domain:inv.nadeko.net
This is all well and good, but what stake do you put in your non-materialistic beliefs? How much does the Word of God guiding you trade off against anything an agnostic in your position would do?
The answer is "a considerable one"; I've completely changed most aspects of my life, in many cases entirely reversing my previous preferences or habits.
I don't want to be a Redditor about it, but I don't see the point of modern Christianity.
There is no point to "modern" Christianity. You are correct that many people claiming to be Christian are "cultural christians" for whom it is a fashion or a pose. On the other hand, there are also a lot of Christians like myself who are not partaking of "modern" Christianity but rather the old sort, and for whom it is an actual way of life. For us it appears to me that the benefits are as they always have been: considerable. It seems to me that the contrast grows increasingly stark as Modernity unspools itself into our collective society; the dating and relationship threads here on the Motte are as good an example as any.
Christians have gone from waging holy war against the heathens to missionary expeditions seeking conversions to "interfaith dialogue", from hanging homosexuals and other sinners to socially ostracizing them them to... IDK, frowning concernedly?
If we return to Deus Vult and the sword, will that satisfy you in some way? When Christians were serving in significant numbers in the recent middle east wars, and often saw those wars as a crusade, did that lend the faith more credibility?
We will continue on as we have before. Sometimes that will involve building, and sometimes that will involve fighting. We have done plenty of both, and will do plenty more of both in the future.
ThisIsSin
Cainanites and Abelists
5hr ago
people will be able to pop a meaning of life pill every morning to motivate themselves
Nicotine and dextroamphetamine have been around for quite some time, but the delivery method for the former has been bad for a long time and the withdrawl symptoms are absurdly bad, and the latter still requires a prescription for whatever reason.
George_E_Hale
insufferable blowhard
5hr ago
there is no future for me
This sounds foreboding and if I were less American I wouldn't ask you about it, but I am still rather very American and often poorly mannered, so what do you mean by this?
Botond173
5hr ago
ThisIsSin
Cainanites and Abelists
5hr ago
I was interviewing at a mining company way back when and they were just so boring and dry.
The West is like this in general. Despite what Ottawa would have you believe, it's a different country out here- one where you can afford a house at the price of [what you perceive as] your Canadian identity.
George_E_Hale
insufferable blowhard
5hr ago
If memory serves your particular experience may not mirror that of the usual heterosexual dude.
George_E_Hale
insufferable blowhard
5hr ago
You should visit Japan. You could probably one-arm curl many here.
Post script for the literal-minded: I mean most women here are considerably slimmer than the average American female. Though perhaps Americans are becoming slimmer? This caveat brought to you by Ozempic TM.
PPS: Maybe Helmet is not American. Still.
Closedshop
話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分
5hr ago
Clubbing is just another thing that gen z has killed, I'm afraid. I've never been to a club in my life, so I can't relate, but if you just search on youtube, you'll find dozens of videos that lament how the clubbing culture from the 10's is completely dead.
I've been to a single music party (concert?) though, and I have to say that I don't think I've ever felt more out of place than I did when I was there. The music was alright, but I don't take drugs and I don't dance so it was just awkward for me to be there. Didn't help that the friend that actually invited me canceled at the last minute.
Southkraut
The rain fell gentlier.
5hr ago
Personally, I'm not sure where these parties are or who's going to them. I haven't been to a single party outside of work events after college
When I was younger I hooked up with multiple women at the local club, which is kinda like a party that regularly happens in one place. Or used to be, about twenty to ten years ago. No idea what it's like now.
There are also music parties (usually techno) that are petty much designed for taking drugs, showing off your physical abilities through dance, and then hooking up.
University parties were also a thing, but I was too busy studying.
Actual house parties, I'll admit, I haven't seen since school.
Office parties exist, but hooking up there, as you said, can be tricky.
Gaashk
5hr ago
Personally, it's less about theological points than about Beauty. Catholics built plenty of beautiful churches in the past, but the Orthodox are still building them, even though there are a lot fewer members, and so it might only be one per city. That one will generally be beautiful. They will cover it in mosaics and iconography, swing huge chandeliers on feast days, embed eagles into the tiles, have a beautiful dome with Christ looking down. Many of the churches in America are new and aren't fully finished yet, but are as beautiful as the parish is able to make them. The chanting is as beautiful as the choir members are able to make it, depending on local skill levels. They do generally work pretty hard at it, and still care about the beauty in a way that Catholics used to, but often don't anymore, even when they've inherited grand and storied cathedrals. They're one of very, very few groups that are still making everything as beautiful as they're able to in Current Year, which is almost as important as theology. Of course Dostoyevsky, coming from an Orthodox tradition, would say "beauty will save the world."
I grew up Evangelical, and joined the Orthodox Church in college, when there was a Greek mission inhabiting a lovely old Catholic Church within walking distance of my dorm. I like standing silently, and liked learning to cook tofu and lentils from my charming Greek Godmother, and it was all very lovely. It continued to be lovely when I moved for a Great Books program, and found a church within walking distance, with a wonderful, experienced priest who I could listen to for hours, and did. I went to Matins, Vespers, Paraklesis, book clubs, and anything else that was happening there. And then I was in the Republic of Georgia, which has wonderful old churches and a lot of energy from rebuilding after communism, and also a very beautiful chant tradition.
The small children in Georgia came and went, I think, though I didn't watch them closely. They looked like they spent a lot of time playing in the courtyard (and there were courtyards for them to play in). I think that Orthodoxy does have room for families that walk up the hill to the church who's names day it is to light a candle and have a party. They would spread feasts (Supras) during fasting periods, and some of the people wouldn't eat some of the things, especially the women, but it wasn't that big a deal, they would still cook roast chicken for whoever wanted it. But Americans aren't like that, and ultimately my husband and I are American, and feel miserable coming and going from the church service to the children's room and back as necessary.
So every once in a while I post here about how I don't know what to do. The plan has been Just Do It for about five years now, and maybe one of these years it will take. My husband is more willing to go to an Orthodox Church with me than any other kind of church, was enthusiastic about naming the children after saints, having icons in the house, and playing Russian chants on the speakers. He's not at all enthusiastic about standing still and getting small children to be still for three hours, and would probably be happy as an alter server (or any role, really, other than getting the children to be still) if only we could Just Do It long enough to get there.
curious_straight_ca
5hr ago
In practice, if I just want to get something of simple-moderate complexity done, the best UI library is react. It works, the functional style is nice, there are whatever libraries you need. Web browser APIs have problems, but I'd much rather interact with them than deal with native stuff. UI latency is fine if you don't do anything complicated, a lot of optimization work's gone into the browser, and you get cross platform + mobile easily. Javascript kinda sucks but it's fine. And you probably don't need electron, just make a website.
Mihow
Lipstick on a guitar
5hr ago
I don’t know any women who are impressed by a $1500 espresso machine
Everything else you wrote rings true - but this is absurd! Or rather, not my lived experience at all. The person sleeping next to me now can tell you about all the expresso machines in all the various price ranges and why one is better than another.
But, all things have exceptions I imagine.
ResoluteRaven
6hr ago
Maybe it doesn't matter, that in the end us dysgenic neurotics will end up being weeded out of the gene pool, and that future populations will be able to break out of this local minima and take over the world.
This is, unfortunately, the conclusion I have come to. The crisis of meaning is, like the problem of low birthrates, ultimately self-correcting via natural selection, as those without the psychological capacity to handle modernity will end up in some ideological or nihilistic dead end or another and fail to perpetuate their lines. But who knows, maybe someday we'll invent the mental health equivalent of GLP-1 agonists and people will be able to pop a meaning of life pill every morning to motivate themselves.
Closedshop
話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分
6hr ago
If you’re a regular straight person, everything is basically designed for you. You can ask out basically any single member of the opposite sex. People try to set you up with their friends/co-workers/whatnot. You can hook-up with random strangers at a party if the chemistry’s right without having to worry if they’re in the <5% that’s attracted to you, if you’re sexually compatible, or if you’re trans and passing, that they won’t react violently.
I have to ask what you're basing your statements off of because none of these statements are true for the "average" man, and they haven't been for at least the last 10 years. Full disclosure, I'm a late millennial/early zoomer (late 90s to early aughts) straight male.
You can ask out basically any single member of the opposite sex
You can do that in the same way that you can run through a minefield and not get blown up. The fact of the matter is simply that the consequences for running into a vindictive, cruel, or simply insane woman is now much greater than it ever was in the past. They used to tell you that the worst thing they can do is say "no" (this was never true, but it was true enough to be good advice maybe 15 years ago) but now the worst thing they can do is pull out their phone and start blasting your face all over the internet. And that's not even the worst thing they can do. If she calls the cops on you, you'd really be in hell.
People try to set you up with their friends/co-workers/whatnot.
First of all, dating at work is on of the worst things you can do to yourself. Again, it's simply not worth the risk. You're not putting just your reputation on the line, but your career as well. Secondly, maybe this is just because of my circles, but I've only ever once seen someone else even attempt to set up their friends. It happens so rarely, that I have to seriously doubt that it ever happened at all, even before the current climate.
You can hook-up with random strangers at a party if the chemistry’s right without having to worry if they’re in the <5% that’s attracted to you, if you’re sexually compatible, or if you’re trans and passing, that they won’t react violently.
You can hook up with strangers at a party (Personally, I'm not sure where these parties are or who's going to them. I haven't been to a single party outside of work events after college). This is one that might be colored by my own experiences, but I have never hooked up with a stranger at a party, even when I was going to them back in college. I have to assume that it's due to my deficiencies because it apparently happens enough to other people for it to be a prevalent thing.
Plus most straight men seem to be attracted to most women? I don’t understand it but it should make your life easier to not be picky.
In my experience, it's not my pickiness that's the problem. Or maybe it is. I don't consider myself unattractive (I give myself 6/10 simply because I'm tall and not overweight and I don't have any physical deformities), but according to at least a sizable minority of women, most men are unattractive, so in reality a 6/10 is probably actually a 2/10.
All in all, I legitimately don't know on what basis you're making your claims because they run almost completely counter to what I've experienced as a straight male. I have to assume that they must have been true in the near, or even distant, past, otherwise they wouldn't be so oft repeated. The only people who talk about how supposedly easy it is to date are either old and out of touch or have at least one attractive trait that is above average (looks, charisma, or money). None of the people who I consider "average" have the experience of dating being "easy".
TitaniumButterfly
6hr ago
Man I'm still on book 3 but eager to catch up.
ABigGuy4U
6hr ago
Possibly. Patriot, Arrow and THAAD all have limited interceptor capacity and once those run out lots of targets become sitting ducks. I’ve also seen video footage that show signs that Iran isn’t just yeeting missiles at apartment blocks, there is definitely counter-battery fire in an attempt to take out the missile defense systems. This is the same thing that happened in Ukraine, but it could happen a lot faster here because Iran has spent 20 years stockpiling missiles for this one job.
What I don’t know is how badly Iran is getting diced up right now. They are definitely getting hit but I don’t know what the state of their missile launch capability is. If it’s still in good shape then Israel could end up in a pretty bad situation pretty fast. @coffee_enjoyer might be right about imminent US intervention but it remains to be seen. And of course there’s always nukes.
The main complaint is that while a good electorate is possible, perverse incentives ensure that it will gradually be watered down. Not sure whether the Founders saw that coming or not but there is some ancient precedent and they'd surely have been aware of it. Would like to know more.
Anyway I don't really think our problems are solvable. We're so far unlike anything that's come before on so many levels. "We are trapped in the belly of the machine, and the machine is bleeding to death." Something will come after this but I don't think we'd recognize it as continuous.
To your point, many people do seem keen on comparing our current situation to that of the late Roman Republic (and the 'No Kings' protesting sure does help carry the vibe) but it's not clear to me that Caesarism is a viable option for us. The analogy only goes so far, and like I said so much is so different now.
It has been a really wild and wonderful time to be alive. As I enter middle life I wonder more and more how much I'll get to see of what happens next.
magic9mushroom
If you're going to downvote me, and nobody's already voiced your objection, please reply and tell me
7hr ago
Show me an angel, so to speak.
Fun fact: when I was a teenager, I wanted to be a priest. It's just, I'd need a religious experience to tell me what to be a priest of, and I haven't had one.
Mantergeistmann
7hr ago
I'm reminded of a very pro-immigrant friend who was absolutely indignant at the Free State Project and people moving to New Hampshire to vote their values...
Zephyr
7hr ago
As far as I can tell, he barely spoke with her - it is possible he heavily flirted with her when I excused myself to the washroom, but it seems unlikely with his partner there.
Zephyr
7hr ago
Okay, just because everyone is focusing on this part - I have a girlfriend now, who I love very much. At the time I knew this person (we’ve fallen out of contact), I did not.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
7hr ago
I can thank Neal for the blessing and the curse of knowing about Van Eck phreaking.
urquan
Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
7hr ago
they believe that Jesus and the archangel Michael are the same thing
This is actually common in old school Protestantism; if I recall correctly, both Luther and Calvin flirted with the idea. The concept is that “Who is like God” indicates that Michael is like God, I.e. consubstantial with God, I.e. Jesus. It’s also true that the “angel of the Lord” in the OT is often identified with Christ in most Christian traditions, so the idea of “Jesus is an angel and God” isn’t that far fetched.
netstack
Texas is freedom land
7hr ago
Just finished Stormlight and really enjoyed it. Yes, people will point out stylistic/prose issues, and they'll be absolutely right. But Wind and Truth succeeded as the plate-spinning, world-expanding, every-new-detail-an-entire-sequel-hook kind of book I was looking for.
For something completely different, I'm alternating back to Annals of the Former World, a set of geology essays. I mentioned the first one last year, but apparently never commented on the next two, so here we go:
In Suspect Terrain was a hit piece on plate tectonics. Great premise, slightly confusing execution, because it was really more like a series of reasonable objections to people in the "new theory" hype cycle. I can't tell if that means the main character was stating the obvious, or if she really was a visionary who was vindicated in the next 40 years of textbooks. The coolest part was that, yes, plate tectonics was new in the 50s and 60s. I always kind of assumed it was settled in the 1800s like so much fossil and timeline stuff.
Rising from the Plains, though, was amazing. It's a history of one family stretching back to the westward expansion into Wyoming. At the same time, it's a narrative of how the Laramie and Medicine Bow mountains got where they are today. Outrageous cowboy anecdotes share pages with the solemn march of Deep Time. Part of the charm was having to keep a map open to cross-reference. I highly recommend this one.
Anyway, the next essay up is Assembling California. So far he seems to be coming at the region from both the western fault lines and the eastern Sierra Nevada. As always, the prose has been delightful. Here's hoping it keeps up.
That'll be a great advantage to him as long as he's strongly an extrovert. There's also the aspect that he'll have to clean the mess all up afterwards or hire some maid to do so, and that his social circle will come to expect him to keep throwing cool parties.
If he lives in a community where third places don't exist at all, then yes.
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