I am disinclined to formal religion. I think it is archaic, formulaic, unconscious and corrupt. But that’s just me. I know a lot of nice people who are religious but, well, church isn’t for me. Do not get me wrong. I have a faith. It’s just not in religion. I have a faith in God or, better put, a higher being, a spirit of sorts…..well, we’ll just let it go at that, shall we…..just a belief in something much bigger than me, ya know? The universe unfolding as it should, maybe?
My go-to statement on religion is: Religion is to God what Safeway is to food. Just a marketing arm.
But I must admit, the more I read the current news, the more Revelations and Ezekiel come to mind (never having read them, of course). Revelations is in the New Testament and Ezekiel and Zechariah are in the Old Testament and neither of them seemed relevant to me….until, well, lately. Both those Testaments posited that there would be an Apocalypse of sorts. An End of Days kind of thing. TEOTWAWKI.
The New Testament lists the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as conquest, war, famine and death, while in the Old Testament, it’s the Book of Ezekiel and Zechariah that threaten with the sword, famine, wild beasts and pestilence or plague.
It still seems pretty far-fetched and typically Wrath-of-God, magical thinking kind of stuff but we are definitely feeling some kind of apprehension. Aren’t we? To be honest, if four guys on horses showed up, I’d freak out (bear in mind I live on an island). And if I had lived through the mouse and rat plague of Australia, I’d have been hysterical!
“So, what’s the point, Dave?”
One of those horsemen is pestilence. Another is War. A third is famine and the fourth is Death which seems kind of redundant to me. Wouldn’t the first three combined kill you dead? Whatever. And the devil, of course, is the Prince of Lies. Haven’t y’all noticed the ascendancy of lying lately?
I think you know where I am going with this……
Covid is being followed by Monkeypox and now, get this: Polio! Polio was eradicated in the US but it is now a clear and present danger in New York state. Seems two counties in upper New York are largely anti-vaxxers and they got hit hard by Covid and now their waste water is testing positive for Polio (tested because somebody recently became paralyzed by the disease there).
And then you got your China flexing their missiles over Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan. And Ukraine is fighting Russia and Russia is now fighting the West in every other way. And the good ol’ USA is always good for a little gunfire home and abroad.
I suppose not being able to get dried sour cherries, lemon grass, avocadoes or cauliflower does not really qualify as famine but famine is happening again in Africa and, of course, the Russian conflict closed the ‘Breadbasket’ of the world in Ukraine’s wheat. That is still hardly world famine but, with Climate Change a lot of large commercial gardens are going dry. California is literally toast. Rivers are drying up in Europe and the US. Plus the oceans are going dead. NO fish. NO avocadoes. NO mustard. NO wheat. Jus’ sayin’….
….and the biggest all-time liar in history NOT in a mental asylum was recently the president of the United states. And Alex Jones, a dissembler and racist and bully and supporter of the January 6th insurrection is worth over $300 million – all from being good at bad stuff.
Am I sayin’ anything important? No, not really. I am just sayin’ that a guy who doesn’t put much store in the bible, has maybe read 5% of it (I was much younger when I made a stab at it and the language was just too boring) and can’t accept that a bunch of scholars hundreds of years after Christ died wrote God’s word is NOW, of all times, having those weird thoughts.
I’d consider starting the Church of Dave but I fear it is too late…………………………….
Our Off the Grid Home 
I’m not even worried about the various “poxes” roaming the world.
Famine?
I can stand to lose 10 or 20 ( or 30?) pounds.
I thought the “King of Liars” was Trump.
And the mad loon is going to try and come back as a 2024 contender.
One wonders, if the Republicans won’t nominate him, will his ego and bank roll be big enough to run as an independent?
Either way the next 2 years won’t be boring.
Trump running again.
War with China?
War with Russia?
Keep stocking up on bullets ( before Trudeau bans THAT too!), beans, bum wad and a bible.
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I was going to email you and suggest we had got it wrong. Still, the end of civil society was also predicted by climate change scientists and analysts. Even your Rachel Carson wrote eloquently about global ecosystem collapse. Even the clouds and our atmosphere depend on this delicate balance.
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Silent Spring was a consciousness raiser, as was the rise of GreenPeace, The Sierra Club and eventually the Green Party. Kind of mind power-in-reverse. We have been aware of the threat for over 50 years and have done virtually nothing. Perhaps we were not aware that all our natural systems are interconnected but that lesson was taught pretty quickly and before 2000. We are ignoring the fire in the attic ’cause we are downstairs watching Kim Kardashian’s butt. Lemmings look like geniuses compared to that!
But I still have hope coupled with desperation. The reason I wrote this blog is because I honestly am getting little 4 Horseman thoughts. I honestly am getting thoughts of biblical doom. That is a bit odd, I think. I mean, I also get thoughts of pretty girls, powerful motorcycles and exotic adventures so practical reality is not a big element in my thinking. I admit that. I can’t take the Horsemen-in-my-head as anything to really go by.
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I wonder if we (humanity) will still be able to turn the tide. There is now 8 billion of us, population is expected to grow till end of this era till 10 billion. If the earth is struggling to survive 8 million, what will happen? Who is going to feed all these people?
An Trump going for re-election? There is a big chance that he will be re-elected (how crazy that sounds to us), but do the Americans have any real alternative?
The whole of Europe is suffering from an unseen drought, it hasn’t rained anywhere in Europe for the last 2 months, and another heat wave will hit Europe this week again. So harvests will be low, ramping up food prices even more. I think the 4 horsemen are already here…
What will come after the pocks? What if the next pandemic is with Ebola or another even deadlier virus?
I have started this year in growing my own fruit and vegetables, every bit helps I guess
I had drilled a well 5 weeks ago, it’s already dried out…
We are in for a very hard winter in my opinion
Church of Dave….has a nice ring….but isn’t this blog already a little bit like the church of Dave with a few hardcore followers (not blindly I might say)?
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If the CoD (Church of Dave) exists, it exists with the world’s smallest congregation (7) and the world’s silliest pastor. It should be called the Church of Henny Penny or the Church of the Sky-is-falling and the pastor should be sent to a remote island to live alone except for his wife and dogs. Pray for her.
Are the 4 Horsemen already here? It does seem a little like that but my fantastic thinking does not make it so. China will NOT go to war over an octogenarian woman stopping in Taiwan for a visit. Rain will come to Europe albeit perhaps uncontrollably and cause massive floods. Food shortages are a given but that will translate into higher prices first. Russia will fail in Ukraine and, if they don’t, they will have weakened themselves beyond repair for the foreseeable future. China is aggressive but NOT stupid. They will push the envelope and rattle their sabres but NOT start a war with the US. The only horse that I can see on the horizon clearly is that horse under the rider, Pestilence. Epidemics and related pathogens are here and just getting started. It is a result of Climate Change, failing institutions, massive ignorance, hubris, greed, evil and, I hate to say it, too much reliance on others – too many people can’t do anything for themselves anymore. That makes us all weaker. And then enter the virus……
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True, but hunger and higher food prices might cause riots in Africa/Middle East/India.
They say that the Arabic spring in 2010 had its roots also in famine and high food prices. If now food shortage is even more wide spread, there might be more uprise and riots. And those countries might NOT be as smart as China (OK, they don’t have the same hardware and army)
And the Chinese will “conquer” us in a different way (already doing it) by bying themselves into most western companies
So we might all be under Chinese wings within 5 years, they even won’t have to go to war with us
The virusses might be more difficult to conquer or control
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I agree. China will just ‘buy’ us. They already are in BC. But that is NOT warfare. That is Capitalism. Similar – but different. They are just beating us at our own game. I hate it and I hate what Capitalism has become but you cannot fault someone for just playing the game (rigged as it is) better. I also agree that famine and high prices will cause growing problems everywhere and distant everywheres will spread everywhere. I just think that will be a longer drama/tragedy.
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Holding no hope is unfashionable, Dave. That is the practical reality. I’m afraid I can no longer maintain the charade as fashion dictates.
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You have given up on powerful motorcycles and exotic adventures, too? I confess that I have kind of given up on petty girls, too (and vice versa). And American women all look the same and they are all looking like Kimberly Gargoyle! I mean Guilfoyle.
Seriously? I have NOT given up hope but I have given it up for humanity and most of the current species. I think we may be headed for another ‘extinction’ era. Still, during the last few extinctions, some of the world remained behind to ‘seed’ the next era. We may just have to die off and re-grow…… keep a happy thought.
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The Chinese tried to buy the company that ownes all the Belgian nuclear power plants a few years ago. Fortunately, our government banned last minute the sales/purchase. But how many “critical” industries are already owned by the Chinese as we speak?
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“The East is the East and the West is the West and never the twain shall meet”. (Kipling). And that has been exactly my experience. I have a lot of good Chinese friends and we are all fond of each other….but we do not think alike. It is almost as if we had our brains wired differently. I am not talking about cultural differences or politics or anything like that…I am talking different steps in their thinking. As they say, “Same but different”. That also translates into politics and business, of course. I find them ultimately very practical. And patient. Also they are ‘simple’ thinkers and speakers compared our roundabout, politie, colourful speaking style. Instead, they practice ‘keeping their mouths shut’. They keep their thoughts to themselves. My point: we have no idea if they are just being businesslike or aggressing. We don’t know what is benign or threatening. We do not KNOW the collective mind. I doubt that we ever will. Is that racist? I guess so. But it is NOT an insult. It is just ‘same but different’.
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There is a lot of pent up anger in China at the way they were treated in their own country by the British, the Europeans and the West in general. over 100 years ago.
The “Wolf Warrior” style of the “new” China will not be pretty.
It has already started.
In your face, screaming at anyone that disagrees with them.
One thing China hasn’t learned after pulling them selves from subsistence farmers into the 21st century in 30 short years……
Gracious humility.
They can’t demand, push, yell and bully their way into being accepted as a leading nation.
Respect is earned not demanded..
Hopefully they will eventually find that out before it’s too late…..for the entire planet.
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It is true. They have felt dissed by the British/West for a long time. There is a little revenge built into most interactions. You and I are not entirely exempt not because we are guilty of the past but because our cultural behaviours have the same traits that subjugated them. One of my best friends jokingly (?) refers to me as having ‘too much confidence’. That is the Chinese way of saying ‘arrogant’. Resentment is deep.
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China’s “Wolf Warrior” political strategy.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/The-next-wolf-warriors-China-readies-new-generation-of-tough-diplomats
Why China thinks that the West will listen to obnoxious bullies when they themselves hated it 100 years ago…….is anyones guess.
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I also find it interesting that when there are major riots, looting, burning and killings in Asian nations OTHER than China……
The first shops and stores to be attacked are usually the Chinese owned shops.
Are they that loathed in the rest of Asia?
If China wants to be treated as a first nation among “equals” (…and as a country with 1.3 billion citizens..)
Ironically…….They should learn how to improve their “people skills”.
China the new world leader.. good luck and God help us all
I guess it doesnt really matter who has the most troops, ships, planes, rockets and bombs….because….all the players….. now have Nukes.
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Twice in this blogging reply you have dragged your belief of a unprovable, unknown God indicating that “he, she, it” is our path to salvation. Have you no better, concrete, ideas, perhaps getting involved with the world rather than the concept of a savior that we all should give money to. How will a never seen perception of divine force help spare the world from its inevitable demise?
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Firstly, I am not religious (as stated clearly in the blog) but the only means for a Divine Force to work would have to be what I already termed magical thinking – being invisible kinda comes with that kind of fantasy. Unseen. But, since you bring it up, I thought I implied I really believed in something even more vague like a generally good vibe or a universe unfolding as it should kinda thing….. If I must choose, I will have to say it feels like some kind of energy that isn’t so much moral as it is natural and good. Good energy. But, I really don’t know. Also, I think that anyone asking for money in the name of God, any God or even my magical, universal energy, is a con and a grifter. So do not send me any money. I implore you. Please stop. Well, if you insist, I could use say, $5000. $10,000 would be better. $50,000 and I will personally pray for you.
Now, as to getting involved with the world….I could give you my CV which would include getting involved much, much more than most people ‘cept I am now in my mid 70’s and living remote. I barely have enough energy to get involved with my two lovely, lazy dogs. Lifetimemarine, ol’ pal, it was good of you to write but, honest-to-well, nothingness, dude, you have some kind of anti-religious chip on your shoulder or else it was just a misread and you wanted to lash out and donate?
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The comment was directed at nonconfidencevote, not you.
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I’m an atheist.
Its a figure of speech.
But a godless communist might not know that.
:0
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lifetimer,
If you have done any reading of David’s many blog comments over the years, all of which are here for historical review, you would know that he holds no belief of an “unprovable, unknown God” which you (wrongly) suggest he keeps “dragging” into conversation. I have never known him to suggest, and I have never seen a hint of a suggestion from him, that there exists “a savior” (U.S. spelling noted) “that we all should give money to.” Although it would be nice if said saviour would save us from your clumsy sentence construction ending with a preposition.
I suspect David and I are somewhat similar (he can correct me if I am mistaken), in that we both believe in some kind of a higher power. Something bigger than mankind in the universe. I think along lines of, perhaps, Mother Nature. But not some grand being on a throne somewhere to be worshipped. I have no interest in religion and, overall, I think it has caused more harm than good. For the most part, it has outlived its usefulness, to the extent it ever had any.
There was a time, I suppose, when religion was of some utility as a control device. When concepts such as the 10 Commandments were conceived, there were no police, courts, legislatures, prisons, or any machinery to compel compliance with a body of rules widely recognized as for the greater good of the greater number. Things on which most can agree, such as “Thou shalt not steal”, “Thou shalt not kill”, etc. Most back then were not educated or worldly and were probably superstitious. Many were probably not too hard to convince that some kind of deity existed, was all seeing, all knowing, and if you violated his, her or its rules, there might not be any punishment in this life, but you would be denied an afterlife, or sent to Hell, or have some reckoning to face.
But, if it makes you feel better, feel free to dismiss me as some kind of mental midget who has been unduly influenced by misinformation and a lamentable lack of perspicacity.
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Let me add that I too will be happy to receive a donation. Perhaps $5,000 fo the Rjukan Reformation Fund. I promise to apply the funds to corrective measures directed to making me a more right thinking individual. I swear. So help me God (oops, I slipped).
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Yeah! What HE said! And let me add that a moniker of Lifetimemarine is really NOT quite right. It COULD be lifetimemariner or, I suppose, lifetimermarine but the one you chose doesn’t really cut it for me grammarly given that I have spent at least half a life time being on the water and almost an entire lifetime living adequately with English. Lest you consider my and Rjukan’s rebuke a bit harsh, let me just say that I appreciate all comments and, if one appears as a doofus it is forgiven the first time. So, have at it again, if you wish. Bottom line: you are going to have to pick up your game, dawg.
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Oh yeah…there is a third explanation. Lifetimemarine could mean that you have been in the US Marines all your life. That would make the name legit and, at the same time, explain everything else.
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