The Book of Rabyd 2:1 – “People are Stupid”

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Text:

“People are Stupid” – The Book of Rabyd 2:1

Thoughts and Exposition:

We are with verse one of chapter two moving into a different realm of The Book of Rabyd. Chapter one is principles I would say are universally or nearly universally true. Chapter Two is points of wisdom which are more about life guides and coming to a better understanding of the world. Not hard fast rules in chapter two, but definitely can be seen to be true most of the time. We start with the simple three word Phrase: “People are Stupid”

One might say this is a pretty pessimistic view of people in general. This is not a statement about people and their morality however, just their nature. Terry Goodkind and his Wizard’s Rules impressed me in their quick way of getting to human nature and laying it out there plainly and bluntly. I like someone who can take a concept and put it into a simple statement and “People are Stupid” shocks you ,and yet catches your attention, because you know in you heart it is true. I have tried to put this idea into other terms or phraseology but it never has the force of “People are Stupid.”

Terry Goodkind though really doesn’t stop with just these three words. but in his book Wizard’s First Rule he makes several other points about it:

Given proper motivation people will believe almost anything.
People will believe something because they want it to be true or fear it is true. (Confirmation Bias)
Peoples’s heads are full of things that they think is true but is in reality mostly false. (Cognitive Dissonance)
People rarely can tell the difference between a lie and the truth, but they think they can. (Ego)
Because of all this people are easier to fool.

You will note Terry did not say ALL People are stupid. His assumption is that by understanding this rule you can rise above it yourself. First you understand it for yourself that you yourself are stupid. Once you get this idea that you are stupid, and need analyze your own thinking and beliefs for whether or not they are true, then you are very much on the path to understanding yourself and others better. Stupidity is part of being a human being and once you get that part, the rest of the wisdom that flows from this foundation becomes easier to swallow. Truth is found in understanding that even you can be subject to stupidity and that means re-thinking things regularly to make sure you are basing your understandings on the truth and not just what you want to be the truth.

There is tremendous power that you gain when you understand all of this and the challenge for the vitreous person is to not take advantage of it for malevolent purposes. It gives you an advantage when you realize what makes people, stupid including yourself is Confirmation Bias, Cognitive Dissonance, and Ego. You can use this to help or harm. lead people to truth to a lie. Motivate them to great good or evil.

As a leader over the years’, I have come to realize the difficulty of researching and coming to know the factual truth at times, but knowing full well that to motivate people to act on it, requires a great deal of tapping into people’s ‘stupidity’. Otherwise they will never be motivated to act. Truth rarely motivates, passion does. That is the challenge to be motivated by truth as a leader but tap into people’s passions so you don’t on the one hand mislead people, but on the other hand get them to act.

We may see Terry Goodkind again. I am revising a lot of these points of wisdom and combining some of them so we will see. However many of the Wizard’s Rules echo in a lot of them.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Eastern Philosophy – The Code of Bushido

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

Eastern Philosophy is a large subject. It stretches over several different cultures. Middle Eastern, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, etc. all have their philosophical schools and viewpoints. If there is a commonality to Eastern Philosophy it is focus more on community and oneness with the universe. In western philosophy people overcome surroundings. In eastern philosophy, one becomes one’s surroundings if that makes any sense.

I am not going not dive into the metaphysical sea that is eastern philosophy. Today I just want to do a comparison between the Nine Noble Virtues of Ásatrú (NNV) which I follow, and the Code of Bushido (COB). The Japanese Warrior Code is something I admire, so the purpose of this comparison is not to note superiority of one over the other. I have a feeling if a samurai and a viking warrior sat down and had a discussion about these things they would walk away from each other with a profound amount of respect. Rather, my main purpose is to learn and grow. To perhaps see other facets of the jewel known as the NNV by comparing it to another jewel – The COB.

There are similarities – Both have honor. The difference is that the NNV tries to encompass in honor the idea of respect, where the COB makes that a separate virtue. Both have Fidelity, but the COB adds the idea of Duty as part of that, although I would say it is part of Fidelity as well. Honesty lines up very much with Truth. Compassion lines up very well with Hospitality. Both have Courage. There is a lot of overlap as you can see. The learning is in the differences.

The COB has Respect as separate from Honor and the Virtue of Integrity. In the case pf respect, looking at this reminds me as a follower of the NNV that Respect is a part of honor. To me self-worth and respect are two sides of the same coin of honor. The COB reminds me that I need to remember it is two-sided. Integrity is sticking with one’s decisions and being commuted to them. I would say in Fidelity we see that but not so much our decisions as being committed to our relationships and making decisions based on those commitment that are loyal and true. I can change my decisions if a different path suggests I would demonstrate more loyalty to that person or group than my current path.

The NNV has the following virtues that are more emphasized than the COB: Self-Reliance, Industriousness, Discipline and Perseverance. It is not that the COB doesn’t talk about these things, it is just two some might be seen as expressions of the other virtues. Discipline as part of Compassion. To be disciplined one must then display perseverance. However, I think the concept of ‘face’ kicks in here and failure is far less of an option in the COB as it is in the NNV. The Viking Warrior after failing, gets up and tries again. The Samurai might instead to stave of losing face commit ritual suicide. The thing being that in Eastern philosophy community is far more important that the individual.

This is probably best seen in Self-Reliance and Industriousness. It is not that the COB does not emphasize them, it is just they are always seen as a part of a greater whole. The problem with this in Viking culture is you can find yourself alone trying to survive and live. The climate and nature of the Scandinavian world meant you are going to have to face things at times without the community. So you better figure out how to do things yourself and you better work hard or you might die or suffer for relying too much on others or not working hard enough.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

Comparison in philosophical systems is needed to strengthen our own. It avoids the cranial rectal inversion that some philosophers develop that I am trying to avoid. Having one’s head up one’s own ass philosophically. Easter philosophy with its different focus points tends to be quite revealing when you put it side by side western.

Wants (Freki):

I personally want to see aspects of the Code of Bushido expressed in my following of the Nine Noble Virtues. There is a need to remember respect as part of honor for me. To remember community is important when it comes to hospitality and fidelity. That Integrity is a part of Truth for me. Learning how to fuller understand and express the NNV by looking at how others see the same virtue is something I definitely want.

Reason (Huginn):

I would say reason tells us that codes and virtues might be the same but which ones are going to be more emphasized are going to depend a lot of culture and society. The Code of Bushido fits its Eastern philosophical world. The NNV virtues make more sense for me because I live in a culture that is more self-reliant and individualistic. However if I had or do business in Japan, it might do me well, from a rational point of view, to switch while I am there.

Wisdom (Muninn):

Learning to find wisdom where you find it is key. Wisdom knows no culture or society. It sometimes expresses itself differently depending on society but the concepts of wisdom tend to be the same.

Conclusion:

I have enjoyed this look at the Code of Bushido. It has made my meditation on the NNV a little more fuller as I consider aspects of the NNV in its light. It has allowed me to see more of my own path and code. I imagine I will return to it again.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Odin’s Eye – Deism: The Search for The Rational God

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day

Discussion:

I still very much embrace Deism as the most rational way to approach the subject of the divine. I think the notion that there is no god is just as irrational as the theist or religion who thinks he/she has god locked down. The great challenge for me as a deist is to deal with the subject of the divine using only reason and natural revelation as a guide. Heavy emphasis on the reason part because natural revelation is still subject to human interpretation.

Epicurus’ argument against God is pretty well-known and I still have some of the same problems with it as I had as a Christian. In fact much of my arguments against it have not changed because even back then the defense against philosophy is not theology, it is more philosophy. Most notably Epicurus assumes his definition of all-powerful, etc. are locked down and cannot be challenged. He seeks basically to win the argument about god through definition which is an argument from authority based on the authority of the definition. What his argument does do is present the rational contentions about the divine that need to be addressed very concisely and in a logically sound manner.

This is actually one time where the Eye lines up pretty good with each part of Epicurus’ argument. So….

Time to Look Through the Eye:

Faith:

If he is able but not willing? He is malevolent

I find it interesting that Epicurus engages in faith at this point. He has faith that there is such a thing as malevolence or beneficence and assumes that god must be one or the other. Such definition really lose their meaning if you dismiss notions of good and evil and realize there might be a rational reason why a supreme being might create and then move on. As George Carlin points out – God may simply not give a shit. He may be a creator, but it does not imply that he is malevolent simply because he refuses to do something about ‘evil’. He may simply also look at humanity and say – “you did this shit to yourselves and you have the capability to get yourself out, take responsibility for the ‘evil’ and suffering you have caused and fix it yourselves.”

I actually think this is the strongest argument for polytheism. That the reason we see so many problems in the world, is it was created by a committee. Just saying.

My faith is that if there is a god or gods or whatever, that they are creators but not necessarily cosmic babysitters. Like good parents he/she or they want us to grow up and tackle our own problems and we can’t learn how to do that effectively without struggle.

Religion:

If God is neither able or willing, then why call him God?

Actually because the definition of ‘god’ is much broader than “Omni” classifications. We also use the term ‘god’ to describe beings of great power and use a small ‘g’. It is religion that paint god as all-powerful in the sense that he can do anything, but there may be laws to the universe that prevent the divine from acting and they may as pointed out above, not give a shit. It doesn’t stop them from being more powerful than anything else and thus deserving the title of ‘god’.

Theology:

If God is wiling to prevent, but not able. Then he is not omnipotent.

I like to point out at this point that Epicurus does not eliminate god with this statement as some atheists claim. It just shows that perhaps human conception of the ideas of omnipotent, omniscient, etc. might not be properly defined. So such a god could exist with all the power that actually exists, knowing everything in the way it is knowable and be present in all places that actually exist. Yes, these ideas create a powerful being worthy of being called god, but there are limits here. Such limits make the normal understanding of omnipotence in need of adjustment, but it doesn’t make such a god not possible or lacking in existence. All this statement really does is point out that our definitions might be in need of change.

Spirituality:

If he is both able and willing? Where does evil come from?

Moral evil is easy to justify if you use freewill as a defense and a god who does not interfere because he wants humanity as a whole to learn and grow. It may not be logically possible to have freewill without suffering. Natural evil is a little harder to justify. Other than if god is still bound to the laws of the universe, then the laws of physics make natural ‘evil’ simple existent and God may very much be a powerful being who fights these forces but cannot do everything. Rationally, the god that actually exists might have limits – both because the laws of the universe place those limits or those limits might be self-imposed because it is not always wise to interfere.

Conclusion:

I am not saying Epicurus is wrong. He may very well be right and God is a figment of human imagination. I respect the atheist position but I find it personally a little extreme because of human ignorance of the universe. His argument actually forms a lot of rational response for deism as it must address these issues to have a rational reason for belief in the divine’s existence. His argument guides the search for the rational god because the questions are valid. That said, I do, as a theologian, see the irony of accepting certain theological definitions in order to make your argument against the existence of god, when those definitions themselves can be challenged.

For me the search for the rational God is part of the journey that I walk. But as a pagan, it is not my only criteria.

Continuing to Walk the Path,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Of Wolves and Ravens – Virtue: Moving Higher

March 12, 2019March 12, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion:

Having finished the Nine Noble Virtues it is time to flip the subjects for Of Wolves and Ravens to the flip side. So for the next nine weeks the subjects will be more Side B

Eastern Philosophy
Western Philosophy
Love
Minimalism
Economics
Justice
Political Science
Libertarianism
Wisdom

These are either the Higher Virtues or other philosophical elements that guide my thinking. Subjects where my philosophy is more real and concretely applied to the real world of my life.

Today, however, we return to the general subject of virtue. Mostly the rationale behind pursuing virtue as opposed to Religion as a way of moving higher. I suppose it comes back to the Marcus Aurelius quote I keep using.

My main issue these days is to live a good life and so following good virtues is the path to that. The Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) of Asatru are good ones to follow and no matter what your religion or faith, I don’t think you could fault them. Virtue is a Human trait and if anything is responsible for the good in the world it is when people take their human capacity and guide it by good virtues.

To the Wolves and Ravens:

Needs (Geri):

At this point things will get a little more personal. After departing from my Christian faith, I knew I would need something to guide my life philosophy. I think that is one of the problems of struggling with faith. You hold your principles from that faith, but the basis for doing so is missing. I needed to figure out what that basis was and how I could hold a system of philosophy to guide myself and my character without having faith in a religion. Virtue is an old discussion in philosophy and one that has always had a lot of merit to me. So I found that the need for a system of virtue was very much justified.

Wants (Freki):

I also wanted virtue. One of the things that you get accused of when you leave the faith is somehow you are now lesser of a person. It is never said but it is there. Your ‘lost’, ‘going to follow your sinful nature now’, you are not as ‘good’ in the eyes of the people of the faith you left. Part of my embracing virtue is I want to show how bankrupt a notion it is to believe you need to follow a certain religion or faith to be a good person. That you can be a better person morally without faith or religion is a hard concept for people to accept for some reason. I want to prove that it can be done.

Reason (Huginn):

The rational reason for following virtue for me is that it upholds my thoughts that a person can actually use religion for evil while calling themselves good. After all they are just following their authority of their holy book or holy man. Even if that action causes harm to others, in religion it is still justified because you were doing what your authority told you.

I can’t do that following my philosophy of virtue. Virtue demands that an action must also cause no harm to others whenever possible. It recognizes that appeal to authority is not a rational act but a logical fallacy. Therefore to just follow authority blindly is not virtuous, rather quite the opposite.

Wisdom (Muninn):

I feel that no matter what the twists and turns of my life are now, that the NNV allows me to navigate each fork and crossroad with wisdom. I am not letting some blind guide pull me along. Rather my eyes are open and I makes sure each life decision is guided by principle and virtue. I do take into account what is best for me, but I also no longer think that shows a lack of wisdom but rather it demonstrates wisdom.

Conclusion:

On May 28th, 2018 I was no longer a pastor or a Christian officially. I even have a letter from my former church that fired me retroactively to May 27th to prove it. I keep that letter because there is a line in it that motivates me. From time to time I pull it out and read it:

“This decision was based on the fact that you no longer have the character, ability or right to be the shepherd of any flock”

Well, I plan on making them eat those judgmental and arrogant words and I plan on doing it by living a better life than I ever had as a Christian. I plan on doing that by following virtue. By so doing, I will move higher than I ever have before. I don’t see my leaving the flawed hypocritical virtues of Christianity to follow the NNV as a step downward, but rather a step upward. Time the pierce the sky and live a good life.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – The Book of Rabyd 1:3 – “Everyone Has the Right to Liberty”

February 24, 2019February 24, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods and goddesses, or whatever powers that be either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves, and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here. We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it. Let’s be honest, offerings are not giving to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it. Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never see a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Opening Song: ‘Bad Reputation’ – Joan Jett (Uncensored)

Is there an opening message here about liberty. Yeah. Liberty often requires that you don’t do things to please others, you do what is right for you and sometimes others are just being self-righteous, sanctimonious pricks. The message today is about respect of others right to liberty, but sometimes it isn’t about that – it’s about trying to maintain your own liberty in the face of those who would take it away though cultural and political rules that they want to impose on you. Sometimes the fight for liberty is simply a matter of telling such rules and those who impose the to ‘go to hell’.

Poem: “Untitled Meme” by Unknown.

Image may contain: text that says 'Let the gays get married. Let the rednecks have their guns. Let the atheists be atheists. Let the Christians be Christians. America is about FREEDOM. Freedom to live your life as you please. So smoke a bowl, eat a greasy burger, shoot your guns, praise Jesus and wish those two fellas next door a happy honeymoon. It's only when people FORCE their ways on others that problems begin. It never ceases to amaze me how many full grown adults don' t understand that.'

Forcing your viewpoint on others is the issue. Not sure if this is a poem, but it definitely gets the point across.

Meditation:

Song of Preparation: “Imagine” – John Lennon

“They say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one.”

Text:

“Everyone has the Right to Liberty” – The Book of Rabyd 1:3

Sermon:

Liberty. It is an easy word to say and it is easy to demand it for yourself. It becomes quite another matter to give liberty to others. The great problem with humans is that we objectify others and nearly all methods of objectification involve this notion that people should live a certain way, or do certain things and if they don’t then they just are wrong and we should make them.

I would submit the moment you are trying to use force, threat of force or fraud to make another person or group of people conform to your vision of morality, behavior or ethics you demonstrate you do not understand the word liberty. Liberty isn’t just about you being able to live the way you desire, it is about letting others do it too.

This is the thing about calling thing inalienable rights. This means that if you want your right to something inalienable you have to respect it in others. The other thing is there is more than one inalienable right – you also have life and the pursuit of happiness. No use of your liberty can deter then from another person’s rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This has some pretty astounding implication which I will get into later in The book of Rabyd, but for now note that liberty allows you to do what you want to do as long as it does not interfere in the rights of others. That means you have to think a little bit about things before you act. There is no just do what you want and damn the consequences. Liberty demands the notion of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’.

On the flip side though, if a person is going to tell me I am interfering with their rights, they better bring proof. If they can’t do so, then they are simply attempting to diminish my right to choosing my own path which should be considered as just as evil a crime as trying to take my life. People use all kinds of forces from philosophy, to religion to a straight up desire to control others to justify interfering with people’s liberty. That notion cannot be allowed.

If there is any legacy I want to leave to my children and grandchildren at this point it is I hope they truly consider the blessings of liberty. Not just for themselves but there is also a blessing in letting others be free. From freeing oneself from the terrible desire to control the behavior of others. If I were ever get around to creating a family motto, it will certainly have the Latin word: ‘Libertas‘ in it. It is that important; just as much the inalienable right as life.

Closing Song: ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ – Metallica

One final Skaal!!!

Parting Thought:

Amen, Mr. Hoppe, Amen

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – The Path of Virtue

February 18, 2019February 18, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Moon’s Day.

Journal Entry:

If someone were to ask me right now what I miss the most, I would say it is walking. Winter sucks to walk in without the proper gear. I miss the iron of the weights at the gym too, but I miss the simple act of taking an hour our of the day to take a walk. As soon as the snow is gone and the temperature up to a point where I can put on a jacket and take a walk, I will be out there.

Walking for me is very honest metaphor. I am the Grey Wayfarer and a Wayfarer is one who travels on foot. I enjoy this simple action more than most people know because living is walking with the occasional stops for enjoying the view or life in general.

My path is in life though is virtue. Finding the right path has not always been easy. I have walked a lot of them. Christianity was a major one. Right Now, I would say the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) are a better one. Why? Because Virtue transcends religion, politics and philosophy, and it is something I have come to discover as I have walked the path. You can be an honorable person regardless of whether you area Christian or not, whether you are conservative or liberal, or whether or not you believe in eastern or western philosophy. Virtue is simply working to strengthen that which is best in us as human beings, and that path is something I can gladly walk.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – Be positive about my future

I have a sense of honor. I have really come to understand that this comes from within and not what other people think of me. That is very important to understand. People do not dictate my sense of personal honor; I develop it within myself. It makes honor both stronger and in a sense more vulnerable.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

No problems here, I would say my recent travelling through The Grey Storm may have built this a little stronger. I just need to really use this to put myself out there even more for a job search.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness to be honest and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

I don’t find this as difficult anymore. I find myself stay silent a lot but it seems other people have more problems when I speak the truth than I do. I have discovered that it is so true that people would rather have comforting lies than the truth, that it makes me chuckle at times. That said, I follow truth because it gives me an advantage.

Higher Virtue: Love:

Love of life. This last couple weeks have really challenged that. I guess I can say I owe a few people who I love some credit at times for helping me find my way back to love of life. My wife, children and grand kids all have contributed. It makes this path easier to walk at times.

Morning Routine:

Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) and Principles
Review Goals and Bucket List
Meditation
Full Body Stretch
Shower and Personal Hygiene
Get Dressed for the Day

Really working on a full week this week with this complete every single day. I have come close several times, but this week I want the morning Routine to be flawless.

Bucket List:

Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation.
Get My Tattoos.
Actually Get Drunk.
Smoke a Joint.
Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Write My Novel.
Learn Latin.
Learn Hungarian.
Weightlifting – Bench 225 lbs, Squat 315 lbs, and Deadlift 405 lbs.

I am going to work on two things, 1) Finding the way to get the money for my first tattoo and 2) writing my novel. I have until the end of June to get one or the other of these done.

Weightlifting:

I think the best plan right now is to get some dumbbells and come up with routines with those i can do at home. It might be a high rep, three set thing for some exercises but I need to do something to make sure my muscles stay toned at least. Once I get a better paying job, gym membership and other things get back on the table.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Book of Rabyd 1:2 – “Everyone Has the Right to Life”

February 17, 2019February 24, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Text:

“Everyone has the Right to Life” – The Book of Rabyd 1:2

Thoughts and Exposition:

I am going to state it plainly that verses 2 through 4 are a rip off from Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence. But the right to life is still a very hot button topic in this world today and I am not going to skirt around it, but before I begin I would remind people who there are three of these major rights and not one is more important than the other. They have to be kept in balance because they are all ‘inalienable’, so not one of them can be more important than the other. The right to life is simply the first one.

At this point I want to point out that I am making an assumption here in the source of rights. There are actually many schools of thought about where rights come from; or if we even have them at all, but the assumption made by most of the founding fathers was that rights were natural, given by the creator. We will run with that for the purposes of the Book of Rabyd.

The main issue is that everyone has the right to live and that no one has the right to take another life. There are of course all kinds of issues here from capital punishment to abortion, but we need to remember that this right has value. That value needs to be considered when looking at those issues. If a person murders someone, then they have denied another’s right to live, and I would say also forfeited their own. Our right to live is conditional on the one factor that we respect everyone else’s right to live. Once we fail to do that, we forfeit that right.

The other issue is the very simple. When does life begin and when does it end? It is this issue along with the other issues of the other two inalienable rights that need to be considered when considering issues such as capital punishment or abortion. The main issue for me has always been to respect the lives of others and that they respect mine. Given that, I expect people to let me live that life as I wish to live in liberty and I will do the same for them. But that is a discussion reserved for the next verse.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Book of Rabyd 1:1 -“If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You.”

February 10, 2019February 24, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Text:

“If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You.” – The Book of Rabyd 1:1

Thoughts and Exposition:

I of course ran into my first problem with The Book of Rabyd rewrite right out the gate with verses one and two of the old version: Rabyd 1:1 – ‘There is a God’ and Rabyd 1:2 – ‘You are Not God’. The first verse I would consider a little dogmatic now. The second really is a result of understanding one simple truth; that you are not the center of the universe. After much debate with myself I came up with: “If There is a Divine Center to the Universe, It is NOT You.”to replace them both.

The first part of verse one is a propositional phrase. The idea is possibility without being sure of it to the point of arrogance. I think there are two dangers I am confronting with this phrase. 1) That given the vastness of the universe it is highly likely that any notion of the divine that any religion creates; if the divine exists, is probably wrong in some way and 2) To dismiss the notion of the divine altogether is also equally arrogant given the vastness of the universe and how little we know about it.

The second phrase is one of humility. The real kind, not the fake kind of humility that religion produces, which I find to be attention seeking. “Look how humble I am and how much faith I have.” Or the kind that life knocking you down achieves, which is actually a low sense of personal honor. No, real humility is the basis for all the virtues of life. Humility leads to love, justice and wisdom because one can acknowledge that you are but one being in a vast universe. But also there are other beings trying to do the best they can in this same universe with you. Real humility leads to respect of self and others which is the foundation of all the rest.

All the virtues, no matter what you name them, should flow from this humble understanding of self and respect for both yourself and others. For me the Nine Noble Virtues are my way of expression of this, but each person could choose their own. It is where; despite the fact that I am not the center of the universe, I will act with my better and stronger self.

This change of course leads to questions about what legacy I want to pass on here. One simple one really – You don’t have to be the center of the universe to have a great life and great relationships. Just genuine humility about yourself and respect for others. This should lead to a Honor, Liberty and Solid Relationships. Real humility has those results.

Given the vastness of our universe and our humility as we stand before it, we really have one choice before us – to make our own way as best we can and respect that others are doing the same.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Book of Rabyd – Introduction

February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

This is the beginning of a revision of a project I called The Book Of Rabyd. Over the coming months you will see each verse of The Book of Rabyd first be preached about in the Pagan Pulpit and then slimmed down and revised again here in The Book of Rabyd posts.

In life I have heard a lot of things. I have also pondered, thought, felt and experienced life. I have loved so deeply that it has led me to mountain tops and the lowest valleys of emotion. I have tried to act in justice to the point where I have fought tyranny in my own life and in the lives of others. I have above all tried to live a wise life full of balance between love and justice with varying degrees of success and failure.

Along the way I collected in my head a list of Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and a few Family Sayings. The Book of Rabyd is my attempt to categorize these and place them into an organized form for future generations to read. The original version appears here: The Book of Rabyd (All Things Rabyd)

It was written in this form from February 2015 to July 2015. It needs revising. Mostly my faith and religion of the time need to be removed and everything needs to take on a more inclusive form. Because of this there is going to be some of the parts of The Book of Rabyd that will be deleted. Others will experience wholesale revision and others will be left alone and continue to stand.

The Book is divided into three sections: Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and Family Sayings.

Life Principles are things that are the core to what I believe is effective life philosophy. I have found them to be true the vast majority of the time and form the highest level of the hierarchy of The Book of Rabyd. They are the core and everything flows from them.

Points of Wisdom are wise sayings that I have collected over the years that resonate with me. Like all wise sayings they have their limits and require wisdom in understanding them and applying them to life. They have been found by me to be rather helpful in navigating life and I felt they should be passed along.

Family Sayings are simply that. Things various family members have said that resonate with truth and are worth passing on to the next generation. Some of them are from family members that are dead; so there is a preservation of memory attached to this as well. This was actually the unfinished part of the original The Book of Rabyd that was still in progress.

In truth, the entire book is not a closed canon. It always subject to review, mediation and debate. Over the coming months I plan on preaching it one verse at a time. There will be a second post (This One: titled simply – The Book of Rabyd) on Sun’s Day in the afternoon that will be The Book of Rabyd in its pure, non-Pagan Pulpit form. In the end my hope is to have a more compete version in a few months.

I hope you enjoy it.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – The Book of Rabyd – Part 1 – Introduction

February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Announcements:

I am announcing that starting today I will be preaching a series with an overall theme. I get more into this theme in the actual sermon section below but I wanted to announce that this series will go on for quite a while. The Book of Rabyd is a Legacy Project of mine. Something I want to pass on to the family after I am gone. It is a basically a list of Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and Family Sayings that were passed on to me or I discovered and I seek to pass on to the future generations of those of the Raby lineage. I simply seek a unique way to do it and The Pagan Pulpit fits. I will probably make a separate post of it to stand alone, but I want to use the framework of the pulpit to get the inspiration going. Hope you enjoy it.

To the rest of the announcements:

Opening Song: Master of Puppets (S & M) – Metallica:

Figured I start the service with something epic. Probably a candidate for one of the top five best metal songs of all time. Combine it with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and great crowd participation and you get one epic piece and moment in time.

Poem: “Untitled (Never Be Sorry?)” by Caroline Carter

This poem is something that pulls me right now. If that makes any sense? I simply view my past as a Christian as a toxic place and I have moved on. It is hard for others to accept, but their acceptance of my choices cannot influence me one way or another.

Meditation:

Song of Preparation: “Amen” – Halestorm:

I always marvel at people when they use the term “Amen:” in church. Most of them don’t even know what it means. Basically, when you say ‘Amen’ your testifying that you believe that what you just heard is true. With this song for me – “Amen”

Text:

Introducing – The Book of Rabyd

Sermon:

Along the way I collected in my head a list of Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and a Few Family Sayings. The Book of Rabyd is my attempt to categorize these and place them into an organized form for future generations to read. The original version appears here: The Book of Rabyd (All Things Rabyd)

It was written in this form from February 2015 to July 2015. It needs revising. Mostly my faith and religion of the time need to be removed and everything take on a more inclusive form. Because of this there is going to be some of the part of The Book of Rabyd that will be deleted. others will experience wholesale revision and others will be left alone and continue to stand.

The Book is divided into three sections: Life Principles, Points of Wisdom and Family Sayings.

Life Principles are things that are the core to what I believe is effective life philosophy. I have found them to be true the vast majority of the time and form the highest level of the hierarchy of The Book of Rabyd. They are the core and everything flows from them.

Points of Wisdom are wise sayings that I have collected over the years that resonate with me. Like all wise sayings they have their limits and require wisdom in understanding them and application to life. They have been found by me to be rather helpful in navigating life.

Family Sayings are simply that. Things various family members have said resonate with truth and are worth passing on to the next generation. Some of them are from family members that are dead so there is a preservation of memory attached to this as well. This was actually the unfinished part of the Book of Rabyd that was still in progress.

In truth the entire book is not a closed canon. It always subject to review and debate. Over the coming months I plan on preaching it one verse at a time. There will be a second post on Sun’s Day in the afternoon that will be The Book of Rabyd in its pure, non-Pagan pulpit form. But I want to preach it first. I think through that I will gain some addition insight.

I hope you enjoy it.

Closing Song: “Here’s to Us” – Halestorm:

One final “Skaal!!!” before we part. Here’s to us.

Parting Thought:

So true. I ithnk most of people’s personal problems stem from two factors:

1) Not accepting who they are and trying to be somebody that they are not

2) Not accepting the mystery of life and that life itself is mysterious – and that is a good thing.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

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