QuamStiver | 6 years ago | on: Interface Builder's Alternative Lisp Timeline (2013)
QuamStiver's comments
QuamStiver | 6 years ago | on: Depression and suicide linked to air pollution in new global study
QuamStiver | 6 years ago | on: Beginner's Guide to Linkers (2010)
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: In Bubbles, She Sees a Mathematical Universe
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Berkeley HS student tried to rig his own election, exposing cybersecurity flaws
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Hello world: Shining a light onto the culture of computer programmers
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Gmail is having an outage
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Lessons learned: writing really long fiction
The first noble truth of Buddhism can either be rendered as "suffering is inevitable," or "life is unsatisfactory." In my limited understanding of Gnosticism, The other three truths are that suffering is caused by a misunderstanding of our essential nature, that liberation from this suffering is possible, and that there's a path anyone can follow to attain this liberation.
In Gnosticism (per Wikipedia) that all matter is evil, and the non-material, spirit-realm is good. There is an unknowable God, who gave rise to many lesser spirit beings called Aeons. The creator of the (material) universe is not the supreme god, but an inferior spirit (the Demiurge). Gnosticism does not deal with "sin," only ignorance. To achieve salvation, one needs gnosis (knowledge).
Look kinda similar, do they not? While there's no evidence that Buddhist thought directly created Gnosticism, Buddhism had been around for a few centuries by the time Gnostic Christianity appeared, and even though there weren't many Buddhists in the Roman empire, there were Buddhists in Afghanistan by around the time of Alexander, and some of the monks were known to be Greek. I'd also point out that Mani (creator of Manichaeism) cited both Jesus and Buddha as inspirations. Anyway, long story short, these ideas were percolating throughout the civilized world in later classical times, so I'm not surprised that some Christians tried to incorporate them in their practices. Same thing happens today, for instance with the "Jubus" (Jewish Buddhists).
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Graphene-based sieve turns seawater into drinking water (2017)
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Weekend ‘catch-up sleep’ is a lie
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Citizens allowed to sue on behalf of Lake Erie when it’s being polluted
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Heat Your House with a Water Brake Windmill
Generate electricity during peak hours (high price) / Generate storable heat during off-peak hours.
Or would it be better to generate e-power all the time if the turbine is capable of it?
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: France’s new high-speed trains
QuamStiver | 7 years ago | on: Why Portland's Public Toilets Succeeded Where Others Failed (2012)