"Robert J. Bradbury" wrote:
>
> (The understanding of this statement, as written, perhaps illustrates
> the degree to which one understands the "extropian" direction. If
> you were the director of your own "Truman Show", would you have
> the writers writing endless non-variant of days singing "Glory to God
> on highest", or would you prefer to find yourself in Andre Norton's
> Witch World, or McCaffrey's Pern, or Tolkein's Middle Earth, Zelazney's
> Amber or Gallun's "The Eden Cycle"?
Singing Glory to God in the highest does not preclude a very active and
variable limitless life. The real song is no mere hymn of course nor is
any God I consider worth believing in much less continuously praising
much like most mass-religious notions. The notions that in "heaven" one
would only sing hymns and nothing else would every happen and no
challenges would arise was a silly (and pretty horrible) parody. Most
of these world's would be fun for a while. More fun if I could
eventually leave each and move on. Of course it might spoil the
realness if I new that I could do that at all times. :-)
Actually I think it would be much more fun to do some stellar
engineering and create a few life-bearing solar systems and nudge them
into living evolutionary algorithms just to see what might pop up.
>
> (see my Reading List page if you don't connect with the references.)
>
> On my darker days, I realize the power of justice in the Universe
> because I am clear that almost all of the believers in the various
> faiths (Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Bhuddist, etc.) [that have not
> been irrevocably decomposed into dispersed atoms] *will* be able to
> have the endless reward they believe in...
>
> The questions then become:
> "Have they fully anticipated the consequences of 'having it'?"
> and
> "Will they want it if they know they can have it?"
Now that is a very, very good question. The implications of having it
is that they become quite different from who they thought they would be
in the having and the being with it.
Seek and do not fine is a time-honored human neurosis. Finding implies
great change and re-assessment. Not finding lets you pine away for that
which you seek.
- samantha
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:59:40 MDT