Selections from Theoretical Breakthroughs
The Case for Liberal Christianity
by Ben Huot
If we follow the example of the early Church, as recorded in Acts, we
see the early Christians as members of a ideal collective community
like an Ashram, Kibbutz, or Monastery. If we follow Jesus example, we
would carry out the Gospel, while doing good works, especially in
service of those rejected by society. Convincing people to be born
again was originally linked with helping out those in need in practical
situations. Christianity is inherently liberal in its social aspects.
Now we see famous people, like the American president claim that they
are born again Christians, the word Christianity loses all meaning.
Voting conservative counters all the money sent to help starving people
in Africa.
Conservatives (in other word, people following atheistic convictions)
voting either Republican or the very similar Democrat, in the United
States, just perpetuate the establishment, which is referred to in the
Bible as the world and Christ told us to be no part of. In fact, Jesus
was most critical of the equivalent of the Church establishment, which
at that time was in the form of the Jewish establishment - these are
the people referred to as the Pharisees and Saducees.
Although I believe that Christianity is socially liberal, I hold to
what the Bible says on salvation and eternity. I see helping others out
who are in need, as another note in the same song on the same
instrument.
I believe that our American society is pluralistic and that holding
people to Biblical standards who arent born again doesnt make any
sense, if you believe in eternal salvation and a literal interpretation
of the miraculous of the Bible. The Bible is not about a set of rules,
but about a relationship with God. According to Jesus, following the
Ten Commandments alone not only doesnt get you to Heaven, but is
impossible. And according to Paul, the only way we can keep from sin is
by the direct divine intervention of our savior, Christ.
Not only is it non-sensical to expect people to follow the laws of the
Bible, without becoming born again first, it actually goes against an
orthodox interpretation of the Bible. Furthermore, if I had the choice
of living in an idealistic society with conservative Christians as
leaders and live in a predominantly atheistic society, I would
definitely choose the later. The only kind of Christian dominated
society I would want to live under would be directly under the
authority of Christ, in the flesh.
The thing on the mind of most conservatives to change about society is
to persecute or severely limit the rights of people who are homosexual.
Although I believe that homosexuality is a sin, I believe divorce is
also, but I dont see many conservatives giving up sexual relations with
their previously divorced spouse. And these are the same kinds of
people with the same reasons for discriminating against people of color
and women in previous generations.
Instead of targeting people, because I dont agree with their values, I
seek to help those out who society has rejected. The most rejected by
society are animals. Cute little furry animals are kept as prisoners
and tortured, so that the chemical and meat industries can collect more
cash from unsafe products. Their habitat is destroyed all over the
world, in a senseless rush to use up all the worlds potentially
renewable resources in a couple generations. Also, prisoners are
discriminated against. We often see them as the enemy in our society,
but we all have sinned and are to forgive our neighbors. So we should
help people who have made mistakes to get back a productive place in
society and find a way to keep from getting sent back to jail.
The Public Mind and American Democracy
by Ben Huot
Many young people are critical of America and then my parents
generation will say it is the worst form of government, except for all
others. American democracy works, but not for the reasons people think.
Sure we are free to vote, but there are only 2 parties that have a
chance of winning and they are almost identical.
Many young people get upset because they want real change and they
believe that our democracy should allow them to make radical changes.
Then, when they realize it is not possible: they stop voting, they get
involved in violent protests and sabotage, they take out their
frustrations with their cars, drink heavily or take drugs, or try to do
various lobbying efforts.
The reality is that we are not ruled by a democracy but by a
dictatorship, but instead of using violence to control people, the
dictatorship uses the media to control our worldview. People say that
is not true because we can say almost anything we want about the
government and there are no censors. As long as it is not communicated
to enough people in a way that will convince them, then the government
doesnt care.
Controlling peoples minds is the best way to control the government.
People will put up with almost anything, as long as they think they are
well enough off financially.
People like to talk about freedom, but really all most people want to
do is just follow orders. Most people dont care about doing what is
right or wrong, as long as they are members of a large group that can
tell them what to believe. It is not that the average person wants to
cause problems for others, its just that they are unwilling to change
anything about their lives to help.
They key for individuals, who want to do what is the right thing and
not just what is comfortable, I would like to introduce: the concept of
no blood on my hands, where we work to limit the amount of destruction
we cause to others and use creativity to go under the radar, so that we
are following all the laws, but we are at the same time freeing them
from the media controlling our minds and we work to free others, on a
small scale.
No blood on my hands means limiting our impact on the environment and
the poor. Many things fall under this, which is often called the
voluntary simplicity movement. Some of the things I do are: use shampoo
and detergent that are not tested on animals, I dont eat beef, I dont
drink alcohol, I use open source software, and I give to help farm
animals left to starve to death and to Christian ministries in prisons.
Going under the radar seems the easiest to do on the Internet. Be part
of the long tail, where you appeal to a small segment of the market or
a given specialty. You can effectively compete with the likes of
Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in concert with many other specialty
sites, without any coordination necessary. You can subvert the media by
licensing your work under a creative commons license.
Freeing others comes from sharing information that condemns consumerism
and materialism. Instead of consuming the information that is produced
for the masses, get your information from foreign books and
international news from other countries. Another way to free others is
to be positive and encourage others. Pray for them and find news of
positive things going on in the world.
Most importantly, do not invent any technology that would upset the
economy, even in a way that would help others. The government doesnt
look to kindly on people figuring out how to produce energy for free or
anything that fundamentally advances Science.
What is Rational?
by Ben Huot
W hat is the definition of rational?
Believing that man is the highest good
Or that his intellect can grasp everything
Do you think you can disprove God
By quoting a famous atheist?
You win an argument
But just show your own limitations
And your own weak intellect
Not everything is meant to be
Analyzed in the Scientific method
What cannot be disproven
Is greater than that which can be proven
Guess and check can only go so far
And scientists are as bigoted
And resistant to change and new ideas
Than as are any other bureaucrats
The ideas of Science may have
At one time been an area for non-comformists
But it is no longer
Everyone believes in Science
And that is a great weakness
The masses can be convinced of anything
Scientists fail to realize
That it was their community that
Made a fool of Galileo
The first scientist was a smart ass
When your belief system
Can only understand matter-energy
Arent you smart enough
To realize that it cannot explain
Anything important
It is not wrong to have a theory
To explain something
But when you use it as an excuse
To hide from spiritual realities
Who is the greater fool?
It doesnt matter how good you are at debate
Or how many facts you have on your side
Some things just dont make sense
Just because the entire Scientific establishment
Believes in one thing, the masses think it is true
No matter how many times
Society confuses facts with truth
The number of believers is growing worldwide
It is interesting that those who think
They are so enlightened
As to be better informed than God
And think that they are the enemy of the establishment
That their ideas resonate best with
The people who create the problems
They are trying to fix
If the same system that said the world is flat
Now even admits they cannot observe
95% of the mass of the universe
Why should I believe them about evolution?
For a community that shuns innovators
And anything unusual or different
And is mainly motivated by prestige
Why would I believe anything
They print in numbers
And collect evidence for?
If scientists would study other philosophies
They would start to realize that the world
Is much bigger than Science
And that the real problems in life
Are not going to be solved by more technology
That we are never going to resolve
The true cause of suffering through education
That the innovation that will bring solutions
Is something that was written down 2,000 years ago
That the most unusual ideas were some of the oldest
That we are just re-inventing what China
Designed thousands of years ago
Without the Scientific method
If the Chinese were not smart enough
To keep the empire going
How are we going to be able to survive
A few more generations of Science?
One of the big problems with Science
Is it has no ethical foundation
Just as you cannot add security onto technology
Not designed with a firm foundation
Ethics are not just an add on
People do not become ethical by
Attending a one semster course
Or even after earning a Ph.D. in philosophy
It is not that we do not know enough
To do find a solution to our problems
But that we need a way to stop
Ourselves from creating more problems
Self control is the key to our survival
But the solution is not an invention
But supernatural intervention
Theology includes Philosophy
by Ben Huot
Everyone has a perspective
Everyone has opinions
There is nothing theological
That is not influenced by philosophy
We do not live in a vaccuum
And ideas come from somewhere
There are no new philosophies
Just restatements done with less eloquence
There is no way to only study the Bible
We are only fooling ourselves
And no one else
We cannot distance ourselves
From our own foolishness
We are corrupt to the core
It is not possible to read the Bible
Without prejudice and without feelings
The Bible is not meant to be
A list of rules or a systematic theology
Dont you think there is a reason
That there are so many views on
Every branch of theology?
The Bible is not meant to be interpreted
The same by the entire church
The Bible is not about a set theology
No one will ever uncover
The full philosophy of the Bible
The greatest theologians
Have only scratched the surface
And were wrong more times
Than they were right
Verses dont mean just one thing
The Bible should not
Be read in any set order
Verses should not stand alone
There are no hidden meanings
But few meanings have been found
There is more to a single phrase
Than can be understood
By the human mind in all eternity
And the Bible is only one small part
Of who God is
To say we were only influenced by the Bible
Or that we believe what the Bible says
Does not adequately explain our beliefs
We have presuppositions and experiences
But these arent necessarily stumbling blocks
Feelings are great and mental exercises are of use
But we need to reflect on our background
Or we will be repeating the mistakes
Of even the greatest of theologians
It is ok to not be right on even the main points
To disagree creates a healthy diversity
The church does not need core beliefs
Our doctrines only hold us back
There is more to life than theology
And there is more to the Bible
Than your statements of faith
Conservative Curriculuum
by Ben Huot
Some study to learn
What others have dreamed of
Some study to learn
What is popular
Some study to learn
The values of the past
Some study to learn
The traditions of their ancestors
Some study to learn
What they already believe
Some study to learn
What is well understood
Some study to learn
To be respected by others
Some study to learn
The path well traveled
Some study to learn
From a specific ideology
Some study to learn
From what others tell them
Some study to learn
To be opinion leaders
Some study to learn
To memorize information
Some study to learn
Rules others have made
Some study to learn
What is practical
Some study to learn
What is widely accepted
Some study to learn
What isnt controversial
Some study to learn
Without questioning
Liberal Arts
by Ben Huot
There are few colleges
Where you can create
Your own major
There are few colleges
That encourage you to think
There are few colleges
That care about
More than reputation
There are few colleges
That dont bend over backwards
For a few dollars in grants
There are few colleges
Who dare to have a vision
There a few colleges
Who dont depend on sports
For getting funding
And recruiting students
There are few colleges
Who are not indepted to
Government and big business
There are few colleges
Who control their own curriculum
There are few colleges
That challenge the status quo
There are few colleges
That prepare students
For unpredicted changes
In the future of society
There are few colleges
That take pride in
Creating controversy
On campus
There are few colleges
That spend as much
On human development
Than on Scientific research
Heaven and Earth
by Ben Huot
There is a rhythm that exists
Deep inside your spirit
When all you hear is breathing
And your mind is all alone
Thoughts take flight
And you see nothing
Returning the power to Heaven
And the ten thousand things
Follow your mind
Liberation is a subtlety
And freedom comes from control
The hierarchy reflects nature
And the order is transparent
Within an instant
Everything fades away
The mind is ruler
And the body follows
When the mind is empty
The body is fully alert
With each breath
Heaven takes more territory
And the Earth longs
For heavens leadership
A unity exists
When Heaven is patriarch
And his rule is sage-like
And shows perspective
The Way leads to your heart
And is illuminated by your breath
Heaven leads the Way
And each member settles in
For a long peace
And a stable rule
The Way is narrow
When your mind is a casualty of war
It broadens
As Heaven is seated on your throne
Toy Society
by Ben Huot
Children are prized above all
They are the friends
Of the powerful elite
The presidents dump truck
Is pushed by a toddler
And the famous actors
Sign the diapers of their fans
The toy entrepreneurs
Load up the toy boxes
In their factories
And the children
Drive around the boxes
In battery operated
And joystick controlled
All terrain vehicles
The children go to play
At the toy research centers
To see what toys
Are the most popular
And for quality control
They are played with
Under supervision
Of the toy managers
To make sure they
Are safe for play
Day care for the toys
Is provided by toddlers
And teams of seamstresses
Are trained to be
The top surgeons
Of the toy leaders
Each toy is treasured
For its entire life
The toy gets a new
Assigned kid to look after
When the previous kid
Begins to grow up
No toys are ever given
To animals to martyr
There is always
A loving home
For every toy
They will always be warm
And kept clean and dry
There are always activities
To keep the toys busy
They have a great Christmas party
Where they meet new kids
And a holiday parade
Where all the toy stars
Are dressed up and honored
There are award ceremonies
For the kids favorite
Toys of the year
When the kids grow up
They are used as heaters
What if farm animals ran the world?