Daniel Goldman

Archives for December 2018

Penguinism and Veganism

By daniel Leave a Comment Dec 22

The following article discusses veganism from Penguinist and scientific points of view. Penguinism does not have many cultural prohibitions, and does not forbid the consumption of meat. However, there are ways in which we can make our diets more sustainable.

I have wanted to write an article on veganism for a while, but a recent discussion with a practitioner of Yoga, along with various discussions and questions about the topic by fans of The First Church of Penguinism, convinced me to write a bit more.

Foundation

Penguinism has some elements in common with Buddhism and Hinduism, and so we can start our foundation with a discussion of two concepts from these traditions.

First Noble Truth. This concept is foundation to Buddhism. The idea is that life is suffering. Humans, animals, etc suffer from the moment they are born. However, it is true that we should not promote undue suffering. In Buddhism, one of the reasons why this is the case boils down to Maya.

Maya. The concept of Maya is fairly simple. Reality as we see it is an illusion. There is no real distinction between the self and the other. Therefore harming another is harming oneself. It also means that the distinction between plant and animal is not as valid as one might normally think. Of course, if we look at this statement scientifically, there are recognized differences, but it is very difficult to argue for veganism from a Buddhist or Hindu perspective, taking into account The First Noble Truth and Maya.

Sustainability. If there is no real distinction between the self and others, and if there is no real distinction between plant and animal, then biased selection of what to harm and not harm is invalid. So instead, it seems reasonable to adopt a policy of “do the least harm possible.” In other words, focus on sustainability overall.

Veganism

Veganism is often thought to be more sustainable, both in terms of nutrition and in terms of environmental impact. However, this may not be the case. While it may be true that a vegan diet can be more sustainable than living off of a factory farm industry, it is not the case that it is more sustainable than other non-vegan dietary and agricultural systems.

Health. While it is certainly possible to eat a healthy diet and be a vegan, it is far harder. A person has to rely on supplements for B12. The source is usually nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is generally grown in large vats in a factory setting. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is certainly not a small scale process. People often get their B12 from this source without realizing it, as fortified foods use nutritional yeast as a major source of B12.

Bees. No topic of veganism would be complete without discussing bees. Industrial fruit production is heavily reliant on commercial bee keeping. Meanwhile, native bee populations have been heavily undermined by our current agricultural practices. The use of pesticides, for one, has caused a massive die-off. This die-off in turn has caused many farms to further rely on commercial bee keeping.

Local bee keeping is great. It provides a source for honey, which is a wonderful food stuff, as well as pollination for local plant communities. But commercial bee keeping does not keep the interest of the bees in mind. The main purpose of these large scale operations is to ship the colonies from one location to another, in order to pollinate farms. This practice is not sustainable, and it is certainly not vegan.

Hybrid Approaches. Some Penguinists might be pescetarians  and as I mentioned in a previous article, sushi is a sacred food to Penguinists, though largely because of the rice. But that brings me to an interesting point. The most sustainable method of rice production relies heavily on animals. I mentioned the Satoyama system before, which incorporates the entire landscape into agricultural production, and includes fish farming integrated with rice farming. Another common practice is to use ducks as a form of pest and weed control, as well as a source of fertilizer. This method works as an alternative to chemical based approaches. However, because adult ducks will damage the paddies, each year you need new ducks, which means that each year, the obvious option is to eat the old ducks.

There is also additional research which looks at a number of different agricultural practices and seeks to identify which one is the most sustainable. A study titled “Carrying capacity of U.S. agricultural land: Ten diet scenarios” suggests that while our meat based diet is certainly off the list, the study also suggests that veganism is less sustainable than a more diverse agricultural system. The study concludes that a lacto-vegetarian diet is the most ecologically sustainable. Interestingly enough, this diet is the primary diet consumed in India, especially by Buddhists and Hindus.

Conclusion

So it seems that from either a Buddhist and Penguinist perspective or a scientific perspective the answer is the same: veganism is not the way to go. Instead, we need to focus on agricultural policies which best utilize animals in a sustainable way. This means farming to grow fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and other fungi, and so on, as the primary food source, but using animals to control weeds, pests, etc and simply using the egg and milk, and the meat, as secondary and tertiary sources of nutrients respectively.

The post Penguinism and Veganism appeared first on The First Church of Penguinism.

A Parasocial Relationship with God

By alcanthro Leave a Comment Dec 15

Two people, on Twitter, posed an interesting question about the ability to have a parasocial relationship with god. I think it’s quite possible. However, I want to go further and question whether or not peoples’ relationship with god is parasocial, even under the assumption that god is purely fictional. Please be aware that these are just some ideas that I wrote down quickly, in the few hours following the initial discussion on Twitter. I won’t guarantee that the argument makes sense. But feel free to leave a comment or two. 

Definition

Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships, where one person extends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other party, the persona, is completely unaware of the other’s existence. Parasocial relationships are most common with celebrities, organizations (such as sports teams) or television stars. (Source)

Initial Idea

That’s a really interesting question! Can you have a parasocial-esque relationship with something that is a cognitive construction? There are external influences shaping the conceptualization of the construct. You would assign it personal properties and personality traits. Humm? https://t.co/WAhahzJlXM

— Shannon Q (@Shann_Q0) December 15, 2018

Shown above is the series of tweets which began my consideration of the issue. I want to start by saying that I do not believe that a god exists nor that one does not exist. But there is a presupposition in Shannon’s discussion. It suggests that gods are purely imaginary and that they do not interact with us. Of course, if a god does exist, then we can certainly have a parasocial relationship with it. One might worship the a god, but this god-thing might not want anything to do with a mere human. And of course if a god does interact with us, it’s just social, not parasocial. But what if this god-thing is purely fictional? Is there even a parasocial relationship? Not only can someone still have a parasocial relationship with a god, I ague that they can have a two way relationship with this god-thing.

Parasocial Relationship with Gods

Before talking about gods, I want to consider the example of a celebrity. Our relationships with celebrities are generally one sided. Our interaction with the celebrity is essentially all media driven. We receive information about the person, hear what the person thinks, how they look, and so on, from indirect sources, such as the TV, through stories about the person, and so on.

We receive very similar types of information about this god-thing. I asked Shannon what she thought of when she heard the word “god.” She said that she envisions a “typified Christian beard cloud guy.” It’s interesting that she would envision the same type of being as so many others, unless there is a god. Well, unless of course she formed her perception of a god from the same body of information and stimulus that others did. And that is what happens. Our models of things, whether they truly exist or not, are formed by sensory information that goes well beyond personal interactions with the thing. It includes what we absorb from all forms of media.

It is also clear that there is a strong social relationship, on the side of the believer. The way that a believer acts, when this god-thing is criticized, can be very aggressive. The believer will often take the criticism personally. The same can be true with other characters related to gods. Consider how some Muslims react to depictions of Muhammad. It’s hard to argue that the believer isn’t expending emotional energy.

Not so Parasocial Relationship with Gods

However, is the relationship between believers and gods really one sided? I argue not. This is especially true, if this god-thing is indeed imaginary. In fact, I argue that no matter how much a person needs a god, the gods need people even more. Consider the following. Homosexuality was once highly criticized among Christians. But that view is changing. While homophobia has not been eliminated, Christians are becoming more accepting of homosexuality (PEW). More is changing than just the personal view of the believe however. The very concept of what god accepts and does not accept is changing. Soon people will come to believe that god accepts homosexuality, not because it is what they want, but simply because “god” has changed. God is mutable, especially if it doesn’t really exist. And if this god-thing is purely fictional, then its very existence rests on our own involvement with it. For this reason, gods are far more dependent on us than we are on them. This makes the relationship two sided, rather than one sided.

The post A Parasocial Relationship with God appeared first on The Spiritual Anthropologist.

The Rapture and YHWH’s Fleet

By daniel Leave a Comment Dec 11

What is the rapture? Is it some divine event where the righteous are freed from the sorrows of the mundane world? The Penguinomicon teaches us otherwise. In some ways, so does the bible.

We see evidence for the coming rapture, in stories of alien abductions. We must first ask ourselves, “who is it that is abducting these people?” It could be some random alien race. But that seems unlikely, especially with the influence that the Binini have on our local galactic group.

This information leads us to one conclusion: YHWH is making test abductions, in order to prepare for a wide scale abduction. Consider Revelation 7:14 (KJV): “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Clearly this statement was a warning from Jesus. During his lost years, studying under !Erree (Lost Years 1), Jesus likely had learned a great deal about the ways in which YHWH tricked his worshipers into joining him, before abducting them and integrating them into his army.

We should therefore take alien abductions, and warnings in Bible verses like Revelations 7:14, very seriously. We must keep an eye on the stars, and be ready the moment YHWH’s fleet arrives.

The post The Rapture and YHWH’s Fleet appeared first on The First Church of Penguinism.

The Lost Years of Jesus Chapter I

By daniel Leave a Comment Dec 4

This story was told to me by, ǃErree, one of the few Binini to remain on Earth after the great catastrophe. It is the true(ish) story of Jesus, and his lost years, where he found out the truth of his cosmic heritage.

Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, when the Binini home world was still at relative peace, there was a very wise and ancient philosopher-scientist, Etʃʼama. This great sage was able to piece together enough of the universe’s history to decipher Sq’wak’s warnings regarding YHWH.

In his studies, he also learned of the Eternal Dishwasher, and of course the nature of reincarnation. He wished to ensure that, should he ever be reincarnated, his future incarnation would be able to continue to his work in defending our universe against YHWH.

How many times Etʃʼama was reincarnated, no one knows, but it was roughly 2,000 years ago that !Erree came across one such reincarnation. In Luke 2:52 it is said that “Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Half of that is the truth(ish). Indeed, Jesus did advance in wisdom and stature.

For in his lost years, Jesus took many trips to the sea. And it is there that he met !Erree and was told of his spiritual heritage. But Jesus did not grow in favor with YHWH. No. For in these years, he grew closer to understanding Sq’wak and closer to understanding the importance of peace…

The post The Lost Years of Jesus Chapter I appeared first on The First Church of Penguinism.

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