The First Question

Why is this blog unlike all other blogs?

We ask the four sons of the first question they would ask about the Yevaud project.

The wise son asks: “What is Independence Compensation?” And we tell the wise son that while that is certainly an important question, it is not the first one that should be asked; for the others do not know enough to understand the answer.

The wicked son asks “Why do you deny Jesus Christ three times?” And we tell the wicked son that question is neither necessary nor kind. (The author does deny it three times; specifically denying a miraculous birth, a miraculous life, and a miraculous resurrection.) Apart from an aside comment that you cannot use a time machine to watch the Virgin Mary have sex, it is of no concern.

The simple son asks “Why are there different colors of text?” And we tell the simple son that this is certainly a useful question, but not necessarily one that is of the site. There is certainly value in establishing multiple voices without having the trappings of a frame novel constraining the structure of the essay.

And as for the son who does not know how to ask, you must start from the beginning, and that beginning is the concept of Prophecy. The concept of Prophecy is old, very old. The Romans had the Sibylline Books, the Greeks had the Oracle of Delphi. The Jews had various promises made by השם.

I suppose that many readers in the early 21st century will comment that “there is no such thing as prophecy”. But why do you think that is the case? Here, we choose not to assume it to be possible or impossible, we choose to know. And to know, we must perform an experimental test. And to perform an experimental test, we must have a theory that explains what test to conduct. And to establish a theory … things get complicated quickly.