Theos-Talk Archives (August 1997 Message tl00230)

theos-l@vnet.net wrote:
> 

> Subject: Logograms

> Vincent writes:
> 
> >G-d
> 
> I would not have known this meant "God" if I hadn't read this was so.  What
> does this particular version of God's name signify?  Is it just an
> abbreviation? - (although it's not shorter)  It does remind me, in a way, of
> how some people shorten/spell Christmas as "Xmas."
> 
> Alan mentioned that there are some Jewish people who write 'The Whopper
> Word' like you do - which leads me to believe there is some kind of deeper
> meaning with this spelling.
> 
> Why do you prefer "G-d?"

It is mean to demonstrate reverence for the Names of Divinty. Jewish
writers also ascribe to the belief that the Hebrew alphabet is sacred
which I think bleeds over and influences their writing in other
alphabets. For me written symbols have no literal Holiness, although, I
believe that taking pause before mentioning G-d is a good thing to do.
> ------------------------------
> From: "Dr. A.M.Bain" <guru@nellie2.demon.co.uk>

> Subject: Re: Jupiter going direct?

> 
> Because the earth spins at an angle, and because astrology is a
> geocentric system, the astrological view of the planetary motion is how
> it *appears* to an earth observer.  Hence, planets *seem* to be moving
> backwards owing to the eccentric orbit of Earth.  As time passes, this
> appearance changes, and the planet (Jupiter in this case) *seems* to
> stop and start going forwards again.
> 
> The movement is therefore an Earth movement, but it *appears to be* a
> planetary movement.
> 
> Hope this makes sense.
> 
> Alan
> 

> From: Titus Roth <titus@clisome9.rose.hp.com>
>
> Subject: Re: Jupiter going direct?

> Vincent Beall <vincent@dmv.com> asked:
> 
> > The ICE calculates that the heliocentric longitude of the Earth and
> > Jupiter will be the same at 13:30 hours on August 9th in this time zone.
> > Is this the meaning of "direct"?
> 
> Not exactly. The same heliocentric longitude means that Sun and Jupiter are in
> opposition. It is somewhat related to retrograde motion for outer planets,
> though, due to the geometry of Earth, Sun and planets. At some point when an
> outer planet is near a square (90 degrees), conjunction, (0 degrees), or
> opposition (180 degrees) to the Sun, it appears to change direction with
> respect to the stars.  This is closer to the definition of retrograde
> motion. The real definition of retrograde motion is that the normal forward
> motion of a planet through the Zodiac (say from Aries to Taurus) reverses
> itself and goes backward (e.g., from Taurus to Aries).
> 
> In addition to the significance already posted about retrogrades, there is
> another interesting one: persons with a planet retrograde in their natal chart
> tend to reap karma related to that planet when the planet is retrograde.

I think I follow everything that you and Alan have written, although, it
seems to me that when the angular position of the Earth become the same
as Jupiter, at that point the apparent motion of Jupiter would reverse
in direction. So is the correct time for the beginning of the direct
phase on the 8th or on the 9th at 1:30 in the afternoon?
> 
> ------------------------------

> From: Bart Lidofsky <bartl@sprynet.com>

> Subject: Re: Entering the Pit of Sickly Sweet Ethics, once again...

> 
>         It works much the same in moral issues. Each person has their own set
> of moral axioms (and societies have THEIR own, as well). The more moral
> axioms you have, the greater the chance that any given action will
> violate one or more of them. This gives the appearance of shades of
> gray, but can actually be broken down into an individual group of binary
> decisions, the level of each of which determines the importance of the
> others. Of course, with our level of ability to predict the consequences
> of our actions, and the amount of time it would take to think through
> every action, we cannot go through these factors very often. If we use,
> as a basic axiom (which, admittedly, has to be defined in respect to
> other axioms) as, "The most moral action is the one that benefits
> Humanity the most, never forgetting that we are part of Humanity", then
> the Golden Stairs are a good means to eventually acting reflexively
> according to this dictum. And, as the Mahatmas said, intent is the key.
> 
>         Bart Lidofsky

Bart, your insight into evaluating ethics as problems in fuzzy logic is
really very excellent. I have a volume on the design of neural networks
and am slowly wading through it. Can you suggest any titles on the
applications of fuzzy logic to philosophy, it may every much a benifit
to mankind as the new machines that will be designed with it.

Vincent
> 
> ------------------------------

-- 

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http://home.dmv.com/~vincent/