free equals.
Here are the ethical suggestions of Historical Jesus after replacing the core human narratives with unconditional deity. How to live like an unconditional God.
The guiding ideals/principles of Historical Jesus:
“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Everyone finds it easy to love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Everyone can do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Most will lend to others, expecting to be repaid in full.
“But do something more heroic, more humane. (Live on a higher plane of human experience). Do not retaliate against your offenders/enemies with ‘eye for eye’ justice. Instead, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will be just like God because God does not retaliate against God’s enemies. God does not mete out eye for eye justice. Instead, God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Be unconditionally loving, just as your God is unconditionally loving”. (My paraphrase of Luke 6:32-36 or Matthew 5:38-48.)
This can be summarized in this single statement: “Love your enemy because God does”.
Example of non-retaliatory, unconditional love: The Prodigal Father story in Luke 15:11-31.
The Father (representing God) did not demand a sacrifice, restitution, payment, apology, or anything else before forgiving, fully accepting, and loving the wasteful son.
The above statement, and illustration by Jesus, overturns the highly conditional Christian religion and Paul’s highly conditional Christ mythology. Paul, along with the rest of the New Testament, preached a retaliatory God who demanded full payment and punishment of all sin in a blood sacrifice of atonement before he would forgive, accept, and ultimately love anyone.
Returning to the point above– “The single most important thing that we will learn in life, the single most important thing that we will ever do, the single most important contribution that we will ever make to peace and order in the world”…
There is no possible greater contribution to life than to try to love one’s enemies. In a notable example of how this succeeds at national scale- Nelson Mandela did that and spared a country from civil war.
Another reposting:
Main contradictions between Jesus and Christ
Here again are some of the other main contradictions that highlight the oxymoronically opposite themes in the messages of Historical Jesus and Paul’s Christ mythology. The point I draw from this? The themes of Paul have shaped Western consciousness, narratives, and overall societies for the past two millennia. The Jesus themes have influenced us to a lesser extent, mainly moderating the harsher features of Paul’s message:
(1) Unconditional love (i.e. no sacrifice demanded in Jesus original message- i.e. the “Q Wisdom Sayings” gospel). Versus the highly conditional atonement religion of Paul (i.e. the supreme condition of the sacrifice of a cosmic godman- the Christ).
(2) Nonretaliation in Jesus (no more ‘eye for eye’ justice but ‘love the enemy’ because God does not retaliate but loves and includes enemies- as in sun and rain for all alike). Versus supreme divine retaliation in apocalypse and hell myths. Note Paul’s theology of a supremely retaliatory deity- “’Vengeance is mine, I will repay’, says the Lord” (Romans 12), and his “Lord Jesus returning in fire to destroy all who don’t believe Paul’s Christ myth” (Thessalonians).
(3) Restorative justice (again- no eye for eye) versus punitive, destroying justice.
(4) Nonviolent resolution of problems (again, no retaliation against enemies) versus the violent destruction of apocalypse and hell, and the violent pacification of deity by blood sacrifice for atonement.
(5) Nontribal inclusion of all humanity (“sun and rain given freely to both bad and good people”) versus the highly tribal favoritism toward true believers and the discriminatory exclusion of unbelievers as per Paul’s Christ (Note the ultimate tribal divide illustrated in Revelation as the eternal division of humans- assigned either to heaven or to hell, as per the cosmic dualism of Zoroaster).
(6) Nondomination in relationships (“If you want to be great then serve others”) versus ultimate eternal domination by Lord Christ with his rod of iron totalitarianism (“every knee shall bow… He will rule them with an iron scepter”).
(7) Non-dualism (God as the Oneness of Ultimate Reality that is love) versus eternal dualism (i.e. again, the cosmic dualism of “God and Satan”, “heaven and hell”).
And so on…
You cannot mix and merge such opposites in the one and same person- i.e. “Jesus Christ”- as that supremely oxymoronic combination creates such profound cognitive dissonance that you are left with a mental state akin to insanity or madness. And the egregious thing in the mix is that the good elements (i.e. the Jesus insights) are distorted and buried by the primitive and darkening elements in the Christology of Paul.
Applying Christology to Jesus (i.e. the divinizing of a common man over the first few centuries of Christianity) has effectively buried the potency of his liberating insights, notably his stunning new theology of a non-retaliatory, non-apocalyptic God. That truth of in his entirely new view of deity, though still present there in summaries of his statements (see Matthew 5, Luke 6), that “stunning new theology” is no longer clearly visible to most people’s minds because the larger New Testament context emphasizes Paul’s retaliatory, apocalyptic Christ. Paul intent on straightening Jesus out. His “secret wisdom of the Christ” correcting the ignorant/foolish worldly wisdom of Jesus and his followers, like Apollos.
Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy both nailed the contradiction between Jesus and Paul in the bluntest terms and no one has been as clear and direct since, perhaps because their comments are so offensive to true believer’s sensibilities. Few since have paid attention to their clarifying the stark contrast between Jesus and Paul, preferring instead the religious reformism that tinkers around the edges and gets nothing done, that avoids the central issue of theology- how Paul’s Christology deformed Jesus and his message.
The core principles/laws/institutions of our liberal democracies are Classic Liberal principles, laws, representative institutions. And they are not just Western principles but universal human principles, as the early Libertarians said, “Natural rights” as in God-given not state-granted and thereby not subject to being revoked by states.
Once again:
Basic principles, systems, institutions of Classic Liberalism, liberal democracy, or Western liberalism.
Daniel Hannan in his Introduction to “Inventing Freedom” provides the following lists and descriptions of the basic features of a truly liberal society or civilization:
“A belief in property rights, personal liberty, and representative government…
“Three irreducible elements. First, the rule of law…Those rules exist on a higher plane and are interpreted by independent magistrates…
“Second, personal liberty: freedom to say what you like, to assemble in any configuration you choose with your fellow citizens, to buy and sell without hindrance, to dispose as you wish with your assets, to work for whom you please, and conversely, to hire and fire as you will…
“Third, representative government. Laws should not be passed, nor taxes levied, except by elected legislators who are answerable to the rest of us… the rule of law, democratic government, and individual liberty…
“The idea that the individual should be as free as possible from state coercion… elevate the individual over the state…
“Elected parliaments, habeas corpus (see below), free contract, equality before the law, open markets, an unrestricted press, the right to proselytize for any religion, jury trials…
“The idea that the government ought to be subject to the law, not the other way around. The rule of law created security of property and contract…
“Individualism, the rule of law, honoring contracts and covenants, and the elevation of freedom to the first rank of political and cultural values…
And this full summary:
“Lawmakers should be directly accountable through the ballot box; the executive should be controlled by the legislature; taxes should not be levied nor laws passed without popular consent; the individual should be free from arbitrary punishment or confiscation; decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the people they affected; power should be dispersed; no one, not even the head of state, should be above the law; property rights should be secure; disputes should be arbitrated by independent magistrates; freedom of speech, religion, and assembly should be guaranteed”.
Hannan’s book is invaluable for tracing the historical emergence and development of Western freedom down through the English tradition, from pre-Magna Carta to the present.
Definition of habeas corpus (varied online definitions):
“A habeas corpus application is used by persons who feel they are being wrongfully detained. Upon application, the individual is brought before a judge who will determine whether the detainment is lawful.”
“A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.”
“The literal meaning of habeas corpus is “you should have the body”—that is, the judge or court should (and must) have any person who is being detained brought forward so that the legality of that person’s detention can be assessed. In United States law, ‘habeas corpus ad subjiciendum’ (the full name of what habeas corpus typically refers to) is also called “the Great Writ,” and it is not about a person’s guilt or innocence, but about whether custody of that person is lawful under the U.S. Constitution. Common grounds for relief under habeas corpus— “relief” in this case being a release from custody—include a conviction based on illegally obtained evidence; a denial of effective assistance of counsel; or a conviction by a jury that was improperly selected and impaneled.” (Miriam Webster)
One of the best at defining and articulating Classic Liberal ideals and principles, notably in the US version- Full interview of Vivek Ramaswamy on Lex Fridman podcast below in link. Vivek for president. Note how Vivek frankly acknowledges and responds to deformities of Classic Liberalism on the right side of US society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Qk_3a3lUw
Round and round we go, and where it stops nobody knows, Wendell Krossa
There is a whole other side to the public narrative that we have been fed through media about the Ukraine war. Think of Vietnam, Iraq, and other wars where we were lied to and propagandized that the causes of such wars were “evil threatening aggressors” that the West must, through “noble cause” response, defend against. Then, years later, the eventual revelations of the false flag events that provoked the wars (“Ooops, we lied to you”), and the relentless public narratives on the nature of the wars as our noble defense of democracy, but then we discover that they were not that.
And the millions of civilian deaths as “collateral damage” from these wars.
Jimmy Dore plays parts of a Piers Morgan interview with Jackson Hinkle…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jq2w0cNp5U
See also the Tucker Carlson interview of Putin. Note that Glen Greenwald, among others, has pointed out that the Western media generally understood and warned about the Nazi Azov units in the Ukraine military, but then that all changed overnight when the Russians invaded. Nazis? Nothing to see here, move along now, folks.