* If we ever experienced a problem anywhere, it came about, in some degree, due to certain wrong assumptions, either co-present with, or just prior to the given problem's actually taking place.
TENETS
* Unless you believe in God, the One, and or the infinite, every assumption is contingent.
* PROCESS (or if you prefer spirit, or activity) PRECEDES IMAGE. Image may, to some extent, (and sometimes almost perfectly) represent process. But process is always superior to and always more real than image. If process precedes image this might suggest also that mind precedes matter and energy.
* Everything we believe, or say we know, is based on a factual or value judgment. Both kinds of judgment always entail the other to some extent, and nothing can be known or exists for us without them.
* No fact or purported fact is true or false without someone to assert and believe it to be such. If an assertion or claim is deemed true or false then, and we are thorough, we should ask who is it that says so (or has said so), and what criteria are (were) they using? There is no such thing as "faceless" truth or reality -- at least none we are capable of knowing.
* You can't escape reason. If you aren't rational yourself, someone else will be rational for you; nor do their intentions toward you need to be friendly or benevolent.
* Every point of view and opinion has its truth to it -- even the most abhorrent and unacceptable to us. This said, we are naturally inclined to assume that some opinions have much greater truth to them than others. Even so, what little truth there is in any point of view must, at least at some juncture, and certainly with respect to issues of heated controversy, be justly and reasonably respected. Why? Because we would not be honest (and therefore not truthful) if we didn't.
*Ultimately, and when all is said and done, thought without heart is nothing.
* Most, if not all, of society's very worst problems arise from (certain) spirit people and those who listen to them -- whether the former comes in the shape of "God," angel, devil or what have you. It is these people who are most the source and cause of real unhappiness. If then you chance to have contact with such, while having (one assumes) overcome their lures, deceptions, and pretenses of benevolence and higher knowledge, I recommend that this (i.e., "unhappiness" or "unhappiness itself") is what you call them. Blame and curse them for (most) everything wrong; for it is it is they who have been and are the ruin of everyone and everything (that is, if anyone is or could be said to be so.)
Who knows?
Yet another one of those great tracks from another one of those great (for the most part) Moody Blues albums; this time a rare live version of the same (from 1986.)
Isn't this also one of the phoniest things you ever saw? And I have come across other and similar interviews with this woman who is supposed to be Pat Priest of the Munsters. Yeah right. Where is the charm? The gentle grace? Where is the good sense of humor she obviously had? All of which naturally raises the question as to what happened to the real one.
To say one can arrive at truth by means of science presupposes the scientist deferred to to decide a question is honest. If they are not honest then presumably their conclusions, by definition, risk not being true. At the same time, we know there are no end of people who will use science not to arrive at truth, but merely to use it to push subjective ideology. It so happened this evening I came across this AP article, May 26, 2012, by Frank Eltman entitled "Scientist: Evolution debate will soon be history"; which clearly is one example where it is implied that a) the evolution debate still goes on among serious thinkers, and b) evolution necessarily disproves religion. Here we have a clear instance of where science is used merely to serve an ideological slant; because even granting evolution is true, this in no way disproves religion. Meanwhile, there is much about evolution that is not known or understood; so that there are those willing to arrive at grandiose conclusions on the basis of it who in actual fact have no proper right to do so. And those who would have you believe evolution disproves religion do not care about real and objective science at all, but rather are concerned entirely with promoting moral, economic, and political agendas.
Now here I have for almost a decade challenged scientists and others to investigate my claims regarding knowing and establishing the existence of spirit people empirically, and unless someone else is preventing them from looking into my claims, they otherwise are acting as ostriches burying their heads in the sand. They can and will not face me. Yet they like to think they are doing science, but are not really. What hypocrisy is it then to hear some of them trying to shock us with the tired old surprise of evolution, and yet which is at least as ancient as Democritus.
Come here to Seattle, Mr. Leakey (I would say), and find out what a real surprise is.
Of course, religion, as well like science, has its share of frauds, incompetents, or people who mean well but are little capable of thought. But religion is no more to blame for such persons than science is to blame for charlatans and ignoramuses in its ranks. Both religion and science are and have been used to serve dishonest and corrupt ends, and religious irrationalism (including dishonesty), "Satanic" irrationalism, and scientific irrationalism are all the same thing; namely a means of fettering judgment and enslaving the mind in order to serve unprincipled materialists and economic imperialists.
Excerpts from Augustine's epistles continued.
[ch. 3] 17. It was not in the power of the Platonists, however, to be so efficient in supporting the side of reason enlightened by truth, as the others were in supporting their own errors. For from them all there was then withheld that example of divine humility, which, in the fullness of time, was furnished by our Lord Jesus Christ—that one example before which, even in the mind of the most headstrong and arrogant, all pride bends, breaks, and dies. And therefore the Platonists, not being able by their authority to lead the mass of mankind, blinded by love of earthly things, into faith in things invisible—although they saw them moved, especially by the arguments of the Epicureans, not only to drink freely the cup of the pleasures of the body to which they were naturally inclined, but even to plead for these, affirming that they constitute man's highest good; although, moreover, they saw that those who were moved to abstinence from these pleasures by the praise of virtue found it easier to regard pleasure as having its true seat in the soul, whence the good actions, concerning which they were able, in some measure, to form an opinion, proceeded—at the same time, saw that if they attempted to introduce into the minds of men the notion of something divine and supremely immutable, which cannot be reached by any one of the bodily senses, but is apprehensible only by reason, which, nevertheless, surpasses in its nature the mind itself, and were to teach that this is God, set before the human soul to be enjoyed by it when purged from all stains of human desires, in whom alone every longing after happiness finds rest, and in whom alone we ought to find the consummation of all good—men would not understand them, and would much more readily award the palm to their antagonists, whether Epicureans or Stoics; the result of which would be a thing most disastrous to the human race, namely, that the doctrine, which is true and profitable, would become sullied by the contempt of the uneducated masses. So much in regard to Ethical questions.
18. As to Physics, if the Platonists taught that the originating cause of all natures is immaterial wisdom, and if, on the other hand, the rival sects of philosophers never got above material things, while the beginning of all things was attributed by some to atoms, by others to the four elements, in which fire was of special power in the construction of all things—who could fail to see to which opinion a favourable verdict would be given, when the great mass of unthinking men are enthralled by material things, and can in no wise comprehend that an immaterial power could form the universe?
19. The department of dialectic questions remains to be discussed; for, as you are aware, all questions in the pursuit of wisdom are classified under three heads—Ethics, Physics, and Dialectics. When, therefore, the Epicureans said that the senses are never deceived, and, though the Stoics admitted that they sometimes are mistaken, both placed in the senses the standard by which truth is to be comprehended, who would listen to the Platonists when both of these sects opposed them? Who would look upon them as entitled to be esteemed men at all, and much less wise men, if, without hesitation or qualification, they affirmed not only that there is something which cannot be discerned by touch, or smell, or taste, or hearing, or sight, and which cannot be conceived of by any image borrowed from the things with which the senses acquaint us, but that this alone truly exists, and is alone capable of being perceived, because it is alone unchangeable and eternal, but is perceived only by reason, the faculty whereby alone truth, in so far as it can be discovered by us, is found?
22. To Him, my Dioscorus, I desire you to submit yourself with unreserved piety, and I wish you to prepare for yourself no other way of seizing and holding the truth than that which has been prepared by Him who, as God, saw the weakness of our goings. In that way the first part is humility; the second, humility; the third, humility: and this I would continue to repeat as often as you might ask direction, not that there are no other instructions which may be given, but because, unless humility precede, accompany, and follow every good action which we perform, being at once the object which we keep before our eyes, the support to which we cling, and the monitor by which we are restrained, pride wrests wholly from our hand any good work on which we are congratulating ourselves. All other vices are to be apprehended when we are doing wrong; but pride is to be feared even when we do right actions, lest those things which are done in a praiseworthy manner be spoiled by the desire for praise itself...
~ Letter 118
The first 2 minutes is pretty much the whole show here; the rest is basically background music; catchy, but background music. (By Lalo Schifrin of Mission Impossible fame.)
"Oracles": 2012 -- last updated 5/28/12 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2011 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2010 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2009 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2008 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2007 (.pdf)
"Oracles": 2003-2006 (.pdf)
Note. Aside from the poems written by myself (i.e., those formally included in Poems by WTS), or material cited or presumably as being from others, there is no copyright on the contents contained in the "Oracles" and they may otherwise and therefore be freely copied, disseminated, or plagiarized as much as anyone cares to do these things.
To Contact me you can write or call:
William Thomas Sherman
1604 NW 70th St.
Seattle, Washington 98117
206-784-1132
wts@gunjones.com
Secondary email addresses:
williamthomassherman@gmail.com
gunjones1@yahoo.com
My pages on:
* Scribd
* FaceBook
* YouTube
"Lee's Legion, 2nd Partizan Corps" on Face Book
ALL SERIOUS INQUIRIES ARE GUARANTEED A REPLY.
Unless you are sending spam, or a general advertisement, or a private subscription I personally signed onto, you are guaranteed an answer from me at any of the above e-mails.
If by chance you encounter any problems accessing a .pdf via a given link below, try: Right click "Save as..." to download the .pdf to your PC instead.
*
Christ and Truth, second edition (.pdf zipped) ~ last updated 9/24/10 and in .pdf
* Peithology: The Nature and Origin of Belief, fourth edition (.pdf zipped) ~ last updated 9/2/06 and in .pdf
* A New Treatise on Hell, fourth edition (.pdf zipped) ~ last updated 9/10/06 and in .pdf
See also A Spirit People Primer,
Spirit People and Science Discussion Group/List, and, very importantly, my personal "Narrative" (.pdf zipped) ~ last updated: 3 Dec. 2009 and in .pdf -- and most recently "Appeal of 2008, and Re-Introduction to Sherman 'Narrative'"
* Calendar and Record of the Revolutionary War in the South: 1780-1781, EIGHTH edition (.pdf, zipped)
~ last updated: 7/15/11 and in .pdf (use right click "Save As..." if you are using a dial up connection.)
* Poems by WTS (.pdf)~ last updated 2/16/12
Miscellaneous
"Single-handedly,
Fought both the League of Horror
And the Organization Against Freedom
For over a Decade,
AND beat them -- MANY times!"
This is my recommendation of things and people sundry which others may have missed. For some these will already be well known, but for others less so. It is for these last that the suggestion is proffered.
Since its inception, posting the "recommendation of the week," although much fun along the way, has also become a bit of an inconvenient chore requiring a regular schedule. Meanwhile, but more importantly, since I effectively (aside from the above mentioned exception) receive no feedback on them (or on this website generally), I can't think it warrants the personal investment any longer to keep it going. In addition to lack of feedback, I simply don't have the extra money (I feel) necessary to explore different music, movies, books etc. -- in turn necessary to maintain the span, color, and variety of the selections, taking the list as a whole. Consequently, unless and until I do ever finally get feedback and or "somehow" come
into some funds, the "recommendation of the week" at present (as of August 2009) has been discontinued.
Otherwise and as an expedient, what I intend to do in future in its place is post or mention music, movies, books etc. among my regular "Oracles;" as inspiration moves me or of unusually special interest comes up; something, of course, I already have, to some extent at least, been doing for some time.
Your Choice
* These and more great tunes can be found at
The Contemplator *
***********************************************************************************************************
Well, I would be certainly if I wasn't being black-balled, blacklisted, and my communications routinely tampered with. This is pitiful I know, and I have put off doing this literally for years. But now is the time for it to be known that if anyone will send me money I'll take it. And if truth be told, the more money I have the more of a wallop I can put to these Hell people (certainly they don't want me having any, and have and will gyp and short change me just about whenever they can.) So please consider giving to this website if you can at all possibly afford it. Proceeds also go to assist the Institute for Ben Turpin Studies. So far I have sold only one book at my "Bookshop;" so it is not at all impossible that even if you try what you might send won't be allowed to get through to me. If this happens -- oh well, thanks anyway! (Also, by the way, if you try to send money, whether by Pay Pal or otherwise, and for some reason I don't receive it or am prevented from doing so please report this to Social Security; because interference of my receiving such or other funds or donations goes clearly against Social Security's understandable wish that I no longer be a dependent on them if possible.)
Also, my e-mail for sending donations through Pay Pal is: wts@gunjones.com
* Monies received as of the present and latest date for either this website and or the Turpin Institute: $25.00
gunjones.com is an angelfire.com hosted website
***********************************************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************************************
* List of previous Weekly Recommendations *
"Thank yoou, Mr. Feelix!"
IN CASE OF occult or divine EMERGENCIES (and best used in conjunction with the universal li principle):
Official Website Headquarters of the Ben Turpin Alliance
THIS GUN FOR HIRE
* E-mails received making comment on this website and or its contents (as of July 2009): 5
of freely speaking, writing, or publishing their
sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in
general and became slaves."
~ John Peter Zenger (1697-1746)
