Understanding how to Understand
Alvin Lowrie
1. INTRODUCTION
The following work is an ongoing compilation. I have assembled in a way that I think, will allow a quick overview of some very remarkable subjects. Some of the work is my own. All of the arrangement is my own. I have borrowed from the work of many thinkers and writers. It is not my intention to take credit for the work of others. In fact, I am not looking for credit at all. My desire is to explore and share truth. To be identified as a theologian and historian is credit enough. We only discover that which was already here, but not yet seen. Many times we modern day thinkers misunderstand what we are looking at. Many have been burned at the stake, or otherwise treated as heretics and evil for understanding which was there for everyone to discover. Numerology and astrology as examples are not of themselves wrong. It is the misuse of them that is. To truly understand our place in the world, we need such tools. Narrow mindedness often stems from a desire to do rightly and make others do the same. But, it also comes from the selfish desire to do as you please, and answer to no one, even when you hurt others.
What is Truth?
Imagine a world without opinion. In other words, imagine a world where people spoke in facts only, so that every word in any conversation had no opinion, no bias. It is difficult to imagine, because our opinions seem to be all that we have. But, they most certainly are not. The truth can be found through reason; this is the greatest miracle in the universe. Reason is what makes us conscious; it is also the path to the truth, if you dare walk it to the end. But, don't get angry, and don't defend your opinion or you have already stumbled. Mankind has lost things that are still there to be found again. But, you must abandon your opinion to find them. The truth does not require you to believe it to exist. Truth is not relative; it is there whether you agree with it or not. There is only one set of actual facts in the universe, and they do not contradict each other in any way.
How stupid are we?
Some knowledge which was commonly known throughout the ages seems so difficult for us to come to terms with. But when we “understand” it, we realize that it is not opinion and not coincidence. We realize then, that we are looking into the spectacular design of the universe. Our ancestors were indeed much brighter than we; we know this when we look into the things they understood and what they accomplished. I will be exploring this in incredible depth and detail. It is my belief that we have “dummed down” over the millennia, and have lost touch with what being human was originally meant to be. We have forgotten what we are; therefore we can no longer see the world we live in clearly. Our ancient ancestors knew what human beings are.
General dependability of the senses
This is one of the fundamental bedrocks, the epistemologies of thought, and the basis of philosophy. Is one plus one sometimes 14? No. If the senses are not generally dependable, then we are all on a comet, being eaten by lizards at this very moment and just don’t feel it. You can trust your senses to help you determine right from wrong, and nonsense from the truth.
Reasonable assumptions
Before we even begin, I feel I need to clarify a few things. One is that of “reasonable assumption”. What is it reasonable to assume? Well, for example, among many things, it is reasonable to assume that Occam’s Razor is a logical approach to reason; "the simplest and least complicated answer is most likely to be the correct one". But, it may not be as well. The correct answer is sometimes incredibly complex, and requires much intellect and reasoning. When you intend to be reasonable, you can then make sense. If you are not reasonable, then reason itself becomes impossible. Reasonable assumptions are a great tool as long as they are not mistaken for facts.
Self evident truth
There are things which by their very existence; by their nature, are known to be true. Not only are they true, but they prove their own truth. Mathematics is thought of as self-evident. One plus one equals two. You don't need to go all over the world counting things to prove this. In fact, one plus one equals two is something you need to believe before you can count at all! Knowledge of any kind requires that you understand this.
To deny, is sometimes to affirm
“I don’t believe in God”. The statement is self evidently untrue. You don’t believe in what? Obviously, you do believe in the "concept" of God. You know exactly what it is that you are saying that you don’t believe in. The concept precedes your denial. Think about it. Words describe knowledge which we already have conceived of. We call “blue” the color that we already know in our mind. We do not create a new word “blue”, and then look for a newly discovered color to place it on. Blue was there before we named it. Regardless in what else you know, you do know the "meaning" of God. It is the highest comprehension of an ideal possible. If you imagine a higher one, then that is the one I am speaking of. Whether or not God is real is irrelevant to my point. What you do with the concept of God will define you, and you will judge yourself by it like it or not. This is why it is rude to use such a name in cursing, even if you are an atheist. You are in effect profaning the highest imaginable ideal that you know, real or not.
Asking the greatest questions
In the same way, to dismiss the Bible is to dismiss the greatest of all the records that we possess of the ancient past. Remember to remove your bias and leave it at the door. I won't be pushing Christianity or any religion, only history and the evidences. They can be seen very clearly. What I will say without any doubt, is that you will not and can not ask the very big questions unless you consider that there "may" be a God of some kind to complain against. You will not ask the biggest questions if you believe that there is no answer. To ask the great moral questions, you must believe that it all matters.
Do you know what wisdom looks like?
Something that I realized a while back, is that when I try to explain a thing that is beyond the understanding of someone, they may well doubt that I know what I am talking about. They cannot see that the thing is true if it is beyond their comprehension. A toddler does not know what algebra looks like. A child must take an adults word, when they say that something is true. So, I concluded that if or when I am conversing with some brilliant minded individual, I will not know it. To learn from someone, you must be willing to stop and listen, even when you are not sure that they are right. So, how do you find the truth in all the deception? That is what I am after here. How to find the truth. You will know it when you reason it through.
A Quick Shout Out to the Antikythera Device
Coming soon. My first proof of how intelligent the ancients were. As profound as this device is, it is only a tiny example of the incredible knowledge once possessed, that we have lost. Why did we loose it?
Alvin Lowrie
1. INTRODUCTION
The following work is an ongoing compilation. I have assembled in a way that I think, will allow a quick overview of some very remarkable subjects. Some of the work is my own. All of the arrangement is my own. I have borrowed from the work of many thinkers and writers. It is not my intention to take credit for the work of others. In fact, I am not looking for credit at all. My desire is to explore and share truth. To be identified as a theologian and historian is credit enough. We only discover that which was already here, but not yet seen. Many times we modern day thinkers misunderstand what we are looking at. Many have been burned at the stake, or otherwise treated as heretics and evil for understanding which was there for everyone to discover. Numerology and astrology as examples are not of themselves wrong. It is the misuse of them that is. To truly understand our place in the world, we need such tools. Narrow mindedness often stems from a desire to do rightly and make others do the same. But, it also comes from the selfish desire to do as you please, and answer to no one, even when you hurt others.
What is Truth?
Imagine a world without opinion. In other words, imagine a world where people spoke in facts only, so that every word in any conversation had no opinion, no bias. It is difficult to imagine, because our opinions seem to be all that we have. But, they most certainly are not. The truth can be found through reason; this is the greatest miracle in the universe. Reason is what makes us conscious; it is also the path to the truth, if you dare walk it to the end. But, don't get angry, and don't defend your opinion or you have already stumbled. Mankind has lost things that are still there to be found again. But, you must abandon your opinion to find them. The truth does not require you to believe it to exist. Truth is not relative; it is there whether you agree with it or not. There is only one set of actual facts in the universe, and they do not contradict each other in any way.
How stupid are we?
Some knowledge which was commonly known throughout the ages seems so difficult for us to come to terms with. But when we “understand” it, we realize that it is not opinion and not coincidence. We realize then, that we are looking into the spectacular design of the universe. Our ancestors were indeed much brighter than we; we know this when we look into the things they understood and what they accomplished. I will be exploring this in incredible depth and detail. It is my belief that we have “dummed down” over the millennia, and have lost touch with what being human was originally meant to be. We have forgotten what we are; therefore we can no longer see the world we live in clearly. Our ancient ancestors knew what human beings are.
General dependability of the senses
This is one of the fundamental bedrocks, the epistemologies of thought, and the basis of philosophy. Is one plus one sometimes 14? No. If the senses are not generally dependable, then we are all on a comet, being eaten by lizards at this very moment and just don’t feel it. You can trust your senses to help you determine right from wrong, and nonsense from the truth.
Reasonable assumptions
Before we even begin, I feel I need to clarify a few things. One is that of “reasonable assumption”. What is it reasonable to assume? Well, for example, among many things, it is reasonable to assume that Occam’s Razor is a logical approach to reason; "the simplest and least complicated answer is most likely to be the correct one". But, it may not be as well. The correct answer is sometimes incredibly complex, and requires much intellect and reasoning. When you intend to be reasonable, you can then make sense. If you are not reasonable, then reason itself becomes impossible. Reasonable assumptions are a great tool as long as they are not mistaken for facts.
Self evident truth
There are things which by their very existence; by their nature, are known to be true. Not only are they true, but they prove their own truth. Mathematics is thought of as self-evident. One plus one equals two. You don't need to go all over the world counting things to prove this. In fact, one plus one equals two is something you need to believe before you can count at all! Knowledge of any kind requires that you understand this.
To deny, is sometimes to affirm
“I don’t believe in God”. The statement is self evidently untrue. You don’t believe in what? Obviously, you do believe in the "concept" of God. You know exactly what it is that you are saying that you don’t believe in. The concept precedes your denial. Think about it. Words describe knowledge which we already have conceived of. We call “blue” the color that we already know in our mind. We do not create a new word “blue”, and then look for a newly discovered color to place it on. Blue was there before we named it. Regardless in what else you know, you do know the "meaning" of God. It is the highest comprehension of an ideal possible. If you imagine a higher one, then that is the one I am speaking of. Whether or not God is real is irrelevant to my point. What you do with the concept of God will define you, and you will judge yourself by it like it or not. This is why it is rude to use such a name in cursing, even if you are an atheist. You are in effect profaning the highest imaginable ideal that you know, real or not.
Asking the greatest questions
In the same way, to dismiss the Bible is to dismiss the greatest of all the records that we possess of the ancient past. Remember to remove your bias and leave it at the door. I won't be pushing Christianity or any religion, only history and the evidences. They can be seen very clearly. What I will say without any doubt, is that you will not and can not ask the very big questions unless you consider that there "may" be a God of some kind to complain against. You will not ask the biggest questions if you believe that there is no answer. To ask the great moral questions, you must believe that it all matters.
Do you know what wisdom looks like?
Something that I realized a while back, is that when I try to explain a thing that is beyond the understanding of someone, they may well doubt that I know what I am talking about. They cannot see that the thing is true if it is beyond their comprehension. A toddler does not know what algebra looks like. A child must take an adults word, when they say that something is true. So, I concluded that if or when I am conversing with some brilliant minded individual, I will not know it. To learn from someone, you must be willing to stop and listen, even when you are not sure that they are right. So, how do you find the truth in all the deception? That is what I am after here. How to find the truth. You will know it when you reason it through.
A Quick Shout Out to the Antikythera Device
Coming soon. My first proof of how intelligent the ancients were. As profound as this device is, it is only a tiny example of the incredible knowledge once possessed, that we have lost. Why did we loose it?
next - 2. Ancient Language