Johnathan Bi

What motivated the founding fathers to build America? Fame. They wanted fame. "The love of fame" declares Hamilton in the Federalist Papers is "the ruling passion of the noblest minds." He likely had Washington in mind writing that. Similarly, Franklin confesses in the beginning of his autobiography that it may look like he's writing it out of vanity… and he is! Because vanity "is often productive of good to the possessor, and to others that are within his sphere of action… it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity." Of course, the type of fame that the founding fathers were after is different in kind from the fame most of our contemporaries are chasing. It is not just to be known, but to be respected by those whom you respect for accomplishing noble deeds. And I think we need to re-legitimize the desire for this kind of "fame" as a spur to attempt great deeds today. Our society advises us to "stop caring what others think" — while this is a good antidote for the clout-chasers of today, our blanket rejection of "vanity" veers too far in the other extreme. The task should be to discern what types of fame is worth and not worth pursuing. In this interview, you will learn about the psychology, history, and blindspots of the American founding from one of its most respected commentators, the legendary UT Philosopher Thomas Pangle.

Tocqueville on why Islam is not compatible with enlightened, free societies whereas Christianity is.

is it just me or does Tocqueville kinda look like @robkhenderson

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What motivated the founding fathers to build America? Fame. They wanted fame. "The love of fame" declares Hamilton in the Federalist Papers is "the ruling passion of the noblest minds." He likely had Washington in mind writing that. Similarly, Franklin confesses in the beginning of his autobiography that it may look like he's writing it out of vanity… and he is! Because vanity "is often productive of good to the possessor, and to others that are within his sphere of action… it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity." Of course, the type of fame that the founding fathers were after is different in kind from the fame most of our contemporaries are chasing. It is not just to be known, but to be respected by those whom you respect for accomplishing noble deeds. And I think we need to re-legitimize the desire for this kind of "fame" as a spur to attempt great deeds today. Our society advises us to "stop caring what others think" — while this is a good antidote for the clout-chasers of today, our blanket rejection of "vanity" veers too far in the other extreme. The task should be to discern what types of fame is worth and not worth pursuing. In this interview, you will learn about the psychology, history, and blindspots of the American founding from one of its most respected commentators, the legendary UT Philosopher Thomas Pangle.

Two years ago, I witnessed a Christian miracle, but I did not convert. Not because I thought the miracle was fraudulent — I think it was genuine — but because of the existence of other genuine miracles in competing religious traditions. Even more frustrating, these traditions give the same unconvincing explanations of the others’ miracles: demons, fraud or, at best, lesser revelations. Christian holy men tell me Buddhism has been hijacked by Satan. Buddhist monastics tell me Christ is a Bodhisattva for a lesser civilization not ready for the ultimate truth. I don’t find any of these answers compelling. So how is one to decide between competing religious claims? This is the burning question that has motivated my seeker’s journey for the past few years and my guest Rice University’s Jeff Kripal has given me the most compelling response yet. After two years of talking with every religious scholar/practitioner/monastic I could find, it is this interview that I find most convincing by far. He figured it out. Now let me be clear, what I find so compelling is less so Jeff’s answer, and more his method. Jeff takes seriously 1. the miraculous claims of all orthodox religions, but also 2. the modern critiques of those religions: biblical criticism, science, Freud, Feuerbach. And last but not least he also integrates 3. the contemporary supernatural: near death experiences, remote viewing, UAPs, telepathy, reincarnation research. Jeff is the only religious scholar I know who not only takes these three seemingly incompatible spheres seriously but has integrated them into a unifying theory. And if you are at all curious about the religious question I cannot recommend Jeff’s work enough for both scholars and seekers. Timestamps: 4:07 Against Western Monotheism 33:58 Against Eastern Religion 52:50 Against Materialism 1:23:11 Fraudulent Miracles? 1:31:52 Dual Aspect Monism 1:49:47 The Historicity of Miracles 1:55:39 The Ethics of Mysticism

St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Teresa of Avila are their levitations demonic as well? If even these genuinely holy men and women's miracles are demonic, how can you be sure Jesus' miracles aren't?

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@realparksgore @human4christ @the_culturist_ How are you sure Christ is not a deceiving spirit? Serious religions do claim this.

@JohnathanBi @human4christ @the_culturist_ I think the Final Pill is being able to transcend your own personal experiences in pursuit of truth. Consider: there are (or at least might be) deceiving spirits. You can, in fact, be deceived, and even at times express a capacity to self-deceive. What now?

@SoulMotive_0135 went to athos last year, mesmerizing!

@JohnathanBi I can relate. In my 20 years of theosophical study, even extensive research into the occult, it is orthodox Christianity that if found to be most true. Despite that I had a deceased saint from India, Neem Karoli appeared to me one day in 2020. I believe in Jesus Christ & Hanuman.

@human4christ @the_culturist_ read it after going on a pilgrimage to mount athos last year. was not moved by the author's account of hinduism and demons. that was not my experience of eastern religion (buddhism) at all.

@JohnathanBi @the_culturist_ oceanofpdf.com/Fetching_Resou…

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Modern man avoids danger and, as a result, lost his vitality. Nietzsche: “The secret of realizing the largest productivity and the greatest enjoyment of existence is to live in danger! Build your cities on the slope of Vesuvius! Send your ships into unexplored seas! Live in war with your equals and with yourselves!” Modern man is instead a creature of comfort: his dreams are limited to a slightly bigger house, nicer car, better vacation, and to make a few extra bps at work. His physical timidity is mirrored in his intellectual life: don’t be offensive, stay within the Overton window … For Nietzsche the willingness to embrace physical dangers is a precursor to embrace the (much more important) intellectual dangers: “I greet all the signs indicating that a more manly and warlike age is commencing, which will, above all, bring heroism again into honour! For it has to prepare the way for a yet higher age, and gather the force which the latter will one day require, - the age which will carry heroism into knowledge, and wage war for the sake of ideas and their consequences.” In this brief musing I will trace out how danger has been eradicated from modern life through Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu culminating in the American project:

@samuelfpoirier For future blackmail

@JohnathanBi You omitted key video footage from a certain friend disassembling downhill…

We are pleased to share that we have successfully demonstrated the ability to increase lucidity in dreams. This critical milestone opens the door for our devices to ship soon.

@reverbandgrain According to Girard's reading (which I'm not married to) it is literal violence and apocalypse Jesus is bringing. Not just mere division.

@JohnathanBi In context Jesus wasnt referencing an actual sword 🤷‍♂️. Yes Jesus will cause a dividing line to be drawn(sword.) Jesus does however mention a literal sword in Matthew 26:52….”for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword - Matthew 10:34 Jesus: "I am not prince of peace, I wield a sword." Pope:

To be clear, I am not advocating for any war. I just find it notable the difference between Christians and Christ.

The CIA ran a psychic spy program during the Cold War. I got my hands on the original documents … and was blown away by what they achieved. Science has no way of explaining this. Project Stargate is a program that lasted over two decades which used remote viewing to gain military intelligence. Viewers sit in a dark room, are given nothing but an anonymized reference number — a hash corresponding to a military target — and try to psychically “tap into” the target. They draw out whatever sensory signals they receive to be analyzed later. I thought this was all voodoo nonsense, a complete psy-op, until I spent a few days digging through the original, declassified files now housed at Rice university. The amount and accuracy of successful “hits” (see next tweet for examples) were uncanny. The personnel leading the program were secular physicists. This is not something that can be explained away by sheer chance. What’s even weirder is that the Soviet Union and China had (have?) their own psychic military units! Behind the well-known spy battles of the Cold-War was a secret game of psychic espionage and counter-espionage. But the Soviet Union were communists, and communists are materialists. How did a materialist superpower legitimize starting a psychic division within their intelligence apparatus? They disliked even psychoanalysis for not being “materialist” enough. It turns out that there is a heated and fascinating philosophical debate about how remote viewing actually works, and even key leaders of the program on the American side remained materialists, convinced that there was a “physical” explanation. This is why Stargate is worth investigating today, for the philosophical “payoff” on fundamental questions of ontology. In this episode, I will take you through the highlights from the original documents of Stargate and, more importantly, discuss what this means philosophically for the world we live in. Timestamps: 2:12 The Best “Hits” from Stargate 9:36 Is Stargate a Psy-Op? 12:04 Why Christians Shutdown Stargate 15:01 Is Remote Viewing Nature or Nurture? 18:26 How Consciousness Influences Matter 21:07 How the Army Chose Remote Viewers 26:23 The Materialist Explanation for Remote Viewing 30:18 Remote Viewers Could See the Past 35:08 Why was Stargate Declassified?