Thiel's leaked lectures on the end of the world | Hacker News Reader

Thiel's leaked lectures on the end of the world

theverge.com

5 pointsizhak4 comments

One of these days they might have to rename progressive terminal neurosyphilis to “Thiel’s Disease”.

Like religion you need a threat to gain power and justify your superiority.

> The difference is that Thiel is an uber-wealthy influencer with political power. The theological thrifting by which he has sewn together his own apocalyptic vision would at one level be seen as quirky but innocent if not for the fact that he is using that vision to set himself up as a godlike judge between the saved and the damned — one might almost say a kind of Antichrist. That’s what eschatology has always done, but few apocalyptic preachers have wielded the kind of power Peter Thiel does, and he doesn’t seem to view many of us outside his circle as worthy of salvation.

Translation: He is judge, jury, executioner, Christ, Antichrist, and his little band are the only ones to be saved. So many in our culture seek "godlike" powers without any of the "woke" compassion.

Apocalyptic visions are looked at from outside the Christian box that accepts apocalyptic writing as prophetic, by Kurt Spellmeyer in "Buddha at the Apocalypse" In short, western "culture" is somewhat structured around changing everything to reach some "other place" --- "creative destruction" if you will.

By contrast, (Nichiren) Buddhism asks us to look inside for the Buddha or divinity inside of us and build a better world in place by transforming ourselves in a way described in the Lotus Sutra, in which we treat others as both equal and unique, the very opposite of escapism.

In its original Greek context, “apokalypsis” referred to a revelation or an unveiling, particularly of knowledge or divine truth. [0] Nichiren Buddhism (IMO) uses, instead of long and complex doctrines and interpretations, so beloved of religious and other intellectuals, a paucity of words, either the Lotus Sutra itself or a condensation or its very name to reveal the "Buddha inside" ... that is the revelation and you can practice it twice a day, and not wait for some "end time". In fact, Buddhism argues that time has no beginning and no end. The contrast is quite startling, and IMO, liberating. 'This is it' is not a sentence but opportunity.

"Western Culture" so adored by many, has a history of divisiveness and destruction (or hadn't anyone noticed recent events?), and that's not to let other cultures off the hook; it's the one we can reform.

I am reminded of the saying of a Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart.

Meister Eckhart, a 13th century Christisn mystic, insisted that “if a person were in a rapture as great as St. Paul once experienced and learned that his neighbor were in need of a cup of soup, it would be best to withdraw from the rapture and give the person the soup he needs.”

So while we stampede and maim others in a quest for a "final judgment", the everyday actions we take are the "daily" judgment and the daily "revelation"

This is reminiscent of the message in the movie "Groundhog Day", an "accidental" Buddhist parable. Most striking is Bill Murray's character Phil, taking compassion on a homeless man and offering him warm soup. [1]

The poor man had "nowhere else to go" and neither do we.

[0] https://uspeakgreek.com/philosophy/human-sciences/theology/a...

[1] https://rentry.co/69znidvh

In English, "apocalypse" refers to a specific revelation, the Revelation of John, which describes (among other things) the end of the world. The first word in the original Greek is "apokalypsis". We now conflate "apocalypse" with "eschatology", though that's not the original meaning.

Evangelical Christians are convinced that there is some place to go, namely Heaven, and that this entire earthly process is a waste of time. Jesus was pretty clear about the cup of soup, but they believe that the soup won't matter if they can run out the clock on the world.

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