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Reason and Capitalism » Philosophy

10 Jesus Quotes

It could be said that I’m a Jesus guy. I’m completely sold out to Him, not just as my savior, but as a philosopher. If I didn’t believe Christ was God, I’d still have Him as my favorite philosopher. The following quotes are great examples of why I love Him so much. Given the context of the quotations, He was preaching revolution. So they killed him for His love. Note that I quote the Gospel of Thomas occasionally. This is not considered Scripture by any major denomination. I’m of the camp that the gospel of Thomas is the Q document that Mark and Luke based their writings on. I am not completely sure of this to say that it should be in the Bible, of course. Either way, the sayings are … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy, Religion

Philosophy of Liberty

This is a short explanation of the idea of liberty. I’m currently writing a much longer and more comprehensive version — it should be posted in the next few weeks. Look down at your body. Who … Read entire article »

Filed under: Capitalism, Philosophy, Politics

Legislate Morality!

I have recently decided to join the “legislate morality” camp. I was listening to an audio recording by a pastor of a two-family Bible church, and it just hit me all of the sudden. I believe that we should punish immoral actions, because, well, that’s just why we have government. To punish sin. Now, of course, I’m not tyrant. I sin a lot, and as a Christian, I believe everyone sins and deserves death. But I won’t let this get in my way, because I want to punish evil people. Nono, I mean people more evil than the typical evil person. So how do we decide? Simple. If it’s a threat to the foundation of civilization, then we outlaw it. If it corrupts the general morality, well dang, that’s bright-line enough for … Read entire article »

Filed under: Politics, Religion

A Post About You

One of the first rules of polite conversation is that you never bring up religion. Let’s break the rule. I have about 50-50 ratio of atheists to theists that read Reason and Capitalism, and I’m equally eager to hear both sides in the comments below. Unfortunately, the “split” between the religious and non-religious tends to destroy the ability to discuss and communicate like human beings, with the discussions often ending up in a brawl. Let’s combat the destructive behavior, and be unpolite by talking publicly about religion. It’s my goal to have more of these posts in the future for the sake of discussion rather than isolation. What are the top 5 reasons you believe what you believe regarding God and/or religion? What would it take for you to change your mind? … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy, Random, Religion

It’s Not Complicated

It’s the rallying thought, the theme behind every oppressed people in the history of man. It’s incredibly simple, yet political theorists have seemingly glossed this basic human desire for other agendas. The desire to be left alone. Moses, the deliverer of the Israelite people in the Old Testament, in the most famous of all deliverance stories, said over and over — “Let my people go.” Let us be — the rallying cry of the oppressed. This basic human desire for exclusive control over their lives has been called many things. Nietzsche called it a “will to power”. It’s pretty simple. We want our person to be left alone. We own us, and no one else has a right to use or misuse us without our permission. All of the political theories in … Read entire article »

Filed under: Capitalism, Philosophy, Politics, Religion

Rational Christianity

I’ve not been posting much in the past few days for a reason. I’m at it again. I’ve started another website, and I’m more excited about this one than the others that I’ve put together. It’s an apologetics website. To put it simply, I can’t find a single website that explains Christianity in a comprehensive and rational manner. Most of the Christian explanations of the faith are absolutely foolish, and poorly argued. To fill that void, I’ve founded The Institute for Rational Christianity. Rational Christianity will be focusing on the more abstract side of the apologetics discussion, providing arguments on metaphysics, philosophical arguments for God, ethics, and the logical implications of atheism. The website will not be discussing evolution to any significant extent — that’s a dead horse. The site … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy, Religion

Feeling, Emotion and Reason

I’m known by friends and family as being brutally trusting of my mind. Logic is essential to my decision making process. Unfortunately, people tend to think that this means that I despise emotion. That to feel is my enemy. This … could not be further from the truth. I do not despise emotion — I embrace justified emotion. Emotion should not be seen as a reason to conclude something true. It should not be seen as the foundation of our thought — it must be seen for what it is — the end result of thought. The reaction to a process, not the decision-making process itself. Emotion is not concrete. Emotion can be caused by anything. Emotion is not trustworthy. Emotion and feeling tells people to blow up towers. Emotion as a … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy

Immigration Liberty — Open Immigration

This is a teaser of a forthcoming article that I’m about to have published in both The Articulate and The Rebirth of Freedom Foundation. This post is a more personal version of an article that I’m writing. I’ve been asked by many individuals why I support open immigration or “open borders” as some try to call it. We run this case in a high-school debate league in Texas — not the most immigrant friendly place on earth. This is my answer. I cannot overstate how strongly I feel about the topic of turning America into a land that accepts all people into her arms of freedom. I believe it to be of the most fundamental purpose of Government to protect the rights of all people that it comes across — government … Read entire article »

Filed under: Capitalism, Philosophy, Politics

The Creator

I am a capitalist because I aim to profit from all of my actions. I am a creator because I achieve my status and future wealth on my own regards, not because I leeched off of others. This may seem, at first, simple and not nearly developed to be a philosophy of life. But it is. In The Fountainhead, passionate capitalist Ayn Rand argued for the non-destroyer — the person who sought to achieve his dreams no matter what the cost. The person who lived for himself and was not ashamed of this. The person who used reason to understand the world he lived in. She described a creator. A capitalist. A rational man who loved his life. This creator was Howard Roark, an architect. Howard Roark lived in a time where … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy, Politics

The State of American Apologetics

This page is being redirected to its new home at RationalChristianity.org. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Philosophy, Religion