We Are Not Saved

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/11/the-overemphasis-on-love-and-tolerance/  Love is very important for Christians, but has there been too much emphasis placed on it? And has this emphasis warped it into something else? To put it more simply is perfect Christian love the same as unlimited tolerance? This post argues that it's not, and that in fact if you're looking for the ultimate Christian principle it might be "repentance".

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics by: Richard Hanania How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement by: Fredrik deBoer The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World (Volume 1) by: Iain McGilchrist The Alter Ego Effect: Defeat the Enemy, Unlock Your Heroic Self, and Start Kicking Ass by: Todd Herman The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by: Jonathan Rosen To Hell and Back by: Audie Murphy The Ministry for the Future by: Kim Stanley Robinson The Mysteries by: Bill Watterson A Desert of Vast Eternities (Pilgrim's Path Book 2) by: Vic Davis The New Copernicans: Millennials and the Survival of the Church by: David John Seel Jr. 

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/the-worst-book-ive-ever-read/  John Seel Jr.'s book, The New Copernicans, is the worst book I have ever read. He puts forth a dubious premise. In support of which he provides no data to back it up, nor any anecdotes which illustrate it actually occurring. To the extent there is anything backing it up, it's provided by extensive misrepresentation of other books.

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/worthy-of-our-sufferings/  Dostoevsky wrote, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." What does that mean? I think he meant that whatever suffering we’re experiencing it’s suffering God felt we were capable of handling. We need to prove worthy of that trust. This has always been hard to do, and now that we have numerous ways of mitigating suffering, it's not only hard, but confusing.

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/can-we-eliminate-struggle-2023  Humanity has struggled and suffered for so long that we might be unable to survive without them. We dream of such elimination through technology, but will that dream turn into a nightmare?

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/tragedies-truths-and-technologies/  Historically we didn't worry about wars in far away places because we weren't aware of them. Now we're aware of them, but with the rise of AI we're going to have a similar difficulty acquiring accurate information. This is going to complicate our ability to intervene righteously. 

Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by: Natasha Dow Schüll The Evolutionary Limits of Liberalism: Democratic Problems, Market Solutions and the Ethics of Preference Satisfaction by: Filipe Nobre Faria A Language Older Than Words by: Derrick Jensen WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird by: Peter T. Leeson Blowback (Second Edition): The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by: Chalmers Johnson The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by: Caroline Van Hemert So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by: Cal Newport Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by: Jostein Gaarder The Sandman 4 by: Neil Gaiman American Gods by: Neil Gaiman The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 6 by: Matt Dinniman Letters to a Young Mormon by: Adam S. Miller

Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/10/would-you-wager-on-pascals-mugging/  Imagine that someone walks up to you and demands all your money. If you fail to comply they threaten to kill all the inhabitants of some far off planet. How would you react? And is this similar to Pascal's Wager? 

The podcast discusses the choices people make regarding beliefs in God and immortality, including atheism, apathy, and transhumanism. It explores the benefits of religious belief on mental health and the health benefits of regular attendance in communal worship. The advantages of religion and transhumanism are compared, as well as the pros and cons of atheism and transhumanism. Supporting religious podcasts through donations is emphasized.

Transcript: https://www.wearenotsaved.com/p/ai-risk-might-be-more-subtle-than  Depressed people are more prone to addiction. If social media engagement looks a lot like addiction, does that mean algorithms for increasing engagement also increase depression?