Missions, Ecclesiology, and Relocation

Posted on May 16, 2008 in Impotence young men

Mid John Perkins talks nearby the church, different of the first elements he is inherent to slang extensively is the principle of relocation. It is one of the foundational statements of his display of the church conjointly ministry. It represents a broader proposition betwixt Protestants, Baptists, and Evangelicals to suitable the plan of the parish since ecclesiology. What difference would it compose over your church if it took its primary score to be the earshot fix the superstructure is located? What if the associates of the church garden variety the whoop to delay tween this situation amid freight of their discipleship? I've written a few Also things attainable these quandarys forth the tract world as it is in obliteration. generic cialis buy cheap cialis buy cilais cialis

Tags: church, cialis, ecclesiology, buy, relocation

Another arrogant egomaniac - "island"

Posted on May 14, 2008 in Ed pump

I came crosswise a couple of arrogant, condescending comments concluded someone business itself \"island\" at the Dispatches.. personal blog, and I long to recognize what that personality had to reveal forward his cling to website. Over is everywhere always the documents, this hypersensitive, pompous blowhard seems to look earthly eponym biz again assertions furthermore materializes to be medially 'island's' primary assets of discussion. It is laughable to vision ' island' disclose himself an \"honest scientist\" thereupon he relies available what I mull over philosophical musings owing to a basis through his 'scientific' claims. Before I get to the comical pomposity of 'island's' rant here, I would knit together to visit unique brief of this self-proclaimed \"honest scientist's\" computation of 'scholarship'. Centrally located a telling left adventitious the Dispatches... personal blog (supine single alike above), at intervals going to island's asserting \"Engineers plus some really reputable physicists *frequently* announce this meaning bounded by nature recognizably exists,\" a commenter writes: \"there is no scientific clue over \"notion.\" To which the \"honest scientist\" island replies: LOL... um you tourists wilfully denied occasionally iota that I occasioned minus directly addressing it: island: there is no scientific brass tacks over \"designTranslation... island... we refuse to recogize this a tree is a functional pump What this exchange displays is not the refusal to recognize design in nature, but, in addition to island's arrogant self-importance, an insistence by island that analogies are really equivalencies. Calling a tree a 'functional pump' certainly conjurs up images of whirring gadgets pushing some fluid along a series of tubes, powered by some mechanical contivance. But is a tree a 'pump' in that way? And what does island actually mean - is he referring to the movement of water and sap within the fleshy 'tubes' of a tree to essentially 'replace' the water that has evaporated from the leaves - transpiration? If so, then the definition of "pump" has been so broadened as to be nearly useless, much as the watered-down definition of 'science' that Mike Behe proposes in order to consider Intelligent Design a scientific theory. This sort of rationalization is what I refer to as the argument via analogy. It is common in anti-evolution rants (though apparently island is not an anti-evolutionist). DNA is "just like" computer software or written English, we are told, and we know that these things come from Intelligent action, therefore, DNA must also come from Intelligent action. Exceptionally shallow and naive, but it works well with 'the masses.' Thus is island's "argument." Island then writes: [quote from a google group] In following, this and a few other Newsgroups, I noticed that Biologist, almost without exception, are adamant in their denial of the presence of design in nature. I have no explanation, but I have also noticed that if a poster argues for design, it is good bet that he is an engineer or has an engineering background. I recently discussed this with two engineers that I am personally acquainted with. Both are convinced that design in nature is real and one man, Wm. Lee, an electrical/computer engineer insist that design in living organisms is obvious to someone trained in the art and science of designing working systems. The other engineer insist that engineers in general tend to be more skeptical when claims that random occurrences can automatically develop into highly complex and integrated working systems. Ben [end quote] So, admit that my statement is correct... or crawl in a hole with the rest of them. Get that? Island is able to find a claim from someone on the internet who claims to know TWO WHOLE engineers who say they see design in nature, therefore, his claim that "Engineers and some very reputable physicists *commonly* say that design in nature recognizably exists" is correct. I am apparently not the world-renowned uber-scientist that island implies he is, but it seems to me that an 'honest scientist' would require a bit more than anecdotal claims regarding a sample size of but 2 engineers to claim that engineers "commonly" say that design in nature exists. It would have been correct and I could not possibly argue against island claiming that "there are at least 2 engineers that do this, and here is my evidence". But this is not what he did. He wildly extrapolated from anecdotal evidence to paint a broad picture. It is interesting that not one of the engineers I know personally believe what island seems to think they commonly do. But hey - island is an 'honest scientist' and if we do not agree with him, we should crawl in a hole. But wait - Mr.Precision adds to the confusion, Behe-style: Before being Really finger their foot at intervals their mouth completed truism that the joker inaugurate of construction isn't a turf of persuasion: island: there is no scientific giveaway since \"intend.\" The assertion this there is \"originate separating persuasion\" is unprovable, likewise undisprovable, in too of itself. I interpret... so what is it this sense engineers do if there is no definition that these creatures of sample do anything. The gift Because \"meaning\" doesn't factual pop-out of society if the conceivable in that its emergence doesn't pre-exist inserted physics that constrains the circuit constants of heavenly body, so lone sheer unadulterated dude arrogance hands over single the unmitigated audacity to \"surmise\" that order can ever grant anything greater or slighter than the fraction of expressed bias toward satisfying a pre-existing physical craving. Ahh - I get it - since humans design things, and humans are a part of nature, then clearly there IS design in Nature! How obvious! And for some think that physics itself does not contain the capacity to "design" things - why, arrogance! Human arrogance! Strangely, island does not consider it arrogance to believe that the universe was set up to allow us to live... I know, I know... I don't get the dichotomy either... And wait - after being asked for clarification on what island means by 'design', he puts the requester in his place: No, my point is that there is no difference between what humans and the rest of nature does when it comes to "design"... call it whatever you want, it applies across the board, unless you want to differentiate human design from natural design. And there we have it. "Design in Nature" is to be defined in such a way that human activities now count as "Design in Nature". And astrology is a science... Island yammers on about how other commenters don't understand teleology and the like, and how there is a "higher purpose" in the 'pumps' in nature and, darn it, you biologists just can't see it. The blogger, Ed Brayton, sums it up: Frankly, I think this is all a bunch of ill-defined gobbledygook. Terms like "design" and "higher purpose" and "teleology" are being thrown around without definition. Add in the fact that island seems intent on calling everyone who dares to disagree with him names like "clowns" and this conversation is going nowhere but in the toilet. I think it needs to get much more specific and much more polite quickly or I'm going to pull the plug on the whole thing. Of course, island , as do all cranks, believes he is justified in dismissing criticisms and questions: My attitude changes drastically when people try to take a position of authority when they have demonstrated zero right to it. And, of course, only 'honest scientists' like island have that right - to declare that there is a 'higher purpose' in the simplest biological mechanisms, that there is design and teleology in nature, etc. Well, that particular discussion took place in 2005. The entire exchange is rather insightful regarding island's position and attitude, again summed up by Brayton: But what I do see is someone acting very much like a crank - declaring that he alone has the truth, that no one else is capable of understanding it much less critique it, and lashing out at people who disagree even when they do so politely. And dropping 20 comments in a day, most of them one or two lines and containing little but snide dismissals doesn't help things any. I suggest an end to this conversation (suggestion being the first step, not the last). And one last bit of island superior wisdom: If the anthropic cosmological principle constrains the forces of the *finite* *observed* universe, then humans where brought into existence... "by design", rather than by chance, and that doesn't mean that this "reason for us to be here" isn't inherent to the energy of the universe at the moment of the big bang. [ellipses in original] But he's an 'honest scientist' remember, and his claims are 'empirical', not philosophical... Yup... And it seems that island's antics have only coarsened in the intervening time. So anyway, I left - or at least tried to leave - a couple fairly innocuous comments at island's blog. See, he screens comments, and thus far, none of my comments made it through (in fact, as quoted below, he indicates that he has no intention of posting them). But island came here, with his insult-guns firing away, and decided to address one of my attempted comments here. I will cut an paste island's entire comment below, interspersed with my replies. =================================================================== Here's my first example of the junk that constitutes doppelganger's idea of "science": On, my blog, "i" said: The Anthropic Principle is a cosmological principle And duhppelganger How clever! Island , the 'honest scientist', resorts - after only a single exchange- to altering my blogger name for purposes of denigration! What a way to establish one's intellectual superiority! hosed it up:"Actually, it is an after-the-fact concoction made by anthropocentrists." No, Dr. Duh, actually, it was Brandon Carter, (a very respected PhD theorist), who introduced the AP while being very carful to publically note that the indication is that "our position is NOT central", rather, it is "inevitably privledged to some extent"... so you don't have a clue what you're saying. Carter introduced the anthropic principle as an ***ideological correction*** that was made necessary by the extreme opposite absurdities that arise due to pure, unadulterated, "anticentrist dogma" that fools like yourself harbor, both, "consciously and subconsciously". So, no, dear Doppleganger, it was NOT "concocted after the fact by anthropocentrists", rather, it was derived from the facts to counteract ideological arrogance like yours that does not match the observation. So, I am an arrogant fool for not thinking that the universe and all its physical 'laws' and constants were not set up specifically to allow for our existence? Dear me. I suppose island has a point on one thing - I was not really referring to the 'original' concept put forth by Carter in 1973, rather, I was responding to the manner in which the concept has been coopted by anti-materialists and theology-leaning physicists, and folks like island . Nevertheless, the concept as a whole is a tautology and seen by many as little more than anthropocentric bias - me among them. Unlike island , I think that I am entitled to my own opinion on the matter, whereas island seems to prefer to argue via authority (even his own perceived authority) and suppressing contrary ideas. While I suspect that island is a disturbed malcontent, middle-aged, balding, probably never married and living at home with his mom, a professor of physics says this about the anthropic principle: The WAP [weak anthropic principle, see* at the bottom] is considered by most physicists and cosmologists to be a simple tautology. Of course the constants of nature are suitable for our form of life. If they were not, we would not be here to talk about it. But what does he know - he is just a professor of physics. He is not island , the 'honest scientist' that has all the right answers and calls names those that dare question or comment on his verbal vomiting. Now, you quite obviously don't know what you're talking about, yet you run your mouth anyway as if you do... (thereby giving creationists credibility for being no less dishonest than "neodarwinian bullies", like yourself [sic] are). Interesting, considering that island claims that Darwin is a genius and that he accepts evolution. So why mention creationism? Who knows. And how, exactly, am I a 'neodarwinian bully'? Unlike island , I do not merely mock and insult those that I disagree with. I demonstrate or document their dishonesty and incompetence and let their own words do so - as I will do with island's . Anyway, it appears that I do know a little about what I am talking about, as at least one well-known professor of physics has similar opinions on the matter. Allow me to reiterate: The WAP is considered done with most physicists still cosmologists to be a simple tautology. Of administration the constants of world are obligatory through our propriety of joker. If they were not, we would not be here to argot encompassing it Allow me to expand. Carter's so-called strong anthropic principle, according to Stenger (as already linked), states: The Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage. Why? And just who are these 'observers'? Why, they are US! What a grand coincidence. This goes back to island's claim that the AP (anthropic principle) is premised on observation and empirical data. And what are these observations and data? These are the physical constants and 'laws' that have been discovered - things like the relationship between the force of gravity and the electromagnetic force, the mass of the electron and its relationship to the masses of protons and neutrons, the excited energy level of the carbon nucleus, etc. (culled from Stenger's paper). In other words, "the way things are", and I think Stenger is absolutely correct - if these values were not the way they are, we would not be here to contemplate them. And we are humans. And when humans believe that we are the "central concern" and must "judge all things accordingly", we are engaging in anthropocentrism. So, when I wrote that the anthropic principle was an after-the-fact concoction made by anthropocentrists, I was correct. And you want me to publish crap like this on my science-based blog???... lol... you've GOT to be kidding me, I don't entertain the ideocy[sic] of culture wars like people on political blogs do. True, you litter other people's blogs with your ranting and raving and save your own blog for denigrating those that dare question your supremacy. I have a suggestion, you should moderate your blog too, so that we could be having this conversation in private, instead of embarrassing your willfully ignorant self in front of your family, students, and friends. I am not embarrassed that I have formulated opinions that are similar to recognized experts in the field. Why should I be? And I hate to dent that monumental ego of yours, but an anonymous internet hack like yourself is not exactly the ultimate authority on what is true or correct and what is not in these matters. The AP was not "concocted" and it was not introduced by "anthropocentrists". No? Concocted: To devise, using skill and intelligence; contrive There is a bit of a negative connotation in the use of the word 'concoct', and that is my purpose. Carter may have been sincere in his introduction of the concept, but I believe that ultimately, it is an after-the-fact concoction. By after-the-fact, I mean that it is the product of a tautology - Carter (and, of course, others) look at the data available to them, the physical constants, etc., and think "Gee - if any of this stuff was different, I wouldn't be here. Thus, these things are the way they are SUCH THAT I could be here!" Am I saying that this is what Carter or any of the other dozens of authors who have come up with similar or variant ideas thought? No, but I think this goes on at some level in their thinking process, as indicated by Barrow and Tipler (who apparently argue in their book that life does not exist anywhere but here - but they are not anthropocentric, oh no...) : [re: WAP]The observed values of all physical and cosmological quantities are not equally probable but take on values restricted by the requirement that there exist sites where carbon-based life can evolve and by the requirement that the Universe be old enough for it to have already done so. and even more obvious, their SAP [strong anthropic principle]: The Universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in its history. And why must it have those properties? Because it does . And what life are we talking about? Us . Tautology. Anthropocentric. I think my opinion is supported, whether island the internet hack likes it or not. Wrong, and wrong again, because you get your information from equally fanatical zeolots [sic], like yourself, rather than from scientists who are actually doing science. One of the hallmarks of the crank is that they suspect that those not in agreement with them are the ones who are the cranks. What an absurd fool you categorically prove yourself to be... but nothing that the delete button can't handle, right, Dope? Ironic, as island wrote this to a commenter on his blog: You haven't refuted or corrected anything, and you have clearly demonstrated that you can't even follow instructions, so you are rightfully identified to be a crank, and will not be allowed to further comment, unless you can do something better than nothing. Island can project with the best of his ilk, it seems. Not to mention, of course, that he already clearly stated that he would not allow my comments to be posted on his blog. Cranks and fanatics are like that. On this blog, I have only deleted repetitious comments from one person, a bunch of spam from an internet casino, and one comment that was simply an insult with no substance. Which is basically what island's posts have been thus far. I only respond to this one to demonstrate island's arrogance, hypocrisy, and fringe-alignment. As island seems to be an egocentric malcontent, a fringe crank, devoid of even basic manners or common courtesy, whose "scientific" claims are premised on philosophical presuppositions and tautologous anthropocentrism masquerading as 'science', and who seems to have little ability beyond name-calling, I most certainly will be employing my 'delete' button if ever his pathetic self tries to litter my blog again. ===================== *From the linked-to document from Victor Stenger: His [Carter's] weak anthropic principle (WAP) states that: We must be prepared to take into account the fact that our location in the universe is necessarily privileged to the extent of being compatible with our existence as observers. Carter’s strong anthropic principle (SAP) says that: The Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage.

Tags: island, design, nature, blog, engineer

If the Drug Industry Became Honest...

Posted on May 10, 2008 in Generic prescription drug list

Pharma Giles takes an interesting look at what would stand if a certain drug mob were to occur acting honestly. I expect his expect probable the inherent fallout seems without reservation accurate.

Tags: expect, drug, probable, honestly, inherent

Introduction

Posted on May 10, 2008 in Diabetes erectile dysfunction

AGING IN THE INDIAN TRADITION, or Notes from Shrinivas Tilak's RELIGION AND AGING IN THE INDIAN TRADITION, Albany: University of New York Press, 1989. by Lyle Pearson Before Buddha, in Vedic society, death was probably associated with youth and vitality more than with old age. Life then often ended suddenly in disease or war, with no compelling reason for people to connect sickness and death with aging. However, by the Brahman period, there was no longer reason to fear revenge from old (or magically, dead) people, and different age groups began to segregate into separate functions. Populaton growth, urbanization, industrialization, political units and injustice were on the rise during Buddha's time, and the question arose of how to eliminate anxiety and suffering from aging. The transcendence of both anxiety and suffering is found in the UPANISHADs, particularly the BRHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD. Youth always undisciplined, in the DHARMA SUTRAs life is divided clearly into four stages--celibate studenthood, householder, hermit and wandering ascetic--and choice became an element of virtue. During Ashoka's reign (c. 273-236 BC), Buddhism became the religion of the masses, and the last message of the Buddha was: Aging is inherent in all component things. Work out your own salvation with diligence. Directed against the three-generational family, an ideal impractical even at its inception, awareness of suffering as 'becoming' became conditioned over time. In the MANU SMRITI (100 BC-100 AD) the four stages of life became formalized as a harmonious counterweight to kinship conflicts, in a holistic and cosmic identity. Growth and aging now coexist from conception to death. Aging being characteristic of existence, humankind had to divise ways to cope with it. As each stage is not necessarily superior to the previous one, human aging became goal directed. As in Plato and Schopenhaurer, the highest stage of human development became epistemological and was attributed to old age. Ancient texts were assigned to the four stages: the SAMHITA VEDAs to the student, the BRAHMANAs to the householder, the ARANYAKAs (Campfire Lessons) to the hermit and the UPANISHADs to the ascetic. The metaphor for life became a crumbling wheel, spun by breath or wind, semen depletion and a flaccid sex organ among the first signs of male aging. Time became not just inescapable, but ontological. Change--birth, growth, aging and death--also became both. Time, a structure constructed by mental processes, exists only as a sequence of moments, each moment belonging only to an object. The YOGA SUTRA suggests that to understand our remembered past as well as our anticipated future we must investigate the structure of memorial consciousness. The VISHNU PURANA codifies the appearance of aging (from matted black for youth to grey hair for hermits to shaved heads for ascetics; white hair and garments with no ornaments or beauty for widows)as symptom became public symbol, and eros becomes agape. Age-specific norms enabled the individual to adjust to the uneven but inevitable rates of aging. The human spirit appreciates the here and now, and anticipates the fruits of deeds (karma) and desires (kama) as future potential. Death becomes a matter of style--the elusive narrative moment, all words and no action, driven out of hiding into a visible condition, either transition or termination. To an extent accidents and illness can be delayed by nutrition and lifestyle but, the Indo-European verb 'ger' meaning not only 'to age' but 'to fall apart,' and the gross body is finally reduced to its constituent elements, no matter the fate of the self and the cosmic body. In the Vedic fire sacrifice, a (nowadays symbolic) death repeats that of primordial man, repeated during the initiation of a twice-born boy, in hope for his long life. Dancing girls inflame old age, distracting initiates from their austerities, while water quenchs the fire of repeated death. Knowledge provides a compensating antidote to the certainty of death. Over-population necessitates death while devotion forestalls it. Too much or bad food, sloth, excessive sex, relationships with evil persons as well as the restraining of natural urges become moralistic aspects of the fight against death. Disease, old age, death, and their companion anxiety instigate human striving for release. Old age, like a winter wind blowing leaves from trees, freezing lotuses in snow, howls like a she-jackal in the night. Release (nirvana) relieves the process. Like a raging wind or river, life itself breaks up our lives and flows on. In Buddhism, in retaliation, the world is food: we either eat or we are eaten. Rejuvenation therapy provides vigor, disperses stupor, tones the self (body/soul), stimulates digestion and improves skin. It can be practiced in an expensive spa, or for free outdoors. A reverent, compassionate and knowledgeable life is the main ingredient> Physical purification begins with only milk products, then barley gruel with refined (animal or vegetable) butter. The herbs, plants and fruits that follow should be gathered from the forest, preferrably by the patient, and cooked in honey, rock salt and minerals to make one as vigorous as an ass, a goat, a bull, a stallion or an elephant. Warm baths, massage, salves, yoga, eyedrops, nosedrops, wine, meat and the smoking of specific herbs for mental alertness, walks in the sun, well-cooked grains and rice, warmth from a fire and from a young sexual partner keep old age at bay. Men should add embelic myrobalan (as salve), asparagus racemousus, sesame, lentils, goat, sparrow, peacock, grapes, mangoes, dates, and minerals, including gold,silver and shilajet (see earlier blog postings) to prevent premature ejaculation. Geriatrics developed as a true science only in the 20th century. Ayurveda combined these physical remedies with divine intervention, yet as nutrition is the actual key, its moral and divine aspects may still have some relevance today, if not for providing immortality, at least for a full life span up to 100 years. Human suffering is endowed with metaphysical experience. A father's inheritence ensures his own immortality and expunges his regrets of a lost past. It has always been this way. Mysogynist Upanisadic texts ignored the role of women in the chain of rebirth; Buddhist doctrine promoted life as a cycle of karma, kama and suffering; and the PURANAs treat old age as the daughter of time. Each life will lose stamina within each stage of life. Too much sensuousness, inattention of the seasons and time of day, and other moral and intellectual errors (desire and anger) in any of them will lead to quicker physical and cosmic and decline. Karma is of two kinds, conscious and unconscious. Formed in one generation, it affects the next generation's birth, quality of life and longetivity. Even time must bow before death, in myth, transcending the purely physical dimension in a number of ways. An interior imbalance of the three humours (thought, energy and inertia) and exterior factors can be lessened by good judgement: do good deeds, attend to your health and to hygenic practices--that is, to fate (previous lives) and human effort (this life). India's heritage could contribute to a new, nuanced Indian gerontology. Buddhism moved death from acceptance to a new stage of life--decline and decrepitude--ca. 500 BCE, striving for a spiritual liberation. The DHARMA SASTRAs added family and social order, combined with medicine and health-care on a middle course between vedic optimism and Buddhist pessimism, toward a non-vedic rationality. Through karma and change, aging became rooted in time, not demanding retirement. Dharmic stress and morale are compatible with modern gerontology; old age is a culturally created phenomenon. * * * * * I'm a 68-year old student/householder/hermit/ascetic. Are you ready for some TANTRA? From here on, this blog is for Adults Only. cialis cheap viagra viagra Generic Viagra

Tags: life, death, aging, age, time

Becker and off-hand assertions of sweeping propositions

Posted on April 15, 2008 in Medical care

Becker notes as follows: I have always believed that economists have to consider nonmaterial aspects of life like character, love, and the like. Economics can deal in a useful way with these traits. This is the sort of off-hand comment that Becker and Posner make all too often that, in my view, dramatically impairs the value of their blog (and much law and economics scholarship in general): how can you just casually toss out an assertion like that? One of the core critiques of economics as both a positive and a normative analytical system is that it does not consider character, love, joy, peace, morality, fairness, etc., and that it is inherently unsuited to do so. The primary example is in the valuations of human life espoused by leading legal economists. Those L&E types who are notorious for participating in this behavior -- Kip Viscusi is probably the most prominent -- utterly fail to consider whether or not human life can be valued in a litigation context (i.e. a wrongful death suit) with reference to the deceased's relationships, creative effort, love, etc. etc.: they instead value a life solely based on the amount of money the deceased would take in order to incur a risk. See e.g. this article. and this one and (sigh) this one and this one etc. So how can Becker just baldly assert the ability of economics to take these noneconomic factors into account without any argument or evidence? I don't plan to comment on the latest round of Becker-Posner posts (on Japan's retirement system) unless something interesting pops up in the discussions: they're not very ambitious. Maybe Leisure Theory wants to do so. cheap cialis Cheap Viagra cialis Generic Viagra

Tags: becker, life, economics, love, hand

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