Very helpful, James, I'll mull it over and get back to you.
When this came up before, I've said I believe in Samael just fine, but I'm not able to accord him more titles than he clearly deserves, namely Yahweh, Yaldabaoth, Demiurge, or Creator. But then I haven't had opportunity to read the whole Apocryphon through so maybe I should do that first.
Take all the time you need, and definitely read the Apocryphon of John.
Yahweh and Yaldabaoth/the Demiurge are the same entity. Samael is another name of Yaldabaoth that means “god of the blind” to gnostics. However, I know Samael can have a different meaning depending on tradition.
And Yahweh/the Demiurge is the grand architect of the imperfect world we live in. He also created Adam, the first man, but could not grant him a soul due to the absence of his connection with the Pleroma. That's when Sophia stepped in, having already repented, and provided the divine spark. IMO, all by design. But, many would argue Yahweh is the creator of an evil and imperfect world. And they may not be entirely wrong... all you have to do is look around, look at us humans. I rest my case.
IMO, Yahweh created the world this way in order for humans (us) to be able to exist, and it had to be that way. The FALL didn’t occur with Adam & Eve, it happened before the world’s creation with Sophia. But Sophia repented, and the Father agreed to bring her back to the Pleroma once what had become lacking in her (us) was restored to its natural fullness. This is a process which is long, over many lifetimes, but time is of no consequence. Time is infinite, this lifetime is one experiment. If you fail, you'll get another chance. Eventually, you'll figure it out.
The world Yahweh created is specifically designed to make this possible. It operates on a fundamental concept of duality, it is structured by deterministic laws that yield regularity and predictability. In the same time this duality gives rise to the uncertainty that alters our perception of reality and our place within it. It’s like a dream/simulation. Many people believe we live in a simulation, and that includes Elon Musk. Have you ever had that feeling? Hindus believe we live in Brahma's Simulation/Dream. Ancient Hindu wisdom predicted simulation theory thousands of years before The Matrix and Hollywood. And they’re not entirely wrong…
Looks like we just crossed in the mail. So when you make these statements (some with sounds of certainty, some IMO), that's where I ask how we can come to agreement in our search for truth (point (a)). For instance:
all you have to do is look around, look at us humans. I rest my case.
It's not that simple IMHO. There are many answers to why evil exists besides this one and none of them are necessarily right until we start (scientifically) comparing hypotheses and inferring to the best explanation.
The universe is indistinguishable from a sufficiently detailed simulation (Math Universe Hypothesis or MUH) so we are free to call it one, and call it not one, as the context warrants. But you, or I, could propose methods as to point (a) such that we can be more certain of these answers with respect to each other's views.
look at us humans. I rest my case... There are many answers to why evil exists
I said that more or less as a joke. And I wasn't necessarily referring to evil, but, now that you mention... I was thinking more to an imperfect world from a human perspective. For instance humans live to be about 120 years old. However, Most animals’ bodies do not gradually degenerate as they get older the way our bodies do. But for humans once they reach about age of 30 their chance of dying doubles roughly every eight years. That's not true for animals.
I appreciate it then! It's hard to get to know a person online so as to be able to tell the intended intonations. That particular one gets around because Christians have argued theodicy for many years (the vindication of God in allowing evil) while atheists have argued nihilism for many years (evil and God are irreconcilable therefore neither is meaningful). But both that and maya are secondary IMHO. The way threaded conversations work, sometimes we get into multiple branches, and right now I'm still looking at this link as the main branch. Also an interesting aside:
But for humans once they reach about age of 30 their chance of dying doubles roughly every eight years.
We do have a unique curse on us. Having looked into this before, I was going to question your math, but you seem to have it close enough not to quibble. The usual measurement is risk of dying in the next year, which at 30 is about 1/1000 and at 110 is about 1/2. But there's another fascinating phenomenon, namely that it's not fully exponential but begins to taper off after around 70-90, where tapering means the risk begins to plateau and essentially ceases to increase. You still have a high risk of death but it doesn't get any riskier after a point approximately at 110. That means that for some people, every day they live their life expectancy goes up by a full day. That encourages me to aspire that every day I live I increase my life expectancy by a full day or more (some days it's doable).
But that's all to say we have uncountable rabbit trails. I do have a tendency of redirecting people to whether they have made a personal commitment to truth because the nature of their commitment helps me understand how to approach disputable topics. Thanks!
Very helpful, James, I'll mull it over and get back to you.
When this came up before, I've said I believe in Samael just fine, but I'm not able to accord him more titles than he clearly deserves, namely Yahweh, Yaldabaoth, Demiurge, or Creator. But then I haven't had opportunity to read the whole Apocryphon through so maybe I should do that first.
Take all the time you need, and definitely read the Apocryphon of John.
Yahweh and Yaldabaoth/the Demiurge are the same entity. Samael is another name of Yaldabaoth that means “god of the blind” to gnostics. However, I know Samael can have a different meaning depending on tradition.
And Yahweh/the Demiurge is the grand architect of the imperfect world we live in. He also created Adam, the first man, but could not grant him a soul due to the absence of his connection with the Pleroma. That's when Sophia stepped in, having already repented, and provided the divine spark. IMO, all by design. But, many would argue Yahweh is the creator of an evil and imperfect world. And they may not be entirely wrong... all you have to do is look around, look at us humans. I rest my case.
IMO, Yahweh created the world this way in order for humans (us) to be able to exist, and it had to be that way. The FALL didn’t occur with Adam & Eve, it happened before the world’s creation with Sophia. But Sophia repented, and the Father agreed to bring her back to the Pleroma once what had become lacking in her (us) was restored to its natural fullness. This is a process which is long, over many lifetimes, but time is of no consequence. Time is infinite, this lifetime is one experiment. If you fail, you'll get another chance. Eventually, you'll figure it out.
The world Yahweh created is specifically designed to make this possible. It operates on a fundamental concept of duality, it is structured by deterministic laws that yield regularity and predictability. In the same time this duality gives rise to the uncertainty that alters our perception of reality and our place within it. It’s like a dream/simulation. Many people believe we live in a simulation, and that includes Elon Musk. Have you ever had that feeling? Hindus believe we live in Brahma's Simulation/Dream. Ancient Hindu wisdom predicted simulation theory thousands of years before The Matrix and Hollywood. And they’re not entirely wrong…
Looks like we just crossed in the mail. So when you make these statements (some with sounds of certainty, some IMO), that's where I ask how we can come to agreement in our search for truth (point (a)). For instance:
It's not that simple IMHO. There are many answers to why evil exists besides this one and none of them are necessarily right until we start (scientifically) comparing hypotheses and inferring to the best explanation.
The universe is indistinguishable from a sufficiently detailed simulation (Math Universe Hypothesis or MUH) so we are free to call it one, and call it not one, as the context warrants. But you, or I, could propose methods as to point (a) such that we can be more certain of these answers with respect to each other's views.
I said that more or less as a joke. And I wasn't necessarily referring to evil, but, now that you mention... I was thinking more to an imperfect world from a human perspective. For instance humans live to be about 120 years old. However, Most animals’ bodies do not gradually degenerate as they get older the way our bodies do. But for humans once they reach about age of 30 their chance of dying doubles roughly every eight years. That's not true for animals.
The theory of everything, this is a deep rabbit hole. Meantime take a look at "Are We Living in a Brahma's Simulation? The Hindu Maya Theory Explained".
I appreciate it then! It's hard to get to know a person online so as to be able to tell the intended intonations. That particular one gets around because Christians have argued theodicy for many years (the vindication of God in allowing evil) while atheists have argued nihilism for many years (evil and God are irreconcilable therefore neither is meaningful). But both that and maya are secondary IMHO. The way threaded conversations work, sometimes we get into multiple branches, and right now I'm still looking at this link as the main branch. Also an interesting aside:
We do have a unique curse on us. Having looked into this before, I was going to question your math, but you seem to have it close enough not to quibble. The usual measurement is risk of dying in the next year, which at 30 is about 1/1000 and at 110 is about 1/2. But there's another fascinating phenomenon, namely that it's not fully exponential but begins to taper off after around 70-90, where tapering means the risk begins to plateau and essentially ceases to increase. You still have a high risk of death but it doesn't get any riskier after a point approximately at 110. That means that for some people, every day they live their life expectancy goes up by a full day. That encourages me to aspire that every day I live I increase my life expectancy by a full day or more (some days it's doable).
But that's all to say we have uncountable rabbit trails. I do have a tendency of redirecting people to whether they have made a personal commitment to truth because the nature of their commitment helps me understand how to approach disputable topics. Thanks!