photios (u/photios) - Readit News

photios commented on Interactive map of Paul's first century travels in Roman world intofarlands.com/map-of-p... · Posted by u/intofarlands

arp242 · 3 days ago

> In addition, the "concept of Jesus" is something that's woven throughout the Old Testament. St. Paul would have to go back in time and change the Torah and books of prophets like Daniel and Isaiah.

As I understand it, a number of people claimed to be the Messiah in Jesus' lifetime (and before, or since for that matter, including today). I don't think Old Testament references to the Messiah are all that meaningful as such for this particular discussion. Whether Jesus is or isn't the Messiah is of course a matter of faith.

photios · 3 days ago

> a number of people claimed to be the Messiah in Jesus' lifetime (and before, or since for that matter, including today)

Yes, they imitated and used the "concept of Jesus". That's why I think St. Paul did not invent it.

photios commented on Interactive map of Paul's first century travels in Roman world intofarlands.com/map-of-p... · Posted by u/intofarlands

fjfaase · 3 days ago

An argument against the position that the "concept of Jesus" is woven throughout the Old Testament is that the Jews did not accept him as such. And yes, I do know about all the 'christian' reasons why that did not happen, but it is rather obvious that there is no need to rewrite the Torah and books of prophets like Daniel and Isaiah.

photios · 3 days ago

> no need to rewrite the Torah and books of prophets like Daniel and Isaiah

Funny you mention that. Because those Jews (not all of them, mind you) that did not accept the Messiah did try to change the book of Isaiah. The mental gymnastics about the "Almah" translation continue to this day.

https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/isaiah-714-a-v...

photios commented on Interactive map of Paul's first century travels in Roman world intofarlands.com/map-of-p... · Posted by u/intofarlands

photios · 3 days ago

That's doubtful.

To do that, St. Paul would need to make all the other 12 apostles buy into the story and start spreading it. Then do the same with the extended 70 apostles and their disciples. And, of course, change the gospels.

In addition, the "concept of Jesus" is something that's woven throughout the Old Testament. St. Paul would have to go back in time and change the Torah and books of prophets like Daniel and Isaiah.

photios commented on Interactive map of Paul's first century travels in Roman world intofarlands.com/map-of-p... · Posted by u/intofarlands

Mistletoe · 3 days ago

Interesting. I’ve just gone down a rabbit hole and seen Thomas Jefferson call Paul the first corrupter of Jesus’ teachings and I’m seeing everything in a brand new way. It makes a lot of sense.

photios · 3 days ago

TIL Jefferson published his own "version" of the New Testament. [1]

> Jefferson mashed up/cut and pasted the New Testament to remove any references to the supernatural, or miracles, as well as the divinity of Christ. His title for the book was "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth," which tells us a lot about his motivations.

Walking in Arius' footsteps ...

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/dnyxy8/thoma...

photios commented on Code formatting comes to uv experimentally pydevtools.com/blog/uv-fo... · Posted by u/tanelpoder

photios · 7 days ago

Love this! I would name it `uv fmt` and add `uv vet` to the roadmap too

photios commented on 1948: Catholic Church publishes final edition of “Index Librorum Prohibitorum” historyofinformation.com/... · Posted by u/thomassmith65

sapphicsnail · 16 days ago

If you actually read about the Bible you would know that 1 Timothy is probably fake.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoral_epistles

Any attempt to justify banning books from the New Testament is indirect at best. All Christians play loosy-goosy with the Bible to some degree. There are things Jesus directly warned against like gathering wealth that most Christians have no problem doing. Paul seems kinda iffy about marriage but for many Christians that's a core religious value. Meanwhile there's a bunch of stuff like book banning or being gay that's at best ambiguously condemned in the Bible that people are up in arms over.

photios · 16 days ago

TIL about that hypothesis. I admit, I had a good laugh.

> St. Paul wrote "it is a shame for women to speak in the church"! Noooooo, it must be fake!

photios commented on 1948: Catholic Church publishes final edition of “Index Librorum Prohibitorum” historyofinformation.com/... · Posted by u/thomassmith65

photios · 16 days ago

From Wikipedia:

> The Index was enforceable within the Papal States, but elsewhere only if adopted by the civil powers, as happened in several Italian states.

Wow, such a hugely important list that nobody seemed to care about.

photios commented on Why are there so many rationalist cults? asteriskmag.com/issues/11... · Posted by u/glenstein

greenavocado · 17 days ago

Humans are compelled to find agency and narrative in chaos. Evolution favored those who assumed the rustle was a predator, not the wind. In a post-Enlightenment world where traditional religion often fails (or is rejected), this drive doesn't vanish. We don't stop seeking meaning. We seek new frameworks. Our survival depended on group cohesion. Ostracism meant death. Cults exploit this primal terror. Burning Man's temporary city intensifies this: extreme environment, sensory overload, forced vulnerability. A camp like Black Lotus offers immediate, intense belonging. A tribe with shared secrets (the "Ascension" framework), rituals, and an "us vs. the sleepers" mentality. This isn't just social; it's neurochemical. Oxytocin (bonding) and cortisol (stress from the environment) flood the system, creating powerful, addictive bonds that override critical thought.

Human brains are lazy Bayesian engines. In uncertainty, we grasp for simple, all-explaining models (heuristics). Mage provides this: a complete ontology where magic equals psychology/quantum woo, reality is malleable, and the camp leaders are the enlightened "tradition." This offers relief from the exhausting ambiguity of real life. Dill didn't invent this; he plugged into the ancient human craving for a map that makes the world feel navigable and controllable. The "rationalist" veneer is pure camouflage. It feels like critical thinking but is actually pseudo-intellectual cargo culting. This isn't Burning Man's fault. It's the latest step of a 2,500-year-old playbook. The Gnostics and the Hermeticists provided ancient frameworks where secret knowledge ("gnosis") granted power over reality, accessible only through a guru. Mage directly borrows from this lineage (The Technocracy, The Traditions). Dill positioned himself as the modern "Ascended Master" dispensing this gnosis.

The 20th century cults Synanon, EST, Moonies, NXIVM all followed similar patterns, starting with isolation. Burning Man's temporary city is the perfect isolation chamber. It's physically remote, temporally bounded (a "liminal space"), fostering dependence on the camp. Initial overwhelming acceptance and belonging (the "Burning Man hug"), then slowly increasing demands (time, money, emotional disclosure, sexual access), framed as "spiritual growth" or "breaking through barriers" (directly lifted from Mage's "Paradigm Shifts" and "Quintessence"). Control language ("sleeper," "muggle," "Awakened"), redefining reality ("that rape wasn't really rape, it was a necessary 'Paradox' to break your illusions"), demanding confession of "sins" (past traumas, doubts), creating dependency on the leader for "truth."

Burning Man attracts people seeking transformation, often carrying unresolved pain. Cults prey on this vulnerability. Dill allegedly targeted individuals with trauma histories. Trauma creates cognitive dissonance and a desperate need for resolution. The cult's narrative (Mage's framework + Dill's interpretation) offers a simple explanation for their pain ("you're unAwakened," "you have Paradox blocking you") and a path out ("submit to me, undergo these rituals"). This isn't therapy; it's trauma bonding weaponized. The alleged rape wasn't an aberration; it was likely part of the control mechanism. It's a "shock" to induce dependency and reframe the victim's reality ("this pain is necessary enlightenment"). People are adrift in ontological insecurity (fear about the fundamental nature of reality and self). Mage offers a new grand narrative with clear heroes (Awakened), villains (sleepers, Technocracy), and a path (Ascension).

photios · 16 days ago

Gnosticism... generating dumb cults that seem smart on the outside for 2+ thousand years. Likely to keep it up for 2k more.

photios commented on Why I'm Leaving NixOS After a Year? rugu.dev/en/blog/leaving-... · Posted by u/kugurerdem

photios · 25 days ago

NixOS is amazing on a server and utterly terrible on the desktop. I learned the latter the hard way too.

photios commented on Telo MT1 telotrucks.com/... · Posted by u/turtleyacht

photios · a month ago

Man, this car is ugly. I'm getting strong Fiat Multipla vibes:

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/remembering-fiat-multipla-quite...