tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post114658321865194081..comments2024-03-28T20:04:20.286-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Classical Mind Parasitology: The Seven Deadly Sins (or Seven F***ing Awesome Virtues)Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146717295502470252006-05-03T21:34:00.000-07:002006-05-03T21:34:00.000-07:00Cheiftan:On the chance you're still checking: What...Cheiftan:<BR/>On the chance you're still checking: What you're doing isn't 'trolling'. Trolls come around to stir up shit for the sake of stirring up shit. Don't worry about slinging ten dollar words. You write fine. Join the conversation!<BR/><BR/>JWMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146707188982943432006-05-03T18:46:00.000-07:002006-05-03T18:46:00.000-07:00Mr. Gagdad Bob,My apologies for the condescending ...Mr. Gagdad Bob,<BR/><BR/>My apologies for the condescending tone of my comment. I wrote the comment without hope that it would profitable to anyone. When writing is undertaken without such hope it usually comes across as combative or condescending. I should not have written that comment and on some level I knew that even as I was writing it. Hence the last paragraph that disturbed Mr. Hinds.<BR/><BR/>My post had many ideas bound up in it. All of them connected in my delusional mind, if not in reality. But the core of my post was an assertion that by using liberals as your constant whipping boys, you risked creating an environment were self congratulation rather self reflection was the prevailing mood.<BR/><BR/>I think that the best answer to the liberal celebration of nothing is to have something. And to that end, I think that it is at least as important to test our own ideas as it is to demonstrate that liberal's cry of "God is dead" is a death call for all of humanity.<BR/><BR/>To elaborate any more, I am afraid, would risk becoming a troll in truth as I have trouble writing.Chieftain of Seirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986240008122099908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146664926738219062006-05-03T07:02:00.000-07:002006-05-03T07:02:00.000-07:00Will -I've seen people do multiple categories per ...Will -<BR/>I've seen people do multiple categories per post, eg. the Anchoress. But I agree with you, that if you pick and choose you lose the holistic experience.<BR/>And of course, there could never be a "best of Bob".<BR/><BR/>Anyone else finding that if you think hard about a topic, Bob addresses it in the next day or so?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146625603725715232006-05-02T20:06:00.000-07:002006-05-02T20:06:00.000-07:00Cheiftain,Do you see yourself as an intruder or tr...Cheiftain,<BR/><BR/>Do you see yourself as an intruder or troll to this blog?<BR/>I see honest questioning and examination as a good thing here so long as it isn't laced with condescention. <BR/>I myself am helped by Bobs ability to describe psychospiritual malady manifesting in our political system by giving real world examples. It elucidates what may only be a gut reaction. <BR/>While the varying philisophies of conservatism may be interesting, the the most deadly cancers in our political system need to be described and dealt with before we work on the runny nose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146625527922953962006-05-02T20:05:00.000-07:002006-05-02T20:05:00.000-07:00I've been taking stock these last couple of days, ...I've been taking stock these last couple of days, yesterday in particular. As I mentioned, yesterday seemed to be one long string of parables played out in very ordinary events. The guy in the checkout line was only the first.<BR/>What I noticed yesterday was a lot of frustration, anger, and resentment, and all of it connected in some way with computers. I had to contrast that with several other incidents where I saw great examples of forbearance and kindness on the one-to-one human level.<BR/>It wasn't that the events of the day were in any way extraordinary. What I saw in them was what was remarkable. <BR/>My first spiritual jolt came to me way back in 1981, but I can't say that I actually began the steps of a spiritual path until more than ten years after that. And then I really didn't do much other than to pray <I>in earnest</I> to place my life and will in the care of God. I didn't know it then but that was the first step in a battle against Pryde. It has been a very slow process. It has involved losing a lot. But now as I look back I can see that each of those losses was necessary to bring me to the place where I am now. Change is happening. The hunger for True religion grows, and as it does Anger is losing its grip on me. (just as Sloth is slithering in to take its place) Oh well. I'll work on Sloth tomorrow. What is growing is a sense of happiness. Not the kind of happiness like when you win an auction on e-bay, or buy a new toy, but like what Dennis Prager means when he says we have a moral obligation to be happy. We do. In a very real way each of us has the power to add or subtract from the net amount of happiness that exists in the world. But you can't give away what you don't have. Sometimes I get the voice in my head. A week or so back it happened as I was walking up the hill.<BR/><BR/><I>Do you want to carry the fire?</I> <BR/><BR/>It felt like someone was asking me to make a committment, and I balked.<BR/><BR/> <I> You can refuse.</I><BR/><BR/> It was actually kind of scary. I was afraid to say yes, but more afraid to say no. Half measures avail us nothing. So I said yes.<BR/><BR/>JWMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146623808481873972006-05-02T19:36:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:36:00.000-07:00Thanks, Bob. I gnu you wouldn't mind! I can only...Thanks, Bob. I gnu you wouldn't mind! I can only speak for myself when I say that you and your writing have played an instrumental part in the synthesis and clarity of thought during this creative process.<BR/><BR/>I may soon start writing about the Six Principles of Pilates in my blog.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04969685296436358865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146623298246545582006-05-02T19:28:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:28:00.000-07:00Chieftain--If I had the slightest idea what you we...Chieftain--<BR/><BR/>If I had the slightest idea what you were talking about, I'd love to respond.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146622666385189312006-05-02T19:17:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:17:00.000-07:00Hoarhey--Re what you said up there about Jesus--I ...Hoarhey--<BR/><BR/>Re what you said up there about Jesus--I think your assessment is more or less accurate if applied to rank and file, or or even rank and foul, human beings. But I would hesitate to try to squeeze Jesus into my system. I'm trying to squeeze mine into his. <BR/><BR/>Lisa--<BR/><BR/>Please, feel free to pimp your blog! My blog is your blog. Like Will, Dilys, Hoarhey, JWM, Khan, Sal et al, you give it added value, whatever its value might be.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146622470795378742006-05-02T19:14:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:14:00.000-07:00>>Maybe some enterprising commenter, say Mr. Will,...>>Maybe some enterprising commenter, say Mr. Will, would be up to the task given access to the material.<<<BR/><BR/>Well, this is a God-like responsibility, dividing the One into the Multiplicity and everything but,okay. There's the (1) good stuff (2)even better stuff (3) super-duper stuff (4)super-duper cubed times infinity stuff (5)read-it-and-experience-an-out-of-body-trip-to-Arcturus stuff (6)gets at the grimy dirt AND oily stains stuff (7) see your $1500.00 and raise you $10,000.00 stuff, and (8)response to trolls stuff, which is actually a sub-set involving all of the above. <BR/><BR/>But you know what? I think there's some kind of Blogger thingie that miraculously does all this for you. On the other hand, do we really want a division into categories here? Bob's not a political pundit - there's one central theme that unites everything in the blog; it's all holistic in nature, one post flows seamlessly into the next. You'll see, when they're compiled into book form. It's named One Cosmos, after all. <BR/><BR/>Correct me if I am wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146621971292292242006-05-02T19:06:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:06:00.000-07:00Chieftain of Seir, You make a thoughtful comment b...Chieftain of Seir, <BR/><BR/>You make a thoughtful comment but your last paragraph troubles me somewhat. Perhaps you would elaborate. I am not in agreement with your major premise that this is a one trick pony. That seems condescending. There is a "sickness unto death" at large in the land. Any authentic, serious thinker can see that. There are sides to be taken. We have equivocated long enough. We must stand up for what we know to be true. Perhaps we agree but not to the same level of alarm as to the nature of the enemy and the means to victory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146620706567530662006-05-02T18:45:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:45:00.000-07:00Kahn - Yeah,lolol - I had my kidney removed down a...Kahn - <BR/><BR/>Yeah,lolol - I had my kidney removed down at the crossroads.<BR/><BR/>Prior to the song comps, I was doing a lot of ambient stuff, some of which will eventually go up on the site. I enjoyed composing ambiently - in fact, the surgeon had some of my stuff playing when I got wheeled into the OR, those whacky surgeons! - but I felt it time to return to plain ole song-writing after refraining for quite some time.<BR/><BR/>I missed the "ballast" of lyrics, plus I wanted to see if I could instill the music with whatever spiritual element/quality I have integrated lo these many years. How successful I am to date, I dunno - I will keep trying. There is an elemental quality to a good song that skirts the overt religious propagandish-ness of so many modern Christian songs, (though I admit, those song types can and do have their place) For example,I think Guthrie wrote some genuinely "Christian" songs, though they were not overtly such. It depends, I suppose, on intent and whatever a composer can bring to the table re basic musicality.In any event, I think bad art makes for bad religion, and that's what I'd like to avoid.<BR/><BR/>So Kahn - record some stuff, get it online, lay it out there. Is good to share. Spiritual obligation, in fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146620315445719242006-05-02T18:38:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:38:00.000-07:00Looks like I got to the party late today! Fascina...Looks like I got to the party late today! Fascinating discussion about mind parasites from post to comments.<BR/><BR/>Chieftain may be surprised to learn that many of us here at this blog were leftists at some time in our youth. Our dissection of the left's mind parasites are actually a clearing of our own mind parasites. Think of it as a douse of Advantage dabbed between your shoulders!<BR/><BR/>I actually have my own blog up now. I hope Bob doesn't mind my announcement prior to permission! ;0) I also have secret plans to recruit Dr. Bob for a workshop entitled, "Spiritual & Physical Vertical Alignment". Shhh, he doesn't know about this yet, but I bet Petey does!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04969685296436358865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146620176044907372006-05-02T18:36:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:36:00.000-07:00Horhey said: "Have you ever considered a "concept ...Horhey said: "Have you ever considered a "concept index" where related subjects could be categorized and referenced?..."<BR/><BR/>You could search the blog for the "concept's" keywords. I have done this with some success. My only problem with finding stuff here is you can't search the comments as a whole. That is, to me, a serious drawback.<BR/><BR/>Just thought I'd throw that out. It would be a lot of work to categorize all the posts. Maybe some enterprising commenter, say Mr. Will, would be up to the task given access to the material.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146619676813726812006-05-02T18:27:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:27:00.000-07:00[sorry for the cutoff]...I start telling God to ta...[sorry for the cutoff]<BR/><BR/>...I start telling God to take the gift of life and shove back up where it came from. Not pretty. Diabolical, in fact.<BR/><BR/>As you can tell, I'm not a leftie.Mike Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18100363229707213441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146619553790060232006-05-02T18:25:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:25:00.000-07:00In her reference to the Fall, Dilys alluded obliqu...In her reference to the Fall, Dilys alluded obliquely to original sin and the doctrine thereof. In youth I doubted that doctrine. But by the time I graduated from Columbia, I firmly believed that it is the only dogma of Christianity that admits empirical verification. You can't live in New York for four years and honestly believe otherwise. (For a bit more explanation of the concept, see the <A HREF="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p7.htm#396" REL="nofollow">Catechism of the Catholic Church.</A>)<BR/><BR/>The seven deadly sins are called that because, when committed with complete freedom, they cut one off from God and kill the soul. My homeboy deadly sin is sloth <I>(accidia</I> or 'Accidie', in Chaucer's English). When I let myself get into that state,Mike Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18100363229707213441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146619472801261892006-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:00Pardon an intruder….I was happy to find a blog dea...Pardon an intruder….<BR/><BR/>I was happy to find a blog dealing with philosophical matters that was written by someone who was literate. I was less happy when it began to appear that the blog was a one trick pony.<BR/><BR/>I am well aware of the thrill of crucifying David Hume on the cross that he raised. I love it when the sophisticate's demanded for proof that God exists is met with the demand that they prove that they exist. I get a savage thrill when those who condemned others for being intolerant are asked to come up with a moral principle that would make it wrong to send them to a fiery stake. <BR/><BR/>But such exercises are like suicide bombings. They are a satisfying way of expressing anger, but they are unprofitable to oneself. There are few things more futile than proving that people who believe there is no truth have nothing worthwhile to say. Such exercises only confirm the leftist in their contempt for logic, and increase their regard for their own passions. Nor do they do anything for oneself, other than increase one sense of ones own superiority. <BR/><BR/>The fact that pointing out flaws in other people's belief systems boosts one own sense of self esteem explains why it is the preferred occupation of the liberal. They are always setting themselves up as professional stone throwers. They feed off of real and perceived flaws in other people. <BR/><BR/>An environmentalist is not someone who wants to go into the lumber business so that they can make the process more sustainable. Rather, it someone who wants to stand outside the lumber business and tell those who are in the industry what they are doing wrong. An anti poverty activist is not some one who personally seeks to serve the poor, but is instead someone devoted to telling other people that they are not doing enough for the poor.<BR/><BR/>I am sure that you can explain as well as I can why always telling other people what is wrong with them is unhealthy. But it seems to me that any fair explanation must cut awfully close to home. By always making the failures and the vices of the liberals central to your posts you begin to resemble a leftist yourself.<BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong. I an enjoy gathering around the fire and roasting a liberal as much as the next guy. It is a great method of male bonding. But while it might make for good comradeship, I don't see it contributing to personal growth. I think that to grow, you need to examine your own beliefs and the beliefs of those that you respect. <BR/><BR/>Is it beyond a man of your talents to deal with the various philosophical issues that are to be found within the company of those who acknowledge a revealed truth (or as you say objective truth, though I think that term has its weakness)? Can you not parse the differing philosophical starting points between those conservatives who are for large scale immigration, and those who are against? Can you compare the strengths and weakness of a Hamilton type conservative and a Jefferson type conservative?<BR/><BR/><I> My apologies for breaking the blog tradition of having trolls identify themselves by their bad spelling. Like all trolls I am a bad speller, but it is easier on my eyes to type in Word. But Word insisted on spell checking the post and thus removed many of the tell tale signs of a troll. </I>Chieftain of Seirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986240008122099908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146618607671322112006-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:002006-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Chieftain of Seirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986240008122099908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146616678374263092006-05-02T17:37:00.000-07:002006-05-02T17:37:00.000-07:00Here's another song for Will (and others): Bob's p...Here's another song for Will (and others): Bob's post reminded me of Mordred's song from <I>Camelot</I>-- which was written in 1960:<BR/><BR/>Song: Seven Deadly Virtues<BR/> <BR/> <BR/>MORDRED:<BR/>The seven deadly virtues, those ghastly little traps<BR/>Oh no, my liege, they were not meant for me!<BR/>Those seven deadly virtues were made for other chaps<BR/>Who love a life of failure and ennui.<BR/>Take courage--now there's a sport<BR/>An invitation to the state of rigor mort.<BR/>And purity--a noble yen<BR/>And very restful every now and then<BR/>I find humility means to be hurt<BR/>It's not the earth the meek inherit, it's the dirt.<BR/>Honesty is fatal, it should be taboo;<BR/>Diligence--a fate I would hate.<BR/>If charity means giving, I give it to you<BR/>And fidelity is only for your mate!<BR/>You'll never find a virtue unstatusing my quo or making my Beelzebubble burst<BR/>Let others take the high road, I will take the low<BR/>I cannot wait to rush in where angels fear to go<BR/>With all those seven deadly virtues Free and happy little me has not been cursed!<BR/><BR/>(Bob should enjoy Alan Jay Lerner's way with language).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146615871656420832006-05-02T17:24:00.000-07:002006-05-02T17:24:00.000-07:00not one of those songs existed before mid-Sept of ...<I>not one of those songs existed before mid-Sept of last year.</I><BR/><BR/>Wow, that is inspiring. My songs, or lets say lyrics, have only been bubbling forth for just over 2 years. I've got a whole file cabinet full of unfinished songs, which have been gradually coming together as I learn what I need to finish them. Quite an adventure; oft a struggle (mostly with learning the guitar), but now it's really all starting to come together.<BR/><BR/>I really believe things happen as and when the should. <BR/><BR/><I>A month and a half before I started composing, I had a left kidney removed. So there's the secret. Have an organ removed (preferably one of duplicate) and rip it up! (not the organ, the music, so to speak)</I><BR/><BR/>Not bad when you consider inflation. 80 years ago the going rate was a soul.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, though, so you weren't making music at all before then?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146613595677761942006-05-02T16:46:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:46:00.000-07:00Sal - >>My favorite Will song so far is "God Made ...Sal - <BR/><BR/>>>My favorite Will song so far is "God Made Me that Way", but I'm only on page 2. Knitting and listening.]<<<BR/><BR/>Danke, danke! Oh, and thanks, too.<BR/><BR/>Sal's knitting and listening/and as always, glistening. Cuz God made you that way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146612412599857752006-05-02T16:26:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:26:00.000-07:00Now shul ye understonde which is the remedie agayn...Now shul ye understonde which is the remedie agayns the synne of Pryde; and that is humylitee, or mekenesse./<BR/><BR/>Now wol I speke of remedie agayns this foule synne of Envye. Fisrt is the love of God principal, and lovyng of his neighrbor as hymself; for soothly, that oon ne may nat been withoute that other./<BR/><BR/>The remedie agayns Ire is a vertue that men clepen Mansuetude*, that is Debonairetee**; and eek another vertu, that men callen Pacience or Suffrance.<BR/><BR/>Agayns this horrible synne of Accidie, and the branches of the same, ther is a vertu that is called fortitudo or strengthe, that is an affecioun thurgh which a man despiseth anoyouse thinges./<BR/><BR/>Now shul ye understonde that the releevvnge of Avarice is misericorde, and pitee largely taken.<BR/><BR/>Agayns Glotonye is the remedie abstinence as seith Galien, but... Abstinence [Seint Augustyn] seith, "is litel worth but if a man have good wil therto...and that men do it for Godes sake, and in hope to have the blisse of hevene./<BR/><BR/>Now comth the remedie agayns Leccherie, and that is generally chastitee and continence, that restreyneth alle the desordeynee moevynges that comen of flesshly talentes./<BR/><BR/> Excerpts from The Canterbury Tales<BR/>(The Parsons Tale)<BR/> <BR/>Geoffrey Chaucer<BR/><BR/>*gentleness<BR/>**courteous<BR/><BR/>JWMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146611920967160042006-05-02T16:18:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:18:00.000-07:00Dilys>>Interesting... the fallacy of the culture w...Dilys<BR/><BR/>>>Interesting... the fallacy of the culture wars. Would another way to put it be the 60's-ish belief that the exoteric side of the personality is, somehow, less authentic than the esoteric one??<<<BR/><BR/>My impression is that the two were conflated, to the detriment of both.<BR/><BR/>>>Yay Kahn. Leonard Cohen + Cat Stevens = Our Good Will.<<<BR/><BR/>Mucho thanks, D. But I'm not going to convert to Islam.<BR/><BR/>>>Exoteric, and I would think the esoteric religion going on around here, would say in spite of the Fall, proclivity, deterministic elements in our geneology, that there are no sins or mind viruses that cannot be struggled against With Vertical Assistance. And that trying and failing is not fatal, but the danger lies in choosing to abandon the struggle.<<<BR/><BR/>I dunno. I think it might be fatal for some. Think of the demons (probably literally so) that potential serial killers and pedophiles have to wrestle with. But evidently they are given a last chance for redemption, a chance to reject the call to the abyss. This is why I do believe in, if not reincarnation per se, then some kind of prior existence(s) in which we all have made choices for good or evil. It makes no sense to me on an intuitive level that our Deity would arbitrarily burden a few individuals with such a terrible challenge, one loss of which results in "spiritual fatality."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146610986377351052006-05-02T16:03:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:03:00.000-07:00Kahn,Yes, that would be one's "besetting sin/s", t...Kahn,<BR/>Yes, that would be one's "besetting sin/s", the one you struggle against on a regular and continuing basis<BR/> "for-ever...for-ever...for-ever..."* <BR/><BR/>In sociology class, we learned about the concept of "shadow morality", in which ordinary concepts of morality were turned upside down, as being outside the person's ability to perform.<BR/><BR/>But this was presented as a source of pride: marital infidelity was out of the question "b/c I'm too much man for any one woman." Hanging onto a job was impossible "b/c I'm too much man for the Man to push around." And so on... <BR/><BR/>Could we discuss the cult of Too Much Information sometime? I can see where that would fit in with the idea of 'authenticity'. <BR/><BR/>[My favorite Will song so far is "God Made Me that Way", but I'm only on page 2. Knitting and listening.]<BR/><BR/>*obscure 'Sandlot' quoteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146609364375628452006-05-02T15:36:00.000-07:002006-05-02T15:36:00.000-07:00Kahn - Absolutely. Our greatest weaknesses are the...Kahn - <BR/><BR/>Absolutely. Our greatest weaknesses are the source of our greatest strengths. And the greater the weakness, the greater the potential Vertical thrust. <BR/><BR/>Determinism sucks. Period. Never should be used as an excuse. But I think it a fact that some do carry heavy karmic weights (underscored by natal astrological configurations) that really set forth a challenge, in which case it's not really deterministic. However, even if one wants to believe it the luck of the draw or God's beyond-human-comprehension burdening, it's still incumbent on us all to meet our challenges on a spiritual basis.<BR/><BR/>Thanks much for the compliments re the music. (subliminal message, people: go to neoncatmusic.com) Okay, here's the vertigo-inducing part: not one of those songs existed before mid-Sept of last year. A month and a half before I started composing, I had a left kidney removed. So there's the secret. Have an organ removed (preferably one of duplicate) and rip it up! (not the organ, the music, so to speak)<BR/><BR/>More coming, by the way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1146607475868386462006-05-02T15:04:00.000-07:002006-05-02T15:04:00.000-07:00(1) Interesting... the fallacy of the culture wars...(1) Interesting... the fallacy of the culture wars. Would another way to put it be the 60's-ish belief that the <EM>exoteric</EM> side of the personality is, somehow, less authentic than the <EM>esoteric</EM> one??<BR/><BR/>(2) Yay Kahn. Leonard Cohen + Cat Stevens = Our Good Will.<BR/><BR/>(3) Exoteric, and I would think the esoteric religion going on around here, would say in spite of the Fall, proclivity, deterministic elements in our geneology, that there are no sins or mind viruses that cannot be struggled against With Vertical Assistance. And that trying and failing is not fatal, but the danger lies in choosing to abandon the struggle.<BR/><BR/>G-d forbid re-defining the vice as virtue in antinomian fashion. I've heard it described as <EM>being entitled to</EM> one's pet vices.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com