I was asked today, by the only person I'm aware of who frequents this blog, why I have not posted an entry in the past two weeks. I told her that I was gathering material, which is a half truth. I've begun a correspondence with a friend of mine, who is LDS and a philosophy major, concerning the compatibility of Mormonism and Stoicism. His evaluation confirmed a lot of my own feelings on the matter. That is part of the "material" I've been gathering. I've also discovered, somewhat by accident, a list of quotations by LDS Apostle Neal A. Maxwell on the subject of the omniscience of God that elucidates the subject I am discussing.
I would like to dedicate this entry to the topic that is at the heart of this entire matter and then work around it with later posts. This is the question of "what is 'God?'" A discussion of the topic of Destiny is necessary to accompany this, because in Stoicism God and Destiny are inseparable.
I must begin a discussion of God by saying that the word "God" is mostly meaningless. When the books of the Bible were translated into the European languages, the word "God" was substituted as a blanket word for a plethora of words and phrases from the original. There is Elohim and Yahweh (Jehovah) and many others. It does not represent a single concept. Furthermore, the "God" of Mormonism does not nearly constitute the same idea as that of Stoicism. To compare the two would be a gross equivocation. One is a corporeal being of vast creative power and influence, the other an abstract conception of moving fire and reason. What I believe is important about the word is that it is the label for what the user reveres as the ultimate source of himself and the world he lives in. This being said, I am not going to even attempt to avoid using the word; just understand that when I refer to either the Mormon or Stoic God, I am not speaking of equatable concepts.
A substantial problem when discussing the God of Mormonism is that, in my opinion, it is impossible to hold a clear and consistent image of what God is based off of the scriptural accounts or testimonies of individuals. The idea of God is not understood identically by all Mormons. What I have observed is that God is understood in parts and rarely as a whole concept. Growing up, I learned that God the Father was once a man like Jesus, born into the Universe and raised out of that estate into Godhood. There is no agreement on whether he is or is not the Creator of the Universe or just a select portion of it. There is a general consensus that God is now stagnant in his perfection, but there are dissenters who believe that he continues to progress. It is agreed that it is knowledge and an incorruptible flesh that makes God a God. The Mormon God does not seem to be a being that exists outside or in any way transcend the Universe. He lives in it and is a part of it, which is (though they may deny it) a major digression from the belief of the rest of Christianity. There seems to be very little real attempt by Mormons to wrap their heads around the concept (and I suspect some may not really believe) that God is Omniscient. The concept of Omniscience is central to the topic at hand.
In the LDS literature it is said that time to God exists as an "eternal now." Past, present, and future are seen by God as an entirety. In fact, there is no past, present, or future, only the whole, the fourth dimension. This is an idea that I understand as the Block-Universe model of time. The future preexists as surely as the past. If this is true (I contend it is) then it presents serious questions over whether human agency is real. If the future already exists, then a person's actions in the future must already be decided. Where then is agency? This is an especially difficult concept for the Mormon mind because Mormons are constantly affirming the existence of their free will and the non-existence of fate. The idea of Omniscience and the "eternal now" are not generally taught and watered down when they are. The Mormon (like most Westerners) are unwillingly to give up their free will and find every excuse to avoid doing so. (Actually the giving up of free will is a topic I want to discuss in a later post). Determinism (in different terminology) is Mormon doctrine. It is also the Stoic doctrine from which all of its other doctrines rely on. However, Stoics and Mormons agree that this does not wholly negate agency. Agency exists, as Apostle Neal A. Maxwell and I independently agree upon, in the fact that we are ignorant of our futures. For a comprehensive list of quotes from the Apostle Maxwell visit this webpage. The point is, unbeknown by most Mormons, Destiny is the doctrine. It is confirmed by reason and revelation.
So back to the idea of God. I have not yet adequately described the God of Stoicism. The Stoic God is the author and mover of the Universe and Destiny. It is not something outside or a part of the Universe. It exists in the Universe and is the Universe. It is the Word, reason, the physical laws governing the Creation, fate. It would be fair, as many do, to not recognize this concept as deity at all.
It seems fair to say that the God of Mormonism's power resides in His understanding of the God of Stoicism. It is what makes Him able to govern and command the elements with perfect faith what they will and must do. He knows the laws and the plan of Destiny. The label of "God" is mostly arbitrary and really only depends, as stated earlier, what an individual reveres as his ultimate source, Destiny or the Great Commander of Destiny who was the Architect of this world.
More later.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Marine Corps
In a completely different vein than the last post:
I have heard that there are those among the enemy who actually believe recruits are required to kill their mothers before they can become Marines. Whether or not that's true, it is obvious that the enemy fears the Marine Corps far more than they fear the Army. There's a detachment from my platoon at a base in Iraq that has been officially turned over from the Marine Corps to the Army. The base has gone on with few incidents of attack for quite some time, but almost as soon as all of the Marine Corps left (minus the detachment from my platoon) there were several attacks on the base and in the city included three vehicle borne IEDs targeting civilians and three sniper attacks against (army) soldiers.
There could definitely be other explanations as to why the level of attacks have increased since the Army took over other than the fact that enemy fears them less than us, but it's certainly an interesting coincidence if nothing else.
I have heard that there are those among the enemy who actually believe recruits are required to kill their mothers before they can become Marines. Whether or not that's true, it is obvious that the enemy fears the Marine Corps far more than they fear the Army. There's a detachment from my platoon at a base in Iraq that has been officially turned over from the Marine Corps to the Army. The base has gone on with few incidents of attack for quite some time, but almost as soon as all of the Marine Corps left (minus the detachment from my platoon) there were several attacks on the base and in the city included three vehicle borne IEDs targeting civilians and three sniper attacks against (army) soldiers.
There could definitely be other explanations as to why the level of attacks have increased since the Army took over other than the fact that enemy fears them less than us, but it's certainly an interesting coincidence if nothing else.
Stoicism and Mormonism
I have very little to do these days, so I figure I would take up writing here again. I'm not sure what the point is since I know of only one person who occasionally takes a glance at this page. But whatev.
My thoughts, as they often are, are on the subject of religion and cosmology. If I would spend as much time thinking on a subject of practical worth (like politics or knitting) as I do on religion, I might actually become a person with some value to the world. Alas, I have and do not. Hopefully some few ounces of actual product will result of my labor in the etherworld.
From time to time my soul will visit the possibility of a synthesis between the conception of nature and morality that my mind (whether rightly or wrongly) is determined to believe in and the religion that I was brought into the world with. If I had an extreme distaste for my parent's religion, there would be no value in such an evaluation. When reason finally tore down the last pillars of my faith, I felt enraged at the betrayal; but the realization that resulted from my friendships (one in particular) with people within the faith cured me of that bitterness. Despite its shortcomings, the Church has a tendency of producing good people dedicated to good virtues. Considering that it seems to be a human attribute to prove to ourselves what we desire to believe, I can't help but be glad there are those who desire to believe in goodness and virtue. (Of course the causes of belief are a bit more complicated than simple desire).
I am a Stoic and a Mormon. The first is what, through excessive meditation of things inward and outward, I have realized myself to be. It is what I believe. The second is what I was raised to believe. It is what shaped me. My culture. My society. A large bureau of my heart. It is natural that I would, occasionally, be drawn back to it, especially since I have yet to find a religious community with which I am a good fit. I want to belong. Call that a weakness of character, call it what you will, but I want to commune with other spirits and Mormonism is the context in which I am adapted to associate.
I hope I have begged the question: then why don't you just be a Mormon? The answer to this requires some explanation.
When I was a younger man (16 or so, if that's old enough to be a man), I stumbled upon a pamphlet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley entitled "The Necessity of Atheism" for which the author was expelled from Oxford. Though I did not agree with the ultimate conclusion of the essay (I'm not an Atheist), I did find that I agreed with the authors evaluation of the nature of belief. Essentially, it is that belief is a passive passion of the mind and not a power of volition. I must expound the character of my agreement because it is central to the subject of this entry. I actually believe the word "belief" carries with it two different concepts that are separate but interactive. The first belief is what Percy Shelley describes in his pamphlet. This is a passion of the mind. It evaluates coldly what it can and can not believe based on the evidence given to it. The second is volitional belief, the willful acceptance of an idea based on emotional desire. The etymological root of the word belief is the same as the word love. The two halves of belief are heavily interactive and not always distinguishable.
I believe in Stoicism because out of all the possible beliefs I could have according to the cold belief, it is the one the emotional belief accepts. It appears to me to be the best among all the possibilities that I can reasonably accept. I think I know it to be true as well as any man can know something to be true. It is not in my character to be dishonest with myself. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I make every effort to correct myself when it does.
So the question that remains is whether or not I can believe in Mormonism. Stoicism is not precisely a religion. It is a philosophy with religious ramifications. It existed, in its prime, both in and out of religious framework. Many Roman Stoics adapted their mythology to work with the philosophy. Some of its threads have been added to the tapestry of both Christian and Jewish heritage. As for Mormonism, I'm going to hold off on passing a final judgment for now, though I have a strong suspicion of what it will turn out to be; There's a reason I don't go to church. Ultimately, the question lies in whether or not one such as I would be accepted by the community, since that is what I am really seeking. Stoicism and Mormonism actually have a lot of very similar concepts. If understood symbolically, Mormonism provides a rather perfect framework for Stoicism, and I feel that the addition of Stoicism actually completes Mormonism. However, Mormonism, meaning the beliefs that are generally agreed upon by Mormons at large, is one of literalism, not allegory.
When I think about grafting myself back into the church body, there is primarily one sticking point that keeps me from believing it to be a possible choice. This is the temple. More specifically, the interview that is mandatory to pass before entrance is granted into the temple. Most of the questions I could answer in the desired way, no problem, or at least could if I had the conviction to live according to the church's guidelines (which wouldn't be too difficult a change). But there are two that I would have issues with. The first, whether I believe Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Redeemer of the World, I can answer affirmatively if I take the question in a symbolic context, which is probably a bit shady. But it doesn't really matter because to the second question, whether or not I believe the President of the Church to be a literal prophet of God, I simply can not rationalize to agree with. The evidence appears to point in an opposing direction.
So why not be a non-temple going Mormon? Because I am afraid that I will not be respected, and, unfortunately, I feel that I deserve it. Furthermore, I might be viewed as a heretic, which could bring the churches judgment against me. They have a bad habit of disfellowshipping members of their congregations who have unusual ideas about the church. I could keep my mouth shut, but that would be difficult for me. I want to teach.
Why do I even bother with this question? Because truth is a white light and the faiths are stained windows, and I believe Mormonism to be of a particularly beautiful scene.
I'm planning to make future entries comparing specific aspects of Mormonism and Stoicism, showing how they might work together, why they might not, how Mormonism could be reinterpreted to allow Stoicism in, and what the moral ramifications of that would be. Why? Because it could be fun and it might be advantageous to get these ideas out of my head and onto (digital) paper so my brain can reattach itself to something that matters a bit more.
My thoughts, as they often are, are on the subject of religion and cosmology. If I would spend as much time thinking on a subject of practical worth (like politics or knitting) as I do on religion, I might actually become a person with some value to the world. Alas, I have and do not. Hopefully some few ounces of actual product will result of my labor in the etherworld.
From time to time my soul will visit the possibility of a synthesis between the conception of nature and morality that my mind (whether rightly or wrongly) is determined to believe in and the religion that I was brought into the world with. If I had an extreme distaste for my parent's religion, there would be no value in such an evaluation. When reason finally tore down the last pillars of my faith, I felt enraged at the betrayal; but the realization that resulted from my friendships (one in particular) with people within the faith cured me of that bitterness. Despite its shortcomings, the Church has a tendency of producing good people dedicated to good virtues. Considering that it seems to be a human attribute to prove to ourselves what we desire to believe, I can't help but be glad there are those who desire to believe in goodness and virtue. (Of course the causes of belief are a bit more complicated than simple desire).
I am a Stoic and a Mormon. The first is what, through excessive meditation of things inward and outward, I have realized myself to be. It is what I believe. The second is what I was raised to believe. It is what shaped me. My culture. My society. A large bureau of my heart. It is natural that I would, occasionally, be drawn back to it, especially since I have yet to find a religious community with which I am a good fit. I want to belong. Call that a weakness of character, call it what you will, but I want to commune with other spirits and Mormonism is the context in which I am adapted to associate.
I hope I have begged the question: then why don't you just be a Mormon? The answer to this requires some explanation.
When I was a younger man (16 or so, if that's old enough to be a man), I stumbled upon a pamphlet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley entitled "The Necessity of Atheism" for which the author was expelled from Oxford. Though I did not agree with the ultimate conclusion of the essay (I'm not an Atheist), I did find that I agreed with the authors evaluation of the nature of belief. Essentially, it is that belief is a passive passion of the mind and not a power of volition. I must expound the character of my agreement because it is central to the subject of this entry. I actually believe the word "belief" carries with it two different concepts that are separate but interactive. The first belief is what Percy Shelley describes in his pamphlet. This is a passion of the mind. It evaluates coldly what it can and can not believe based on the evidence given to it. The second is volitional belief, the willful acceptance of an idea based on emotional desire. The etymological root of the word belief is the same as the word love. The two halves of belief are heavily interactive and not always distinguishable.
I believe in Stoicism because out of all the possible beliefs I could have according to the cold belief, it is the one the emotional belief accepts. It appears to me to be the best among all the possibilities that I can reasonably accept. I think I know it to be true as well as any man can know something to be true. It is not in my character to be dishonest with myself. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I make every effort to correct myself when it does.
So the question that remains is whether or not I can believe in Mormonism. Stoicism is not precisely a religion. It is a philosophy with religious ramifications. It existed, in its prime, both in and out of religious framework. Many Roman Stoics adapted their mythology to work with the philosophy. Some of its threads have been added to the tapestry of both Christian and Jewish heritage. As for Mormonism, I'm going to hold off on passing a final judgment for now, though I have a strong suspicion of what it will turn out to be; There's a reason I don't go to church. Ultimately, the question lies in whether or not one such as I would be accepted by the community, since that is what I am really seeking. Stoicism and Mormonism actually have a lot of very similar concepts. If understood symbolically, Mormonism provides a rather perfect framework for Stoicism, and I feel that the addition of Stoicism actually completes Mormonism. However, Mormonism, meaning the beliefs that are generally agreed upon by Mormons at large, is one of literalism, not allegory.
When I think about grafting myself back into the church body, there is primarily one sticking point that keeps me from believing it to be a possible choice. This is the temple. More specifically, the interview that is mandatory to pass before entrance is granted into the temple. Most of the questions I could answer in the desired way, no problem, or at least could if I had the conviction to live according to the church's guidelines (which wouldn't be too difficult a change). But there are two that I would have issues with. The first, whether I believe Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Redeemer of the World, I can answer affirmatively if I take the question in a symbolic context, which is probably a bit shady. But it doesn't really matter because to the second question, whether or not I believe the President of the Church to be a literal prophet of God, I simply can not rationalize to agree with. The evidence appears to point in an opposing direction.
So why not be a non-temple going Mormon? Because I am afraid that I will not be respected, and, unfortunately, I feel that I deserve it. Furthermore, I might be viewed as a heretic, which could bring the churches judgment against me. They have a bad habit of disfellowshipping members of their congregations who have unusual ideas about the church. I could keep my mouth shut, but that would be difficult for me. I want to teach.
Why do I even bother with this question? Because truth is a white light and the faiths are stained windows, and I believe Mormonism to be of a particularly beautiful scene.
I'm planning to make future entries comparing specific aspects of Mormonism and Stoicism, showing how they might work together, why they might not, how Mormonism could be reinterpreted to allow Stoicism in, and what the moral ramifications of that would be. Why? Because it could be fun and it might be advantageous to get these ideas out of my head and onto (digital) paper so my brain can reattach itself to something that matters a bit more.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Stoic "God"
From Stanford encyclopedia,
Stoics, like the Epicureans, make God material. But while the Epicureans think the gods are too busy being blessed and happy to be bothered with the governance of the universe (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus 123–4), the Stoic God is immanent throughout the whole of creation and directs its development down to the smallest detail. God is identical with one of the two ungenerated and indestructible first principles (archai) of the universe. One principle is matter which they regard as utterly unqualified and inert. It is that which is acted upon. God is identified with an eternal reason (logos, Diog. Laert. 44B ) or intelligent designing fire (Aetius, 46A) which structures matter in accordance with Its plan. This plan is enacted time and time again, beginning from a state in which all is fire, through the generation of the elements, to the creation of the world we are familiar with, and eventually back to fire in a cycle of endless recurrence. The designing fire of the conflagration is likened to a sperm which contains the principles or stories of all the things which will subsequently develop (Aristocles in Eusebius, 46G). Under this guise, God is also called `fate.' It is important to realise that the Stoic God does not craft its world in accordance with its plan from the outside, as the demiurge in Plato's Timaeus is described as doing. Rather, the history of the universe is determined by God's activity internal to it, shaping it with its differentiated characteristics. The biological conception of God as a kind of living heat or seed from which things grow seems to be fully intended.
Stoics, like the Epicureans, make God material. But while the Epicureans think the gods are too busy being blessed and happy to be bothered with the governance of the universe (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus 123–4), the Stoic God is immanent throughout the whole of creation and directs its development down to the smallest detail. God is identical with one of the two ungenerated and indestructible first principles (archai) of the universe. One principle is matter which they regard as utterly unqualified and inert. It is that which is acted upon. God is identified with an eternal reason (logos, Diog. Laert. 44B ) or intelligent designing fire (Aetius, 46A) which structures matter in accordance with Its plan. This plan is enacted time and time again, beginning from a state in which all is fire, through the generation of the elements, to the creation of the world we are familiar with, and eventually back to fire in a cycle of endless recurrence. The designing fire of the conflagration is likened to a sperm which contains the principles or stories of all the things which will subsequently develop (Aristocles in Eusebius, 46G). Under this guise, God is also called `fate.' It is important to realise that the Stoic God does not craft its world in accordance with its plan from the outside, as the demiurge in Plato's Timaeus is described as doing. Rather, the history of the universe is determined by God's activity internal to it, shaping it with its differentiated characteristics. The biological conception of God as a kind of living heat or seed from which things grow seems to be fully intended.
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