Choosing a Mt Rainier Guide Service
Tips from first-timers
Do I need a guide to climb Mt Rainier?
Rainier without a guide (forum)
Cold Thistle (blog)
Guide Services:
Alpine Ascents International
International Mountain Guides LLC
Rainier Mountaineering, Inc.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
The Attitude for an Attempt to Ascent...Applicable Aptitude? (Mt. Rainier)
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Logic and Faith in Christianity (cf. Faith in the Illogical Premise of Materialism)
Tyler,
Personally, I wouldn't say science was founded on the belief that a logical God exists…I would say scientific reasoning relies on logic which presumes the law of non-contradiction. There is no evidence for the laws of logic. And I agree that logic reflects the mind of God.
My reduction of Materialism: I cannot believe in God because there is no proof of his existence. I must see the evidence before I can believe it. I will not put blind faith in anything…except for the philosophy that says I will not put blind faith in anything. The truth is that I put my faith in that philosophical position. I accept it 'a priori' and evaluate everything by that presupposition. But the most important thing to remember is this: there is no proof for my belief system; I accept it on faith and subsequently reject all other faith positions as untenable because they lack the evidentiary basis. I know it is illogical but I'm human so the irrational doesn't bother me.
The reality is that there is a God. I have faith. I am not ashamed to have faith in the unseen and use logic to evaluate that which is seen. It is paradoxical, but that doesn't make it irrational. To me the faith position may be tenable so long as it is not self-contradictory. 'Credo ut intelligam.' I believe the only presupposition to make sense of the world in a non-contradictory way is theism. That is what I believe. To ask for evidence of what is neither provable nor disprovable is intellectually dishonest. The Epistle to the Romans indicates the basis for unbelief is immorality and unbelief is the justification we seek to excuse our own behavior. Belief requires repentance. I do not say it with pride. If not for the grace of God I would not believe. He called me. Thank God he gave me the choice to listen.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
M. G. Kline Resources
Books to buy/read:
Treaty of the Great King
Images of the Spirit
Articles to read:
Kline on Multi-Perspectivalism
Creation in the Image of the Glory-Spirit
Friday, March 14, 2014
New to Anglicanism
My Parish: St. Charles Anglican Church
My Diocese: Cascadia
My Province: Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)
The Anglican Communion: Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON)
Anglican Misc:
https://americananglican.org/
http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/
http://fca.net/members/register
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Rhetoric vs. Logic
Here are the facts:
Here is the assumption I urge you to make concerning said facts:So where is the logic? Where have you attempted to make such a compelling argument that I have no choice but to agree. Oh wait, there was no argument presented. My mistake, this was an informative video not one making a case for any agenda {sarcasm}.
Regardless of the political or religious leanings, a video that proposes to be informative but is actually designed to be persuasive is a LIE. I can only imagine the elitist mentality of the lecturer who thinks that the average viewer is moronic enough to buy the rhetoric in the absence of logical argumentation. Unfortunately, the lecturer may be correct in the approach to spreading propaganda. Play to self-love, emotion, preconceived notions and you have a recipe for success.
"One thousand Frenchmen can't be wrong!"
Lest I forget, we are not creatures of logic and reason. Few of us have been gifted and made responsible in its use, but the morass of people are more attuned to their emotions. So I will make my logical and rhetorical case for liberty. In this case specifically for economic liberty.
"Let Freedom Ring!"
I love my American freedoms. I enjoy a prosperity and liberty, the likes of which, the world has never seen. Oh you say, my freedoms are being eroded. 'Tis true. But I say since when? Oh you mean since we fought for our liberty about 200 years ago. Boy that was eons ago {sarcasm}. Hmmm, actually that is relatively recent history, so when I say that I enjoy these freedoms that my forefathers fought for, it's a true statement. Keep things in context. Pax Americana (think about it).
On the other hand, we have been complacent with our liberties and the ironic thing is; is that we actually have the liberty to be complacent if we want to. But there is just one little problem. With privilege comes responsibility. We are a privileged and lazy people. But we cannot be both of those indefinitely. We will either continue to be lazy and lose our privileges or we must bear the burden of responsibility that being a free people entails.
I vote liberty. Every time.
Work sucks, I know. But it's a necessary evil and I will take the liberty and responsibility together.
Laziness leads to less.
What do I mean? Less: liberty, wealth, time and satisfaction. Human nature wants and wants and can never be satisfied. There are people who seek power, money, influence, or some combination if not all of them. Laziness tends to allow these people to amass great power, fortunes, and influence at the expense of those who are unwilling to work for a piece of the same. The more people vying for power, the less any one person will acquire; which, if you think about it, is why the founders set up a congress rather than an American 'king.' Decentralize the power as much as possible.
Money gets tricky. Because it is tied to power, wealth begets power and power begets wealth. But in either case, preventing the centralization of power will, at the very least, prevent power from being used to create wealth [of an individual, not the wealth of nations]. Barriers to enter the market restrict the nation's wealth. Again this goes back to politics. Power corrupts. Central planners are primarily concerned with taking care of themselves. Everything they say to the opposite effect is a smokescreen designed to keep the lazy entrenched in a slavery they do not realize that they are in.
Influenced by entertainment. That is the average American. That is me. For me to say otherwise is a lie. That is you. How comfortable are you with facing truth? We are easily influenced. Want proof? I don't need to prove anything. The proof is in the pudding. Advertising and marketing. Does that answer the question? If it didn't work, Superbowl slots would not cost so little {sarcasm} for 30 seconds of air.
So there you have it. The ground work. From here I will go deeper into the logic of why liberty actually works. But at the core we do not want liberty. We want to be entertained, amused, or pleasured. Logic says liberty is the best choice. Our feelings say otherwise.
"But won't people starve to death if we don't have welfare?" I appreciate the liberal charity in wanting the best for our fellow humans, but I will posit that more liberty, not less is the answer to true humanitarianism.
"So you want the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer?" God forbid. I want the responsible to get richer and the lazy to get poorer. How is it right to take from one person that which belongs to them and give it to someone it does not belong to? The IRS is legal theft. But it does not fulfill the modern day role of Robin Hood either. "The wealthiest are taxed the most and that is given to the poorest right?" SMH. If only…The extreme wealthiest know how to shelter their riches from taxes. And how do they know how to do that? Simple. They designed the constructs. This is why government and corporations being in bed together is so bad for the common person. If and when I get rich, I will be excluded from the most elite circles where you learn the tricks of how to hide your money from the tax man. We don't tax "them," we tax "us." The wealthiest of us are the ones in the highest tax brackets, the modern "royalty" know how to play the game better than we do.
I don't want to play the game. I want to get rid of the rules and have the freedom to work hard, own my piece of America, and make it my paradise. More to follow; and dream about the paradise we will never have if we are unwilling to work harder and smarter than we have in the last 230-ish years since we fought for LIBERTY.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Look who's back…Back again. (smh;)
Life sucks. Sometimes. It's my fault. Every time.
It has been a while since I have laid down my "pen."
What have I done since then? I will tell you.
But before I do, let me preface with this: I spent about 7 years studying theology and 3 years studying economics. Nerd? Perhaps ;) And by that I mean, obviously so. Social skills? Lacking. Social ability? Potential.
I realized that there was a lack of social ability in my associations. Was it because I was homeschooled? ISTJ personality type? Antisocial parents? Yes, yes, and yes.
I got a job as a cashier at the local IGA grocery store when I was 16 and started to develop those social skills necessary to get along with my peers. I went to college and furthered my interactions, but still lacked. I joined the Navy, enlisted in the Nuclear Propulsion Program and became a social butterfly {sarcasm}. NOT! I was now surrounded by nerds like me who had only slightly better social skills. *Is this a dream?* Unfortunately it wasn't a dream. Those guys who I thought had amazing social skills, it turns out that their social arbitrations are well underdeveloped (in my current opinion and more to that soon).
Three years ago, I was thinking (dangerous, I know;) that I could raise my social intelligence. I deliberately looked for opportunities to place myself into the awkwardness that is society (for a nerd) to learn what I hadn't yet from my quarter of a century of existence. I paused my intellectual pursuits at that moment to pursue a pressing and very necessary course.
What have I learned?
Life sucks. Sometimes.
It's my fault. Every time.
LOL.
My pen is rusty. The world cares not. But I care.
TRUTH. Too important to bury my talents for social acceptance.
I am actually adept at deciphering social cues. I really did not think I had it in me. Thanks be to God, first and foremost for granting me eyes that see and ears that hear so that I may discern truth from lies. Even social intelligence is a learned intelligence.
People are fundamentally sss…
No. Not stupid.
Dead wrong.
Selfish.
They [and I, me, myself, you, him, her, as it 'were'] are primarily/fundamentally/basally selfish/self-absorbed/self-important/self-indulgent/et cetera…
How to make friends and influence people? Play to their self love. That's how it's done. I don't like it, but 'it is what it is.'
The point: I now know NO. And YES. (No point in what I just said, the real point follows.) There is both a science and an art to social intelligence. Being a natural born skeptic, I have always been the scientist. Embracing life, I have learned the art. I now feel free to practice my former pursuits knowing now how to make it accessible to everyone (within reason). "So what," you say, "will you (I) do with my new found knowledge/ability?" And that my friends is the right question ;)
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