So, it turns out that the whiz kid fraud at the center of the most recent collapsed crypto-trading Ponzi scheme – a microcosm of the broader and all-encompassing control and scam macrocosm known as the System -- was involved in something called Effective Altruism, which describes itself as a research field and community that aims to find the best possible ways to help others and then put these ways into practice.
Sounds good, right?
Before wading further into the fraudulent whiz kid’s much publicized, pre-scandal altruism and benevolence, it is worth evaluating the motivations and background behind this apparent love of mankind and yearning to make the world a better place by helping people.
Whiz kid was the second largest political donator in the US behind Uncle György Schwartz. His parents are law professors at a prestigious citadel of darkness; both have heavily participated in political lobbying. His aunt is the dean of the school of health at another citadel of darkness and is also connected to the WEF. His brother ran a non-profit focused on “guarding against the birdemic”.
Whiz kid and his family members are all clearly and deeply connected to a variety of System apparatchiks in various System sectors, including healthcare, politics, finance, education, and law. Unsurprisingly, the whole family is actively involved in all the Litmus Test issues, to the point that the whiz kid apparently used his company as a front through which to launder money via Ukraine.
I don’t know about you, but do any of these people strike you as the sort who honestly strive to help people and make the world a better place? Does it look like any of them sacrificed their interests for the sake of others? If anything, the whiz kid and his extended family offer a clear glimpse of some of what lies behind the System’s obsessive promulgation of altruism as the highest of all virtues and moral obligations.
Regardless, modern people generally embrace altruism as a high virtue, moral obligation, and guiding principle. Many consider it a high expression of love; for some, it represents the highest form of love.
When the media broadcasts an individual or organization that is working to place the interests of others above its interests, modern people tend to regard such individuals or organizations as noble and virtuous.
Contemporary Christians are no exception here. Most Christians think altruism is an innately Christian principle and virtue – a principle and virtue that the secular left hijacks, corrupts, and retools to serve its nefarious purposes.
Within this framework of contemporary Christian thinking, the disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others is an inherent Christian “good” toward which all Christians should aim.
Yes, leftists and atheists often abuse the principle, but this abuse should not deter Christians from practicing altruism properly; nor does it negate the Christian “goodness” contained within the principle.
In fact, one of the best things a modern Christian can do is demonstrate the correct spirit of altruism and show the secular, atheist what selfless service to others means and how it “should be done”.
And Christian Effective Altruism – the same thing the Ponzi scheme whiz kid supported but with a Christian twist – offers the contemporary Christian the perfect avenue through which to do just that (bold added):
Service to others is a pillar of Christianity. Jesus taught that helping those in need was one of the most important aspects of life for just about anyone. Jesus went as far as to suggest that people should help others as much as possible. For example, Jesus praised those who would give so much to the poor that they themselves became poor. With such strong emphasis on helping till it hurts in the New Testament, one would expect to see Christians today putting altruism, or producing a positive change in the world, at the forefront of their lives.
The world in which Jesus lived was vastly different from the world today. Life was centered on one’s own community, and people had limited knowledge or ability to communicate with the rest of the world. Helping others in the ancient world was probably a simple affair consisting of giving to beggars or local organizations that helped the poor or sick. It is therefore understandable that the altruism espoused in the Bible was simple and local, with an emphasis on quantity (ie. sacrifice).
Today’s world is much more complex and global. Helping others is, therefore, also more complicated, with countless possible options. It would be a mistake to assume that Christ would advocate to limit altruism to your own community or to directly helping the sick or poor if he were alive today. The fundamental message of Jesus’ teachings of altruism was to help others, or improve the world, as much as possible. In the Twenty-First Century, this requires a scientific approach that uses research and reason to optimize outcomes.
Christians today have not been heeding the call of Christ to make a sincere, robust effort at helping people. We sacrifice little and help others based on the benefit to ourselves rather than to society. Only by practicing effective altruism, can we live up to Christ’s expectations. By utilizing scientific principles, we can determine which actions are most worth pursuing, and which should be relegated to a lower priority. Tools such as randomized controlled trials and surveys make it possible to estimate the effectiveness of various interventions in helping others, guiding our actions with evidence and compassion.
Listen, Christians who believe that sounds even remotely Christian needs to seriously re-evaluate their understanding of what living up to Christ’s expectations really means.
I’ll cut right to the chase. Altruism is not a Christian principle or virtue. Moreover, it never was.
Leftism didn’t hijack altruism from Christianity and corrupt it; Christianity absorbed altruism from leftism. Unfortunately, this absorption has severely distorted, contaminated, and misrepresented authentic Christian love.
There are many problems with altruism. For the sake of brevity, I'll focus on the simple fact that it was Auguste Comte, the founder of positivism, who coined the term!
Comte’s concept of altruism derives from the French autrui, (other, or other people), which in turn comes from the Latin later, meaning other. Comte's ethical doctrine of altruism is rooted in the insistence that individuals are morally obligated to put the interests of others above their self-interest for the sake of society.
Here’s the kicker – Comte rejected metaphysics and theism outright. He did not believe in anything spiritual.
Instead, he believed in the sociological law of three stages in which his positivist stage – a philosophical system that accepted only that which could be scientifically recognized or proven via logic or mathematics – represented the pinnacle of human development, ranking far above the necessary yet inferior theological and metaphysical stages of social development (both of which needed to be abandoned).
Though Comte denied the reality of God and Creation, he valued the social utility of religion; so much so, that he ended up creating a secular religion, aptly called The Religion of Humanity.
I have rambled on about all of this because I have spent the last couple of days thinking about a recent post on Dr. Charlton’s Notions blog.
The post was a succinct and penetrating summation of “what is best, deepest, and most important about the work of Rudolf Steiner” as provided by the late editor-in-chief of Steiner books, Christopher Bamford. The following lists the main points:
This is creation. Our life on Earth is spiritual; this spiritual life is about love; and this love is creation. Creation is made-of love; and the aim of evolution is to develop this love and consciousness of love.
Love among Men is not sufficient, but it is essential. The first commandment to love god, and the second commandment to love fellow Men are no longer, since Christ, possible to separate. Both are necessary for each other.
Dr.Charlton’s post on Bamford/Steiner raises many vital questions that require immediate reflection. Among these, one struck me as particularly significant:
Since our life on Earth is spiritual, and the purpose of this life on Earth is the establishment of relationships through which to learn how to love – to cultivate love via consciousness – then what “sort” of love should people be aiming for, learning, and cultivating?
The answer is simple. Christian love. True Christian love.
The kind that does not include altruism -- effective or otherwise!
Sounds good, right?
Before wading further into the fraudulent whiz kid’s much publicized, pre-scandal altruism and benevolence, it is worth evaluating the motivations and background behind this apparent love of mankind and yearning to make the world a better place by helping people.
Whiz kid was the second largest political donator in the US behind Uncle György Schwartz. His parents are law professors at a prestigious citadel of darkness; both have heavily participated in political lobbying. His aunt is the dean of the school of health at another citadel of darkness and is also connected to the WEF. His brother ran a non-profit focused on “guarding against the birdemic”.
Whiz kid and his family members are all clearly and deeply connected to a variety of System apparatchiks in various System sectors, including healthcare, politics, finance, education, and law. Unsurprisingly, the whole family is actively involved in all the Litmus Test issues, to the point that the whiz kid apparently used his company as a front through which to launder money via Ukraine.
I don’t know about you, but do any of these people strike you as the sort who honestly strive to help people and make the world a better place? Does it look like any of them sacrificed their interests for the sake of others? If anything, the whiz kid and his extended family offer a clear glimpse of some of what lies behind the System’s obsessive promulgation of altruism as the highest of all virtues and moral obligations.
Regardless, modern people generally embrace altruism as a high virtue, moral obligation, and guiding principle. Many consider it a high expression of love; for some, it represents the highest form of love.
When the media broadcasts an individual or organization that is working to place the interests of others above its interests, modern people tend to regard such individuals or organizations as noble and virtuous.
Contemporary Christians are no exception here. Most Christians think altruism is an innately Christian principle and virtue – a principle and virtue that the secular left hijacks, corrupts, and retools to serve its nefarious purposes.
Within this framework of contemporary Christian thinking, the disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others is an inherent Christian “good” toward which all Christians should aim.
Yes, leftists and atheists often abuse the principle, but this abuse should not deter Christians from practicing altruism properly; nor does it negate the Christian “goodness” contained within the principle.
In fact, one of the best things a modern Christian can do is demonstrate the correct spirit of altruism and show the secular, atheist what selfless service to others means and how it “should be done”.
And Christian Effective Altruism – the same thing the Ponzi scheme whiz kid supported but with a Christian twist – offers the contemporary Christian the perfect avenue through which to do just that (bold added):
Service to others is a pillar of Christianity. Jesus taught that helping those in need was one of the most important aspects of life for just about anyone. Jesus went as far as to suggest that people should help others as much as possible. For example, Jesus praised those who would give so much to the poor that they themselves became poor. With such strong emphasis on helping till it hurts in the New Testament, one would expect to see Christians today putting altruism, or producing a positive change in the world, at the forefront of their lives.
The world in which Jesus lived was vastly different from the world today. Life was centered on one’s own community, and people had limited knowledge or ability to communicate with the rest of the world. Helping others in the ancient world was probably a simple affair consisting of giving to beggars or local organizations that helped the poor or sick. It is therefore understandable that the altruism espoused in the Bible was simple and local, with an emphasis on quantity (ie. sacrifice).
Today’s world is much more complex and global. Helping others is, therefore, also more complicated, with countless possible options. It would be a mistake to assume that Christ would advocate to limit altruism to your own community or to directly helping the sick or poor if he were alive today. The fundamental message of Jesus’ teachings of altruism was to help others, or improve the world, as much as possible. In the Twenty-First Century, this requires a scientific approach that uses research and reason to optimize outcomes.
Christians today have not been heeding the call of Christ to make a sincere, robust effort at helping people. We sacrifice little and help others based on the benefit to ourselves rather than to society. Only by practicing effective altruism, can we live up to Christ’s expectations. By utilizing scientific principles, we can determine which actions are most worth pursuing, and which should be relegated to a lower priority. Tools such as randomized controlled trials and surveys make it possible to estimate the effectiveness of various interventions in helping others, guiding our actions with evidence and compassion.
Listen, Christians who believe that sounds even remotely Christian needs to seriously re-evaluate their understanding of what living up to Christ’s expectations really means.
I’ll cut right to the chase. Altruism is not a Christian principle or virtue. Moreover, it never was.
Leftism didn’t hijack altruism from Christianity and corrupt it; Christianity absorbed altruism from leftism. Unfortunately, this absorption has severely distorted, contaminated, and misrepresented authentic Christian love.
There are many problems with altruism. For the sake of brevity, I'll focus on the simple fact that it was Auguste Comte, the founder of positivism, who coined the term!
Comte’s concept of altruism derives from the French autrui, (other, or other people), which in turn comes from the Latin later, meaning other. Comte's ethical doctrine of altruism is rooted in the insistence that individuals are morally obligated to put the interests of others above their self-interest for the sake of society.
Here’s the kicker – Comte rejected metaphysics and theism outright. He did not believe in anything spiritual.
Instead, he believed in the sociological law of three stages in which his positivist stage – a philosophical system that accepted only that which could be scientifically recognized or proven via logic or mathematics – represented the pinnacle of human development, ranking far above the necessary yet inferior theological and metaphysical stages of social development (both of which needed to be abandoned).
Though Comte denied the reality of God and Creation, he valued the social utility of religion; so much so, that he ended up creating a secular religion, aptly called The Religion of Humanity.
I have rambled on about all of this because I have spent the last couple of days thinking about a recent post on Dr. Charlton’s Notions blog.
The post was a succinct and penetrating summation of “what is best, deepest, and most important about the work of Rudolf Steiner” as provided by the late editor-in-chief of Steiner books, Christopher Bamford. The following lists the main points:
- We are already, here and now, living in a spiritual world
- Our habits of reductionist-positivistic thinking are what actually materialize the world
- Everything is consciousness, and all consciousness is of a Being which is conscious.
- We inhabit a world of Beings in relationships. So, reality consists of relationships in consciousness.
- These relationships continue after that transformation which is death
- The purpose of the Earth and Men - what this world is essentially for - is the creation of relationships.
- And this is vital because only on Earth and among Men can Beings learn to love.
- The most important thing, in reality, is the cultivation of Love; and the development of consciousness of Love.
- Love and freedom are needed and inseparable - you cannot have one without the other.
- The most important activity of the universe takes place on earth
- The rest of reality participates in the development of Love between beings on Earth.
This is creation. Our life on Earth is spiritual; this spiritual life is about love; and this love is creation. Creation is made-of love; and the aim of evolution is to develop this love and consciousness of love.
Love among Men is not sufficient, but it is essential. The first commandment to love god, and the second commandment to love fellow Men are no longer, since Christ, possible to separate. Both are necessary for each other.
Dr.Charlton’s post on Bamford/Steiner raises many vital questions that require immediate reflection. Among these, one struck me as particularly significant:
Since our life on Earth is spiritual, and the purpose of this life on Earth is the establishment of relationships through which to learn how to love – to cultivate love via consciousness – then what “sort” of love should people be aiming for, learning, and cultivating?
The answer is simple. Christian love. True Christian love.
The kind that does not include altruism -- effective or otherwise!
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