We Are Not Saved

We Are Not Saved is a podcast covering Eschatology. While this concept has traditionally been a religious one, and concerned with the end of creation, in this podcast that study has been broadened to include secular ways the world could end (so called x-risks) and also deepened to cover the potential end of nations, cultures and civilizations. The title is taken from the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 8, verse 20: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

Short Book Reviews: Volume IV 04/20/2024

Short Book Reviews: Volume IV /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/30910818

Short Book Reviews Volume III 03/16/2024

Short Book Reviews Volume III /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/30402793

Short Book Reviews: Volume II 02/15/2024

Short Book Reviews: Volume II by: Erik Hoel /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/29966838

Short Book Reviews Volume I 01/17/2024

Short Book Reviews Volume I /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/29533053

Have More Kids! 12/23/2023

Have More Kids! My report from Natal Con 2023. Including reflections on Tommy Boy, seatbelts, and the proliferation of polycrises. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/29214593

The 10 Books I Finished in November 12/10/2023

The 10 Books I Finished in November by: Robert Wright by: Matthew Desmond by: Michael Easter by: Robert Pirsig by: James Carse by: Nick Hornby by: Yukio Mishima by: Neil Gaiman by: Erich von Däniken by: C. S. Lewis /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/29003618

Egregores, Group Minds, and White Magic 11/29/2023

Egregores, Group Minds, and White Magic Transcript: Is there such a thing as a group mind? If so how does it affect the thriving and surviving of groups? What do such group minds look like from a historical perspective? What about a modern perspective? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28853123

[Patheos] - The Overemphasis on Love and Tolerance 11/20/2023

[Patheos] - The Overemphasis on Love and Tolerance Transcript: Love is very important for Christians, but has there been too much emphasis placed on it? And has this emphasis warped it into something else? To put it more simply is perfect Christian love the same as unlimited tolerance? This post argues that it's not, and that in fact if you're looking for the ultimate Christian principle it might be "repentance". /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28723703

The 10 Books I Finished in October 11/11/2023

The 10 Books I Finished in October by: Richard Hanania by: Fredrik deBoer by: Iain McGilchrist by: Todd Herman by: Jonathan Rosen by: Audie Murphy by: Kim Stanley Robinson by: Bill Watterson by: Vic Davis by: David John Seel Jr. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28594758

[Patheos] - The Worst Book I've Ever Read 10/31/2023

[Patheos] - The Worst Book I've Ever Read Transcript: John Seel Jr.'s book, The New Copernicans, is the worst book I have ever read. He puts forth a dubious premise. In support of which he provides no data to back it up, nor any anecdotes which illustrate it actually occurring. To the extent there is anything backing it up, it's provided by extensive misrepresentation of other books. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28477886

Worthy of Our Sufferings 10/25/2023

Worthy of Our Sufferings Transcript: Dostoevsky wrote, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." What does that mean? I think he meant that whatever suffering we’re experiencing it’s suffering God felt we were capable of handling. We need to prove worthy of that trust. This has always been hard to do, and now that we have numerous ways of mitigating suffering, it's not only hard, but confusing. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28418762

Can We Eliminate Struggle? - 2023 10/21/2023

Can We Eliminate Struggle? - 2023 Transcript: Humanity has struggled and suffered for so long that we might be unable to survive without them. We dream of such elimination through technology, but will that dream turn into a nightmare? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28383566

[Patheos] - Tragedies, Truths, and Technologies 10/17/2023

[Patheos] - Tragedies, Truths, and Technologies Transcript: Historically we didn't worry about wars in far away places because we weren't aware of them. Now we're aware of them, but with the rise of AI we're going to have a similar difficulty acquiring accurate information. This is going to complicate our ability to intervene righteously. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28345226

The 12 Books I Finished in September 10/12/2023

The 12 Books I Finished in September Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by: Natasha Dow Schüll The Evolutionary Limits of Liberalism: Democratic Problems, Market Solutions and the Ethics of Preference Satisfaction by: Filipe Nobre Faria A Language Older Than Words by: Derrick Jensen WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird by: Peter T. Leeson Blowback (Second Edition): The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by: Chalmers Johnson The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by: Caroline Van Hemert So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by: Cal Newport Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by: Jostein Gaarder The Sandman 4 by: Neil Gaiman American Gods by: Neil Gaiman The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 6 by: Matt Dinniman Letters to a Young Mormon by: Adam S. Miller /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28302236

Would You Wager on Pascal's Mugging? 10/10/2023

Would You Wager on Pascal's Mugging? Transcript: Imagine that someone walks up to you and demands all your money. If you fail to comply they threaten to kill all the inhabitants of some far off planet. How would you react? And is this similar to Pascal's Wager? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28277042

Betting on the Future 10/03/2023

Betting on the Future Transcript: There are three obvious paths forward: religion, atheism and transhumanism. But each of these paths must be chosen. There's also a fourth path, that of apathy. Which should we choose? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28216595

AI Risk Might Be More Subtle Than We Expect - 2023 09/29/2023

AI Risk Might Be More Subtle Than We Expect - 2023 Transcript: Depressed people are more prone to addiction. If social media engagement looks a lot like addiction, does that mean algorithms for increasing engagement also increase depression? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28174442

The Greatest Three Nephites Story Ever Told 09/26/2023

The Greatest Three Nephites Story Ever Told Transcript: It is believed that, during his mortal ministry, Jesus granted immortality to three of His American apostles. Known as the Three Nephites they now wander the Earth until His return, doing good. This has lead to many stories of miraculous assistance. This is the greatest of all those stories. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28145051

[Patheos] - Faith, UFOs, the Supernatural, and Transistor Radios 09/19/2023

[Patheos] - Faith, UFOs, the Supernatural, and Transistor Radios Transcript: Why are many people so willing to believe evidence of UFOs and Aliens, and so unwilling to believe evidence for God? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28082322

Speculative Attempts to Complicate Throughout History - 2023 09/16/2023

Speculative Attempts to Complicate Throughout History - 2023 Transcript: When things aren't going well, those in power will sometimes introduce some speculative chaos in the hopes that what emerges on the other side will be better. It mostly doesn't work. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28050237

The Thickness of Faith 09/12/2023

The Thickness of Faith Transcript: In the book Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis there is a scene where the King is arguing with a priest about what seems to be an unreasonable demand from one of the gods. The priest says something profound, something I'm still trying to wrap my head around. This episode is an effort to do just that. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/28005951

The 11 Books I Finished in August 09/09/2023

The 11 Books I Finished in August The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction by: Matthew B. Crawford Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by: Oliver Burkeman Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future by: Jean M. Twenge When Violence Is the Answer: Learning How to Do What It Takes When Your Life Is at Stake by: Tim Larkin Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution by: Tucker Carlson Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by: Gino Wickman One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by: B. J. Novak Animal Farm by: George Orwell Slaughter-House Five (Graphic Novel) by: Kurt Vonnegut and Ryan North Children of the Mind (The Ender Saga, 4) by: Orson Scott Card Chariots of the Gods by: Erich von Däniken /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27987549

The Apocalypse Will Not Be as Cool or as Deadly as You Hope - 2023 09/02/2023

The Apocalypse Will Not Be as Cool or as Deadly as You Hope - 2023 Transcript: There are many potential apocalypses, and when people imagine them they imagine that everyone will die. On the contrary most people will live, and it will be messy and miserable. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27925344

Does Technology Encourage Virtue? 08/30/2023

Does Technology Encourage Virtue? Transcript: Last week we looked at how technology appears to multiple our temptations, but what does it do to our better impulses. If we move from considering the Deadly Sins to the Capital Virtues does technology undermine our efforts or assist us? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27888018

The Nation Debt in Three Lists of Six Items - 2023 08/23/2023

The Nation Debt in Three Lists of Six Items - 2023 Apparently even the "smart" people are finally ready to admit that we should start reducing our annual deficit. In 2017 I was unclear on what the endgame was. I'm still unclear. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27830727

The Temptations of Technology 08/23/2023

The Temptations of Technology Transcript: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatchesendofworld/2023/08/the-temptations-of-technology/ What effect does technology have on the temptations we experience? If we examine the seven deadly sins it would appear that in all cases technology makes these sins more tempting and more accessible. Why would that be? /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27826107

The 9 Books I Finished in July and the One I Didn’t 08/12/2023

The 9 Books I Finished in July and the One I Didn’t End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration by: Peter Turchin Minds Make Societies: How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create by: Pascal Boyer How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by: Steven Johnson Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by: Peter Attia MD Jump Gate Twist by: Mark L. Van Name Send Us Your Armies (Pilgrim's Path Book 1) by: Vic Davis Lonesome Dove by: Larry McMurtry Science Fiction Short Stories compiled by: Guy d'Andigne Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent by: Larry Correia The Myth of Sisyphus by: Albert Camus /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27735549

(Patheos) - And There Was Silence in Heaven... 08/09/2023

(Patheos) - And There Was Silence in Heaven... Transcript: In the Book of Revelation we read that when the seventh seal was opened there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. In this post I'm going to engage in some spurious scriptural speculation about what that might mean. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27698547

Is Pornography a Supernormal Stimuli? - 2023 08/02/2023

Is Pornography a Supernormal Stimuli? - 2023 Transcript: Supernormal stimuli are those things which encourage us to do something that was historically very useful, but in an artificial and supercharged way. Think of the way junk food hacks our appetite. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27619323

(Patheos) - Technological Salvation 08/02/2023

(Patheos) - Technological Salvation Somehow I got the two audio files mixed up. So I published my substack thinking it was my Patheos piece, so now I'm publishing that Patheos piece. I will go through and try and fix some links, but I don't think I can fix it entirely... In any case here's the Patheos Audio: Transcript: Two groups have a narrative of human potential — a sense of humanity’s ultimate destiny: the Actively Religious and the Radical Humanists. The former our ultimate salvation will occur in partnership with the divine (e.g. God). For the latter we are destined to be saved by our own efforts. These similarities invite us to consider both as paths to salvation, albeit very different ones. /episode/index/show/wearenotsaved/id/27633810

We Are Not Saved

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