The reason that so many conservative evangelicals these days appear to be moral relativists is that they *are* moral relativists.

They would deny this, of course. But that doesn’t make it any less true. Here's why.

They’ve bought into the premise that all statements are either fact or opinion: facts are objective and verifiable; and everything else is opinion—subjective and unverifiable. In other words, they've bought into full-fledged modernism.

From there, the secular path to moral relativism places all moral statements in the “opinion” category. On this view, morality is subjective—dependent on cultural context, historical background and the like.

Conservative evangelicals recoil from this approach, as they should.

So instead, they place morality in the “fact” category, claiming that moral truth is objective and empirically verifiable.

And how is moral truth empirically verified? The Bible, of course. Problem solved.

This is tempting, for two reasons. First, Scripture is entirely true; and much of that truth pertains to morality.

Second, apart from special revelation, it’s difficult to imagine where we might go to find empirical verification of moral truth—you can't *see* moral properties.

Having spent 2020 telling covid denalists that they were overly optimistic about the pandemic, I now look forward to spending 2021 telling covid maximalists that they are overly pessimistic about the end of the pandemic.

Telling a denialist in May that we shouldn't open bars back up = telling a maximalist in February that we should open schools back up.

Look, folks, the math is straightforward. ~13% of Americans have been vaccinated as of this

And the 7 day average continues to rise; we're approach 2 million vaccine doses per day. Meaning that we'll double that ~13% much faster than the two months it took us to get there.

So it's entirely reasonable that absent any other intervention, we should expect to hit ~30% vaccinated by the end of March.

Thread:
A year ago, at this hour exactly I was in Maujpur in northeast Delhi. For days, weeks & months, I -- like several other reporters -- filed multiple stories on the #DelhiRiots. On the violence, the perpetrators, the victims, the burnt homes & shops, the fear.

I remember every minute of Feb 23, 2020 -- from the speeches to smoke billowing from afar. What I can't ever forget is the face of a man who sat alone in front of a shop, his kurta dusty and torn, blood on his forehead, unable to answer who he was & where he wanted to go.

I've his photo, I never posted it anywhere, and I won't either. He was in such shock, and there was no help around. I tried talking to him but he didn't say a word. He was numb.

It'll take me years before I can fully write down what happened that afternoon -- a stampede, stones flying all around me, a colleague who held nu hand & ran, another who lost her slipper for a minute, tear gas, my inhaler, salt.

I sent my mother messages, my hands trembling. At 1 am, I was home -- my head buried inside a pillow between my parents.

In physics, energy is that which is causally invariant or symmetric with respect to time. Said differently, energy is never created or destroyed, it is conserved in the universe.

Now there is a question about information. Is information causally invariant? Does information remain the same with respect to time? To understand this, let's first understand what energy is, then attempt to understand what information is.

The strange thing about energy is that it is this universal currency that seems to be interchangeable between the different forces in nature (i.e. electromagnetic, strong, weak and gravity). It is that thing that makes change possible.

Now let's assume that the universe is computational in nature. That is, anything we see in nature is a consequence of computation. That is, there is computation underneath the physics that is driving the universe to change.

What does it mean then that information is conserved in this computational universe? Also, how is energy conservation related to information conservation?

@SandyWito1 @ThomasCArthur Interesting initial thread from Tom. And an equally interesting response from yourself. But I'm afraid I think you just don't get the point of Tom's thread or understand Nicola's approach. Let me explain.

What follows is a thread.

@ThomasCArthur 1. Firstly, you should know I'm a Yoon who voted No in 2014. I've followed the split in the Yes side with great interest. It may help to see this from a Yoons perspective.

*I hate the term Yoon, but I'll use it here for ease.

@ThomasCArthur 2. I'll start by telling you, imo, what the biggest threat to the Union is; Brexit. Many of us moderates and undecided were turned off Indy by the blood & soil stuff was so prevalent on the run upto 2014.

@ThomasCArthur 3. The blood and soil stuff returned with vengeance during the Brexit campaign and many of us who were turned off by Indy because of this started to question Britishness.

@ThomasCArthur 4. The shambolic exit and bumbling Boris government has compounded this and many of us moderates and pragmatic have started to become open to the idea of Indy.

A thread celebrating the many lady librarians of Mumbai, because very often, a woman who reads creates societies of people who read.

Seen here is Mrs Gulshan Feradoon Cooper, Head Librarian for over forty years at The People's Free Reading Room in Dhobitalao. “I am not at all strict, that’s my only drawback,” she said. (She doesn't charge a fine).

“I prefer research libraries because I don’t like novels, I like history," said Sarita Shekar Gandhi, Head Librarian at KR Cama Oriental Institute. Over her years at the library she has devoted herself to understanding the nuances of Zoroastrian studies.

Bidisha Basu co-started @leapingwindows , a library and café for comic books, graphic novels and manga. “You get people who have never read a comic before and that’s the most interesting part of the job. It’s exciting to introduce them to comics," she said.

“A librarian should not only love books, she should also love people," said Arati Desai the Head Librarian at the immaculate Nehru Centre Library in Worli. "I've even swept and swabbed my library, there's dignity in everything that you do at work," she goes on to say.

"If you then discovered that the majority of the committee members had financial interests in the drug being developed, how would you feel?" 1/n
@zoeharcombe @RosemaryFreiTO @simondolan @Francis_Hoar @BreesAnna @toadmeister @NeilClark66 @allisonpearson

#KBF
"The advice was stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands, protect the vulnerable, most people will have a mild illness, wearing face masks is “usually quite a bad idea“, & “big gatherings don’t have a big effect so we don’t want to disrupt people’s lives.” 2/n

"1) Organisations invested in vaccines make money from vaccines. If people acquire natural immunity, they have reduced or no need for a vaccine and thus the potential gain for the vaccine company is reduced." 3/n

"2) Locking people in their homes and other lockdown measures will reduce the number of people who acquire natural immunity." 4/n

"The notable exception was that @neil_ferguson resigned from the SAGE committee when it became known (on 5th May) that he had broken lockdown rules" 5/n

Thread: This is a long thread about my wife's grand-father: Vinayak Apte.
Born, brought up & lived in Pune. Aptewada, Sadashiv Peth. Qualified as an engineer in 1920s or so. Married around same time.
I promise you this is worth reading, so settle down with your cup of tea....1/n

Around 1921, young Vinayak writes to Mahatma Gandhi expressing his desire to join Bapu & work for freedom struggle.
Bapu writes back saying sending money for the ticket (₹5) & get your backside up here (not exactly these words, but you know what I mean!).
Bapu adds a PS...2/n

"If you change your mind, please return the ₹5 by money order to Sabarmati Ashram" Typical Bapu, you might say! Careful with money.
Vinayak quits his job & decides to go to Sabarmati. Entire extended Apte clan is horrified. Joining that fakir? Giving up your job? Ostracised.

Vinayak goes to Sabarmati with young wife & 2-3 yr old daughter. Wifey not impressed at all, bcoz on arriving there they are assigned to separate living quarters (men & women), celibacy & every1 (incl her, a Brahmin woman) was expected to clean toilets! Horror of horrors..3/n

Wife never forgave Vinayak & Bapu. She had married a engineer & was looking forward to a prosperous life. Life on other hand, was full of austerity. Everyone had to work & was paid a pittance. 5 am wake up.Cook. Clean. Khadi sarees (which btw weigh a ton!) & evening prayers...4/n

THREAD: Almost a year into the launch of Aarogya Setu, there is still little to no public data on its benefits. Yet, many of its flaws are well documented. Now it's going to be used for vaccine rollouts despite meager progress in public

Experts have been warning us about Aarogya Setu's capacity for surveillance. Post integration with COWIN, it will likely become a permanent part of our health data landscape. We've written to the NIC with key concerns, because here's what we've learnt in 1 year:
2/n

To justify violation of privacy, necessity and proportionality have to be proven. Aarogya Setu has disregarded these principles - we know because we analysed its Data Protocol, which MeitY released after public pressure. It fails to satisfy the basic threshold of legality.
3/n

A lack of transparency has pervaded the ecosystem. RTIs on Aarogya Setu failed to receive adequate answers. In fact, we had to send a legal notice because CIC refused to let RTI activist Saurav Das attend his own show cause hearing regarding critical info about Aarogya Setu.
4/n

Issues have been raised about the non open-source nature of the app. Even when the source code was released, it was the code for an earlier version of the app that was made available. The server-side code of the app was not available at all.
5/n

I cannot count the number of people who've tweeted at me about how masking and social distancing don't work, and how California's surge is proof. Florida is the most common point of contrast, since while California was suffering in December, things in Florida were quiet(ish).

Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pointed to CA as evidence that lockdowns and mask mandates are ineffective.

So, why was COVID calm in Florida when it was exploding in California? There's some randomness to when outbreaks hit , so everyone won't be hit at the same time.

Yes, CA has a higher compliance with masking and social distancing but CA *needs* higher compliance to stave off a New York-style disaster. CA is just far more vulnerable to a big outbreak, due to its higher levels of poverty, crowding & because it's a travel hub

The CDC measures "social vulnerability," -- how severely affected a region may be by a disease outbreak, based on average income, education, housing status etc. While 55% of CA residents live in counties with high “social vulnerability," fewer than a quarter of Floridians do.

So that's why, sometimes, it may seem that Floridians take fewer precautions, more businesses are open indoors etc, and they are not getting slammed with COVID in the way LA might be at that moment, for example.

@MistahiSakhikan - I am pretty sure you know your Metis history well enough to know about Martin Dunn and "The Other Metis" - people are starting to be educated and seeing through your crap. I will continue to make sure everyone fully understands what is happening here Josh.

LAC - Metis Circle Special Consultation -- Rock Matte, Claude Aubin, Frank Palmater etc.

Resources for Metis Researchers - Lawrence J Barkwell -Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research- Individuals from a variety of Metis communities, particularly in Atlantic and Central Canada, submitted reports to RCAP.

Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples Final Report Vol. 4 - Perspectives and Realities-by Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)-1996-

Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples Final Report Vol. 4 - Perspectives and Realities- by Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 1996 - Harry Daniels correspondence to Kirby Lethbridge. - Labrador Metis Nation - You know Todd Russel isn't from the RR Metis Nation either right?

1/ Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange)... as futures, sit pinned @ an odd elevated morning perch awaiting Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing & her call for the new admin to ‘act big’...this narrative has markets on high. But the truth is that it’s actually just Gary

2/x behind the curtain, pulling the usual levers. Until Vixperation on Wed, it‘ll be nearly impossible to break the IVol oversupply. This pinning of IVol was so strong on Fri that despite a peak to trough drop of nearly -2% in SPX, fixed strike straddle were down across the board

3/x & particularly decimated in the very front of the curve. IVol particularly in the 30 day range is showing dramatic signs of oversupply relative to the rest of the IVol surface, giving a nod to the Vix strip driving the compression. Even during windows of vanna weakness as we

4/x are in now, this oversupply phenomenon paired w/ a market decline & a slide to higher fixed strike IVols can still lead to a temporary ‘Dead Cat Bounce’ where residual Vanna/charm morning flows lead to brief AM market support. These supporting flows are generally just strong

5/x enough for a countertrend thrust &, unable to meaningfully impact more important macro flows & hence generally should be faded starting around 9-10am CST. That said Gary’ll likely see to it that there is no major technical break below 1 stdev in the 20 days, likely preventing

Now Ministering: Pst Clem Imaku
Topic: Pursuit After God; Becoming a God Chaser
Text: Psalm 63:1
Pursuit is the act of chasing after something. The pursuit after God is the act of chasing after God in other to know him.

#ChurchGRA
#HappyNewYear
#FirstSundayOfTheYear
#Restoration

When there is no hope, put your trust in God.
In everything you do, put God in it. David is an example of a God chaser. In the midst of his trouble, he pursued God continually.

#ChurchGRA
#HappyNewYear
#FirstSundayOfTheYear
#Restoration

For you to pursue God, you must have a personal relationship with Him. Those that chase after God, have a hunger for God.

#ChurchGRA
#HappyNewYear
#FirstSundayOfTheYear
#Restoration

God chasers desire God they desire to know the power of god Philippians 3:10.
For you to be a God chaser, you must have a hunger for his presence.

#ChurchGRA
#HappyNewYear
#FirstSundayOfTheYear
#Restoration

What you never pursue, you won't get.
Psalm 14:2. God is looking at us to see if our attention would be on him. He wants to release his power and glory but if you don't desire him, He won't.

#ChurchGRA
#HappyNewYear
#FirstSundayOfTheYear
#Restoration

Am prompted to do this 🧵 following @BEERG sharing of Gove 19 April’16 speech, @kevinhorourke observation on interests & ideas & @CER_Grant observation that historians will ponder the weakness of economic interests in Brexit negs at @InstituteGC yesterday @BrigidLaffan

1. Seems to me that @BorisJohnson has delivered on the @michaelgove 2016 speech in one important sense-not the sunny uplands of Brexit but the working out of what Brexit was to this clique who drove the Leave campaign @BrigidLaffan

2. That was a total rejection of the #EU model of internationalisation, its governance regimes, institutions, regulatory frameworks, its ideals & the political, economic & legal order it represents. @BrigidLaffan

3. This was evident in tone of Brexit negs, for example @DavidGHFrost dismissal of EU as ‘your organisation’ @MichelBarnier & refusal to recognise nature of EU re. Diplomatic states. Treating it an as IO despite the fact that there were U.K. MEPs in @Europarl_EN @BrigidLaffan

4. Evident also in refusal of a chapter on foreign & security policy & the preference for bilateral relations particularly the key capitals post Brexit. @BrigidLaffan

one thing in Swordfish that bothered me was the scene where Jackman is forced at gunpoint to let a woman give him oral sex while he tries to hack into the defense department. 1

the oral sex is presented as distracting; it's a kind of sexy joke. but it's actually rape, is the thing. nonconsensual sex at gunpoint is rape.

which, the film doesn't realize at all because guys are supposed to always be willing to get oral sex from a sexy woman. even if he keeps saying no. even if he has to be forced into it at gunpoint.

there are plenty of really dicey things about the film (you're supposed to cheer at the end because the bad guy is using his billions to kill POC who you're told are terrorists.)

I feel like there's at least some limited awareness that there is some moral ambiguity in a lot of those instances. but there's absolutely no sense that Jackman has been raped or might be traumatized by being raped.

Every single measure you can take to fix society is cordoned off by taboos. Any direction you can move results in a criminal charge: You hate women. You're racist. You're anti-Semitic. You're nativist. You're fascist. You're a fundamentalist.

JEWISH PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN

Jewish trafficking in women did not begin in a vacuum. Jews joined the crime wave that swept over East European Jewish society and spread throughout the world.

Prostitution and international trafficking in women, which were among the gravest plagues in Western society from the end of the nineteenth century on, did not bypass Jewish society, which had been undergoing enormous changes since the 1880s.

The migration from town to city and the increase in poverty contributed to the development of prostitution among Jews.

In most big cities that contained a large, poor population of Jews (Warsaw, Odessa, Vilna, Cracow, Budapest and Vienna, for example), there were concentrations of Jewish prostitutes working in brothels for Jewish pimps.

It was virtually impossible to work as a prostitute in small towns and shtetls where everyone knew everybody else and prostitutes were ostracized.