In Christian circles we can often come across as weird because we obsess over questions that make little to no sense to outsiders.

Here’s one: “Is it okay to be happy about accomplishments?”

To the average non-Christian the answer is: “Duh, of course it is.”

But for Christians the answer can get super complicated in a hurry.

But let Paul’s words uncomplicate it:

Gal 6:3-4 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (4) But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

But here’s the thing. Many Christians might feel/think that having a sense of joy from personal accomplishment is a form of arrogance or pride or sign of too little admiration of God. But, the same Paul who said what is above said this a few short sentences later:

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how rhetoric, advertising, and imagery in general can influence our view of the world.

This got me to thinking about the nature of suggestibility and achievement as well as the relationship of false expectations to achievement.

The research on these subjects is pretty vast, so you’ll just have to look it up (I’ll probably post a bibliography in the bottom).

Anyway, suggestibility is the state of being primed to accept an idea without argument or coercion.

Today we'll look at a fairly recent model of depression: the bargaining model.

In a 2003 book edited by Peter Hammerstein, Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation, chapter 6 is an essay (I believe based on a talk) on this model, “The Bargaining Model of Depression.”

The author, Edward Hagen, proposes depression might be explained as a strategy to gain assistance and support from powerful members of a social group by members which are weaker. This is due to the difficulty that physically or socially weaker people have utilizing force, threats of force, or persuasive rhetoric to achieve their goal (96-97).

Virtue ethics, at its heart, is an ethical system based upon the nature of what it means to be human and what it takes for human beings to be happy and fully functioning beings.

Many people, in their pursuit of happiness, buy into more recent notions of happiness that are not based upon actual knowledge of human nature but upon knowledge of one’s personality and preferences.

Charles Taylor observed that modern ethics was purely about self-actualization without reference to human nature:

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¹ Μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη καὶ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν οὐκ ἐκάθισεν, ² ἀλλʼ ἢ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. ³ καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορρυήσεται, καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ, κατευοδωθήσεται. ⁴ οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλʼ ἢ ὡς ὁ χνοῦς, ὃν ἐκριπτεῖ ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς. ⁵ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει οὐδὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων, ⁶ ὅτι γινώσκει κύριος ὁδὸν δικαίων, καὶ ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται. ^[1]

Power: An Evil Desire?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Is this true? Does seeking power make us evil[1]?

No. Absolutely not. You morally authorized to seek power. In fact, you are obligated to do so if you wish to be happy and a good person.

The Ability to Produce an Effect

A definition concerning human action would be: what is necessary to bring about what one desires.

The new RCHP song came out. Few bands who started in 1983 are as good as they had become in the early 90s (freaking Metallica). The Chili Peppers are even better. My guess is that they could have 3-5 good albums left in them.

The lyrics seem to be about the Zodiac killer, but I can’t tell. Enjoy.

Something I try to do as a teacher is introduce students to new information from various fields of study in order to try to spark an interest in them that could propell them into a career in the future. So I find myself reading a lot of science articles about all sorts of random things. Many of them I do not share with the students but I think I'll start sharing them here to practice.

The Book

The Bad

1. It described a lot of my life experiences and so reminded me of them. This frustration was good.
2. Sometimes it felt too nihilistic.

The Good

Gifted youngsters could benefit from the last two chapters on limiting greatness and solutions, they’re quite good.

One of my favorite things is 80s style synth pop. About a year or so ago I discovered Carpenter Brut. I really like their music. One of their recent songs, Anarchy Road, is about an awful post-prosperity future for western civilization. The music video below is just clips from the recent Judge Dredd film, but they fit the song perfectly because of the bleak circumstances, violent battles, and exaggerated color palate. There is a significant amount of gore, so if that bothers you don’t watch the video.