tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post8051145019595309947..comments2024-03-25T15:17:04.488-07:00Comments on Captain Capitalism: Onward Christian Rationalization HamsterCaptain Capitalismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-19618316401224404882012-09-22T21:55:57.651-07:002012-09-22T21:55:57.651-07:00@Ryan fuller
Links for you:
http://www.tektonics...@Ryan fuller<br /><br />Links for you:<br /><br />http://www.tektonics.org/gk/jamesvspaul.html<br /><br />http://www.tektonics.org/af/baptismneed.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-41828487068059676942012-09-22T21:53:18.484-07:002012-09-22T21:53:18.484-07:00@Anonymous 2:01 PM
"On the other hand, Apost...@Anonymous 2:01 PM<br /><br />"On the other hand, Apostolic Christianity (in which I include Catholicism, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, etc) has consistently preserved the doctrine and practice of early Christianity against alteration, persevering through very tough times."<br /><br />Not even they managed to stay true to Apostolic Christianity. Mariolatry, Sacraments and Popes none of which existed when the 12 apostles and Paul was still alive.<br /><br />And protestantism Good during the reformation and a few hundred years after also has gone off the tangent into Goddess worship, feminism and new age.<br /><br />Just bloody human tendency to screw things up is what is demonstrated in both cases.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-8296366658989831292012-08-13T11:57:17.263-07:002012-08-13T11:57:17.263-07:00As has been said already here, your observations a...As has been said already here, your observations are spot on, with one very important (also already mentioned by others) caveat - 99% of the problems that you are observing are not with *historic* Christianity but with the Churchianity that has developed over the past 200 years in America. A huge % of the doctrinal variation has, yet again, come very recently, historically speaking, and much of it is tied to America’s (and to a lesser extent England’s) political and social history.<br /><br />If you think about it (and I am not saying you haven’t), no matter the topic (from religion to science to economics) people will believe wildly diverging things about it, often as a function of rationalizing their own desires. Religion can be a great rationalization hamster, as you pointed out, but so can a great deal of other things. Many Nobel-prize winning economists actually think Keynesian economics is a good idea and your economic ideas and analysis (however much I agree with you on them myself) are totally delusional. We both believe that they are wrong, but nonetheless we see the power of rationalization over human thinking. Or what about global warming – many scientists believe it, and will viciously deride or even downright persecute any who dare not believe it. Likewise much of American Christianity, or should I say “Churchianity” has been twisted to serve the desires of the current politically ascendant groups – especially feminists. Any subject or idea can be like “Play-doh” as you say. This is just human nature and is no more intrinsic to religion than a whole host of other topics. Anything can be subordinated to a narrative.<br /><br />Religion excepted, your writings are nearly always fantastic…I hope to see more posts about minimalism, you giving advice to blue-pill taking beta males. <br /><br />BTW OT: How did you ever stumble across Rumpleminze in the first place anyway? I am sure several readers would want to hear the beginning of your Rumpleminze love affair. :-)<br /><br />@Free Northerner: “No tangible evidence” This is quite OT so I won’t go very far – I just to say that while it is true that any Christian is going to struggle with doubt from time to time – since it can be difficult to follow…there are many good reasons for us Christians to believe as we do. The evidence is as tanglible as that for any other historical event with the Bible having far stronger historical attestation than many other historical documents viewed as reliable (like the writings of Tacitus, Pliny, or Arrian’s writings on Alexander the Great). Heck, even if looking at the link bar for this blog on the right, one of more well known bloggers there (Vox) has dealt with this type of stuff numerous times. <br />PC Geeknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-77901259664273337052012-08-12T16:51:45.147-07:002012-08-12T16:51:45.147-07:00You're right, the church has fallen a lot.
Fo...You're right, the church has fallen a lot.<br /><br />For your first, you're correct to a degree. As a Christian myself, most Christians do not have an absolute certainty in Christianity. Deep down, there are always doubts. Christianity is hard, and without tangible evidence, it is easy to doubt your faith. <br /><br />But most Christians also trust God and have faith even in their doubts. It's a tension between faith and doubt.<br /><br />What you describe as Fateism, is also known as hyper-calvinism. Calvinism is (among other things) the belief in predestination, that God pre-destined the way the world will be; hyper-calvinism is the belief that you don't have to do anything because God pre-destined what will happen. <br /><br />The sad part is, hyper-calvinism is often used in the way you described by people who would theologically reject regular calvinism.<br /><br />As for being married to Jesus, I think it's a good thing. As a Christian, a person's highest priority should be God. A married couple devoted to God first, will be less tempted to divorce or ruin their marriages.<br /><br />In androsphere terms, she'll stay with you when you act beta, because alpha Jesus commands her to.<br /><br />But, you're right. What you've described is far too common in the church.Free Northernerhttp://freenortherner.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-26042615094202506542012-08-12T07:16:48.297-07:002012-08-12T07:16:48.297-07:00It should be noted that your first two proposition...It should be noted that your first two propositions (that no one attending church believes in it, and that they are there for other reasons) mean that by definition, the rest of your post is not actually about Christianity, any more than critiques of the current American economy are about "capitalism" (as you've pointed out)<br /><br />Your complaint about forgiveness is noted, and is the reason that Christianity was so well received at its inception. The pagans understood their guilt, and it was crushing them into despair. Contrition is supposed to be a condition of absolution.<br /><br />With deference for your dislike of vampire shows, this quote for "Angel", on how to make up for sins like murder and betrayal, illustrate the point nicely: <br /><br />"There's no real simple answer to that. I won't lie to you, and tell you it'll be easy, cause it won't be. Just because you decided to change, doesn't mean the world's ready for you to. The truth is, no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try and make up for the past, you may never balance out the cosmic scale. The only thing I can promise you, is that you'll probably be haunted, and maybe for the rest of your life."<br /><br />Christian forgiveness takes away the despair, and is why its greatest early missionary Paul could be a man who had once killed more Christians than any before him.Rachel & Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03485394417435154755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-73093645522304716532012-08-11T21:01:35.380-07:002012-08-11T21:01:35.380-07:00I'm supposed to serve Jesus?
Shit, I don'...I'm supposed to serve Jesus?<br /><br />Shit, I don't even know how to cook him...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-47139180894151694122012-08-11T14:47:12.114-07:002012-08-11T14:47:12.114-07:00It is true that the modern Episcopalian church is ...It is true that the modern Episcopalian church is ridiculous. The Catholic and the Orthodox churches change little or not at all, and are doing OK.<br /><br />Don't believe in God, eh? Americans have blasphemed against God, tolerated criminal libels against innocent people, and every other obscenity. You know what is coming: straight out of the Old Testament. His agent of vengeance is Barack Obama, and He is in the process of wiping you off the face of the Earth. <br /><br />Don't believe if you don't want to. <br /><br />Oh BTW "criminal bad boys" typically have 4 children, not 2, and the really bad ones have 6 or more. Why not? They don't have to support them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-22621538944716897772012-08-11T10:51:50.133-07:002012-08-11T10:51:50.133-07:00The only problem I can see with you analysis is th...The only problem I can see with you analysis is the initial assumption that the people in the church don't actually believe. If that assumption ends up being false your argument collapses. I grew up in a brethren church and left because I stopped believing, not because I had any issues with the church. My experience was that the people there really were true believers. If I were to ever change my mind and return to the church it would definitely be to the brethren church.heresolonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00461382067580153600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-68332242141996577762012-08-11T00:48:54.407-07:002012-08-11T00:48:54.407-07:00Cap, I agree with a lot of what you said. The chu...Cap, I agree with a lot of what you said. The church has fallen on hard times,though there are still some of us old school true believers out there, scattered among various churches. You just have to look hard to find us. As to the older 'Apostolic' churches holding the line against modernism, some have done a good job on certain fronts, but the western Catholics in particular have a huge dose of what could be termed 'bad mother complex.' Think of a mother heaping guilt and shame on a child, with a scolding and chiding tone. This leads to people living their whole lives with a guilty conscience, or worse yet, people who rebel and end up hating God and the church. The Catholics and modern evangelicals/baptists/Charismatics often share this wonderful trait. That's why you can color me old school Lutheran.Strykerhttp://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-47651452467083186202012-08-11T00:21:51.779-07:002012-08-11T00:21:51.779-07:00Can you please write more articles about Christian...Can you please write more articles about Christianity? This is greatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-84495280898612320792012-08-10T22:53:37.068-07:002012-08-10T22:53:37.068-07:00And yet another home run ball launched out of the ...And yet another home run ball launched out of the park by Cappy.<br /><br />Great post....worthy of inscription in stone I might say.<br /><br />And sadly....the people who could use these words of wisdom the most are the people who would read it and say out loud and actually believe it...." I don't act that way".Dannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-7058556392806960002012-08-10T22:05:39.349-07:002012-08-10T22:05:39.349-07:00"More recent research by Barna showed that on..."More recent research by Barna showed that only HALF of Christian pastors in the USA had a 'biblical worldview'"<br /><br />Part of their definition of a "Biblical worldview" is salvation by grace alone. James chapter 2 is entirely devoted to debunking this, explaining that both faith and works are important, even explicitly stating, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."<br /><br />My view of modern Christianity is that it's soft on doctrine and mostly just consists of feelgood nonsense, heavily abridged doctrine, and completely boneheaded theology (baptizing pets... WTF?). People avoid personal responsibility any way they can, and a religion that doesn't take them to task for their failings just makes it all that much worse.<br /><br />When I hear someone in the midst of self-inflicted tragedy saying that everything happens for a reason, I can't help but think that the reason is because they are stupid and make poor decisions. People saying they're going to let Jesus take the wheel never seem to consider whether or not they're supposed to learn how to drive.<br /><br />One of the reasons that Mormonism appeals to me is the mentality of doing as much as you possibly can yourself and then having faith that God will handle the rest after all you've done all you can. An early church leader once commented that if you ask God to move a mountain, don't be surprised if He gives you a shovel. The saying that you should work like it's all up to you and pray like it's all up to God reflects a similar mindset.Ryan Fullernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-43569583511085636462012-08-10T19:59:34.220-07:002012-08-10T19:59:34.220-07:00I echo what Anonymous said Apostolic churches (sam...I echo what Anonymous said Apostolic churches (same def they use)is the only intellectually and spiritually satisfying way to be a Christian. Otherwise history and logic collide into an intoxicating cocktail of wishful thinking and emotion that dilutes the soul.<br /><br />That being said I do admire all of those that resist the correctness of current day and cling to whatever faith they have as long as they don't make it up as they go or think God wants them to have X because they are special.<br />Those that are not against us are with us.MTKhttp://manfortheages.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-51226450428599930432012-08-10T18:53:10.961-07:002012-08-10T18:53:10.961-07:00Hey Cappy,
Thanks for the shout out. Personally,...Hey Cappy, <br /><br />Thanks for the shout out. Personally, when a woman tells me "the LORD told me that" I cringe. <br /><br />I'm terrified of saying that. I am quite aware that I can and do get things wrong, and I cringe when I think about those I have hurt along the way.<br /><br />Modern churchians do not understand repentance includes a few painful things. Like confession, going to the person you have harmed, reconciliation....<br /><br />And trust me, as a believer, I am shunned by most of the (divorced) women in the local kirks. It appears that I am unclean, and they are not. So most of the Christain men my age are now MGTOW.Chrishttp://blog.pukeko.net.nznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-25696102607523705672012-08-10T17:34:35.717-07:002012-08-10T17:34:35.717-07:00One of the hardest things for an independent Chris...One of the hardest things for an independent Christian to accept, is that sometimes you just don't need a church. But...<br /><br />THE CHURCH NEEDS YOU.<br /><br />(this is true for so many things in life)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-15871904513945240342012-08-10T15:15:23.039-07:002012-08-10T15:15:23.039-07:00Suz,
I quote Troy McClure,
"It's the pa...Suz,<br /><br />I quote Troy McClure,<br /><br />"It's the part I was born to play baby!"<br /><br />Just forward this post to everybody you know that might like it.<br /><br />Cpt.Captain Capitalismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-11482684718287813442012-08-10T15:10:27.028-07:002012-08-10T15:10:27.028-07:00Wow. My Captain. I'm almost speechless (but ...Wow. My Captain. I'm almost speechless (but not quite...)<br />This is why I'm a Christian without a church, and content to remain so. About ten years ago I stopped looking for the church where I belong; I don't think it exists, and belonging seems to be the number one priority among the vast majority of church-goers.<br /><br />And I have met these male Christian hamsters in the Manosphere. Oh have I met them! Apparently it's perfectly OK to have an irrational and contradictory ideology while criticizing others for their irrational and contradictory ideologies, *as long as "God" is at the center of your irrational and contradictory ideology*.<br /><br />Thank you for organizing and beautifully articulating the amorphous, muddled, half-formed thoughts, which have been colliding with each other on the periphery of my mind for years. I'm kind of stunned by how intensely RELIEVED I feel after reading this post. I think the sun just came out from behind a cloud I didn't know was there.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896718673192738974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-36198363638904232982012-08-10T14:01:06.151-07:002012-08-10T14:01:06.151-07:00I am a practicing, orthodox Roman Catholic and a l...I am a practicing, orthodox Roman Catholic and a long time reader of your work, Captain. I fully agree with the your assessment about people and religion. I will also echo the first commenter's statements.<br /><br />The Christianity with which Americans are mostly familiar is the evangelical/Baptist/New-Age Protestant variety made popular in the 1800s. Wishy-washy on doctrine and practice, it is the paragon of social conformity and is definitively American in character.<br /><br />On the other hand, Apostolic Christianity (in which I include Catholicism, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, etc) has consistently preserved the doctrine and practice of early Christianity against alteration, persevering through very tough times. I point toward the martyrs of the early Church as evidence that Apostolic Christians are not there for merely social purposes, but moral and metaphysical ones.<br /><br />The extent to which modern Christians do not live up to this conception of living the Christian life is precisely the extent to which they will eventually become nihilsts. He who is willing to believe anything to fit in, in fact believes nothing. If you are not willing to sacrifice anything you will be given nothing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-28349409021142770332012-08-10T13:42:07.491-07:002012-08-10T13:42:07.491-07:00I have heard other Christian bloggers refer to the...I have heard other Christian bloggers refer to the modern church goers as Churchians. They have nothing to do with Christ or the Bible. It's all about belonging and socializing. Which is why I belong to no church. I see no compelling reason to go to a church and listen to the opinions of a preacher or the official approved dogma of The Church, Inc.<br /><br />I can totally understand why the Protestants separated from the Catholic Church but even they have most of it wrong. I guess you can say my biggest gripe with ALL churches is they don't even get the Sabbath day correct. What day did Jesus and the disciples observe the Sabbath? It ain't Sunday. I'm sorry but if you can't even get the one day God told us to observe and keep holly, forever, then why should I listen to anything you have to say. It's all hogwash.James Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06362700006085355079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-12277872140917097622012-08-10T13:38:06.240-07:002012-08-10T13:38:06.240-07:00Also tell me how a Christian male is supposed to f...<i>Also tell me how a Christian male is supposed to find a genuine Christian woman in a church full of poser rationalization hamsters.</i><br /><br />It was very hard, let me tell you. <br /><br /><i>church where your pets can be baptized (St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, if you're interested</i><br /><br />If the pet is baptized, I don't need to pay these guys -- <br /><br />http://www.aftertherapturepetcare.com/<br />http://www.postrapturepetcare.com/<br />http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/<br /><br />Hearteningly, the last one has been shut down due to lack of clients. But, apparently, some folks really did fall for this!van Rooineknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-83311143114793179102012-08-10T13:27:50.910-07:002012-08-10T13:27:50.910-07:00Jesus, Rockstar Alpha.... is "perfect." ...<i>Jesus, Rockstar Alpha.... is "perfect." He is always there. Always forgiving. All powerful. All loving. And guess what, a figment of her imagination just like all the vampire movies....</i><br /><br />And, like the vampires, Jesus-the-Boyfriend <b>rose from the grave</b>. That parallel is just too obvious to go unremarked. <br /><br />Sadly Cap, as one of the true believers, I am forced to admit that your critique is right on target. <br /><br />Research years ago (don't recall source) showed that only a small percentage of "evangelical believers" actually believed; the great majority didn't believe a word of it, and attended church for the social/community aspect (it's about the only "community" we've got left in America), or to make business connections, or darker things... THIS IS WHY pastors preach the same basic altar call and the same simple call to salvation over and over.. they know the room is likely full of the unsaved!<br /><br />More recent research by Barna showed that only HALF of Christian pastors in the USA had a "biblical worldview"....<br />http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/133-only-half-of-protestant-pastors-have-a-biblical-worldview<br /><br />The rest probably took the job because it looked easy and left open a lot of time for golf....<br /><br />Too bad, because a biblical worldview apparently really does fix a lot of the problems it claims to fix. <br />http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/131-a-biblical-worldview-has-a-radical-effect-on-a-persons-life<br /><br />Alas... Chesterton was right: <br /><br />"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried."van Rooineknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-43646509703717151252012-08-10T13:06:03.456-07:002012-08-10T13:06:03.456-07:00Hi Willy,
Yes, you are correct. There are items ...Hi Willy,<br /><br />Yes, you are correct. There are items that people will pay whatever the price.<br /><br />Cigarettes, gas, kidneys, organs, etc.<br /><br />The demand curve is vertical (or almost) in those cases.Captain Capitalismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-62095658522395311532012-08-10T13:04:20.912-07:002012-08-10T13:04:20.912-07:00Hey Captain,
My question doesn't relate to yo...Hey Captain,<br /><br />My question doesn't relate to your post but it is an economics question...There was a certain demand line (I think) that was purely theoretically and thus far has never occurred in real life.<br /><br />I think it was an "inelastic demand curve" in which the demand line was completely vertical meaning demand remained the same regardless of supply or price.<br /><br />Am I thinking of the correct line? Am I remembering the explanation correctly?<br /><br />Thank you sir.Willy Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-46153657438613420302012-08-10T12:35:43.338-07:002012-08-10T12:35:43.338-07:00Speaking of male and Orthodox, this is a man among...Speaking of <a href="http://cost-of-discipleship.blogspot.com/2012/08/gerasenes.html" rel="nofollow">male and Orthodox, </a>this is a man among men, and I hope he will forgive me opening a door to his thoughts:<br /><br />"True religion, like true worship, is always more than we bargained for. The living God will no more stay ensconced in His distant heaven than the living Christ is willing to remain in His tomb. We may believe our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. We may trust in Him for our salvation. But we live as though our safety consists precisely in making sure He stays away.<br /><br />Inwardly we plead with Christ more anxiously than the Gerasenes that He leave our town, so we don’t lose any more of our precious pigs."Joan of Argghh!https://www.blogger.com/profile/14729682908266300507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-77182460333948586572012-08-10T12:10:32.140-07:002012-08-10T12:10:32.140-07:00The modern church takes too many of Paul's ide...The modern church takes too many of Paul's ideas and runs with them off to cyptopagan fantasy land. Jesus and his reform of Judaism matter the most, but the Greek ideas that were mixed in later can twist entire concepts backwards and around.<br /><br />Example: forgiveness is originally about spiritual debt, not "transgression", and the debt you rack up eventually enslaves you by interest. That's how things really were in the iron age. Debt just buys you a little more fun freedom before slavery and death. Just like sin. And college. ;)<br /><br />For debt forgiveness, it means you have to become a slave to righteousness instead of sin. It is NOT a get out of jail card. The whole idea has been perverted.<br /><br />0.1% of Christians truly "get it". And, they are almost entirely male and Orthodox.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com