Is any death meaningful?

Many times the phrase let their deaths not be in vain has been uttered like at moments of civil strife and I am here asking myself, if deep down these deaths were meaningless. Did someone have to die for something to be achieved?

Take for example the over 30 people who were killed by police in our last election. What did they die for? What, if you were to meet their parents or relatives, would you tell them was achieved by their deaths?

In the movie silence, based on the Japanese inquisition of the 16th century (2016) by Scorsese, a number of Japanese endure torture and some even die to show their faith in Jesus. Was this rational? What was the point?

who knew

There was a direct link between anti-natalism and atheism.

The author of Ecclesiastes (my favorite book of the bible) wrote

4 Next, I turned to look at all the acts of oppression that make people suffer under the sun. Look at the tears of those who suffer! No one can comfort them. Their oppressors have all the power. No one can comfort those who suffer. ² I congratulate the dead, who have already died, rather than the living, who still have to carry on. ³ But the person who hasn’t been born yet is better off than both of them (emphasis mine). He hasn’t seen the evil that is done under the sun.

And Nietzsche in the Birth of Tragedy writes

There is an old legend that king Midas for a long time hunted the wise Silenus, the companion of
Dionysus, in the forests, without catching him. When Silenus finally fell into the king’s hands, the king
asked what was the best thing of all for men, the very finest. The daemon remained silent, motionless
and inflexible, until, compelled by the king, he finally broke out into shrill laughter and said these
words, “Suffering creature, born for a day, child of accident and toil, why are you forcing me to say
what would give you the greatest pleasure not to hear? The very best thing for you is totally
unreachable: not to have been born, not to exist , to be nothing. The second best thing for you, however,
is this — to die soon.”

Since I find nothing odd in the observation of Silenus and Qoheleth, I am inclined to argue they make a lot of sense and while an argument can be made that all of us who write in support of anti-natalism do so only because we have been born, this argument doesn’t defeat the arguments for anti-natalism. And whether those who support anti-natalism are atheists or agnostics is not an argument against the position. It proves nothing. It is neither an argument against atheism nor against anti-natalism.

Allowing for a moment that most of those who support anti-natalism are atheists, is this an argument against any of the two positions?

Maybe, just maybe, we are like Kirilov in the Possessed who commits a logical suicide.

two things i like

First is the Martin Scorsese’s movie Irishman that was released not long ago. You will need to have 3 free hours to watch the film. It has some of my favourite characters.

Next is this paragraph from Man without qualities

The train of events is a train that lays down its own tracks as it goes along.

The river of time carries its own banks along with it.

The traveler moves on a solid floor between solid walls, but the floor and the walls are strongly influenced by the movements of the travelers, though they do not notice it.

God said go yea and marry

No. I have made that up.

It does seem most people, especially religious ones, seem so hang up on sex outside marriage. Now, in an age when there was no formal education, girls got married almost as soon as they had their menses. Since virginity was such a prized possession, it made sense to marry off the girls young. But now with formal education, both boys and girls get married at later dates but no solution has been found for raging hormones. To solve this problem, this blogger has a solution

I don’t think a Christian woman should move out of her fathers house until she marries, especially considering the absolute sexual immorality we live amongst.

Rebekah is not taking any of you to hell. Maybe just say hello to her.

Have you been aware that you could be suffering from birth anxiety? There is such a thing as birth anxiety.

I didn’t know fundamentalists have been around for a century now.

Maybe religion is here to stay.

Happy week everyone.

Why is it so

Difficult to forget?

The things I want to intentionally forget keep coming back and those that I would like to remember just disappear.

Is there a means of improving forgetfulness?

this post has no title

The week is ending or it could have ended if you are in New Zealand, like Barry 🙂 and so I think we need something light to usher us into the weekend.

Most of you, I know, have been wondering what demons are, whether they are similar to angels and how many of them can dance on a pin. This problem has been answered by one Mr. Meyer. Since I know some of my readers are lazy and I will not name names, of demons, Meyer writes

Demons, as angels, can take many forms in the physical plane. The most impressive forms which demons can take are ghost forms.

There is a Catholic girl who wants your help. In her own words

Now, every belief system knows best how to convince others that they are correct. Atheists (and Agnostics if you please), feel free to recommend any resources arguing against the existence of God. My search for resources may be weakened by personal bias (and a dislike of Christopher Hitchens.

I wish yours truly could help her. I will however suggest she reads the bible, properly. I think it was Isaac Asimov who said ”

Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived”

and as such, no other book is needed. I could be wrong though.

Have a good weekend everyone.

In Kenya, we still live under trees😀

City skyline

City in the sun

do you want to beat your spouse?

Or your child without fear of the state jailing you for instilling discipline on your wayward child or spouse? Then book a ticket to Russia.

You see, the Orthodox Church has

.. pushed for looser restrictions on domestic abusers, claiming that the state should not interfere in family matters and that calls to make domestic violence a crime are informed by Western influences that want to impose liberal values on Russia.

I think this is a way to make the world a safer place 😦

I hope this story is not true.

how to convert an atheist

I know many Christians have been waiting for this manual. I am glad to share with you what I found.

Say something, anything, to your atheist friends and family members. Tell them that God loves them and that you’re praying for them if that’s all the time and courage you have. Share the gospel with them. Pray for them. Pray for them some more. But say something. You have no way of knowing how the Holy Spirit might use even the smallest act of love to break a sinner’s heart and bring them to repentance and faith.

I hope it works for you 🙂

Happy monday

An interesting question

Do you think that anyone fighting for or against a cause today, who tomorrow by some miracle were to become the all-powerful ruler of the world, would instantly do what he had been clamouring for all his life?