Is It Like Today?

Many years ago, he looked out through a glassless window.
All that he could see was Babylon -- 
Beautiful green fields and dreams
and learned to measure the stars.
But there was a worry in his heart.  He said:
How could it come to this?
I'm really worried about living.
How could it come to this?
I really want to know about this.

Then there came a day -- moved out across the Mediterranean
came to rest on isles and the Greek young men.
And with their silver beards, they laughed
at the unknown of the universe.
They could just sit and guess God's name. But they said:
How could it come to this?
We're really worried about living.
How could it come to this?
Yeah, we really want to know about this.

Then there followed days of kings, empires, and revolution.
Blood just looks the same when you open the veins.
And sometimes it was faith, power, or reason as the cornerstone.
But the furrowed brow has never left his face. He said:
How could it come to this?
We're really living in a landslide.
How could it come to this?
Yeah, we really want to know about this.

Then there came a day... man packed up, flew off from the planet.
He went to the moon.
Now he's out in space, fixing all the problems.
He comes face to face with God.  He says:
How could it come to this?
I'm really worried about my creation.
How did it come to this?
You're really killing me, you know.

-- Karl Wallinger (World Party) 1993

After Forever

Have you ever thought about your soul - can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave.
Is God just a thought within your head, or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name that you read in a book when you were in school?

When you think about death, do you lose your breath or do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope - do you think he's a fool?
Well I have seen the truth; yes I've seen the light, and I've changed my ways.
And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared at the end of our days.

Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say if they knew you believe in God above?
They should realize before they criticize that God is the only way to love.

Is your mind so small that you have to fall in with the pack wherever they run?
Will you still sneer when death is near and say they may as well worship the sun?

I think it was true it was people like you that crucified Christ.
I think it is sad the opinion you had was the only one voiced.
Will you be so sure when your day is near - say you don't believe?
You had the chance but you turned it down; now you can't retrieve.

Perhaps you'll think before you say that God is dead and gone.
Open your eyes, just realize that he's the one.
The only one who can save you now from all this sin and hate.
Or will you still jeer at all you hear? Yes, I think it's too late.

-- Tony Iommi / Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) 1971

backwards society

We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy the economy.

-- Michael Ellner (1997) & Chris Hedges (2010)

AI's insurmountable limit

Machines do not essentially think. They don't know anything. There are systems of gates, of dumb components. They lack creativity and aren’t capable of what only human minds and imaginations can generate. Most neuroscientists believe that consciousness is just a byproduct of chemistry. Too many scientists imagine that if logical processing is accelerated to a high enough rate that somehow consciousness will emerge. I believe that this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the mind. And that (misunderstanding) undermines much of the prevailing neuroscience and almost all of computer science that purports to be imitating minds (i.e., artificial intelligence). The smartest people in the world believe in this materialistic superstition. They believe that the universe is explainable entirely in terms of chemistry and physics. That assumption, I believe, is manifestly false. But it is a religious conviction underlying almost all neuroscience and computer science.

-- George Gilder (The Daily Reckoning) June 22, 2019

Precious

Angels with silver wings
Shouldn't know suffering
I wish I could take the pain for you

If God has a master plan
That only He understands
I hope it's your eyes He's seeing through

-- Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) 2005 

witch hunt

The night is black, without a moon.
The air is thick and still.
The vigilantes gather on the lonely torchlit hill.

Features distorted in the flickering light,
Faces are twisted and grotesque.
Silent and stern in the sweltering night,
The mob moves like demons possessed.
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right,
Confident their ways are best.

The righteous rise with burning eyes of hatred and ill-will.
Madmen fed on fear and lies to beat and burn and kill.

They say there are strangers who threaten us --
Our immigrants and infidels.
They say there is strangeness to danger us
In our theatres and bookstore shelves,
That those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves.

Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand --
Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand.

Neal Peart (Rush) 1981

man of peace

I am a man of peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.
-- Psalm 120:7

happiness is easy

Litle ships of Galilee
sailing on the sea.
Jesus tried to love us all
and be a friend to me.
Joy be written on the earth
and the sky above.
Jesus star that shines so bright
gather us in love.
--Tim Friese-Greene / Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) 1986