What a sad slow slide we have had from the ideals of the Enlightenment.
The fact that Truth is not readily apparent to all does not mean it does
not exist. Truth is not a cheap commodity.
We must approach Truth sceptically, but trusting the increments of our
better progress.
Capitalism does not know Reason. It only knows Desire.
It is the nature of Democracy to be divisive. It is the nature of Despotism
to be cruel.
Ethics cannot be derived from Reason. But the consequences of certain
ethical behaviors are apparent to all reasonable men.
If we only care about ourselves, we are locked in a Hall of Mirrors for
all our time.
Reason should feed the soul and help it in its growth.
There are really only two choices: Either we are on the side of Life and
Light, or we are on the side of Darkness and Death.
Either the Atheists are right or the Deists are right. If the Atheists are
right, they will never know. If the Deists are right, they will. 🙂 Thus
knowledge follows the divine.
The cosmos originated from the Creator, and it is creation which
continues that Creation.
What a fundamentally simple concept it would be that the purpose of
Creation is simply to further that creation.
We should only create what we can love. And we should tend to and
nurture that which we create, and that which has been created.
In the use of that capacity for Reason given to us by the Creator and
Nature, we must be endlessly self-critical. Beyond that lies demons.
This Insubstantial Pageant Faded 
I wish I could tell you how so very close to absolute truth you are with this statement.:heart:
Thanks for reading, Star. :):heart:
@ Martin. "Just for the record" as the saying goes. :)I admit I was up on the soapbox. But I've run into so many things lately. Today I read someone who quoted something by Marcus Aurelius to the effect that there was no Truth, that it was all just a matter of opinion. A very Roman way of looking at things, but unfortunately a very modern one also — or perhaps I should say post-modernist. I think people tend to take up the idea that it is all just opinion out of some misguided sense of egalitarianism. And of course you know we are going through another election here, and the rhetoric is flying around like vampire bats — even more than normal, huge dark colonies of them.Suddenly, I couldn't stand it. I had to draw out the sword and if nothing else wave it around a bit. Thanks for reading.
True.Good thing you write these things down. We all have these moments of extreme clarity once in a while, and we should write them down when they come.
"In the use of that capacity for Reason given to us by the Creator and Nature, we must be endlessly self-critical. Beyond that lies demons."One of my friends use to say: "Demons are everywhere."
@ Darko.If they are inside us, they are bound to be everywhere we turn. But of course sometimes they are not inside, they are external, in that someone else has externalized their own inner demons and has unleashed it upon the world. I guess what I was thinking of here though is what happens when reason goes berzerk. This is something I intend to deal with in future fiction. Thanks for your comments. 🙂
Reason is like steel. A piece of steel is neutral. However, depending on how you use it, it will be either a tool of creation or a weapon of destruction. Reason in itself never killed anybody, but in the hands of power hungry men, it can kill thousands. To me (perhaps because I am of viking blood) it is a question of honour.
@ Martin. Good point. :up:
Originally posted by edwardpiercy:
Can we get that persons "opinion" of the SUN rising in the morning and setting in the evening? :love:
:lol:The person who quoted that is actually an old friend here on Opera, and a very nice woman. And when I criticized the quote she "Liked" it — on Facebook meaning they would agree or whatever. So all is well with at least one tiny part of the world. 🙂
Wheeew! what a relief :whistle:
Of course that doesn't eliminate the billions of people who would agree with Aurelius. :p
As far as I know Aurelius was sort of disenchanted in his old age, and I guess a defeatist outlook on life goes with this… Well, frankly, I know it does.