tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862762054998241512012-01-29T16:32:33.430-05:00A blog on pacifism, anarchy, and spirituality.Jacobnoreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-84582479749929835112011-02-20T12:55:00.005-05:002011-02-24T08:17:05.419-05:00

Introduction I don’t know that it is possible to adequately define religion or differentiate it from philosophy. Does religion require belief in God(s)? Must there be a received practice? Is it primarily a solitary pursuit or a communal pursuit? What are the requirements of religion with respect to moral teachings? I am not going to attempt to resolve these questions but instead argue on behalf

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-3066379288168442562011-02-09T08:13:00.000-05:002011-02-09T08:13:11.806-05:00

This popular quote from Stephen F. Roberts in support of atheism delights me: “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” I smile at how so much arrogance, condescension, and pseudo-intellect can be managed into such a short remark. If there really is

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-63267658422456706862011-02-08T09:18:00.002-05:002011-02-08T09:20:00.295-05:00

In ancient cults, gods were primarily conceived as impersonal forces that are unconcerned with people at a personal level but would condescend to bestow material abundance upon those who perform the correct ritual acts (and surely bestow ills upon those who do not). Judaism introduced the idea that there is just one God (or at least only one really powerful god), but more importantly, that God

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-83762739929720172502011-01-17T09:27:00.000-05:002011-01-17T09:27:47.444-05:00

I suspect that if we had the opportunity to view the real life and teachings of Jesus, we'd all be pretty disappointed. The Gospels that record his life and teachings were written a few generations after his death, likely based largely on oral tradition.  The Gospel of Mark was written first, and it appears likely that at least Matthew and Luke were written after Mark and used it as a source. 

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-35591932443891486182010-11-23T08:54:00.000-05:002010-11-23T08:54:39.031-05:00

The theory of government is that individuals surrender some of their natural rights in order to establish a social order for their mutual welfare and protection of liberty. The purpose of local government is to transmute the will of a community of people, through the political process, into an enforceable legal system for the community. This set of rules I will call the Ordinance. Amish

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-51366016552352159882010-11-19T13:39:00.001-05:002010-11-19T13:40:19.217-05:00

The little town we moved to has a local newspaper, and recently two letters appears that complained of the town government's enforcement of land use laws against them.  One townsperson wrote a letter in support of the government against these individuals.  I posted the following in response: Hi Charles, I disagree with your premise: “That is, whether or not one agrees with the law one is bound

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-37205474249900338122010-10-31T19:55:00.000-04:002010-10-31T19:55:27.707-04:00

I was once an enthusiastic voter.  I thought that I ought to use any tool I could to help promote liberty and that even given the worst view of government as a gang of thieves and warmongers, voting could be seen as a form of defense.  And even if my vote was insignificant, I saw my ballot as a signal to others of support for liberty. But after a couple of elections, I did not feel so good about

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-49115773836713780442010-10-11T20:01:00.000-04:002010-10-11T20:01:22.654-04:00

There are still all of the regular institutions of American state government: prisons, schools (or do I repeat myself?), law enforcers, and bureaucracies.  But the people pay a little less in taxes than other states, and they put "Live Free Or Die" on the license plates. We've moved from a condo in Massachusetts to a log home in a small "border town" in the state chosen by the Free State

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-80824815595021615642010-08-07T13:24:00.000-04:002010-08-07T13:24:05.667-04:00

Kevin Innes is a political prisoner who is sitting in a cage over his support of the Liberty Dollar.  The Liberty Dollar was a silver barter system architected by Bernard von NotHaus, who was also arrested.  Kevin is apparently considered a flight risk because he is not a U.S. citizen and has been in jail for over a year, awaiting trial. The Liberty Dollar was an attempt to have a viable

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-81036009331128892692010-07-21T19:46:00.000-04:002010-07-21T19:46:52.887-04:00

I used to think in terms of rights and justice. For a libertarian, this means trying to express laws to answer the central question: when is the use of force against others justified? While anyone can debate this question, most libertarians seek to resolve it through application of property rights. That is, you are always justified in using your own property as you wish, so long as you do not

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-72917836229007893232010-05-28T21:51:00.001-04:002010-05-28T21:54:37.612-04:00

I used the recipe for planting mix from Square-Foot Gardening, which calls for one part vermiculite (sort of like crushed mica), one part compost, and one part peat moss. The vermiculite was a challenge to find, but after an online search I found a gardening center a few towns over that carries it.  Compost was also surprisingly difficult to find, especially since one should use compost from

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-25064622085532262352010-05-18T13:06:00.001-04:002010-05-18T13:07:16.682-04:00

From the local police blotter, modified to protect the innocent: An area man was arrested Sunday at 6:53 p.m. on Main Street, police said. John T. Doe, 25, had a warrant charging him with failing to appear for jury duty, police said. Make no mistake: the primary mission of the government's law enforcers is to protect the government.  When they are not busy posing as 13-year-old girls to seduce

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-23918162472260641382010-05-04T08:29:00.002-04:002010-05-04T08:33:43.124-04:00

The categorical imperative is Kant's central contribution to moral philosophy.  It is not really useful in itself for guiding one's moral action but acts as a sort of test for a given ethic: Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction. It would seem then that we might proceed to list a number of proposed

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-60512654299283583942010-04-17T15:43:00.000-04:002010-04-17T15:43:01.431-04:00

Analogies are powerful mental tools to understand the world and have a strong influence on our thoughts and beliefs.  We should be careful to understand that an analogy is necessarily limited and cannot provide a complete understanding, but at the same time they are unavoidable for approaching otherwise mysterious topics such as our relationship with God. A common analogy for God's relationship

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-15488101338675105752010-04-11T09:09:00.001-04:002010-04-11T09:09:45.296-04:00

A Google search turned up these instructions on how to convert plastic storage bins into self-watering containers.  With ten or so bins stacked in the basement, I gave it a try.  For one self-watering container, you start off with two bins: You need the bottom of one bin to overturn and place in the other bin.  Trace the bin at the same height as a small basket.  I used a hack saw to cut off the

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-18119041592420598982010-04-01T09:17:00.001-04:002010-04-01T09:19:20.880-04:00

A couple of days ago I became aware of the tragic case of Phoebe Prince, an Irish immigrant who was a freshman in South Hadley, MA. She committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied. One knee-jerk public response is to bully the bulliers, as various spurious charges are being filed against nine students involved in the bullying. Politicians, smelling blood, are speechifying and passing laws

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-18298261307574113402010-03-28T07:10:00.000-04:002010-03-28T07:10:28.205-04:00

We don't have a yard so much as a dirt patch, and even that we technically share with two other families.  So I was fairly skeptical when my wife suggested we start composting.  I assumed you needed a decent sized area in the corner of a yard to set up some wire to contain grass trimmings and manure, but it looks like you can actually make do with a plastic storage container. The procedure is

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-9863623371158541192010-03-21T11:54:00.000-04:002010-03-21T11:54:19.848-04:00

This year I am trying out container gardening.  The method I am planning to use will be based primarily on Square Foot Gardening, which I learned about from a book I received for a birthday present (thanks!).  In my area, the average last frost date looks like April 30 or so, and to be conservative I am planning for May 7 as my planting date.  There is plenty to do before then though: plan the

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-9898305344880852162010-03-18T09:14:00.001-04:002010-03-18T09:37:29.814-04:00

In part 1 of this series of posts, I outlined a few intuitions that are often assumed as part of the scientific mind-set. In part 2, part 3, and part 4, I discussed the first three intuitions. In this post, I will discuss the final intuition: * Physics serves as the ultimate science that all phenomena (including consciousness) can ultimately be explained in terms of and that all other sciences

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-46385491532685224272010-02-25T07:46:00.000-05:002010-02-25T07:46:33.334-05:00

I occasionally see the phrase "communism works in theory too" or some variant.  It is usually used to express skepticism about an idea without actually giving a reason for that skepticism.  The phrase always bothers me a little bit because communism doesn't just fail in practice but also in theory.  And I am not even talking about theory of "man's nature" where communism supposedly works if men

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-25721835385765105432010-02-23T09:14:00.004-05:002010-02-23T09:18:57.202-05:00

In part 1 of this series of posts, I outlined a few intuitions that are often assumed as part of the scientific mind-set. In part 2 and part 3, I discussed the first two intuitions. In this post, I will discuss the third intuition: * Universal laws (the discovery of which is the task of science) dictate the behavior of all things This may be the most widely held intuition of the four I

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-83986210639018048572010-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:002010-02-10T08:00:53.809-05:00

Red lights ahead, white lights behind. Moving forward, stop now. Still red lights ahead, white lights behind. Red light becomes white light, white light becomes red. Lights disappear, but now new ones appear. Still always red lights ahead, white lights behind.

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-74989718864992323692010-02-03T19:06:00.005-05:002010-02-03T20:26:44.495-05:00

In part 1 of this series of posts, I outlined a few intuitions that are often assumed as part of the scientific mind-set. In part 2, I discussed the first intuition that science provides the only valuable explanations of the natural world. In this post, I will discuss the second intuition:* The history of scientific theories is to march incrementally toward a complete and truthful account of the

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-56559534524459772302010-01-24T16:50:00.005-05:002010-02-23T09:15:48.198-05:00

In part 1 of this series of posts, I outlined a few intuitions that are often assumed as part of the scientific mind-set. In this post, I will discuss the first intuition: * As its domain is all observable phenomena, science provides the only valuable explanations of the natural world, and any non-scientific pursuit must be grounded on non-observability and supernaturalism. First and foremost,

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-13347393656895474092010-01-15T09:41:00.002-05:002010-04-17T15:49:17.788-04:00

A purely pragmatic view of science is that it is not concerned with whether it imparts understanding of the universe but instead is entirely concerned with delivering models that may be used to predict the results of experiments. In fact, if we limit science exclusively to the formulation of models, it can convey no meaningful explanation of observed phenomena. The reason is that the answer to

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-69300741933794841492010-01-08T08:19:00.005-05:002010-02-03T20:29:45.807-05:00

One allegedly necessary function of government is to enforce contracts. For this, some sort of court-and-thug system is necessary; the court to rule on cases brought before it, and the thugs to carry out the court's decisions.However, such a system necessarily poses a moral hazard problem, for now the participants in a contract do not have to bear the costs of enforcement. "If he doesn't follow

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-18649386282414978172009-12-25T08:33:00.004-05:002010-02-03T20:22:44.284-05:00

It's Christmas morning and Santa has dropped off lots of trains for the boys. Time for eating candy and desserts for breakfast, listening to carols, and having an entire day to enjoy each other's company and relax. I'll also take some time to reflect on Christ's message and think about how I may better live up to it. The message is simple, subversive, and radical: instead of hitting each other

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-78264235433074845922009-12-24T07:53:00.003-05:002010-02-03T20:22:32.350-05:00

Joyeux Noel is a wonderful movie about a Christmas truce that occurred on the front-lines in World War I. One would think any movie about WWI would be too dark and depressing for family Christmas viewing, but I think this will be one we rewatch many years. There is not much fighting in the movie (but plenty of suspense, especially on a first watching), and the movie delivers one of the best

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-50450905818739305472009-12-22T19:18:00.008-05:002010-02-03T20:20:37.535-05:00

I'd like to continue some thoughts from a previous doom and gloom post. I'll present these in question and answer format.That graph looks scary, but we haven't seen much price inflation since the spike. Is this really such a big deal?Perhaps not. This spike is clearly unprecedented and so has been cause of much concern, speculation, and debate among economists. But since the money has not

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-16249459056972448712009-12-05T13:28:00.004-05:002010-02-03T20:21:58.000-05:00

I completed Resurrection, which was the last full-length novel of Leo Tolstoy and the only one written after his spiritual crisis. The book's introduction includes these summary remarks:Resurrection is the great imaginative synthesis of Tolstoyism, gravid with the fruits of a lifetime's agony. 'It is a kind of shrapnel shell of a novel,' declared one contemporary critic. 'The novel is but the

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-22997484799827278842009-12-04T07:20:00.010-05:002010-02-03T20:20:20.981-05:00

We'll wait in stone circles'til the force comes through ---lines joint in faint discordand the stormwatch brews- Jethro Tull (Dun Ringill)Occasionally I get caught up in thinking about the ongoing Depression 2.0. Given the magnitude of how this may well play out, all else can seem trivial. Today I have the luxury of philosophizing about ethical strategies for eating meat; in a few years obtaining

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-9159494063073624352009-11-27T09:02:00.008-05:002010-02-03T20:18:03.247-05:00

The original Star Trek series specialized in allegory and moralizing. One of my favorites from the first season is A Taste Of Armageddon, where the crew finds a world executing a peculiar style of war. The wikipedia summary is:On Eminiar VII, the Enterprise finds a civilization at war with its planetary neighbor. Unable to discern any signs of battle from orbit, Captain Kirk leads a landing

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-87171438439545811732009-11-20T07:22:00.012-05:002010-02-03T20:29:07.327-05:00

I recommend the Amish America blog for those interested in learning about the Amish and the issues they face. A recent entry regarding the case of Amish bishops failing to report a child abuser to the police, however, is one I must take issue with. In particular, I disagree with the blogger's assertion that "clearly there is no moral question that abuse of any kind is a criminal matter, and not

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-4296056301721262302009-11-10T08:39:00.006-05:002010-02-03T20:16:10.004-05:00

It seems to me that the cause of much moral and spiritual malaise is succumbing to the illusion of separateness. This illusion is that there exists a you that is a completely separate entity from everything else. Given this illusion, you view yourself as identical with your body, or at least with some parts of your body. You would then see your interaction with anything not-you as purely

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-43633328412114109492009-11-02T18:42:00.005-05:002010-02-03T20:14:25.568-05:00

The following passage strikingly reveals the abominable nature of Church worship. It is lifted from Resurrection, the last long novel Tolstoy wrote after his religious awakening. While this passage refers to a service performed in a prison and refers to acts performed in the prison, much of it applies equally well to most churches. Here is the passage:And to not one of those present, from the

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-63762788336849014702009-10-16T08:33:00.006-04:002010-02-03T20:28:42.174-05:00

At the supermarket you are presented with an array of nice, clean-looking meats. However, the shopping experience is completely divorced from the production process of these meats. Of course we are vaguely aware that meat is produced from the slaughter of animals, but the details of how those animals are raised, fed, and killed are abstracted away. Even the butchering of the meat is usually

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-26364023246104949182009-10-04T08:41:00.007-04:002010-02-03T20:12:08.572-05:00

The decision to enforce a law is necessarily also a decision to use the threat of force on someone. Even more significantly, it is also a decision to escalate the use of force if resistance is met. As a result, the most minor infraction can result in severe punishment, and even death, if one persistently resists. We all know this instinctively when we see those blue lights flashing behind us,

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-90049477107389746172009-09-28T07:15:00.016-04:002010-02-03T20:27:52.296-05:00

You click a radio preset to test what the morning zoo show will be discussing during this commute. Maybe I'll pop in a CD instead, you think, but then realize (as you do so many mornings) that you've listened to these CDs too many times and keep forgetting to rotate them out. You notice some movement in your rearview and watch a Ford Explorer rush up behind you and nearly bump your car. Instead

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-12459707580093085332009-09-18T08:19:00.006-04:002010-02-03T20:08:00.279-05:00

I don't know what exact role the federal government played in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, I do reject the official "fairy tale" version that goes like this: radical Islamic terrorists planned and carried out the attacks because they hate freedom. I suspect that at least a near-majority of people also reject this explanation of the attacks and subscribe to some form of "conspiracy

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186276205499824151.post-23546152597930727102009-09-15T07:50:00.004-04:002010-02-03T20:18:30.204-05:00

What “I am” depends largely on who is asking me and the context of the conversation. Sometimes I am an anarchist, sometimes a pacifist, sometimes a libertarian, and sometimes a Tolstoyan Christian. Sometimes I am even a Ron Paul Republican. These may seem highly disparate labels, but I hope there is one common thread in each: advocacy of peace and non-violence; opposition to war and

Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1