No, Mormons aren´t atheists

 

Atheist-adjacent agnostic Emerson Green spends one hour and a half arguing against a Christian video titled "Mormons are actually atheists". Green ironically refers to himself as a crypto-Mormon and even wears a BYU T-shirt! The video he is criticizing isn´t as insane as its title suggests, but I´m in general agreement with Green´s polemic. Of course Mormons aren´t atheists. But who knows, many atheists ("lacktheists") have such a broad definition of atheism that maybe they could regard the LDS Church as some kind of very exotic god-belief-lackers? "Well akshually, you can believe in powerful space aliens from Kolob and still be an atheist". I can almost see it happen.

The Christian content-creator Green is arguing against, Inspiring Philosophy, points out that Joseph Smith regarded both matter and "intelligence" as eternal. He takes this to mean that the Mormons have a view of the universe similar to that of atheists who are non-naturalist moral realists (which I assume is *Green´s* position). The "gods" in Mormon theology are really exalted humans, with the same ontological status as humans pre-exaltation. I suppose space aliens would be an apt comparison, although he doesn´t seem to make it. Thus, the Mormon "gods" are simply conforming to higher impersonal laws and therefore can´t be gods in the proper sense. 

Green argues that it *isn´t* clear from the Mormon canon that God was once a man (but surely it is?), nor is it clear that divinized humans will keep their ontological status as humans. Rather, it looks as if their ontological status does become more God-like (in the usual sense of the term "God"). But even apart from this, the Latter Day Saints obviously worship God (or the Gods), see them as saviors, derive their meaning of life from them, and so on. In other words: the exalted-humans-or-aliens play pretty much the same role in Mormonism as gods do in other religions. So how are Mormons "atheists"? 

Green could also have pointed out (maybe he did) that the pagan gods are often subordinated to higher impersonal laws (such as Fate), yet nobody denies that polytheism is a thing. He does point out that the ontological divide between gods and humans wasn´t 100% absolute in paganism (see: demigods). Yet, people still consider polytheism a thing. He is right: Hercules was a demigod but received the same worship as the gods proper. 

Not sure who needs to hear this in 2026, but there you go. Fun fact: he mentions the "Shia Mormons" (Community of Christ) at the very end of the video. Haven´t heard anyone reference *those* guys for a very long time! 

Village atheist

 

Cain and Abel never existed. Or maybe the Flood didn´t happen. The Biblical stories get more and more difficult to harmonize, the more you look into them. Darn, was the village atheist right? Kind of. After all, the question "Where did Cain´s wife come from" is moot if Cain himself wasn´t even a real person...

Maybe the waifu can remarry.

Patriotism med förhinder

 

Sann patriot? 

Anders Lindberg i Aftonbladet just nu: "Men en sak är säker. Det finns inget ”patriotiskt” i att gå USA:s ärenden eller medverka till utländska påverkansoperationer mot Sverige." Säger killen som fortfarande inte talat om för oss om han vill upphäva eller åtminstone pausa DCA-avtalet. Whatever, Anders. Whatever. 

Räkna med att Trump hjälper Åkesson i valet

Shivaratri

 

The sacred parakeet

 

Credit: Sarbjit Bahga

Tripura Sundari´s pet parakeet?

Fredspris i vår tid

 

Jag erkänner att jag faktiskt tycker det här är lite underhållande. Visste inte att Trump var *så* fåfäng och inbilsk. Många av hans knäppare utspel handlar om att trolla medierna och "own the libs". Men när det gäller fredspriset verkar han faktiskt mena allvar?! Och så är det ju dråpligt att Norge - som antagligen gav Machado utmärkelsen just för att hon är allierad med Trump - misslyckades med sin lilla manöver. Manövern var alltså att ge priset till Trump utan att ge priset till Trump. 

Och i en *viss* mening är det väl kul att se hur förvirrade högen och mitten har blivit sedan Trump, istället för att följa spelboken och den sedvanliga dramaturgin, har låtit den kommunistiska regimen i Venezuela sitta kvar vid makten...

But OK, I got a terrible sense of humor! 

Machado: Erbjöd Trump min fredsprismedalj

Norge: Fredspriset kan inte delas med Trump

Vi följer utvecklingen noggrant

Svaret på prompten "Nero Zeus Liberator"! 

Jag vägrar tro att det här är ett "misstag". Vi är infiltrerade. Utrensningarna år 2050 kommer att bli...intressanta. 

Man ordnade barnkalas - våldtog pojkar på nätet

Kriminalvården: "Ett misslyckande"

Män dömda för sexbrott avtjänar straff i föreningar för barn och unga

A spellbounding transformation

 

Independent reporter Michael Tracey argues that Tulsi Gabbard is super-opportunist even by the standards of US politics. Indeed, her opportunism is almost irrational, since her position within the Trump administration apparently doesn´t come with much power anyway. 

Maybe. But there is one aspect Tracey never mentions. Gabbard is a member of a mysterious religious sect, Science of Identity, led by one Chris Butler. There is no evidence that she is Butler´s intelligencer or infiltrator in Washington DC, but I can´t help wondering. During her political career, Tulsi Gabbard has befriended the DNC, Bernie Sanders, Joe and Jill Biden, and now Donald Trump. Which makes no sense...unless somebody really wants to have (dis)info on everyone in DC.

A more mundane explanation, I suppose, would be that Gabbard is a BJP asset. Her contacts with Hindu nationalists were apparently quite extensive already during her "leftist" period. Perhaps PM Modi uses her as a listening post and lobbyist? Maybe Modi correctly predicted Trump´s victory in 2024 and quietly told Gabbard to support him? 

Of course, there is yet another possibility: Gabbard is crazy. Not in the clinical sense, of course, but in the everyday sense of that term. She´s something of a kook, which explains why she is still a member of Butler´s New Religious Movement (a peculiar breakaway from the Hare Krishna). I admit that I´m kind of weirded out by the Gabbardian situation myself!

Link below.  

The spellbounding transformation of Tulsi Gabbard

The etheric invasion

 

The Australian esotericist who calls himself Frater Eleftheria discusses the implications of the "UAPs" (he means the UFO phenomenon) and the (alleged) disclosure in progress. People familiar with contactees, Ascended Masters and channeling will see a family likeness. So will those interested in ancient aliens. 

Eleftheria argues that the fiery pillars and mysterious clouds often mentioned in the Bible in conjunction with supernatural happenings are actually UFOs. These clouds are further associated with the Second Advent of Christ. Lights in the sky as harbingers of the end times are also mentioned in the Zohar. 

The "aliens" will soon reveal themselves, and my impression is that they are really angelic teachers of humanity. The same angelic teachers who for centuries "came through" during various esoteric rituals. They will not demand worship. Quite the contrary, their appearence will herald the end of humanity´s spiritual immaturity, during which we trusted in "gods" to help us. 

I admit that this all sounds too good to be true, and although it´s not a literal end-of-the-world message, it still stands in the same tradition of apocalyptic prophecies. Which all have one thing in common: they didn´t come to pass. Neither will these speculations. In fact, it´s more likely that we´ll get a kind of secular "apocalypse". In fact, we´re probably in it as we speak! Which, I suppose, could be seen as ironic. 

As for the disclosure, I don´t rule anything out, but my cynical side says it´s just disinformation to cover up all the usual secret test flights. And if it´s real, "They" will shut it down one of these days or refuse to follow it up. See: Epstein files.

The Age of Aquarius is ruled by Saturn.  

Female fire?

 

OK, so I couldn´t resist another ChatGPT essay. Just one more, bro, just one more! 

Can you tell me about the Scythian goddess Tabiti?

Tabiti is one of the most intriguing and least understood figures in Scythian religion, precisely because she sits at the intersection of Indo-Iranian tradition, steppe nomadism, and very archaic fire symbolism.

Our knowledge is limited, but what is known is unusually suggestive.

---

1. The sources: what we actually know

The only explicit ancient source for Tabiti is Herodotus (5th century BCE), Histories IV.59.

He lists the Scythian gods and equates them (very roughly) with Greek ones:

• Tabiti → equated with Hestia

• Papaios → Zeus

• Api → Gaia

• etc.

Crucially:

Tabiti is named first, before all other gods.

Herodotus explicitly says she is the most honored deity of the Scythians.

That alone tells us a great deal.

---

2. Tabiti as a fire goddess (but not a “hearth goddess” in the Greek sense)

Herodotus’ identification with Hestia has often misled people.

Similarity:

• Both associated with fire

• Both central, not anthropomorphic warriors or rulers

Difference:

Hestia = domestic, civic hearth
Tabiti = cosmic, sovereign fire

Among nomads:

• There is no permanent hearth

• Fire is portable, dangerous, sacred

• Fire binds clan, oath, kingship, and ritual

So Tabiti is not a cozy household goddess. She is closer to:

• Sacred fire itself

• Fire as order, truth, and continuity

---

3. Indo-Iranian background: the deeper layer

Most scholars agree Tabiti is of Indo-Iranian origin, linguistically and conceptually.

Name

• Often linked to Iranian tap- / taf- roots:

  • “to burn”

  • “to heat”

• Possibly meaning something like:

  • “The Burning One”

  • “She who is aflame”

Conceptual parallels

Tabiti aligns well with:

• Vedic Agni (fire as divine mediator)

• Iranian Ātar (sacred fire, truth, kingship)

But with an important distinction:

Agni and Ātar are usually male; Tabiti is female.

This points to an older stratum of Indo-Iranian religion, where fire was not yet rigidly gendered.

---

4. Tabiti and kingship

One of the most important (and often overlooked) aspects:

Tabiti is linked to royal legitimacy

Among the Scythians:

• The king’s authority was sacral

• Oaths were sworn by fire

• Sacred fire symbolized cosmic order

Tabiti likely functioned as:

• Guardian of oaths

• Source of royal charisma

• Axis between human society and cosmic law

In this sense she resembles:

• Asha/Ṛta (cosmic order)

• More than a “goddess” in the mythological sense

---

5. Why she comes first in the pantheon

Herodotus’ ordering is extremely significant.

Tabiti is not:

• A sky god

• A warrior

• A fertility figure

She is foundational.

This suggests:

Fire is not one power among others; it is the condition that makes the rest possible.

In steppe terms:

• No fire → no life

• No fire → no ritual

• No fire → no polity

Tabiti is thus closer to a metaphysical principle than a personality.

---

6. Gender and symbolism

Tabiti’s femininity is striking.

Possible interpretations:

• Fire as womb, transformation, continuity

• Fire as guardian rather than aggressor

• A pre-patriarchal layer preserved among nomads

She is not erotic, maternal, or martial.
She is untouchable, pure, dangerous.

That places her closer to:

• Vedic Arani (fire sticks, female principle)

• Later Iranian reverence for sacred flame

• Even Vestal concepts — but without urban domestication

---

7. Why we know so little

Several reasons:

• Scythians were non-literate

• Their religion was ritual, not myth-heavy

• Greek observers misunderstood nomadic categories

• Later Iranian religions moved in different directions

What survived is the core, not the stories.

---

8. One-paragraph synthesis

Tabiti was the supreme Scythian deity, a female embodiment of sacred fire and cosmic order, older than Olympian-style gods, central to kingship, oath, and ritual life. Rather than a hearth goddess, she represents fire as the living principle that sustains society and truth among nomadic peoples, preserving an archaic Indo-Iranian conception later eclipsed elsewhere.

If you want, we could next:

• Compare Tabiti with Vedic Agni and Iranian Ātar in detail

• Explore whether she reflects a Brahma-Kalpa–like archaic goddess stratum

• Or look at how Scythian religion differs fundamentally from Greek myth despite Greek labels