March 1991
1. Communication: One thing affecting another. Two-way communication is conversation (action-reaction cycle). Some conversation is language facilitated. A language is a patterned and socially normed set of items used to converse. All language conversation is based in non-language conversation.
2. For humans there are four important kinds of conversation:
- Conversation with other humans.
- Conversation with nature.
- Conversation with God (good).
- Conversation with Satan (evil).
Each of these conversations is important because each is inescapable.
But humans vary greatly in their conversational (language) competence. Mastery of languages makes possible cooperative (mutually beneficial) conversation, which is competent conversation.
- Cooperative conversation with humans: E.g. exchange of goods and services.
- Cooperative conversation with nature: E.g. growing a garden which is very productive.
- Cooperative conversation with God: Hearkening to His guidance as to how to help His other children.
- Cooperative conversation with Satan: Impossible. Satan acts only to disadvantage those with whom he communicates. But he teaches those who say “yes” to him how to disadvantage other humans and nature to their own temporary advantage; so these persons think they are wise because of the temporary advantage. But it is necessary to master Satan’s Language (temptations) to be able to say “no” to him.
Humans who have not mastered the respective necessary languages are incompetent communicators. A person may be competent in one kind of conversation (e.g., with humans) and quite incompetent in another kind of conversation (e.g., with nature).
3. Ability to carry on a competent conversation is sanity. A person who should have become able to be language/conversation competent but has not is unsane/insane (unhealthy).
Insanity relative to humans: Inability to carry on a cooperative conversation.
Insanity relative to nature: Inability to get nature to give one what one needs without destroying it.
Insanity relative to God: Inability to recognize that conversation with Him leads to cooperative conversation with humans and nature, and to have that conversation.
Insanity relative to Satan: Inability to say “no” to him, to believe that the temporary self- advantage he promotes are possible long run.
4. Reality consists of conversations. Be-ing is conversing. To be able to converse competently with humans, nature and God and to say “no” to Satan is to gain a firm grasp on reality and sanity.
5. The principal barrier to grasping reality and sanity is to learn to converse competently with God and to reject Satan. If one only recognizes the horizontal dimensions of human experience, neglecting the vertical, they cannot grasp reality and sanity.
God teaches and enables competent conversation (mutually beneficial conversation) with humans and nature, and how to reject Satan and evil.
Satan promotes evil, which is conversing to benefit self only by disadvantaging the partner in the conversation, which is how to reject God.
Why do not all humans immediately recognize the presence and difference between God and Satan (good and evil)? This is to ask, Why do not all humans immediately grasp reality and sanity? Some humans grasp reality and sanity immediately, and all will in the end. Meanwhile, some are blinded to reality and sanity because they simply don’t care about anyone but themselves.
What the long run will bring to them is that they will eventually recognize that as they destroy others, they are actually destroying themselves, for we all exist and prosper only in our conversations with and in the welfare of others. That realization will eventually bring them to reality and sanity.
- It is impossible to make sense of reality and sanity without learning to converse correctly with God (good) and Satan (evil).
The purpose of mortality is not to see who is smart (able to grasp reality and sanity immediately), but rather who cares about others, who can and will carry on cooperative conversations. Those who do not care about others but only about themselves buy and practice Satan’s lies (insanity), that to do evil is advantageous. Thus they temporarily deny reality and revel in insanity.