Moving To WordPress

If you are a user of Blogger, you might wonder why I would want to do that. I know whenever I read on some blog that they are getting ready to or had just migrated to WordPress my first question was always, Why? What’s wrong with good old Blogger? The easy answer to that is nothing is wrong with it. Another question might be, What’s wrong with my blog just as it is? Once again, the answer is nothing. In fact, I am very proud of my blog. I can assure you, my move to WordPress has nothing to do with this blog.

I am, as I said, proud of my blog. I am very happy with the look of it and proud of myself the way I took one of Blogger’s templates and made it my own. I can remember a few months ago when I had an epiphany that instead of using Blogger’s pages, I could use Google Sites webpage and have greater flexibility (click on the second, third or four tabs at the very top). That made me feel smart and the feeling continued for several weeks. I still enjoy thinking about it.

My reasons for moving have to do with my fiction writing. I do have literary ambitions, but I have not quite mastered the skills necessary to have others pay me so they can publish my books. And my recent experiment with publishing a short novel with Amazon’s Kindle has thought me that can be a black hole. So I put my brain to work to find another solution. The solution it came up with is blog fiction. I have three full-length novels and some other writings and will create a blog for each. I believe in WordPress terminology, I am creating a network of blogs.

So why can I not do that with Blogger? Actually, I could and have tried, but it was messy. I need the blogs posts to list in a certain way, not newest first to oldest, but from first chapter, then the next chapter. Also I need sub-categories so I can have chapter one, scene one; then chapter one, scene two. I might be able to find some code that would let me do both, but I decided I would enjoy the process more if I just went with WordPress.

I rented some web space on a web host last weekend and because I have the space, I might as will move this blog to WordPress too. There seems to be a right way and many wrong ways to make this move. I’m currently studying the situation. If you know of a really great website on this subject please let me know. I have found several websites but I am not sure I understand completely.

Anyway, until I get this sorted out, I’m going off the grid for a while. Not too long I hope. It will be interesting to see how this works out. They say the migration is not too hard, but I expect all kinds of problems just the same, especially with my many internal links and the formatting. I expect to spend a lot of time cleaning up.

Also, I’m going to change the name of my blog, again. Not certain what the new name will be, but I’m tired of “The Box” and will take this opportunity to change it. I’m thinking about, “The Evolving Monkey.”

Consider This:
The theme of migration awakens passions here. Migratory chaos is always dangerous…. We have to maintain an equilibrium. ~ Johnny Marin

Reason Or Faith

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Reason and faith are two completely opposite ways of examining the world. A person can use reason in some areas of his life and faith in others, but the two approaches are more different than water and hot oil. Reason is more pragmatic and harder. Faith is perhaps more comforting for some and much, much easier (unless you decided to become a martyr).

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What Do They Mean? The two terms are often used casually without regard to what they mean. The use of the word “faith” is common in the media, and the use of word “reason” is not so common but not unheard of. Both words can have multiple meanings, which confuses the issue. The word “faith” in particular will be used in different ways in the same argument. In this article I am referring to the religious meaning of “faith” and the more philosophical meaning of “reason.” So what are they? Why are they different? And why is reason better?

Opposing Approaches. Reason and faith are opposing ways of approaching what is knowable and what we know. One way is down to Earth and material, the other way is spiritual and based on feelings.

Definition Of Reason. Reason assumes that there is only the material universe and all knowledge comes from within that material universe; there are no supernatural sources of knowledge. Knowledge about what is true can only be based on what is observed. Reason accepts that because we can never be certain that we know everything—there can always be some unknown detail—we can never be absolutely certain of anything. But this lack of certainty is no excuse for not trying to find evidence that one course of action or believe is better than another. You do your best. And if there is little or no evidence, you simply have to make your best judgment until more evidence comes in. Often if what you believe works, and helps you survive, and be happy, then that has to be enough.

Definition Of Faith. Faith—I am referring to religious faith—believes that the most important knowledge is supernatural. Faith does not necessarily disavow reason, but it does make reason secondary. Faith is the belief in things unseen and is based on feelings. A person wants to believe something is true, so the person creates a certainty in his mind that it is true. Faith, unlike reason, assumes certainty. For faith, the object of faith is more important than the reality of whether the faith helps you to survive and be happy.

Faith Can Be Slippery. The different meanings of “faith” often makes discussions about “faith” slippery. In religious talk “faith” means a certainty about something, but in everyday talk “faith” means a confidence that something is true. For me to say I have faith in evolution is not the same as a religious person saying he has faith in Jesus. I mean I have a very strong confidence in the truth of evolution and cannot imagine how evolution could not be true; the religious guy means he has absolute certainty in the existence of Jesus.

Reason Does Not Give Certainty. If you believe there is only this material world, then reason is the only possibility. If you believe in a supernatural world with spirits, then faith is a must, how else can you know about such unseen things. Reason can never give certain knowledge because we can never know if we know all the facts. Faith assumes it is certain based on nothing but the good feeling that the imagined certainty gives the believer. Reason is pragmatic and evolves in new circumstances. Faith is ideological and dogmatic.

Faith Presumes Certainty. If your goal is to make the best of this world, the world you are actually living in, then reason is the better choice. If you enjoy the good feeling that believing in a God gives you, then faith will be your choice. The irony is that the use of reason also gives a good feeling, while basing ones live on faith can lead to a diminished life caused by avoiding the real world.

One Last Note On Reason: There are different levels of reason. At the common day-to-day level, which is the reason that most people use, the best evidence for the truth of an idea is that it works. You do not need a list of facts for believing in something, just results. If you do not get results, you look for another idea or belief that will get results. For this to work of course, you must not be in the habit of trying to justify preconceived or personal pet ideas.

Philosophical And Scientific Uses Of Reason. A second level of reason is logical and philosophical and involves the examination of beliefs for fallacies, coherence, and evidence. And a third level of reason is scientific, which is very formal and involves a systematic and organized search for data to provide evidence for or against an idea.

Problems with Secular Humanism?

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In:
The Human Spark – What Is It?
The Human Spark – How Did It Evolve
Human Space Flight, Is It Worth It?

Not Sure What Secular Humanism Is? Read These Articles:
What Is Secular Humanism?
The Foundation Of Secular Ethics
The Definition Of Secular Humanism

Consider This:
Being unable to reason is not a positive character trait outside religion - Dewey Henize

Can Justice Ever Be Fair With The Death Penalty?

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The death penalty has come up in the Republican presidential debates and with one controversial execution. Which makes me wonder, what happens if some is executed then later found to be innocent?

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Some Questions Concerning The Death Penalty:

• Is it right to kill someone even if convicted of a crime?
• Does the death penalty hurt our society by devaluing live?
• If you think abortion is morally wrong, can you ethically and consistently also support the death penalty?
• If you are a believer in limited government power, do you want your state or country having the power to put someone to death, having the ultimate power over someone's life?

What About Fairness And Justice? Those are good questions, and I’m sure there are many good pro-death penalty questions as well. But I’m interested in a more subtle issue. This article is about fairness and justice, both broad ideas that all Americans can agree on. A fair and justice judicial system is not only fundamental to personal freedoms, but also it is fundamental to the way Americans see themselves. We like to think of ourselves as fair and just. This self-view is so strong among Americans that most of us assume it is true and will think no more about the issue, fearing perhaps that it might not always be true.

Do We Need To Support Public Education?

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Is there no limit to what the United States will cut from its budget? I believe our government and society has no higher purpose than providing for police protection and public education, but both are being cut across our country. This should be a scandal but no one seems to be paying attention.

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You Cannot Succeed Without An Education. But does that education have to come from formal schooling? Every fall we require our children to go to school, and for nine months or so we attempt to cram them with an ever broadening amount of knowledge. It is an article of faith that such knowledge is good for them and society. Seldom do we ask why formal education is so necessary.

Many Educated Individuals Were Drop Outs. History is full of examples of school dropouts who have done well, such as Andrew Jackson and Jack London. But being a school dropout, whither high school or college or even earlier, is not the same as being uneducated. Successful people might not have gotten their education in school, but they did get educated somewhere. They got their education from parents, relatives, or from their hard work. So a formal education is not absolutely necessary. Some are fortunate enough to grown-up with the guidance of a mentor who is knowledgeable and wise and willing to educate a child.

“Finding Peace in Hell” A Free Download

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I have something free for you. If you like it great, if you don’t, well you got it for free. If you do like it, perhaps leave a positive comment on the Amazon page.

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Well, I tried. Two weeks ago I published my short novel Finding Peace in Hell in a blog article. Then it occurred to me that if I’m making it free here, I should also make it free on Amazon. But Amazon does not have a free option when an eBook is uploaded. The minimum you can charge is $0.99. But Amazon has many free eBooks on its website, not all of them are public domain either. So I contacted Amazon asking them to make my novel free. But they would not do it.

Finding Peace in Hell

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The idea was simple and genius. I could write short novels, publish them on Amazon digital for the Kindle reader, and make thousands, if not tens of thousands dollars. Even before publishing my short novel, I was planning how to spend my money, should a buy a camera, maybe house, who knows maybe I would buy my cat one of those big cat playhouses. Then I published, and then I came face to face with reality, which has a way putting ones feet back on solid Earth. Publishing on Amazon digital has the same basic problem as publishing a blog. There is so much being published on Amazon that it hard for any individual work to be discovered. Well, that is the way it goes. But I do want to give my story a chance to be read, so I am publishing it here for free. Just one warning, this story is nearly 11,300 words long, so it could take a few hours to read.

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“Joe, your time is near,” the guard looked through the bars and sounded genuinely concern. “If you like, you can spend twenty minutes with a priest.”

I shook my head at the thought. “No. No God has helped me before. I doubt if one will now. Bit late to be helping anyway. A real God would have helped me long ago.”

“Sure thing.” The guard began to walk away, but stopped and pushed his head closer to the bars. “Are you sure? The priest has helped others find comfort. You do not need to be Catholic.”

Fixing Poverty And Inequality In America

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I told myself I would stop criticizing the Republicans. After all, how many times can you say that some one has to pay taxes and that government can do great things to help us. But in the first paragraph of this article about poverty, I could not help myself. If you’re Republican, you may want to skip it.

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Is Poverty Not Important To Republicans? Why are the Republican candidates not debating the recent headlines that one in five American children live in poverty? That is twenty percent of the children in this country. That is 14.7 million children in America living in poverty. For reasons that elude me, during a recession prone economy, they are more interested in not taxing the rich and creating a balance budget amendment. In an economy were millions have lost their jobs and job growth continues to be slow, they are proud of budget slashing that will lay off thousands of government employees.

Why Does Poverty Happen? Poverty has more than one cause. Part of the problem is communities of the impoverished that have high crime rates and low education that create incentives for businesses not to start up in those communities. Another part of the problem is inequality, so that half of the country’s wealth is owned by just twenty percent of the population (in 2007).

Rioting In Britain

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Poverty is a great mystery for economists and policy makers. It defies the expectations of classical economics that the economy will grow until everyone is employed. We know for a fact that does not happen.

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Why Do People In Repressive Societies Riot? Because They Are Unhappy.

This year we have seen this played out in the Middle East, in place like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. These are repressive countries and the rioting gave us in the West the opportunity to wave our fingers at them and say, “I told you so.”

The only problem is that now we have rioting in the West too, in Britain. In these economic hard times, would we be surprised if there were rioting in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, and of course Turkey. The United States, which has also experienced riots in the past for a variety of reasons, is also at risk.

Why Do People In Free Societies Riot? Because They Are Unhappy.

Happy people do not riot, whether their society is free or not. They just don’t have the motivation to do so. It takes a great deal of unhappiness to go from a few people committing acts of violence to whole groups of people, many who do not even know each other, raging and rioting. The events in Britain and from history show clearly that rioting can happen in free societies just as easily, maybe easier, as in repressive ones.

Finding Peace In Hell

Finding Peace in Hell is a new eBook that I’ve uploaded to the Kindle store.

The story of Joe, a man executed for murder. Joe does not believe in God, but on his death he learns there is a God, two of them. One is the the creator God, the other is a lesser god. Joe discovers that the real God and the afterlife is nothing like he learned on Earth. Joe joins other dark angels to fight the tyranny of the white angels. Driving by an inner need, he seeks out the woman he murdered. 

If you like fantasy fiction and you’re looking for a good read that can be finished in a few hours, you need to buy this book.

Finding Peace in Hell can be bought from Amazon.com.

If you like Finding Peace in Hell please leave a nice comment on Amazon. Thanks.

Warning: this is fantasy fiction, not religious nonsense.

Charles Darwin - A Great Man

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Charles Darwin is my favorite historical person. Why? Because he was so ordinary. He did have a rich father, which helped him greatly. But he was not a natural genus like Galileo or Newton. He seems to have been a man of ordinary intelligence but with an extra ordinary ability to see an idea clearly. Also, he was a nice guy who got along with most people, unlike many other famous scientist.

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Charles Darwin

Who is Charles Darwin?

Charles Darwin was a British naturalist who was born in 1809 and died in 1882. He is known for he work on evolution and is given credit for accumulating the evidence supporting evolution and his idea of natural selection.

As a child he did not excel in school work, either in grade school, nor later at college. Proving that you don't have to make high grades in school to be a success later in life. He originally went to college to be a medical doctor, but found the sight of blood distasteful and changed his studies to the ministry. It's safe to say that Charles Darwin never really liked school or studying.

The Cycle of Play

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I love watching animals play.

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In the front yard of a small house were two trees. The trees were both of medium size and close to each other. In the trees lived a feisty squirrel. The squirrel had lived in the trees for a long time and was instinctively at home in them. Because the trees were so close, the squirrel never recognized that they were separate trees, and he would skimpier from one to the other without effort.

In the small house lived a dog. The dog was small like the house he lived in. But he was feisty and loved to chaise anything and to bark at anything. His favorite thing to chaise and bark at was the squirrel in the tree. Oh, that squirrel, how it tasked the dog. The dog, the moment it left the house would dash to the tree, hoping to catch the squirrel off guard, which he never did.

The squirrel loved the dog, loved to taunt him. The squirrel let the dog run close to him, but just before the dog was in biting distance, the squirrel would skimpier up the tree, leaving the dog on the ground barking up at him. The squirrel would not, of course, leave it at that. The squirrel would then run across the branches to the other tree; the dog would not see this because the squirrel was too high. The squirrel would then surprise the dog by running down the trunk of the second tree, sneaking up behind the dog who was still barking up the first tree, and squawking really loud. The dog was always surprised and jumped.

One day the small dog was barking up the tree. He had almost caught the squirrel. No longer able to see the squirrel, it suddenly occurred to him to turn and watch the tree behind him. Yes, he thought, this was the right thing to do. No sooner did he look up than he saw the squirrel running down the tree. The squirrel did not even seem to see him. The dog grabbed the squirrel in his mouth and started shaking. The squirrel fought back and escaped.

This happened over and over and the squirrel was getting tired of being bitten. Then one day as the squirrel was running up the tree to avoid the dog, it occurred to him to not run to the other tree. Instead the squirrel waited a few moments and ran back down the first tree, surprising the dog who was now barking up the second tree.

This happened many times, then one day the dog thought it better not to turn and bark up the second tree, but kept barking up the first tree….

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In:
The Rocket’s Glory
The Five Foolish Friends
The Old Cat Was Gone

Consider This:
The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest.  ~Henry David Thoreau

What Is Government For?

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I will admit, I do not have a degree in political science. But I think a discussion is necessary in the United States about what we want our government to do. We have one group that wants to better our society by using government. We have another group that wants to better our society by destroying government. Together those groups are creating chaos. Despite its flaws, I think government is a necessity and I give my vote to the first group.

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With so much disagreement between political parties, we should stand back and ask why we even need a government. We know the different things a government can do, such as create laws to regulate everything from the economy to morality, build highways, museums, zoos, parks, schools, helping the poor.

But should the government do these things? To decide that, we have to think about why we even have governments. Imagine fifty adults brought together to accomplish a task. Would each individual independently try to accomplish the task? Probably not, although there’s always some guy who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. But for everyone else, they will most likely decide on a functional leader, then attempt to solve the problem as a group. If they can’t decide on a single approach to the problem, they might break into several groups, but each group would have a functional leader who will serve a roll similar to that of government by providing some direction to the others.

Who Was The Jewish God’s Wife?

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Judaism might have ended up as monotheism, but it started as a form of paganism, just like all the religions in that area. It was only later that it evolved into monotheism. As a pagan religion it makes sense that Yahweh would have had a wife. So, did God have a wife?

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Discovery News: God's Wife Edited Out of the Bible – Almost

• Her name was Asherah, sometimes know as Astarte and Istar.
• She was first identified in 1967 by Raphael Patai.
• Her existence is based on text, amulets, and figurines.
• Her link to Yahweh is found in both the Bible and an 8th century B.C.E inscription found pottery in the Sinai.
• Book of Kings mentions that Asherah was housed in the temple.
• Asherah is often translated as “Sacred Tree.”
• Mention of Asherah as the wife of Yahweh have been edited out of the Hebrew Bible by ancient authors.

Links to Asherah
Asherah
Mention of Asherah in the Bible
2 Kings 23:4-7

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In:
The Book of Mark: The Most Important Book to Western Thought
Five Reasons Not To Worship A God
Why Is Religion So Wrong?

Consider This:
So much blood has been shed by the Church because of an omission from the Gospel: "Ye shall be indifferent as to what your neighbor's religion is." Not merely tolerant of it, but indifferent to it. Divinity is claimed for many religions; but no religion is great enough or divine enough to add that new law to its code.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

Carl Sagan

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Everyone needs a hero. Because he spoke with a voice of reason, Carol Sagan, perhaps I should say Saint Sagan, is the hero for many secular humanist.

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A True Paragon. Carl Sagan is a paragon of secular humanism, science advocacy, and reason. An American Astronomer, TV personality, and writer he gave inspiration to people like me by articulating the wonder of the universe. Like many, my introduction to Carl Sagan came with the PBS series Cosmos, which can be watched on Hulu.

Accomplishments. Besides Cosmos, Sagan authored the book Contact, which later was made into the movie staring Jodie Foster. It is perhaps for those two things and his many talks that Sagan is remember by non-scientist. But he was mainly a scientist. He studied the atmosphere of Venus, he studied Mars, and he was interested in the origins of life. He was an important adviser to NASA, and it was he who was instrumental in putting the plaques on the Voyagers spacecrafts.

Born in 1934, he died in 1996 at the age of 62 after a long battle with myelodysplastic, a blood disease.  For more information about Carl Sagan click here.

Cosmos:

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In:
Was Ayn Rand A Secular Humanist?
Robert G. Ingersoll, Humanist Biography
The Human Spark – What Is It?

Consider This:
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan

Being An American

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What is an American? Do you have to be a Democrat to be an American or can you be a Republican or Libertarian or some other party. Is being an American about where you are born or passing a test? Or is it something deeper?

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What does it mean to be an American? Or for that matter, what does it mean to be British, French, German, Canadian, Japanese, or Mexican? Why do we even have countries? And why do we care about our nationalities?

Countries and nationalities are problematic. Everyone enjoys complaining about their government, but takes pride in their nationality. We want to belong to a society and be respected for it, but we seldom want to pay our dues / taxes for belonging to that society.