Monday, August 13, 2012

Just so we're clear

Okay, clear statements so no one gets confused about my position:
1)  All people are children of God, and are meant to grow up to be like their Father.  I don't see this as a metaphor.

2) I am NOT okay with single parenthood -- it should be avoided at all costs and remedied as quickly as possible.  My heart goes out to single parents everywhere, keep going and do your best.  Single parenthood by choice is wrong.  I believe this because of personal experience, and this won't change until I have a significant amount of counter-experience.

3) Pornography is WRONG.  It promotes sex trafficking, is always a contributing factor to sex crimes, rewires your brain, and there is absolutely nothing natural about having sex with a picture.  If an individual is going to view it, I have no right to stop them--but I believe that nearly every studio that produce it should be wiped out of civil society all together.  Use those cameras to inspire, rather than to enslave.

4) I am NOT okay with abortion.  I don't have any right to tell someone else what choice they should make, but I'd encourage anyone to find another way.  If the mother is treating the fetus as an allergin, or there is absolutely no medical possibility of survival for mother and baby, or if a woman was raped, then I feel it's my responsibility to offer emotional support and help that family in anyway I can.  This stems almost solely from religious beliefs.

5) I am NOT okay with same-sex marriage.  Calling it marriage presents legal difficulties.  If you can make a civil institution that preserves a religions' right to marry whomever they want without government interference, then I can be content with that.  I'm not okay with people losing their jobs or social standing because of their sexual experience or preferences.  I'm equally against people who use this delicate subject primarily for attention.  These beliefs stem from my understanding of biology, religious beliefs, personal experience, personal preferences, and ideals.

6) I am ALL IN FAVOR of smaller government in low-population density areas.  Larger government makes sense in high-population density areas.  This belief is subject to change, and I question it often.
6a) Tag onto that last one, I am a DECENTRALIST.  It keeps the power closer to where it can do the most good, and it lets locals determine the best way to govern themselves. 

7) I have no right to force anyone to do anything, with the exception that I reserve the right to preserve my agency as well.  I will say nothing on the matter until a person's actions conflict with that agency in a way I find unacceptable.  Legislation and appropriation means enforcement.  This belief is primarily religious, and comes from my personal preferences and ideals.

8) I do not believe in our legal system.  Lawyers are either clerks (which I'm okay with, they're needed) or bullies.  As someone who once was a bully, you often bully believing your defending or championing someone else--still bullying.  If people would be more willing to forgive, we'd save ourselves a lot of heartache and money.

9) War is wrong.  Preemptive police actions are war, and the people who start and perpetuate them are butchers.  The people who financially enable war are drowning in the blood of their victims.  Destroying a nation's capital, or government is war.  The U.S.A. is at war with several nations right now, and we are the aggressors, we are in the wrong.  No matter how wicked and horrible I think other people are, killing thousands of soldiers, civilians, and leaders is still killing.  Unless you, personally, are willing to pull the trigger to kill a stranger, then I think supporting war is hypocritical.  You don't get peace with bombs, and you don't liberate people with warfare.  We are not liberating anyone, we're just disrupting their neighborhoods and telling them why we're so great and why they should be like us.  This belief comes from my personal preferences, and personal religious education.

10) I am a divine creationist.  I think evolutionary creationism is hokum.  You can't make a working cell from organic matter, you can make a grouping of symbiotic prokaryotic cells into a eukaryote organism, and you see enough creatures of inferior complexity that are dependent on organisms of greater complexity for their survival to discredit the idea that all life was created via random processes.  Using statistical methods, in order to see a planet like Earth, it would take many orders of magnitude longer than the estimated age of the universe for our planet to be in the state it's in.  In fact, given the aforementioned holes in "evolution as a means of planetary creation," the best of our understanding dictates that this world is a numerical impossibility--particularly when critically inserted into drake's equation (you have multiple zero terms).
Fossils are likely designed creatures that God wouldn't put life into because they disrupt the ecosystem, or detract from His divine plan for us.  We lived before we came here, and a lot of what we see on the Earth today came from ideas and designs we shared with God--He obviously refined them, and made them viable, and granted them life.  We considered it a privilege and a high-honor that God would adopt our ideas as His own. 
Cell mutation and adaptation is normal and par for the course--makes sense that God would want His works to last for a very long time, seeing as He is eternal.  He'd build anything that was meant to last to be very resilient and durable.  Evolution in that sense, that living organisms adapt and gain greater capacity to exist in their environment is scientific fact and indisputable.

11)  Global warming is fact.  Man-caused global warming is a silly thing to debate.  It's happening no matter what the cause, we can attempt to fight it and lose, or we can adapt to it and prosper. 

12)  Science is not a system of beliefs.  The best science is data, and methods to repeatably obtain similar data.  Science needs engineering (or experimentation) before it's of any worth, and engineering needs science to be of any value. 

13)  Racism has a place.  It can help us understand a person's background, and cultural beliefs.  If it influences the way we treat them in any way, or mars our perception of them, then it's wrong.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

What I think God would say to the world today.

To my Dearest Sons, and Dearest Daughters,

   I love you. I cannot express in words how much I love you, so I gave you a beautiful Earth to live on. I gave you a mortal life to help teach you, because I love you and I want you to learn to take care of yourselves and each other. I want you to be as happy as I am, and that means better understanding yourselves and your brothers and sisters.


   I think about you every day. I think about you every moment of every day. I can do that where I live--it's not hard. I literally have hours to spend with each and every one of you for every second that passes in your life. It's not magic, it's just the way things work. I look upon you each day, and I see your joys and your pains.


   Many of you are wondering why I've let the world be in the state its in. This is not an easy thing to answer, but I'll do the best that I can to put it in words you understand. You are not slaves. You are not obligated to do anything, whether for good or for bad. This is essential for you to receive all the blessings I want to give you. If you don't have this freedom now, you won't understand how wonderful you truly are, nor how amazing you'll become.


   This means that many of you will get hurt. I'm not going to stop that. I see beyond death, and I know that it's just a brief passing onto the next stage of your development.


   I do not actively control everything that goes on in the Earth, but I am ever aware of it. I am a God of wrath, and of mercy. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy, including hurting you for a time. You're well aware that your bodies break down, and sometimes a skilled surgeon needs to cut into them so they'll heal properly. I am the Surgeon of your spiritual and emotional wounds. If I do hurt any of you, then I do so carefully, and with my ancient wisdom and profound love. If you so chose, I will always be present to help guide and expedite the healing process. If you don't want My help, then I will cry tears of sorrow, but respect your decision.


   I have taught your fathers and your mothers in days past, and I am still teaching today. My words were of great value to mankind in times past, and today you can use them to better understand My voice. I am always whispering to you in your thoughts and in your hearts. I only speak in a whisper out of reverence and respect towards you. I have not changed, and I will not change, but I will always play the role that you need me to play to make you better.


   Please, talk to me. I'm listening. I'm real. I'm here. I sent my Son to give his mortal life to you, and I give you my immortal life each and every day. So great is my love for you that I have not words to express it, so I give you what I can and what I know to be of the greatest value. I'm happy to teach you whatever it is you want to know. I did not idly have my Son say, "Ask and ye shall receive." If you need encouragement, or enlightenment, or just guidance, ask me, and I'll find a way to get it to you, and I'll do so in a way that you'll recognize.


   Please, be kind to your brothers and sisters. They struggle more than you know. They need your help, and many of you need theirs. I didn't send you to this life of experience (and often hardship) alone. I'm your Father, and I'm your family. Your family is here to help.


   There are spirits and people who want to hurt you. You know this, and you hear them everyday. They try to tell you that you're less than what you are. You don't need to listen, and you can ask them to leave. If you need help overcoming them, just kneel down and pray, and I'll either calm the sea, or help you weather the storm.


   I can do anything that needs to be done, but I expect you to do everything you can first. How else will you grow to be more like me? I want you to understand, I want each and everyone of you to be happy even as I am!


   You are my child. From my own flesh did I fashion you. You are meant to become like me. You have a long way to go, and the road will not be easy, but I'm with you every step of the way. Choose to move forward with faith, and I'll will guard and guide your every step. Above all, repent! Turn unto Me, and I will fill your soul with My pure love and and joy. I look forward to seeing you again soon.


Sincerely,

Your Heavenly Father

At least, what I think He'd want to say.

Why I'm (still) a Mormon

I don't expect much more to ever be posted on this blog, and I'm largely just posting this to share it with some particular friends....