Accuracy of the Bible Series - Part 4: The Ark

Here is Part 4 of the Accuracy of the Bible Series. Enjoy!

The Ark had the following specifications:

-To be made of gopher wood (unknown wood type)

-Pitch is to be used in the construction

-300 cubits long : 135 meters

-50 cubits wide: 22.5 meters

-30 cubits high: 13.5 meters

-3 stories high

-1,518,750 cubic meters.

Contained on the Ark must be the following:

1. Two of every living thing of all flesh (one male and one female)

2. Two of every fowl, cattle, and every creeping

3. Seven of every clean beast

4. Two of every unclean beast

5. Seven of every fowl

6. Sufficient food to feed Noah, his sons (of which he had three), his wife, his sons’ wives, and all the creatures contained on the Ark to last the entire duration of their stay on the Ark (one year).

The timeline:

-Noah had an unknown amount of time to build the Ark. At absolute most, he had 100 years to build it.

-Noah was 600 years old when the ark was completed. He was, at the youngest, 500 years old when he started building it.

-The rains will continue for forty days and forty nights.

-Noah was on the ark for approximately one year.

I challenge a team of eight people (four men, four women), today, to build the Ark. Let’s only allow them to use tools and equipment available to Noah at the time of the creation of the Ark. No electronics, no computers, no calculators, no tools, not even a standard measuring tape. This team of eight would have to create a boat that must stay afloat for a year on turbulent seas, house and feed hundreds of thousands of animals (along with adequate food), while maintaining appropriate ventilation and waste disposal to prevent rampant disease and sickness.

I dare say that even given one hundred years to create it (and appropriate, nonsensical life spans to keep working), this team of eight could not create this vessel. The sheer mass of the Ark, the complicated and advanced engineering involved, and vast amount of wood required are beyond a handful of people using simple tools.

It would be a miracle of modern engineering to create an Ark. Let’s say that some ambitious engineers and scientists decide to replicate the Ark, to create one that would actually function, using the specifications listed above. The next question is: how did Noah get all the animals on the boat safely and effectively? I challenge this new team of modern engineers to successfully gather hundreds of thousands of animals, many of which are carnivorous and/or incredibly dangerous, and successfully move them from onto this vessel. It would be a logistical nightmare. The amount of organization, compartmentalization, and care required would require a brilliant, modern team of zoologists and handlers. It would take the team years to even plan this sort of endeavor, let alone implement it.

How a small group of relatively simple, unskilled, and uneducated people are believed to have completed such a task is beyond my comprehension. I have read complex explanations on how the Ark itself, as a vessel, could exist – intricate cages, waste disposal systems, and ventilation methods are described at great length. However, no these explanations are provided by people with access to great knowledge, training, and education – things that Noah and his ilk did not have.

Bible Accuracy Series - Part 3: Accuracy of Pi

Here is Part 3 of the series on Biblical Accuracy.

Accuracy of Pi

1 Kings [7:23]: “And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other (diameter): [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about (circumference).”

2 Chronicles [4:2]: “Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.”

Pi = Circumference / Diameter. Pi = 10 / 3, which = 3.3333333. Pi does not equal 3.33333333. This is a gross oversimplification of a very important number in the world of mathematics. I am not a mathematician, but I imagine if one asked a mathematician what the top three most important values in math are, Pi would be among them. It would have been more accurate to say that the circumference was 31 or 32, not 30.

Some things to consider about math: In 1900 BCE, the Egyptians and Babylonians had already approximated Pi to within 1% of its true value, expressed as a fraction. In the 3^rd century BCE, Eratosthenes had correctly calculated the circumference and diameter of the Earth.

RESPONSE: It does not state that it is a perfect circle, only that it is “round”.

True, it does not explicitly say that it is a perfect circle. However, it also doesn’t say that it is not a perfect circle. This is an example of a “favorable” reading, and not one necessarily supported by the facts. A circle with a diameter of 10 cubits would have a circumference of about 31.5 cubits, not 30. The description does not give us multiple measures from one brim to another, as would be the case if we were dealing with an oval. It simply states a single measurement from brim to brim (the diameter).

Bible Accuracy Series - Part 2: Age of the Earth

Here is Part 2 of the series of mini-essays on the Bible.

Age of the Earth

By tracking the lives of individuals in the Old Testament (many of which live to be several hundred years old), the Bible dates the age of the Earth at approximately 6,000 years old, give or take 2,000 years.

Our most advanced radiometric dating techniques place the Earth’s age at about 4.5 billion years old. This has been tested and verified using multiple types of dating systems, and is more or less undisputed within the scientific community. Even if someone wishes to argue about the inaccuracy and inconsistency of these radiometric dating techniques, I think most could agree that the planet has been around for more than 6,000 years. That date is flagrantly inaccurate, it is 750,000 times smaller than the actual age of the Earth, as we know it. That’s not a small miscalculation or a rough estimate. That’s completely and utterly incorrect.

For comparison, the Sumerian culture not only predates the Bible’s suggested age of the Earth, but their empire lasted longer than the entire reported age of the Earth. The Sumerian culture dates back to over 20,000 BCE. By about 5,000 BCE (around when the time of Creation), the Sumerians had already developed a system of writing, as well as agriculture and legal systems.

Bible Accuracy Series - Part 1: Prophecy

Jesus: “If I have told you earthly things, and yet believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?” John [3:12]

Me: “Very well Jesus, challenge accepted!”

This is Part 1 of a short series of arguments and mini-essays I will post over the next week. I'll try to put one up each day for about 6 days.

Prophecy

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. [Matthew 16:27-28]

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us", they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. [Matthew 24:1]

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” [Matthew 24:34, which references the above passage above]

Jesus, on multiple occasions, is quoted stating that his return, the Second Coming, will happen before some people listening to his statements are dead. According to the Book of Revelations, the Second Coming is going to be very easy to recognize, as that book gives a play-by-play description of exactly how it will happen. We’re talking more than just fire and brimstone, we’re talking dragons and trumpets and starts falling to the Earth. Intense stuff. Again, Jesus says that this should have happened very shortly after his death and rebirth. It couldn’t be any more clear: “…some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”, “…this generation will certainly not pass until all these things have happened”, and “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

Obviously, this never happened. These prophecies are patently false. It boggles my mind that such passages can be ignored, that people still await Jesus’ return. It is said in such plain language, such clarity, that I cannot conceive how Jesus could make it any more clear. Two-thousand years after Jesus claimed he would return, people are still waiting for him.

RESPONSE: Jesus could have been referring to his own resurrection, as Matthew comes before his death and rebirth. Under that interpretation, Jesus’ prophecy is true.

Jesus’ description does not match that of his resurrection. Jesus describes catastrophes, cataclysms, hosts of angels, and the doling out of divine judgment upon each man according to his worth. Check Matthew 24:1 specifically. That is not his resurrection, that is the Apocalypse.

Evolution vs. Creationism

Creationism is patently false. Evolution is no more theoretical than gravity.

They Say: Evolution is a debated and controversial topic!

Between 2001 and 2008, The Discovery Institute gathered signatures of 761 scientists that expressed skepticism about Darwinian evolution. This was meant to show the controversy of the theory. However, only about 80 of those scientists had expertise in the a field relevant to evolution. This survey represents only 0.023 percent of the scientific community.

In 2005, a similar survey was taken to find scientists in support of Darwinian evolution. This petition gathered 7,733 supporters in 4 days. 4,066 had PhDs. 3,385 had ‘biology’ in their title. 68% of those signing work in biology related fields (about 5,258).

Since 2005, “Project Steve” has gathered signatures of over 1,100 scientists named Stephen (or some variation thereof, like Steven, Stephanie, Esteban, etc) who are in support of Darwinian evolution.

The “debate” over evolution exists only in the political and public spheres, not in the scientific one.

They Say: Just because a theory is accepted by a lot of people does not mean that it is correct! Most people on the planet thought the Earth was flat at one time, and that was certainly wrong.

Correct, the number of people agreeing with a position does not control its accuracy. However, this is an oversimplification of the situation. It is not that “a lot of people agree with the theory”, it’s that the overwhelming majority of the scientific community (we’re talking in the 98% range here), especially within the field of biology, agrees with the theory. These are people who study and test the theory extensively. Their acceptance of the theory is based on evidence and observation. We have literally witnessed the processes of evolution first hand. This is not the same as the vast majority of the un-educated world (which composed of scant few astronomers and astrophysicists) agreeing that the world is flat; this is an example of virtually every expert in the relevant field coming to a consensus.

They Say: Creationism is a competing scientific theory that should be considered on equal grounds with evolution.

Creationism is not a scientific theory. Creationism is based on dogma first and on evidence second. There is some evidence that can be seen as supportive of Creationism, and Creationists are quick to site such evidence. However there is a vast ocean of evidence that refutes Creationism. This evidence is ignored by Creationists. If evidence were to be found or observed that showed a creature literally being created from nothing, in its current form, it would refute Darwinian evolution. Is there any evidence that could be provided that would refute Creationism, in the eyes of a Creationist? No. That is because they are teaching dogma, not science. They have assumed the truth of their hypothesis, and only gather and accept evidence that supports that hypothesis while ignoring anything that does not.

They Say: Creationism (in some form) should be addressed in our public science classes as a possible explanation for the Earth and universe.

The Supreme Court disagrees. See: State of Tennessee v. Scopes (1925), Epperson v. Arkansas (1968), Daniel vs. Waters (1975), McLean v. Arkansas (1982), Edwards v. Aguillard (1987), and Kitzmiller v. Dover (2005). The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that (1) teaching Creationism and (2) forbidding the teaching of evolution in public schools, is unconstitutional.

I'm in a book!

It's official: my name is mentioned in a real Philosophy book! Matt Lawrence's new book, Philosophy on Tap, for which I assisted in final-phase editing and proofreading, is now available! His book is a fun, relaxing read and a great introduction to the major issues tackled in Philosophy.

Website:
http://www.philosophyontap.com/
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Tap-Pint-Sized-Puzzles-Philosopher/dp/1444336401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303435223&sr=8-1

There's No Fun in Fundamentalism

What is Fundamentalism?

Webster’s defines it, generally, as “a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles”. I think this is a fair definition, and I think this definition is not biased toward any particular type of belief (whether that be religious or otherwise). With that, we can move forward.

So Fundamentalism is adhering to the Scripture (or doctrines) as written, when talking in a religious sense.

Christian Fundamentalists are sources of bigotry, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, and at their worst, violence. Waiving signs that say “God hates fags” at a soldier’s funeral, picketing outside of an abortion clinic with signs that say “Murderer!”, and denying other Americans access to certain legal protections and benefits solely based on sexual preference are just a few examples of what Christian Fundamentalists are known for. This stems directly from literal and selective interpretations from the Bible.

Islamic Fundamentalists are sources bigotry, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, and at their worst, terrorism. Butchering of rape victims, oppression of women, female circumcision, and suicide bombings are just a few examples of what Islamic Fundamentalists are known for. This stems directly from literal and selective interpretations of the Koran.

Jain Fundamentalists are sources of pacifism, asceticism, peace, tolerance, and at their worst, self-denial. Absolute vegetarianism, inspiring leaders such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and near lethal forms of asceticism are just a few examples of what Jain Fundamentalists are known for. This stems directly from literal interpretations of its scriptures.

Blind adherence to any doctrine is unhealthy, but is the problem here Fundamentalism, or the teachings of the faiths themselves? If there wasn’t a glaring amount of bigotry, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, and violence in the Bible and Koran, “Fundamentalists” would have no fuel to stoke their hateful fires. I am in no way a supporter of Fundamentalism or dogmatism, in fact I am the exact opposite, but I must also point out that Fundamentalism is only dangerous when the code to which someone is being “fundamental” toward has violent and/or intolerant teachings.

The Bible as a Moral Guide

The Believer claims: The Bible is the Best (or Good) Source of Moral Guidance

               -No, it contains direct commands and references to barbaric, sadistic, and sexist behavior. God commands capital punishment for relatively minor (or imaginary) transgressions, to which no modern, sane individual could possibly abide by. It is only through modern reason that a person can ignore a large portion of the Scripture. Ask the believer, do you agree with the following passages?

Exodus [21:17] And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

                - An angry teen that yells at his father should be killed. There is no doubt here about the language “surely be put to death.” Surely.

Exodus [31:14] Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it [is] holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death.

                - Ever done work on a Sunday? If you have, you should be killed. Surely.

Numbers [15:32] And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. [15:33] And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. [15:34] And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. [15:35] And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. [15:36] And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

                - If there was any doubt about the importance of keeping the sabbath, this should dissuade it. A man was simply gathering sticks out in the forest, and these people imprisoned him, and then stoned him to death “as the LORD commanded…”. God quite specifically instructed these people to perform this act. If God commanded you to drag a man out in the street and beat him to death with a baseball bat, would you do it?

Leviticus [20:13] If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.

                -We are supposed to kill homosexual men. It flat-out says it: they shall surely be put to death. Couldn’t be any more clear than that.

Deuteronomy [3:1] Then we [Moses and company] turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. [3:2] And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. [3:3] So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. [3:4] And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. [3:5] All these cities [were] fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. [3:6] And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. [3:7] But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.

                -God is perfectly okay with killing women and children, razing cities, and looting. In fact, he is all for doing this on a very large scale, as Moses swept across the region decimating cities as described above.

Leviticus [24:16] And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death.

                - Speaking ill of God is punishable by death. Surly. Not exactly the most tolerant stance on dissenting opinions and freedom of speech.

Exodus [20:4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth: [20:5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me.

                - God is jealous (he says so himself). God is also petty and vindictive – if you worship a false idol, God will not only punish you, but also your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren, and your great, great grandchildren. Further, God forbids us from drawing pictures of fish. It must be very important to him, as it is one of the Ten Commandments. God felt it was so important for us not to draw fish, that he inscribed it in stone himself.

RESPONSE: But these passages are not consistent with God’s call to love, equality, and justice that is found throughout the Bible. You are “cherry-picking” the worst examples while ignoring the good examples.

                - Correct, the book does contain a glaring amount of inconsistencies and contradictions. A good moral guide would not say killing is wrong on one page [Exodus 20:13], and then suggest that talking back to your parents is punishable by death on the next page [Exodus 21:17].

                - It is true, I have cherry-picked lines from the Bible. However, are not “moderate” or “modern” Christians also cherry-picking by only focusing on the “good” passages? Why does a modern Christian get to ignore lines that demand murder and I can’t ignore lines that forbid it (of which there are far less)?

                - The question really is: what makes a modern Christian ignore these barbaric passages? Is it guidance from within their Scripture? No. Modern Christians are using their modern, secular morality to filter the Bible in such a way as to make it compatible with civilized living. This means that the Bible, taken as a whole, is not sufficient to guide us morally. If the Bible was sufficient, why has it been used to justify atrocities for thousands of years? The Bible itself sure hasn’t changed since the time of the Inquisition or even the Crusades. What has changed, then? We have changed. We, as a species, have become more civilized. Not through religious doctrine, as that hasn’t changed. Our reason and sciences have evolved, and forced Christianity (kicking and screaming) to evolve with it. (It wasn’t until October 31, 1992 that the Vatican officially recanted its treatment of Galileo, who was charged with heresy for suggesting that the Earth revolved around the sun, instead of the reverse)

                - Do not modern Christians cherry-pick out of convenience for themselves? How many Christians follow Matthew [5:40-42], “…and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”?

RESPONSE: You have to read the Bible with a historical and contextual understanding.

                - I agree, in order to avoid barbarism, we have to examine the Bible using reason and modern disciplines. Without those, the Bible is an instrument of hatred and violence. Here’s the rub, though: the vast majority of the adherents to Christianity since its inception have not been people who take the Bible into consideration using such methods.

                - Try this on for size: Were God’s commands moral when he made them? If we are examining history and context, was it moral for God to command Moses and his people to abduct and stone to death a man who’s only crime was gathering sticks on the sabbath [Numbers 15:32]? What is immoral today should be immoral two-thousand years ago. If stoning people to death is wrong, than it is wrong to do it tomorrow and it was wrong to do it in the times of Moses and Jesus.

                - To make things worse for this argument is that the vast majority of adherents to Christianity throughout history could not read the Bible. Today, the Bible is translated into every language under the sun. For much of book’s history, this was not the case. The Bible didn’t start being translated into English for the masses until the late 1300’s. This practice was originally thought to be heretical or blasphemous by the church (another imaginary crime punishable by death, Leviticus [24:16]). The option for a “historical and contextual reading of the Bible” has only been present for small percentage of the Bible’s total circulation.

                - Further, the Bible is very difficult to read. It takes a very committed and  discerning mind to even finish the book, let alone understand it. Why would an omniscient and omnibenevolent being create such a confounding piece of literature as his only guide to living? What hope do only partially literate, mostly uneducated people have of discerning the “true reading” of the Bible if they lack the proper training and resources to perform a historical and contextual interpretation?

RESPONSE: Jesus did away with all of the barbarism.

                -Jesus did teach about love, forgiveness, and other positive attitudes. However, he himself is never quoted as disavowing the previous laws, such as the Ten Commandments. In fact, he says the opposite on multiple occasions.

Matthew [5:17-18] Do you think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth passes away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

                - Jesus is saying that the law will never pass away or diminish. He is also saying that he has not come to abolish the law.

Matthew [5:21-22] You have heard it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’, and ‘whoever murders shall be liable for judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

                - Jesus is placing even more unrealistic restrictions on behavior, without stating that the punishments will be lessened. In fact, insulting someone else (calling them a fool) gets you a one-way-ticket to hell. Is it a good idea to not insult other people? Absolutely. Should it carry such hefty punishment? Absolutely not.

Mark [2:27] Then he (Jesus) said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

                - I must, in all fairness, concede this point. Jesus does abolish the custom of killing people for working on the sabbath. This is just one instance of several where Jesus explicitly states that observance of the sabbath is not to be taken so seriously.

John [15:6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

                - Not the most tolerant or forgiving stance on dissenting views. Also, this has been interpreted for hundreds of years as justification for burning heretics. It is easily interpreted as such: “If a man not abide in me [a heretic], he [the heretic] is cast forth as a branch…and men gather them [the heretics] and cast them [the heretics] into the fire, and they [the heretics] are burned.” It is very possible to read this quote with a more metaphorical interpretation (and avoid any heretic burning), but Jesus was not clear about whether he was being metaphorical or literal, as is the case with the vast majority of the Bible. This is related to “Cherry-Picking” and “Modern Christians”, which is detailed above.

RESPONSE: But the New Testament does do away with all the barbarism! You can’t cherry-pick examples from Mark and Matthew without looking at the whole of the New Testament.

                - At various places in the New Testament, it is very clearly stated that the old laws are to be abandoned in favor of the new way (through Jesus). This is said by his disciples, in John [1:16-17], Acts [13:39], Romans [2:25-29, and 8:1-4], Corinthians [9:19-21], Galatians [2:15-16], and Ephesians [2:15]. It is important to emphasis that Jesus never states this. This has all been stated by his disciples. This creates an amount of contradiction that cannot be ignored (see Cherry-Picking, above). Do we follow what Jesus is quoted to have said himself (Matthew [5:18-18]“…not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” and “I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”) or what his disciples say (Ephesians [2:15] “He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances…”)? Again, our reason and modernity inform us of the “correct” choice (see Cherry Picking and Modern Christians, above).

The Importance of Ethics

The Importance of Ethics

As was stated in the Definitions section of my discourse, Gestalt comes about when Beliefs, Systems, and Paradigms are granted efficacy through Power. Without Power, a Belief will not matter to anyone besides the Adherent. A Belief is just a thought. The Beliefs of an Adherent are personal, but the Gestalt is very public. One Adherent’s Gestalt can dramatically affect another person’s life.

A Gestalt’s efficacy scales directly with the Adherent’s available Power. The greater access an Adherent has to Power, the greater impact the Adherent’s Gestalt can have. From the standpoint of the examination of morality, it would seem that available Power directly controls how important or impacting a Gestalt is.

Accordingly, the importance of the examination of morality rises as the Power of the Adherent rises, for the impact of the Adherent’s Beliefs will rise as well. The greater the Power, the more important examination becomes.

Individual humans are more powerful now than they have ever been. An individual has access to vast amounts of information, expertise, and resources. Further, the density of the global population prevents an individual from needing to travel far in order to find people to affect. Any aspiring individual can conduct a brief search of the internet, travel to a local hardware store, and create an explosive device capable of killing dozens in an instant. Alternatively, a wealthy individual does not have to travel far to find those who want, and it takes little effort to provide sustenance and shelter to others should the desire be present. The scaling of Power is even more dramatic when viewed at the macro level.

Mankind is more powerful now than it has ever been in its brief history. Having harnessed the power of the mighty atom, Mankind has for the first time acquired terrible and massive destructive Power. Many nations of the world have control of such weapons at their disposal, which totals to enough Power to annihilate all life on this planet. Mankind witnessed its own terrible might within the last century, specifically during World War II. The world saw what groups of people united under a Paradigm could do when backed up with considerable Power. The Gestalt of the Nazi Regime’s Beliefs, Systems, and Paradigm was painfully obvious – suffering, death, and destruction. On the other end of the conflict, the world saw what one group was willing to do to prevent large-scale losses of their own people: the utilization of atomic weapons. Beliefs made manifest through the use of Power, the Gestalts shown during that time period articulate my point in bold red text.

Considering the above statements, now is the most important time in the study of ethics than has ever been present on this planet. Because the importance of ethics scales with the available power of humanity, that importance will do nothing but increase as humanity’s mastery of technology increases. More so than ever before in history, we stand on the brink of oblivion. Never before have we actually had the Power to destroy ourselves utterly and permanently. It is for this reason that I pursue ethics, and advocate its consideration and study.