Life in a Post Capitalist World

If I remember correctly, in high school my teacher taught me how the invention of the assembly line was supposed to revolutionize the idea of capitalism. Things would be made much faster, and by everyone in the assembly line having a small but focused job, there would be extra time for stuff like fun. I don’t think many assembly line workers have free time in mind when they go to work these days.

First of all, assembly lines are usually no longer profitable in America, although we do farm them out oversees to people that we are allowed to pay whatever we want, and there always seems to be takers for these jobs. Let’s look at why? First of all, these workers lack skill sets, so when American Corporations defend the wages they pay overseas they play this card saying offering that we pay them so poorly essentially because we can get away with it. Fast forward to the modern era and now we are closing in on the idea that we don’t need anyone at all, and therefore there is no reason to pay someone anything, because everyone is replaceable.

And, now that I think of that, I don’t agree that people are replaceable just because we can get a machine or another person to do their job based upon a mere whim. A job can be found in Him merely though worship of Him. Yet, that day has yet to fully come, so don’t yet quit your day job. Most people probably like to think they are valuable, and they are, but the difference in today’s world is that their value is not going to be determined by their occupation. Those that accept that people are replaceable are probably going to be the first to say, something like, “Gee! Now that I have realized that I am useless, what can I do now?” For some that thought is pure bliss, for others that thought is a reason for suicide. Unfortunately, some people worship capitalism, as if it was a Gd, and the thought of life without capitalism brings nothing but the greatest sorrow of sorrows.

These are probably the people I least worry about: If you have the knowledge to know you can probably be outpaced by a machine, or someday in the near future, that that is right around the bend, you’ve probably taken some time to entertain yourself spiritually. Possibly, like me, you have gone on the quest to find the one true Gd, or something similar. These will be the types of escapades that will go on more often starting in about year 6,000 on the Orthodox Jewish calendar. This will be the 7th millennium, which in Judaism is known as the age of Moshiach. I like to explain this age as if it were Eden. If you paid it forward and did your good deeds, in the age of Moshiach, there will be no more work for you, although life will be better than just good.

In the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages times were much tougher. Now we have the time to explore the world at our leisure because really, few people need to work more than 40hr weeks, unless they want to. Just as the inventions from 1990 to 2000 where greater in number (and downright amusingness) than we have seen in the entirety of the rest of all other time periods, so too will technology cause us to all be obsolete if we allow ourselves to believe the lies about life in an atheist world.

As we head towards socialized healthcare in America, as well as for places that are more impoverished, such as in Africa through charities such as Heifer International, I think that it is safe to say that we are headed to a world that might be described as being like the Garden of Eden. In my mind, the rules of the universe will remain the same. Live by the golden rule and karma, and chances are that somehow you will come out on top.

If I had to refute the late Christopher Hitchens, then I would say, “Live a life of superstition because I can guarantee you that doing good deeds is the best way to choose no matter how superstitious it may seem.” Ozzy Osbourne was spot on in his song, “I don’t know,” in which he rather ironically claims, “Nobody ever told me, I found out for myself. You got to believe in foolish miracles.” Thus, it is such with reality; if we are able to make peace with our Creator, then indeed He will probably allow us a share of life in a peaceful world for our good deeds. Likewise, I should importantly say, good deeds are not always easy to do. I have spent a good deal of my lifetime trying to communicate over the net the blessings of doing what is moral, and upright. Learning to write didn’t happen in a day, a month, or even a year.

My take home message is to go study, be it books or baseballs, etc., with the aim of making yourself useful, and eventually, though you may crawl and cry, eventually things will work out for Gd. Take for instance the passage in Genesis that Joseph says, “You intended to harm me, but Gd intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” I guess that makes me a priest of sorts. So, when I go to write, I share what I know for the sake of helping people that I don’t know. In my darkest hour, You were there for me, Gd. You told me of your anger saying, “I am punishing you,” which was as music for my ears because I thought that not only wasn’t there a Gd, but also the Gd I had been told of was a wimp, so I dismissed my knowledge of a wimpy Gd. Gd you were there to accuse me, such that my soul repented out of love for your voice, and I realized that You, Gd, are a vengeful and wrathful Gd. He, Gd, reached out to me, so following that pattern, to imitate His just ways, I reach out to you, in the hope that Eden will be for all of us, from the greatest to the least, and none will be able to say, I am not important, because we can derive that Gd is reasonable because His creation is reasonable, and for His creation to be reasonable, each soul in it must have a share in the World to Come, as each soul has a share from the breath of Gd that came from Him in the creation week of Genesis Chapter 1.

A Spiritual Piggybank

Many people pray, and they find that their prayer gets them nowhere. This does not surprise me, nor does it negate my religion. I won’t say that prayer is important, but I will say that prayer is not a complete perspective. I suggest doing something in addition to prayer.

When we do something for someone else out of charity, while it might be something directly related to the thing you want, it may also be something almost completely unrelated. Showing an interest in others and their doings may be just what we need in order to unlock the gate to the pathway towards Eden. The places we visit on this journey may seem obscure or irregular, but journey onward to the places that Torah takes us on.

Consider this; your good deeds may not pay off immediately. Thus, I suggest thinking of your doings in this world, as is the idea of a spiritual piggy bank. It may take a lot of saving. What if you have a rare disease or a rare problem? With your hard spiritual work, you may have to save up enough spiritual capital to put a doctor through medical school, such that he can help you out of your illness.

G;d gives each of us a mission in this world. This mission becomes clearer as we study. When we study, it is the equivalent of fulfilling all the good deeds of the Torah. In my instance, in my spiritual piggy bank, I had some knowledge of science, but that needed to be unlocked. It was sealed up, until I took the time to study Torah. Once I studied Torah, someone else, my mom, just happened to come across a doctor that could cure me so that my science knowledge need not remain locked up. So, I reached out to G(d and he reached out to me in return, blazing a pathway for my mother to find a cure for me. And, I do admit that it wasn’t a perfect cure, as a still have some problems. However, instead of my problems being to my detriment, they have actually been a blessing for me. This is the way Hashem is able to work his magic in this world.

A spiritual piggybank may have some money in it. But, it must also have good deeds. This is why a Jewish king must not be wealthy. His wealth must come from his spiritual piggy bank that is not of this world in a radical type of way, similar to that of a priest, or a Levite. In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon relates a story about a person who is wealthy, but Gd has forbidden them from enjoying it. This is entirely relative to the idea of a spiritual piggybank, and a proof of it if you believe Tanach is the words of G-d. Money by itself is empty if one can’t enjoy it. This is also the idea of karma, in that there is something spiritual about this world that if we do good things to others, then good things will be done to us in return. Likewise, Leviticus 26 and other parts of Torah relate the blessings of living a righteous life, but that if we don’t do what G&d asks of us then good things happen.

So pay it forward~!~ We all have something to give and a reason for being, or G^d would not permit us to be. G*d is aware of everything in the universe, such that everything in reality is not without purpose. If your spiritual piggy bank seems empty, you may be wrong! Just keep doing good deeds and I believe that if you are able to actually toil in Torah, reading it, even if you are blind and have to learn brail, and observing the ways of the righteous, though things may get worse initially, eventually things will get better for you. Through doing good deeds we must have hope.

A Letter to Doctor Bart D. Ehrman

Dear Prof. Ehrman,

I completely understand why you feel that there can be good without faith. I agree. However, the cosmos is beyond reason.

Sure, I agree 100% with you that I find pretty much all the ethics I need in secular humanism. However, the universe is filled with magic. Faith is a reason we need not fear cosmic careening out of control. We need faith to say, "I know this universe is continually created from nothing, and I have no fear that in the next moment reality Gd just may give up on us, such that we leave existence without a fizzle."

Reason is trapped in the inexplicable how does the inventor figure out how to make a part of the universe malfunction. Atheists assume that it is impossible to make the world malfunction. Why? Because of reason. Where did that reason come from? Chaos? Is chaos great enough that it could create a world that won't fizzled out. And, if it is indeed Chaos that is behind this all, haven't we put Chaos behind the curtains of reality, as a God, heaven forefend.

"Why doesn't the universe cease to be?" says the Teacher.

Everyday is as amazing as The Big Bang if you ask me. Every moment matter is a limit, such that we need far more explanation than what came first in the universe. How many times have some of us assumed that without a Goad to animate us, the world would go on ticking. A void is created if we are without faith. Where would we be if we had no Gd to sustain us, or animate us to do His will, as a part of His choose your own adventure plan.



Sincerely,
Craig Hamilton

Billions of Christians do not worship in the way that Jews do. (Edited)

That Jews exclude is relevant to the subject of "Why Jews Exclude," with respect to Christianity. Though Jews have chuckim, chuckim have precise ways that they can be observed. Different from the possibility of Orthodox chuckim observance, Christianity has thousands of different denominations, each with different doctrine. Differently, with Judaism, there is only difference with respect to the amount or level of observance, while Rabbi's are not in disagreement over what the words actually say. For example, Rabbis can argue laws in Talmud, but no Rabbi has a doubt as to the conclusion of the argument in the Mishnah Torah. Christianity has no doctrine or commentary where conclusions gained widespread agreement. Consequently, for lack of coherence Christianity must be excluded from Judaism

The majorities of faith associated religions include Christians and Muslims, and while there is a very small minority of Christians that worship like Jews, not messianic Jews, however, billions of Christians do not worship in the way that Jews do.

Most Jews would probably say Islam is closer to Judaism than Christianity.  The Jews that say Islam is closer to Judaism than Christianity are correct.  It is a shame when Jews and Muslims don't get along.  Islam and Judaism should be like monotheistic brothers.  From the perspective of Judaism, calling Gd Allah is probably just fine, as Allah means, "Hallelujah," in English.

 

Let's get one thing straight, Christianity, especially the Christian doctrine of the New Testament is too confusing if not impossible for Jews to understand (myself included). Consequently, to the fact that leading Jewish rabbis fail to understand the New Testament, is that rabbis believe it is not Jewish.  It cannot be any other way for Jews.  The leading Jews must be able to understand the New Testament in order for it worth anything at all.  Even Christians admit that the New Testament can't be completely understood.  Thus, it is such that the messianic Jews or the Jews 4 Jesus are misguided.

 

The New Testament is often understood by non-Jews to mean, "Do good!"  Sometimes it means that, and other time is has justified Inquisitions, and Crusades. However, beyond that I don't believe that there are many conclusions that we as followers of Torah can make that are in agreement with Christianity.