Eternal river… For ever changing…

Photo by Spiros Kakos from Pexels

Ancient Egyptians considered the Nile river to be the source of all life. The steady northward path of the river has nourished the fertile valleys of northeast Africa for millions of years and in doing so, shaped the course of human civilization.

The Nile’s unchanging path, however, has been a geologic mystery because long-lived rivers usually move over time. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have cracked the case by linking the river’s flow to the movement of rock in the Earth’s deep mantle. In the course of their investigation, they found the eternal river to be much older than anyone realized, with the scientists estimating the age of the Nile to be 30 million years — about six times as long as previously thought. (1)

Behold the eternal river.

Behold the temporary life.

Heraclitus was right.

You can never step into it twice.

But not because the river is changing.

But because you are…

Get into that river.

And see yourself.

Floating away…

Away from the river.

To a shore where there is nothing but a tree.

Walk to that tree.

But eat not from its fruits.

Can you hear a river nearby?

Human enhancements. Society.

Photo by Keenan Constance from Pexels

Human enhancement technologies are opening up tremendous new possibilities. But they’re also raising important questions about what it means to be human. These technologies are currently geared towards upgrading or restoring physical and psychological abilities for medical purposes. An application is surfacing, however, that is designed with another goal in mind: embellishing performance. An international team of researchers has been examining the ethical issues arising from these experiments. (1)

Society is based on humans getting together.

But humans want to improve.

And, thus, they believe society will do too.

Society is based on humans and humans are based on society. But this was not always the case. Society is a very recent construct. We used to be alone. And only at some point did we start realizing the potential in cooperating with others. It seems like a noble cause. But it is not. Humans have always looked towards their personal interest. They wish they could cooperate with others to serve that interest, through society. They wish they could enhance themselves to serve that interest.

But there is another way of seeing things.

A Man tried to teach that way once.

But we killed Him. Because it is not easy to kill one’s self.

That there is no us. That there are no others. There can be a society based on these premises. But not a society with other people.

But a society with the only One who matters…

Forget about society.

Let go of you.

And you will see.

That we are already all together…

Christ did not exist! Do you still believe?

Photo by Spiros Kakos from Pexels

There was a lot of discussion recently on Greek Facebook about a famous and popular priest who decided to stop being a priest. A choice that divided and provoked either positive or negative comments. I will not dwell on this discussion and on whether a priest who does such a thing is doing the right thing or not. Instinctively, I believe that such an act involves more the element of cowardice, as a friend of mine mentioned, than an element that could arouse admiration. Anyway, I did not know the man so my judgment is superfluous and may also be wrong.

This small event though made me think about another much more important issue: What effect does the fall of a person who is nothing more than an idol have on the people who followed him and believed in him as their guide in life? It may sound funny, but many people are looking for such guidance. Many times I have heard people talk about a priest in terms like “He is good, come and listen to him” or “He is an enlightened man” etc. What do the same people say when this priest gives up? Does their system collapse? Do they just… go to the next priest available? And regardless of that, the views these people had and which they based on their… previous idol, have they remained intact? If so, what role did this idol play in their lives? If not, then what role did these views play in these people’s lives?

These questions may seem funny or a little serious – especially to those who follow such idols – but they can be made even more serious by choosing another example: Christ.

Many Christians say they believe because they believe in Christ. What does this really mean? That their faith is based on His Resurrection, which they have believed beyond any doubt? So if they somehow go back in time and discover (hypothetically speaking) that the Resurrection was a complicated lie, then they would cease to be Christians? Or that if Christ suddenly started saying nonsense (again, hypothetically speaking), would they follow that nonsense literally because He says it? What does it mean to have a faith based on your faith in someone, even if that person is God?

To me, a lot of faith is a sign of little faith.

To yourself.

If you believe in the teaching which says “Love each other” (Gr. Αγαπάτε αλλήλους) you should do it not because someone else said it, but because you heard it, processed it and decided that you agree with it and incorporated it into your life. And the interesting thing is that if you did all of the above, it no longer matters who you heard it from or who said it! The seed that Christ sowed, if it eventually sprouts, belongs to each one of us. It no longer belongs to Christ, in the sense that a fool who follows someone else ‘belongs’ to the latter without mind and knowledge. If you believe in the teachings of Christ, then it does not matter if He even existed! Let alone if He was crucified, if He did what they say he did, etc. Because now this love is your own and you are now its self-luminous bearer. By your choice. And even if you took a time machine to go back in time and see that Christ did not even exist (the permanent dream of all hardcore atheists), your Christian values ​​will not and should not be affected. If that happened then we would all be in big trouble and these values would not be actual values to be honest.

So let’s leave all the fake idols.
Let’s stop following them.
Let us ask ourselves simply and honestly.

Would we follow… us?

On the other hand, I may just say nonsense.
Who told you to follow me?

Summary of arguments in favor of Christianity (and against atheism/ agnosticism)

Discussions for Christianity, religion and atheism are very common nowadays. The following is a breakdown of some of the key arguments in defense of Christianity against the main arguments of atheists / agnostics.

Argument from atheist

The answer of the Christian

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Religions are fairy tales

This is a generalization. Be more specific.

Jesus Christ never existed

Many saw Him. Many wrote for Him. Many died for Him. What more proof do you want? For many historical figures we have much less evidence.


Resurrection is a fairy tale

Actually the opposite is true: Death is a fairy tale. Which is based on many philosophical dogmas (belief in the notion of change, in time, in senses etc). Read Parmenides.

Whoever wrote about Christ was a christian

They turned into Christian because they saw Him. And they weren’t rewarded for that. Exactly the opposite: They died for that.


God is a fairy tale

Which God do you refer to? Explain to me what you are talking about. God as the First Cause is perfectly logical. Aristotle himself had arguments in favor of that. God as the One in which we all belong has also deep philosophical roots from the time of Parmenides. (just to mention two examples)

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Modern science has made religion obsolete

Science deals with the how. Religion with the why. Even the Global network of Science Academies accepts that. Not to talk about great scientists. In the past religion and science were not separated. They are both needed to reach the truth. Biology is a nice science. But it is not theology nor philosophy. As much as it is related to viruses, it is not at all related to God.

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When I get sick I go to the doctor, not to church.

And that is a good thing you do. Religion heals the soul. Not the body. Nor does it compete with science for the things on this earth. Religion deals with metaphysical matters.

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Medicine heals. Not the belief in metaphysical beings.

Modern medicine relies on Christian philosophy (love towards the weak). What is more, medicine is not in any way against religion, which deals with other matters.

Science will someday explain everything

Actually the only thing that science has proved is that it will never prove everything. Read Gödel.

Science proves. Religion is based on faith.

First, science proves based on unproved axioms. Thus, it does not prove anything. Secondly, religion is also based on logic (see the arguments of Aristotle for the Immovable Mover) and on empirical facts (see the cosmic parameters which have been set to the exact values needed for the existence of life for example, witnesses to the resurrection etc), while faith in religion is by no means what we call “blind faith” but faith which supplements the existing logic and the aforementioned evidence.


Every religion says a different story.

I do not care. I am a Christian. I will not apologize for other religions.


Religion is responsible for all bad things.

No, the exact opposite is true. Atheistic regimes are responsible for the greatest massacres. Christianity is the basis of the European civilization, including humanism and Renaissance. In the colonies Christianity helped countries set the proper foundations for structured free states.

Why shouldn’t I believe in the Flying Teapot instead of God?

Everything is a matter of definition. How do you define this teapot? If you give it the same characteristics that the Christian God has, the name is not an issue per se. If you just define it as a flying teapot then this has nothing to do with God. How can a flying teapot create the cosmos?


Religion is old fashioned.

And that is a good thing. Values should not change according to fashion.

How does religion explain evil?

Actually the problem is not the existence of evil but the existence of good in such a world. And that existence of good despite the harsh conditions is an argument in favor of God. Evil is just the result of man’s free will.

Why do good people and children die in this world made by God?

First of all death means nothing for the Christian but the portal for the eternal life. Secondly, how come an atheist be frustrated about this? If we are only matter then what does it matter who dies? Are you upset about matter? Are you upset about stones? About wood? Dirt perhaps?

Why should I listen to religion to be moral?

There can be no ethics without a stable reference point beyond the personal beliefs of men. If you are a good person because you decided so, good for you, but that means that you can easily decide not to be good at any other point in time. So this means nothing for the morality of your actions per se. Don’t forget that Nazis killed Jews because they thought that this was a good thing (and they even had a state law forcing them to do so).

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Only old men believe in religion.

Mainly young people believe in atheism. Old men are wise. Young men are usually arrogant and ignorant.

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Religion oppresses me.

In 2019? Are you kidding me? The exact opposite is happening: Christians today are under persecution!


Church condemned Galileo.

And was correct in doing so! Read first about something before speaking about it. Galileo was first of all wrong in everything he said, from a scientific point of view! Secondly, his stance was highly arrogant and offensive against a friend of his (the Pope) and during a time period in which the church fought the external bitter challenge of the Scripture from heresies.

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The Church had the Holy Inquisition!

And rightfully so! This institution made its appearance in Spain during an era of constant turmoil. If some of the heresies fought by the Holy Inquisition back then had prevailed (e.g. the Cathars) there wouldn’t be any Christians left in Spain. Remember that the church has not only a theological/ philosophical aspect but also a cosmic one. And the latter is often involved in politics. Try not to mix these three aspects. Mistakes in one of them does not mean anything for the others.

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I am a free thinker, so I believe in nothing!

Actually you are a sheep and for that reason you react against religion. Atheism is in fashion these days, so being an atheist today just shows that you follow the flock. If we lived in the middle ages, you would probably be the best and most obedient worshipper.

All clergy is corrupted.

Many priests are indeed corrupted. But their percentage in the church is smaller than the percentage of the same corruption in society. This doesnt mean nothing of course. The goal is for everyone to be a saint. But no one achieves that. People who go to church need Christ, they have no already achieved sainthood. Should they be perfect? Sure. As much as the scientists should be perfect too. But they are not. The church is made of flawed people. Don’t judge Christ and His teachings via those people.


Middle Ages were darkness.

No. This is a view promoted by the Enlighteners to promote the idea that Enlightenment is light. This view has now been strongly disputed. In the Middle Ages we had an overdevelopment of the humanities (and they need those the same way we need exact sciences). We had humanism and the Renaissance. The first universities were built back then. Actually the whole modern European civilization is based on the foundations laid during the Middle Ages.

I believe in nothing.

Good for you. So you don’t believe that you have free since it hasn’t been proved yet. You don’t believe that tomorrow it will dawn since this is not proved beyond the shadow of a doubt either. Or perhaps you are not consistent with what you believe and believe things which are not 100% proven? Faith is another thing than blind faith. Don’t confuse them.

Saying “I don’t know” is the most honest answer we can give in metaphysical questions.

If you say “I don’t know” to everything that has not been proven with 100% certainty then you should say “I don’t know” about everything! Nothing has been 100% proven! And neither will they ever! (See Gödel) This is the only thing that has been proven. Are you honest enough to do that? Or do you simply cover up your anti-Christianity sentiments with the cloak of the “agnostic”? Christianity has painted a picture for the world. Picture your own and convince yourself that it is better. Don’t hide behind the “I don’t know.” Culture and science never progressed with “I don’t know”.

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Religion is convenient and makes you feel better. It is the opium of the people.

The exact opposite. Christianity constantly reminds you of how much effort you need to be good. The last thing it does is make you feel better! If you want to feel better, become an atheist, believe that nothing matters (since everything is matter) and drink some wine. Not for a second believe that Christianity is the easy way out. Most saints became martyrs.

The Old Testament is a despicable book.

Actually it is despicable to say stupid things about things you do not understand. The Old Testament states the obvious: that when you do bad things you will be punished. (Remember: causality is the cornerstone of science. Why deny it in life?) Modern man cannot stand that. He wants to be free and do whatever he likes. And as a spoiled child, he does not like his Father to punish him for anything.

I am an atheist! Blha blah blah blah blah…

Why should I discuss with you? Aren’t we all random sets of matter? Why does your opinion matter? Why does anything matter?

I am an agnosticist. Blha blah blah blah blah…

Why should I discuss with you? Why does your opinion matter? If nothing can be proved, how can you be certain for what you say?

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I am not stupid to believe in miracles.

And yet miracles happen all the time. First and foremost the most important: your very existence. But if you want miracles that meet your scientific criteria, you can look in literature for cases of Near Death Experiences. There you will find many interesting cases published and in medical journals.

Give. And you shall receive…

Generosity makes people happier, even if they are only a little generous. People who act solely out of self-interest are less happy. Merely promising to be more generous is enough to trigger a change in our brains that makes us happier. This is what UZH neuroeconomists found in a recent study. (1)

Religion teachings are always fascinating.

Give and you shall receive, said Jesus.

Because we are not different that the other man.

We are the other man.

We are not different than the bee.

We are that bee.

We are not different than the river.

We ARE the river…

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