Comments for Joseph Thiebes

Comment on Comical Candidacies: Controversy in Political Satire by Vermin Supreme | Aleister Crowley 2012

Vermin Supreme | Aleister Crowley 2012 — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:32:45 +0000

[...] time, we will address Vermin Supreme’s platform completely in this post. Granted, he is a satirical candidate who mirrors the clownish behavior of real politicians and draws our attention to the reality [...]

Comment on Cultural Continuity: A Strategy for the Success of New Religious Movements by Joseph Thiebes

Joseph Thiebes — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:44:58 +0000

Consider my ~20 page paper that addresses the specific question of applying cultural continuity (and various other strategies) to Thelema, and also addresses your concerns, published in Unity Uttermost Showed. In it, I specifically bring up distinctiveness and strictness as an important strategy, and spend several pages explaining various ways in which we have distinctive demands. The paper you like here does not treat the topic of Thelema at all, but merely analyzes cultural continuity as a phenomenon. In the published paper I explain very thoroughly that traditions must not be coopted in a way which erodes the values and beliefs inherent to Thelema. Cultural continuity, as a strategy, should merely provide some familiarity of traditions while changing the core message to suit our own beliefs. Indeed, utilized properly, coopted traditions provide a suitable milieu for *illustrating* distinctiveness, as in the case of having a "secret satan" gift exchange or celebrating "vulgar new year" as a way of giving people a chance to have their old traditions while simultaneously offering illustration that our beliefs are different.

Comment on Cultural Continuity: A Strategy for the Success of New Religious Movements by Robert Crow

Robert Crow — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:06:59 +0000

I very much enjoyed reading this article, especially its attention paid to the subject of western religious movements entering an eastern schema; namely, Protestantism in Taiwan. I would very much enjoy reading the article by Mr Chao, if you could share with me where you found it. I am especially curious as to whether or not he addressed some other peculiarities concerning Protestantism in Taiwan; for instance, I noticed his article’s title mentions migrant workers in urban environments. It’s important to know that, in China, these migrant workers are severely impoverished, and cities promise an income otherwise inaccessible to farmers. Christian groups tend to offer domicile to migrants, and such domicile may be contingent on one’s conversion. Similar benefits are undoubtedly forthcoming, for Christianity exercises a nepotism beyond family, where family is the typical means of groups conspiring to succeed socially in Chinese society and is endorsed as such by prevailing Chinese values. This, compounded by Chiang Kai Shek (the founder of the Taiwan Republic) and much of the wealthy elite’s conversion to Christianity, makes conversion equitable. We must then question the motives of conversion in this environment, that Christianity has long enjoyed popularity among the destitute as a means of social betterment. Further, as argued by D H Lawrence in “Apocalypse”, this social upheaval is the root of class struggle, and Christianity thrives on the resent it inculcates in its adherents.

As Thelemites, we must ask some critical questions:
1. Is the essence of Thelema its distinctiveness, and might this distinctiveness be lost when commonalities are the means by which we achieve prevalence?
2. Is it not that religious succeed based on their willingness to participate in the homogenizing trend of modern society and egalitarianism? This is to say, one might live forever through suicide, as soil, but is this life as soil not a forfeiting of all the beauty of existence in the flesh for the sake of the promise of everlasting life in death?
3. St Shaw marked that the conversion of Paul to Christianity was regressive, and his outspoken position brought about a swift end to Christianity as an appreciable novelty in the religious landscape. Is Thelema too endangered to allow its speciation as a trend, or can we not assume that Thelema might – having rid itself of its archaic encumbrances – prove the victor?

For the Taiwanese, Christianity is the loophole to escape caste. For the Chinese, the PLA is the means of quick social favoritism. We may laud these movements for their success, but ultimately their successive generations are at a loss as to what they have inherited other than the shadow of the object of their desire: a world grayed by homogeneity, the sun eclipsed by sinosoviet skyscrapers.

Comment on Comical Candidacies: Controversy in Political Satire by Debate video, audio interview, and more… | Aleister Crowley 2012

Debate video, audio interview, and more… | Aleister Crowley 2012 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:02:10 +0000

[...] read a short essay on Vermin Supreme and political satire by AC2012 creator Joseph Thiebes [...]

Comment on A light quiche by What Competition? « Joseph Thiebes website design, technology consulting, and graphic art

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:28:01 +0000

[...] Local, personal service: Are you in Portland, Oregon? Call me on the phone and meet me for coffee to talk about your business and describe your vision for the website. You might even run into me at the grocery store, buying ingredients for my next quiche. [...]

Comment on A light quiche by Joseph Thiebes

Joseph Thiebes — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:32:14 +0000

Looks tasty, eh? I should make another one…

Comment on A light quiche by Daphna

Daphna — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:08:59 +0000

that’s a totally hot photo, my brother. yumm.

Comment on You might be a Portlander if… by Joseph Thiebes

Joseph Thiebes — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 07:05:08 +0000

Funny how that works eh!

Comment on You might be a Portlander if… by Daphna

Daphna — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:32:34 +0000

I feel you, brother! The first month I lived in Portland (15 years ago) I ate more vegetables than I had in the 19 years preceding. Seems to be good for humans.