/*Commentary from July 2026

The Mormon calling me prideful for not wanting to become a god is still an interesting piece of irony, but I'm less amused by it than I was back then. Nowadays, I'm horrified by it. Back in those days, I laughed and mocked unbelievers; nowadays thinking about what they're doing to themselves (what we're all doing to ourselves) makes me sick with grief. This more "serious" attitude toward the issue briefly flared up once or twice even back then, but it is meditation on God's law which has caused me to realize the seriousness of our situation and the massive gap between our inured state of "comfortable oppression" and a truly freeing law. I remember one time, I was debating two young Mormon men online, and I began to love them, and the realization of their destination overwhelmed me, and I panicked, and my tone shifted from casual debate to a more earnest and urgent gospel presentation. They were put off by it and stopped responding -- which makes perfect sense, because I'm ridiculous.

*/

Feeling much better today than yesterday. I still think I could use a bit more sleep, but I've been able to make solid plans and execute them thoughtfully today.

Also, I've been listening to this song repeatedly lately. Not a fan of the squeaky swing-set they sampled, but the lyrics are awesome, and the baseline actually sounds great in my car speakers. I especially appreciate how they aren't too obvious in their references, so it sounds like a bunch of random stuff put together unless you know the story they're referencing... but if you know what they're talking about then it all comes together. It's got maybe an overly simple hook, as far as music goes, but I think that's perfect for the theme.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be especially busy. I hope I'm able to handle it all. If possible, I want to knock out all of this week's known objectives in one day, so I can focus on catching unexpected stuff and followups for the rest of the week.

I don't have much time to blog tonight, so I want to talk about a conversation I had online with a Mormon recently, because he said something to me that made me laugh out loud while I was reading it. We were talking about whether or not a person could become a god. The conversation followed typical progression: I cited Isaiah chapters 40-50, where God says in like 20 different places, "I am the only God who exists, and there is no other god". He responded saying that "no other god" means "no other god for you". I explained how, semantically, the "for you" clause is important, and the sentence with or without it would have two very different meanings, and then I pointed out that the verses do not have that clause. Here's the thesis from his next response:

"Why kick against the pricks. Do you envy our enternal progression?  Is pride keeping you from the Church. Is pride keeping you from kneeling and asking that one true God if you can become like him?"[sic - pasted]

I've never been so amused and offended at the same time. I explained to him how the Bible gives us knowledge of God and then warns us not to accept "gods you have not known". Then I explained to him that his god is one I don't know, because his god hasn't existed for all eternity, but ascended from being a man to being a god. His god only has power over this planet, and is by no means unique. His god is incapable of generating universes ex nihilo. His god depends on actual procreation with spirit wives to generate children. His god doesn't come down and tabernacle among us and die on our behalf, but rather just lets one of us die on behalf of the rest. My God is actually eternal, having literally all power, having created literally everything and everyone by the word of his mouth, met with us on our level so that we could know him, and gave his own life for me and then brought himself back to life.

I also explained why I'm not jealous for his eternal progression. It's because (as illustrated above) my God is bigger and more powerful than his. My God is not the God of people who seek to do good only for their own gain/ascension; my God is the God of people who seek to do good because they love God and neighbor.

Ahhh... My God is the best.

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God"