tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post7917656400926820888..comments2024-03-28T20:04:20.286-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: The Great Lincoln-Darwin Debate, part 2Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-92077071976804005452009-10-12T08:17:11.011-07:002009-10-12T08:17:11.011-07:00Abraham Lincoln "had lost the two people in h...Abraham Lincoln "had lost the two people in his life which he adored."<br /><br />Make that three: Nancy Hanks (his biological mother, Sarah Lincoln (his sister), and Ann Rutledge (his first true love)…<br /><br />I am reading Harry V Jaffa's "Crisis of the House Divided" and "A New Birth of Freedom", in preparation for a biography I am writing on the 16th president. Both books are indispensable to understand the Civil War Era, the Revolutionary Era, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and many other things…<br /><br />"A morality governed by prudence is largely beyond the ken of our latter-day abolitionist historians. For them, prudential compromises in dealing with slavery are regarded as mere excuses for inaction. They have much in common with Chief Justice Roger Taney, who in the Dred Scott decision of 1857, declared that the Signers of the Declaration of Independence could not have regarded slavery a s wrong, since they did not abolish it — ignoring the fact that, in any event, they had no power to abolish it! For such historians as these, the portrayal of a "racist" American Founding is a necessary preamble to the disavowal of any authority to the principles of the Revolution, notably those enshrined in the Declaration …<br /><br />"Yet for Lincoln, the wrongness of slavery and the wrongness of arbitrary power <i>are</i> one and the same …<br /><br />"We understand … why it is against our interest to become tyrants as why it is in our interest to prevent tyrants from ruling us. That is the argument of Plato as well as Aristotle. It is the argument of the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Gettysburg Address. Yet it is an argument held in almost no esteem today. How is that possible?<br /><br />"The answer is that in our time, truth has been disarmed by the opinion that reason is impotent to know what it just or unjust, right or wrong, true or false. If there is no truth, or if the truth is beyond the power of the human mind to know, then free argument and debate as means of arriving at the truth are meaningless. Truth is thereby disarmed of her natural weapons a priori. This challenge to the principle of a free society is one that neither Jefferson nor Lincoln anticipated. Nonetheless, we assert categorically that the common sense of the subject as it appeared to Jefferson and Lincoln, although it has been denied by the mainstream of Western thought for more than a century, has not been refuted."Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03223594990214352727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-57849701883892522332009-10-11T13:09:12.683-07:002009-10-11T13:09:12.683-07:00Xbrl said "There is no doubt that Lincoln was...Xbrl said "There is no doubt that Lincoln was for a time an atheist, the type of insincere unbeliever who is quarreling with God...."<br /><br />What I find utterly fascinating about reading Lincoln, is that while starting from somewhat casual, general opinions on slavery, liberty, etc, events continually prod him into deeper contact with the concepts, while me may seek to turn away, he always brings himself back into deeper and deeper dealings with the issues, in the end choosing not to turn away towards the easier path, but to confront the full meaning and implications, regardless of his preferences and safety.<br /><br />An astonishing Man, in part because he rose to true Greatness from the starting position of a 'typical' person.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-73430896073459686592009-10-11T11:33:59.908-07:002009-10-11T11:33:59.908-07:00There is no doubt that Lincoln was for a time an a...There is no doubt that Lincoln was for a time an atheist, the type of insincere unbeliever who is quarreling with God. He had lost the two people in his life which he adored.<br />Lincoln never viewed himself as the Messiah. He was very clear that he would keep slavery if that kept Union, that he would abolish slavery if that kept Union. In that purpose he followed what course was left to him in 1861, and eventually came to believe he was not alone.xlbrlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01931950075332608449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-41591476660431343552009-10-10T17:45:27.631-07:002009-10-10T17:45:27.631-07:00Ah, the puzzling Platypus. (A little alliteration...Ah, the puzzling Platypus. (A little alliteration, there.)<br /><br />"Encyclopaedia Britannica says that ‘little is known of their ancestry’ and: ‘Most authorities believe the order Monotremata originated from a line of mammal-like reptiles different from that which gave rise to the other mammals. Nonetheless monotremes may well represent features of anatomy and development that characterized the earliest mainstream mammals.’5<br /><br />Scientists initially considered the platypus to be ‘primitive’, but then they discovered the incredibly complex electrolocation techniques the animal uses to find food. To evolutionists this made it a ‘highly evolved animal and not a primitive transition between reptiles and mammals.’6<br /><br />The platypus, along with its fellow monotreme, the echidna, was believed to have evolved in isolation when the land mass that would become Australia (Gondwana) broke away from the other continents supposedly 225 million years ago.7 This idea of evolution in isolation followed the theory of Darwin, whose affinity for evolution may also have been influenced by his early studies of the platypus during his time on The Beagle.8<br /><br />However, the discovery in the early 1990s of three platypus teeth in South America—almost identical to fossil platypus teeth found in Australia—threw that theory upside down.9 (Marsupials, too, were once considered to be exclusive to Australia, but their fossils have now been found on every continent.) Adult living platypuses do not have teeth, but the discovery of platypus fossils in Australia had already identified that their ancestors did have teeth, which were unique and distinctive.10<br /><br />In reality, there is nothing in the fossil record to indicate that the platypus was ever anything other than a platypus. It is not a living ‘transitional’ form. It is a truly unique creature, and one that continues to baffle those who insist on making it fit into an evolutionary tree."<br /><br />(This is from at article at AiG, a creationist site.)Susannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16381272662339466736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-49410255150924583562009-10-10T16:28:27.667-07:002009-10-10T16:28:27.667-07:00Understood - actually, I was mostly agreeing with ...Understood - actually, I was mostly agreeing with you, too, it's just that after I made my first comment I realized some troll was likely to jump in and say "Hey, what about the platypus?" Hence the reading.<br /><br />Have fun playing music!juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31506247946990245932009-10-10T15:13:14.527-07:002009-10-10T15:13:14.527-07:00Julie,
I'm sorry. I wasn't aiming that at...Julie,<br /><br />I'm sorry. I wasn't aiming that at you. I was agreeing with you that evolution from one species to another is highly unlikely. I was arguing in general against Darwinian evolution in that the evolved and unevolved species are here simultaneously. Maybe some species peaked and they are devolving. <br />Gotta go play some music. Will check back later.debasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13546940741042023260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31307539620467424822009-10-10T14:22:06.221-07:002009-10-10T14:22:06.221-07:00Debass - I don't necessarily question that mam...Debass - I don't necessarily question that mammals came from reptiles. They had to come from <i>somewhere</i>, and why wouldn't god work with what was already present? Also, I was reading about the platypus this morning, which really is like a living fossil that stopped at an intermediate stage. I just don't think that it all happened gradually and accidentally. Going back to my thoughts on the reproductive systems, I know from a very personal perspective that if things go even slightly wrong - the hormones don't line up, the organs aren't in quite the right place, etc. - reproduction just doesn't happen. So the fact that advanced reptile life somehow accidentally became fully mammalian strikes me as completely absurd - the requisite changes involved make it highly unlikely that reproduction could have taken place in those intermediate stages, im(not at all scientific)o. <br /><br />Also, the fact that most observable evolution has been differentiation of physical characteristics as opposed to entire new species springing up from old ones is interesting to me. Sharks are still sharks, regardless of size. The Galapagos finches are all still recognizably finches, in spite of the fact they they have differentiated enough to fit different niches and some can't reproduce with others.<br /><br />Anyway, I just find it all interesting.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-34755051183242030252009-10-10T14:09:15.531-07:002009-10-10T14:09:15.531-07:00I've noticed that - the number of soldiers wai...I've noticed that - the number of soldiers waiting to be adopted has jumped way up (over 2300!), even as things are getting tougher in Afghanistan and they really need our support. And Iraq is still no picnic, either, even though we don't hear as much about it.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-85526137874363040702009-10-10T13:49:33.845-07:002009-10-10T13:49:33.845-07:00OT: Soldiers' Angels needs more volunteers to ...OT: Soldiers' Angels needs more volunteers to adopt soldiers<br /><br />If you have thought about doing something to support our troops, but weren't sure that tying a yellow ribbon on the tree in front of your house would really help, I have another idea for you.<br /><br />There are a shocking number of soldiers who are waiting to be adopted by some kind souls. If you'd like to give it a try, please go to:<br />http://soldiersangels.org/<br />and click on Adopt a Soldier.<br /><br />You write a letter a week and send a care package a month (not anything elaborate, and they have some on the site they can even send for you.) And your soldier will often even email you at some point.<br /><br />I've spoken to so many soldiers who have told me how much this means to them and their families that a stranger would offer support in this way. And they really love getting mail and the packages...it boosts their morale more than we can imagine.<br /><br />Thanks for considering this!<br />Mrs. GLeslie Godwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15867359654055086952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-48263759039526670792009-10-10T12:49:30.253-07:002009-10-10T12:49:30.253-07:00If mammals evolved from reptiles, why are the rept...If mammals evolved from reptiles, why are the reptiles still around? Or, if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Where is the fossil record of all the intermediate species of evolution?debasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13546940741042023260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-45548106629136766712009-10-10T12:47:05.715-07:002009-10-10T12:47:05.715-07:00Julie,
Ah, it's okay... I had just been noti...Julie,<br /><br />Ah, it's okay... I had just been noticing an off-the-wall concept, then realized last night that it is actually quite a Biblical theme. Jesus who 'had it all' lowered Himself in humility by becoming man. I was thinking of how that is a supreme example of humility even in the highest. <br /><br />Ergo over-explanation repeat: <br />You might think that people who believe man is made in God's image (and is the crown of creation) would have a corresponding vanity but it's the opposite - they're a humble lot. (So was being tongue-in-cheek with the 'where's the vanity?' in those with the high view of humanity.) <br /><br />And for all of Darwinists' low view of humanity's place in the universe, you would think there would be a corresponding humility. But no, there is an arrogance. <br /><br />It goes so against the Darwinists' entire philosophical grain to do what Christ did. Giving up His life to save others with no strings attached, no "what's in it for me?" i.e. love. A lot of stuff that wouldn't occur to the 'survival of the fittest' touters. God is pleased with the humble servant putting others first.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16900344453710081874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-45372009909125133452009-10-10T10:06:40.686-07:002009-10-10T10:06:40.686-07:00Excellent series of posts this week! I've been...Excellent series of posts this week! I've been 'forced' (since a blogger change earlier this year, my PocketPC can't post a comment) to read only - kind of a strange sensation not being able to join in, but sort of soothing too... especially when reading beachside. I'll keep my comments for the week past to this one, being core to all the rest, and - amazingly - I'll keep it brief:<br /><br />ken said "It is the value of equality (embedded in the D of I) that gives him a "progressive" side, and motivated his invocation of federal power to pursue it, as progressives in the American tradition have always done."<br /><br />There are no elements of a "progressive" side in either the Declaration of Independence, or in anything Lincoln supported, in regards to 'equality'. Selecting quotes at random may make it simple to mislead yourself and others, but the facts remain and are there for you to find them. Lincoln used federal power in order to preserve that which ALL rights depend upon, One government under the Constitution, and without which all our rights would have been equally jeopardized or lost.<br /><br />The proregressive take on 'equality', equality of distribution or outcomes, is nothing like Lincoln's usage and certainly not the Founders, or the Declaration of Independence's usage of Equality, theirs being concerned with <a href="http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch15I.html" rel="nofollow">equality of Rights</a>, <br /><br /><i>"Thanks to John Locke's reformulation of Hobbes, the claim and implications of original equality became an American commonplace. (See ch. 2.) On the premise of original equality there is no natural subordination or ascendancy; everyone is as free as the next to order his acts or possessions or person as he sees fit. To say that all men are by nature equal is to say that every man has an equal right to his natural freedom. As little as I can rightfully diminish your freedom without your consent can you diminish mine. The solidity of this claim is quite unshaken by the manifest inequalities among men, inequalities that may persuade some men to defer to others because of some acknowledged superiority. Although much of this original equality is superseded by the conventions of society and government, the foundation of civil society itself can only be the consent of free equals to submit to such an order. Finally, and in the most critical instance, the equal enjoyment of some rights persists--because unalienable.</i> "<br /><br />- broaden your contexts.<br /><br />Btw, if you widen your contexts far enough, you will discover that it was the proregressives of the democrat party (there were proregressives in the republican party as well, evenly split up to the beginnings of the 20th century, and are many still there) who first began attempting to detach the Declaration of Independence from the Constitution, for the same reason they always have, to destroy Individual Rights, and promote group privileges. It was the democrat party, that first championed 'States Rights' as a way to get around Individual Rights, funny that today they attempt to attribute to conservatives (Classical Liberals), their own motives - perhaps it's hard for them to imagine it any other way.<br /><br />Enough... lots of catching up to do elsewhere....Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-66379254359835716222009-10-10T09:43:36.262-07:002009-10-10T09:43:36.262-07:00Switching gears again back to Darwinism, this morn...Switching gears again back to Darwinism, this morning the tv was on the Science channel, for a show about the extinction of the dinos and the emergence of mammals. The narrator started talking about the development of placentas and internal gestation, which was interesting, but the way he phrased it was odd, something to the effect that "the new mammals found it advantageous to carry their young inside their bodies" - as though it were a conscious decision, and some reptile just woke up one day and decided to grow hair, gestate internally and lactate because it was more convenient.<br /><br />But it got me to wondering about the difference between egg-laying and mammalian reproduction. How could that change have possibly happened gradually and accidentally? The mechanisms are so fundamentally different that the leap from one to the other is almost incomprehensible. Microevolution is obvious and plain to anyone with eyes; those big leaps are much more challenging to explain, absent a guiding Intelligence.<br /><br />However it comes about, though, it's still miraculous.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-38258537551871732952009-10-10T09:26:14.017-07:002009-10-10T09:26:14.017-07:00Speaking of lingerie, is it just me or shouldn'...Speaking of lingerie, is it just me or shouldn't there be some cognitive dissonance in <a href="http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-think-this-competition-is-long.html" rel="nofollow">this statement</a>:<br /><br />"Hungarians used to laugh about plastic surgery but it's time for Hungarian women to care more about their appearance. They are the most beautiful in Europe."<br /><br />If they're already the most beautiful, why plastic surgery? Shouldn't basic grooming and a little makeup suffice?<br /><br />More <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2672000/Girls-line-up-for-Miss-Plastic-Surgery-comp.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I can't help it, this is just hilarious:<br /><br /><i>"I'm suing my hair supplier because what they supplied caught fire while it was being dyed.<br /><br />"Luckily before it had been fitted to my head."</i> <br /><br />(Of course, I'm glad no one was hurt. But flammable fake hair? Just wow.)juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31916463726225147692009-10-10T08:54:26.904-07:002009-10-10T08:54:26.904-07:00...continuing non-education time... in order to sa......continuing non-education time... in order to satisfy the state.<br /><br />On the bright side, after that forced exposure to idiocy, B'atman always comes back with hilarious bobservations.ximezehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09969724903834433405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-32109861056751001302009-10-10T08:24:50.429-07:002009-10-10T08:24:50.429-07:00However, if you're really bored, I'm in th...However, if you're really bored, I'm in the process of assembling a <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/onecosmos-20" rel="nofollow">Raccoon Store</a>, that will have all my book, music, and lingerie recommendations.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-68952711060721896832009-10-10T07:31:09.101-07:002009-10-10T07:31:09.101-07:00By the way, no post today. It's that unhappy ...By the way, no post today. It's that unhappy time of year -- continuing education time, in which I must temporarily discontinue my education in order to satisfy the state.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-79022900402361855572009-10-10T07:29:46.678-07:002009-10-10T07:29:46.678-07:00Your ancestors lost their slaves. Get over it.Your ancestors lost their slaves. Get over it.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-13333692092686276982009-10-10T05:04:18.004-07:002009-10-10T05:04:18.004-07:00"I'll have no comment until I finish read..."I'll have no comment until I finish reading the complete speeches and writings of Lincoln, which I'm working on at the moment. I want to try, insofar as it is possible, to understand the totality of the man, since I agree with Schuon that he was a superior being, very likely a vibhuti with a spiritual mission that he only gradually realized. That being the case, the one thing you don't want to do is focus on an isolated comment -- or even a preluminary stage -- outside the total context of his life."<br /><br />It is interesting,nonetheless, to note some of those individual sayings and actions within that overall context. If, indeed, Lincoln was a superior being, and therefore a man with a mission, it should be noted what kinds of things heaven will allow him to do, things clearly in opposition to the constitution. And, conversely, if he was not, then it is of interest to note that he was a ruthless tyrant in many instances, in spite of his lip service to liberty.Contra Rebelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09069882767235492654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-89557104845588972192009-10-09T22:49:21.466-07:002009-10-09T22:49:21.466-07:00'shroom,
I just thought we could give them a ...'shroom,<br /><br />I just thought we could give them a chance since they are just underprivileged and poor and don't really mean us any harm. Besides it would provide us with a target rich environment as we used to say.<br />btw, someone came up with the burkini about a year ago.debasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13546940741042023260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-41565133099116269522009-10-09T22:25:14.353-07:002009-10-09T22:25:14.353-07:00Ken:
I'll have no comment until I finish read...Ken:<br /><br />I'll have no comment until I finish reading the complete speeches and writings of Lincoln, which I'm working on at the moment. I want to try, insofar as it is possible, to understand the totality of the man, since I agree with Schuon that he was a superior being, very likely a vibhuti with a spiritual mission that he only gradually realized. That being the case, the one thing you don't want to do is focus on an isolated comment -- or even a preluminary stage -- outside the total context of his life.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-64107883252536599592009-10-09T21:52:09.456-07:002009-10-09T21:52:09.456-07:00It is the value of equality (embedded in the D of ...<i>It is the value of equality (embedded in the D of I) that gives him a "progressive" side, and motivated his invocation of federal power to pursue it, as progressives in the American tradition have always done.</i><br /><br />If you think you're disagreeing, I suspect you are, well, wrong. Certainly Lincoln's actions were progressive, in the sense that abolishing slavery was actually progress toward an ideal - namely, the ideal that all men are created equal, and that slavery is thus intrinsically wrong and antithetical to the American ideal.<br /><br />He favored equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome, which is strictly impossible without destroying man as such.<br /><br />Today's "progressives" actually favor policies that would drive us farther away from any lofty ideal, Sacred or secular, towards a laughty udopian paradise where mama state takes care of everything from healthcare to housing, cradle to grave, and if some of the little folk have more or better accommodations than others, it is expected they will give it up for the common good. Unless, of course, one has friends in high places, in which case one is more equal than others.<br /><br />Progress in and of itself is not a bad thing - provided that it truly is from a worse situation to a better one, from the periphery toward the Absolute. For instance, progress made in the medical fields means that there's never been a better time to have health problems in this country, in spite of all the griping about the sad state of American health care. Today's progressives don't consider the results of their well-intentioned ideals, they think it should be good enough that they "want the best" for everyone, no matter how much it hurts.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-32041467904567484522009-10-09T21:13:29.710-07:002009-10-09T21:13:29.710-07:00Today's postings would not be complete without...Today's postings would not be complete without at least one mark of a benign troll, to stir up the raccoons...It is interesting that Lincoln with his devotion to the American "national religion" - adherence to philosophy of the founders, the Constitution and the D of I , and his deepening spirituality during the war - was otherwise previously known for his skeptic and almost secular outlook, a perspective characterized by most historians as pragmatic and centrist. In the famous 1860 Cooper Union address he said "I do not mean to say we are bound to follow implicitly in whatever our fathers did. To do so, would be to discard all the lights of current experience - to reject all progress - all improvement" -This was in the context of arguing that the constitution allowed the regulation, but not the abolition, of slavery, which was enough to trigger war with the slavocracy, whose defenders also cited the constitution, though rigidly, in their favor. Five years later, his position "evolved"; he did free the slaves as a FEDERAL action, again running smack against the "constitutionalists" of the slaveocracy, who lacked one value that Lincoln had - the belief in equality (which has roots in both classical tradition and Christianity). It is the value of equality (embedded in the D of I) that gives him a "progressive" side, and motivated his invocation of federal power to pursue it, as progressives in the American tradition have always done. Unfortunately most progressives in that tradition have lacked sufficient adherence to another value all progressives should also have - liberty.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05210771427420285646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-10714112395040478972009-10-09T20:25:36.246-07:002009-10-09T20:25:36.246-07:00Anna - no worries, I was actually just trying to m...Anna - no worries, I was actually just trying to make it seem like I wasn't interjecting something completely random into the conversation :)juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-35146094499218090232009-10-09T20:15:25.304-07:002009-10-09T20:15:25.304-07:00Sorry, debass, not only do us hillbillies have ...Sorry, debass, not only do us hillbillies have 'shine, we make our living off "hawgs, dawgs, and lawgs" -- nearly as offense to the Muslims as to the environmentalists, I'm sure. <br /><br />Not to mention we like our women just a little on the trashy side, when they wear their clothes too tight, and their hair is dyed. Unless they are fixin' to make a bare midriff burka with some daisy-dukes, they might be happier sticking to the more sophisticated parts of the country.mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.com