Bad because it is Good

Wanted to briefly explain a way of writing that often puts rationalists and scientists off religious texts.

To demonstrate: consider the recent election of Barack Obama. That he was a black president is considered an landmark event in American history.

Analyse this a bit. The problem that is being addressed is that historically black people have been distinguished from white people by the colour of their skin alone. Indeed we can distinguish them based upon their skin colour - some people are white (or pinkish, brownish) and some are dark and black - its a fact. The problem is that some people use this distinction to build other distinctions - like intelligence, social status, value. Clearly this is nonsense: we don't judge a car's performance by its colour: so why a human? So if we don't judge people by colour then where is the landmark event? A man has become president - no big deal. That he is black - no big deal.

What this reveals is that America is still in the grip of racism. That infact they do still notice a man's colour and judge him accordingly. This is partly the fault of the racial equality brigade who will never let us forget what colour people are!

So now the relevance to religious texts. The election of Barack Obama could be described as "Bad because it was Good". I've seen many people, highly educated people, screw their noses up at statements like this saying that it is nonsense and contradictory. But it is plain English really: the fact that people thought it good is itself bad - because really in an ideal world no-one should have even noticed it!

Thus when we read statements like "The world is Nothing precisely because it is Something" or "God is Everything because He is Nothing" we realise that contradictions don't necessarily signify nonsense.

Also I'd like to add in line with previous posts that "Progress is bad because it is good". It is precisely because we think that things in the future will be better that we as a species become worse. The common explanation for machines is to make labour easier - but what happens to us as things becomes easier? Well for one simple example we become unfit and this leads to associated illness. In our minds also we will become less able to cope with Life without these machines. This dependency of body and mind turns us into cripples! Cars as I've commented upon before are like voluntary wheelchairs. What is Good is Bad precisiely because it is Good!