I’m a burnt out Bernie bro who was born and raised in Communist, atheist Cuba. So, it was shocking to me when I found myself watching a 4-hours movie about the gospel of Matthew and finding sense, a lot of sense actually, in the supposed teachings of Jesus. Weirdly, my journey actually started with reading a book about a Jewish French/Lithuanian philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, written by University of Vermont professor Richard Sugarman (coincidentally the guy who got Bernie to run for Mayor in Burlington in the 70s and who subsequently advised his 2016 campaign) Levinas studied in Germany with Heidegger and considered Being and Time one of the most important philosophy books ever written. Nevertheless, he was rightly critical of Heidegger’s assumptions and of what led him to Nazism. He wrote philosophically about the Torah. His inversion of the love of wisdom for “the wisdom of love” captures the radicalism he sees in the Old Testament. Phenomenology, as practiced by Husserl, Heidegger, and Levinas, posits that things present themselves by concealing their true nature. The same happens with people, so in the case of humans, there is an inapprehensible infinity that always scapes us. That crates the space for god to dwell in( according to Levinas) As such, when you embrace thy neighbor ( the homeless drug addict) or more importantly
, you love thy enemy. You are embracing that infinity. This is the basis for the radical ethics that Levinas develops, saying that everyone is responsible for everyone else but I am more responsible that everybody else. This isn’t the cheap “personal responsibility” of right-wingers, but an embodied resolute commitment to others even at the risk of your own life. This is what was lacking in Germany particularly and Europe in general when the Nazis committed their atrocities. Levinas asks: where was everybody else? This framing allowed me to drop my secular opposition to anything religious and has allowed me to start my own relationship with the teachings of the Bible. So far it’s just a perspective shift which have made me intrigued almost fascinated.
Some of that feels oddly familiar. I'm a Muslim, by birth not conversion, but for most of my life that was more about a vague nationalism or support of distant anti-imperialist movements than a religious confession. Late in life that belief system came to be more of an actual religious experience for me and I find myself trying to relearn Arabic to read the Quran. A younger more communist version of myself would have been mildly horrified by the "idealism" and "pure nonsense" of it all, but in current age and state I find I cannot shake at least some elements of this irrational faith. I will look for his book.
Been addicted to all sorts of substances for short periods, only caffeine is unshakeable and I think the reason is cultural context and acceptability. I used raw opium for a while, OK a long while, in college but I dropped it on a dime with little more than a week of irritability and flu like sickness. I don't remember the inner part of that experience well but I think my whole body just realized that upon leaving the world of studentdom and entering the kingdom of certified professionalism I couldn't bring my addiction. Just wouldn't be acceptable. For those who don't have those social connections and reinforcements I imagine the same addictions would have been a semi-permanent feature.
"The telephone is ruining my life" line made me think of this book "When Old Technologies Were New" that I picked up at a library recently randomly, talks a lot about the anxieties, assumptions, and cultural reactions to early electronic technology. Lot of anxiety with the phone letting the lower classes imitate the upper classes or (maybe worse) court their daughters. I found it a little too dry to read all the way through but it's a fun skim
There was a story published in Metal Hurlant graphic magazine in the mid '90s. - in the near future the biblically prophesized antichrist is born in a virtual reality, middle ages fantasy roll playing game. Instead of in reality. Rated nc17
The conflict to stop the apocalypse is set in matrix not earth.
They may have used the term matrix. It was premovie and not as sophisticated as it is now.
I don't remember the Author , title
or any demonological incantations coded into advertisements by corporate heretics, like Halloween 3.
I’m a burnt out Bernie bro who was born and raised in Communist, atheist Cuba. So, it was shocking to me when I found myself watching a 4-hours movie about the gospel of Matthew and finding sense, a lot of sense actually, in the supposed teachings of Jesus. Weirdly, my journey actually started with reading a book about a Jewish French/Lithuanian philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, written by University of Vermont professor Richard Sugarman (coincidentally the guy who got Bernie to run for Mayor in Burlington in the 70s and who subsequently advised his 2016 campaign) Levinas studied in Germany with Heidegger and considered Being and Time one of the most important philosophy books ever written. Nevertheless, he was rightly critical of Heidegger’s assumptions and of what led him to Nazism. He wrote philosophically about the Torah. His inversion of the love of wisdom for “the wisdom of love” captures the radicalism he sees in the Old Testament. Phenomenology, as practiced by Husserl, Heidegger, and Levinas, posits that things present themselves by concealing their true nature. The same happens with people, so in the case of humans, there is an inapprehensible infinity that always scapes us. That crates the space for god to dwell in( according to Levinas) As such, when you embrace thy neighbor ( the homeless drug addict) or more importantly
, you love thy enemy. You are embracing that infinity. This is the basis for the radical ethics that Levinas develops, saying that everyone is responsible for everyone else but I am more responsible that everybody else. This isn’t the cheap “personal responsibility” of right-wingers, but an embodied resolute commitment to others even at the risk of your own life. This is what was lacking in Germany particularly and Europe in general when the Nazis committed their atrocities. Levinas asks: where was everybody else? This framing allowed me to drop my secular opposition to anything religious and has allowed me to start my own relationship with the teachings of the Bible. So far it’s just a perspective shift which have made me intrigued almost fascinated.
Some of that feels oddly familiar. I'm a Muslim, by birth not conversion, but for most of my life that was more about a vague nationalism or support of distant anti-imperialist movements than a religious confession. Late in life that belief system came to be more of an actual religious experience for me and I find myself trying to relearn Arabic to read the Quran. A younger more communist version of myself would have been mildly horrified by the "idealism" and "pure nonsense" of it all, but in current age and state I find I cannot shake at least some elements of this irrational faith. I will look for his book.
Been addicted to all sorts of substances for short periods, only caffeine is unshakeable and I think the reason is cultural context and acceptability. I used raw opium for a while, OK a long while, in college but I dropped it on a dime with little more than a week of irritability and flu like sickness. I don't remember the inner part of that experience well but I think my whole body just realized that upon leaving the world of studentdom and entering the kingdom of certified professionalism I couldn't bring my addiction. Just wouldn't be acceptable. For those who don't have those social connections and reinforcements I imagine the same addictions would have been a semi-permanent feature.
"The telephone is ruining my life" line made me think of this book "When Old Technologies Were New" that I picked up at a library recently randomly, talks a lot about the anxieties, assumptions, and cultural reactions to early electronic technology. Lot of anxiety with the phone letting the lower classes imitate the upper classes or (maybe worse) court their daughters. I found it a little too dry to read all the way through but it's a fun skim
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/when-old-technologies-were-new-9780195063417?cc=us&lang=en&
There was a story published in Metal Hurlant graphic magazine in the mid '90s. - in the near future the biblically prophesized antichrist is born in a virtual reality, middle ages fantasy roll playing game. Instead of in reality. Rated nc17
The conflict to stop the apocalypse is set in matrix not earth.
They may have used the term matrix. It was premovie and not as sophisticated as it is now.
I don't remember the Author , title
or any demonological incantations coded into advertisements by corporate heretics, like Halloween 3.