Welcome to TOG! The Blog About Everything
Thoughts on God, Politics and Man
“All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight.”
-Aristotle, Metaphysics
What you will find here -
TOG Blog is filled with all things having to do with philosophy and political philosophy, theology, science, religion and history.
This includes hundreds of documentary, educational, biographical, musical, and political videos. You will also find an ever-growing collection of quotes and sayings from books.
TOG has polls, podcasts, original and guest articles, as well as daily news on current issues. I also sell philosophy books at the TOG New, Used and Rare Books on Political Philosophy Bookstore.
“It is not the forces of darkness but of shallowness that everywhere threaten the True, and the Good, and the Beautiful, and that ironically announce themselves as deep and profound. It is an exuberant and fearless shallowness that everywhere is the… modern danger, the modern threat, and that everywhere nonetheless calls to us as savior.”
-Ken Wilber
Is There Intelligence Behind the Design?
The relationships between science and religion, God and man are the main topics on this site. We have all sorts of gods- Greek gods, Egyptian gods, the music of god, and the Lamb of God. We have no shortage on Gods. I’d love to hear all your thoughts on God.
Counting Blue Cars Tell Me All Your Thoughts on God
The TOG Blog
The TOG Blog is still running at full speed, with science and religion news, fresh videos, articles and everything else that may be of interest. Be sure to check out the TOG Blog page as well as the site-map to help get around TOG!
Sayings and Quotes from Books
I often post not-so-famous quotes by thinkers from every ideological persuasion. The vast majority of these sayings are quotes from books, rather than copied and pasted from the internet. I try to offer fresh content with my quotes and sayings from books. Some are rather lengthy. The complete list is on the “A Thought From” page. Newest quotes are at the top.
“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth — more than ruin — more even than death…. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.”
-Bertrand Russell
Main focus
- Philosophy and Political Philosophy
- Religion and Theology
- Science and God
- Current Affairs
- Does God Exist?
- Is There Intelligence Behind the Design?
Free Documentary Videos
Be sure to check out my full length documentary video pages (see tabs at top). This is a growing collection of full length videos on a variety of topics, designed to provide information to my visitors, and to provide myself entertainment when nothing is on TV. It is often cumbersome to locate good documentaries on the web, so I am compiling as many as I can.
Topics covered include world and general history, war, religion, science and philosophy. You will also find several debate videos between atheists and theists, as well as debates between different faiths. As I find more quality documentary videos I will add them. If you know of something that I do not have, please contact me via the contact page or just leave a comment.
I also offer videos and books that you can buy through my affiliates. A small portion of the sales go to me. :>)
Thanks and enjoy.
Free educational videos
Another growing collection I offer is of educational videos on a variety of topics. I have several lecture series, as well as short videos on philosophers, evolution, God, political philosophy, science and religion. These are two samples:
- Is Richard Dawkins still evolving? Dawkins/Lennox Debate
- Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer debate the Constitution
“MadCast Radio”
Currently on hold until I get more time…
“MadCast Radio” airs live every Sunday evening at 5:00 pm Chicago time. Listeners can call in via phone, or use their computer head-sets to share and debate politics and political philosophy. Topics will include not only the day to day “micro” political events, but also the “macro” worldviews that give birth to the daily events and issues that flash across our telescreens, computer monitors, and radios.
Liberals are welcome to join in and be defeated in the arena of ideas. Radical right-wingers are also welcome to suffer the wrath of my “no holds barred” approach to political punditry. WARNING! People who are looking only for information that supports their personal opinions and political agendas, may want to look elsewhere. I pursue the True, the Good, and the Beautiful regardless of where that may take me. Therefore, I have to call it as I see it.
Madcap, The StreetWisePundit
New, Used and Rare Books on Political Philosophy
Help support TOG – Buy books from my CyberStreetBooks library
My Highly Recommended Reading List:
- Gene Gebser, Ever Present Origin
- Jurgen Habermas, Communication and the Evolution of Society
- Charles Taylor, Sources of the self
- Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
- Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History Of Time
“Galaxies gave away their ingenious ideas and told us of their private body functions. So man, too, eats, burps and excretes more worlds. How is it that invisible thoughts can lift heavy matter and build cities and armies and altars?”
– Renderings of Hafiz
A True Classical Liberal
The conservatism of our day is identical with what was originally termed Liberal. Liberal, in the original sense, means to practice the virtue of liberality. In the mind of the postmodern Liberal, the term virtue has become a dirty word, and liberality has come to mean anarchy.
I consider myself to be a Classical Liberal, which translates as a modern Conservative. I value change, when it is for the better. This does not mean that I will sacrifice the underlying foundations of truth, or the universal values that serve as the foundation of society, solely for the sake of change.
I value tolerance of other cultures, but not at the expense of my own. I recognize the right of societies to have their own set of cultural values, but I do not see all cultural values as equal. If Muslims wish to set up theocracies, then so be it. But when their theocracies threaten democracies, I will defend my democracy with all my being. I will not tolerate, or stand on the side of fascism, in the name of some “higher moral value” that in reality is a mental illness.
I am extremely open-minded. I have devoted my life to being a student of history, philosophy, and science; and have changed my opinions and perspectives when warranted. But I cannot let my brains ooze out onto the floor by abandoning reason and common sense. I wish to preserve those things that produce excellence, change the things that do not, and acquire the wisdom to know the difference. That is why I consider myself to be a true Classical Liberal.
GNOSTICISM: Understanding the Liberal Mind
The Gnostic Liberal believes that man can possess the wisdom and the power to change the nature of reality, or fundamental ground of being. The Gnostic Liberals either consider themselves to be god, or claim that god is dead… either way, they believe that we must look to man, rather than to God, for the solutions to global issues.
Eric Voegelin has written extensively on this subject, and I will be using him as our guide throughout this article. I understand liberalism in a much broader light since reading Voegelin.
I recommend two works by Eric Voegelin on the subject of Gnosticism: The New Science of Politics, and Science, Politics and Gnosticism. For a different take on WWII, check out Voegelin’s Hitler and the Germans. Voegelin does not let the German people off the hook like so many other historians.
Liberalism’s Misconception-
Exterior Social Systems As “Cause” Of Abortion
“If there is suffering and injustice in the world, the cause can be traced to an oppressive social system.”
This statement is reflective of the worldview of postmodern liberalism.
This worldview claims to be more holistic, progressive, just, and therefore, to offer better solutions to problems in our world than the often pathological hierarchical systems of the past.
What they don’t see is that while being a step in the right direction, in reality this is another fractured worldview that ends up causing more of whatever it sets out to lessen.
In today’s political environment we have many controversial issues on our plate, from the war on terror and economic collapse, to abortion and gay marriage.
It’s one big political food fight! Ken Wilber, one of the great minds of our time (despite his own gnostic tendencies) describes the scene as follows:
Holons and The Four Ways of Being: Integral Evolution
What are holons? Holons appear to be the basic building blocks of creation. Before anything is what it is, it is a holon. Before an atom is an atom, it is a holon.
Before an idea is an idea, it is a holon. Everything seems to be both a whole, and a part simultaneously.
And this, my friends, is no mere Bible story! Also see this post.
Reality- A True Inconvenience For Environmentalists
Current talk around town:
Liberal Man on the street: “Have you heard the latest news? In 10 years we are all going to die unless we do something! You have got to go see Gore’s movie, he proves for sure that the earth is headed for certain disaster, and we are to blame.”
Conservative Skeptic: “Wait a minute, you went and paid five dollars to see a movie, and now you are convinced we are all doomed?”
Liberal Man on the street: “You must be one of those uninformed conservatives that are coming from a political perspective, this is a serious moral issue and you are just far too closed minded to understand.”
Conservative Skeptic: “Isn’t Al Gore a possible candidate in the next presidential election?”
Liberal Man on the street: “Believe what you want to believe, obviously you have already made up your mind, this conversation is over.”
That’s just the approach Gore takes. “The debate is over.” Anyone who questions what he presents in his movie is part of a small group of right wing nuts who have no credibility, and are not worth talking to. That’s really convenient! Make a claim that you hold the “truth,” just don’t question it. I personally do not remember this approach being a part of the scientific method.
