Hate the Belief, Love the Believer

One of the Top 10 trending subjects on twitter today is #YiyeAvila, a Puerto Rican televangelist and preacher from the old school who called people to repentance and frequently used fear tactics related to hell and the afterlife to weave a supposedly moralizing message that almost seemed in line with Salafi Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia.  On youtube, there is a video with a long rant where he admonishes women to never wear pants.  In another one, he speaks in tongues and laments aimlessly on stage without really making any sense for about ten minutes.  The hysterical pentecostal crowds loved him.

But Yiye Avila belongs not in the 21st Century.  The world is changing.  Marriage equality was given a boost yesterday at the federal level.  In the midst of all the social media reactions from all sides to all the events of the last few days, atheist media personality Shirley Rivera twitted "How sad that you've died.  I would have enjoyed you watching the first same-sex wedding in Puerto Rico".  There were many other reactions, but this one drew venom from the pious.

And so this raises a moral question for humanists who consider people of Yiye Avila's ilk to be profoundly detrimental to modern society.  I was never moved to hate him or to relish the fact that he's dead like some of the more cynical atheists.  In fact, I felt a good deal of compassion for him during his last days.

With his death, I was concerned that people would eulogize him and forget that he was a fraud and a parasite who lived off the credulity, ignorance and vulnerabilities of simple-minded people ... but wanted to make sure that in recognizing that fact, I did not dehumanize him.  He was not evil in the way that Jerry Falwell was evil.  His evil was mixed with good and derived from his (and his constituency's) profound ignorance.

Epicurus forbade attacks against people.  Instead, we are to attack false beliefs, not the believer.  This customary respect, in spite of the profound differences of deeply-held opinion with regards to common religious views, was perhaps the result of his exile from Mytilene in the island of Lesbos, where philosophers who were partisans of false Platonic doctrines had gained political power and the gymnasiarch had been influenced to threaten Epicurus with accusing him of impiety, for which the death penalty was the punishment.  Socrates had suffered a similar fate.

Faced with the tyranny of false religion and philosophy, Epicurus developed a philosophical tradition that made a virtue of frank speech yet, somehow, remained carefully respectful of religious symbols.  Today, at least in the Western world, we usually do not get intimidated and threatened into submission by religious powers, but it's still a sign of good character and of prudence to hate the belief, yet respect and love the believer.

Despite being an atheist, Ms. Doughty was told that any conscientious objection must be based on religious grounds, not simply moral objections. So as someone who was not religious, and didn’t believe in a god, she had no basis for objecting. Her statement has been denied and she has been informed that to move forward in the process she must submit a letter from the elders of her church to prove her conscientious objections are religiously based. 

- WOMAN BEING DENIED CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE HER MORALITY DOESN’T COME FROM RELIGION

Nelson Mandela Quotes

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.  But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.

There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

The Summary of the Diseases of the Soul

In his new book Letters on Happiness: An Epicurean Dialogue, Peter Saint-Andre wrote an introductory survey and commentary of Epicurean doctrines, fragments, and even a letter by Thomas Jefferson, in the form of an exchange of letters between friends.

This type of contemporary philosophical literature is exactly the type of content that the Society of Friends of Epicurus would like to see more of, as it resonates with our teaching mission and vision.  His commentary is didactically useful for several reasons.  It's sorted by subject, which would make it useful within the context of a study group, and utilizes the strategy of approaching a teaching from various angles and paraphrasing in order to help the pupil easily apprehend therapeutic concepts.  For instance:

Perhaps we can try to express the Epicurean remedies as actionable guidelines, as he does in Vatican Saying 71: Ask this question of every desire: what will happen to me if the object of desire is achieved, and what if not?

The author is particularly equipped to write his Letters on Happiness because he is the translator of Epicurean writings for Monadnock Valley Press and for the public domain, so that he was able to gain thorough familiarity with the writings while he was conducting his translation work.

Saint-Andre also incorporated his summary of the diseases of the soul, again applying the technique of paraphrasing and giving readers a different approach to the teachings in order to help them assimilate the didactic content.  The condensed Summary of the Diseases of the Soul is useful in learning Epicurus' doctrine and may even be helpful in our introspective philosophical work, in the cultivation of good character and of the analysed life.

Let's see if I can summarize the diseases of soul that Epicurus describes:

The fear of oblivion leads to the desire for immortality. Yet the ideal (what is natural and necessary) is not to live forever, but to face death without fear and to enjoy the span of your life on earth.

The fear of weakness leads to the desire for power. Yet the ideal is not to hold power over other people, but to be strong and effective enough to meet your own needs.

The fear of poverty leads to greed and the desire for great wealth. Yet the ideal is not to be super-rich, but to have enough material goods to meet your true and natural needs for food, shelter, clothing, companionship, etc.

The fear of obscurity leads to the desire for fame. Yet the ideal is not being renowned to all the world, but being connected to the people who truly matter to you.

The fear of being disliked leads to the desire for honor. Yet the ideal is not to be the recipient of great public esteem, but to have self-respect and to be respected by those you know and admire.

The fear of being bored or being perceived as ordinary leads to a desire for luxury (fancy things, exciting experiences, and such). Yet the ideal is not continuous stimulation but active engagement with the world around you. 

The fear of being considered inferior leads to envy — the desire that others lose what they have. Yet the ideal is not tearing others down, but accepting and improving yourself.

The fear of being disappointed leads to anger — the desire that other people act as you want them to. Yet the ideal is not feeling that others must conform to your expectations, but accepting others as they are and maintaining your inner serenity. 

The fear of failure leads to laziness — the desire to get something for nothing. Yet the ideal is not passivity but active confidence in your abilities and the pursuit of self-improvement.

You may read the book Letters on Happiness online, or via Amazon.

@TheTweetOfGod

I must say that ever since I subscribed to God on twitter my relationship with God has gotten better.  I didn't know he was this witty!

It's not that 10% of you came out wrong, it's that I'm 10% gay.tinyurl.com/itgettethbetter
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) May 31, 2013

Joe Rogan's alternative to the Pale Blue Dot Sermon

"We are here to fuck shit up!" - Joe Rogan

The original Pale Blue Dot.

Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. - Epicurus