10v24

Welcome to 10v24.net! (explanation of site name)

My name is James Banks (email, blog, follow). I am a writer and I make other creative things.

What is your writing about?

My writing so far is about two main themes, altruism and belief in God. You can see these two (somewhat) worked out in a personal journey in my older books. I think if you are altruistic, you will care about God, among all the other beings you care about. If you believe in God, it will call you to be your best, and be more altruistic.

Another way to look at my writing is that it is about development, both personal development and the development of societies. Development is in some ways the default and can be both good and bad. How can we pursue good development, while avoiding developing into something bad? (Or also, how can we undo bad development?)

I made a page that categorizes my writing (so far, the categories are "how can we love?", "exilic-familial", "radically theistic", and "aletheism"). This helps explain my overall writing project.

A more recent, somewhat rough overview is here.

Why is this site so grey and plain?

Grey is for the desert, for what is quiet, dry, and non-obvious. We are likely to know the truth that is vivid and loud, but not as likely to know the desert truth. The desert is a barren place, so I have made the backgrounds textured. (Texture is like color.)

Plainness is for simplicity and lightweightness.

These are some of my values, both aesthetic and spiritual, which I try to express with this site's design, but there are other values which I express in my writing.

What do you write?

Longer books: Letters to People Who Care, The Tree With Unimaginable Roots, and others.

I have written a short play and something about cooking. Also I have a story published in an online magazine, Uneven Earth.

I wrote an IPFS website, here.

I have released a written sitcom, Waiting for Margot.

I also write booklets (under 10,000 words). There are 6 booklets currently offered.

MSL (PDF epub), (16 April 2024)

MSL is a natural theology I made. It is compatible with voluntary millennial holiness, and starts from the question of whether everything is consciousness. The God of MSL is empathic, self-risking, bears burdens, and requires us to live up to his standards. MSL suggests but does not prove the validity of the Bible, and may be acceptable in some of its arguments to non-Christians. (24 pages, free ebook)

Voluntary Millennial Holiness (PDF epub), (2 February 2024 (original), 29 May 2024 (current version))

Voluntary millennial holiness is the idea 1) that everyone must come to fully turn against sin and toward God (overcome sins, love God fully) before they can go to heaven, 2) that whether this process is complete is something up to us to choose to do and we may fail to choose it, and 3) that there will be a long, finite time for this process to be completed in the next life. I've tried a heavier philosophical approach to arguing for it (largely occasioned by trying to argue for the existence of God), but this is the simplest I could come up with (it presupposes that the reader believes in God). Replaces Simple Millennial Holiness and Simple New Wine System. (8 pages, free ebook)

The Cross (PDF epub), (16 October 2023)

What is the cross? Self-sacrifice? Suffering for the sake of suffering? In this booklet, it means "altruism through self-risking". It is a pursuit of a reward, which could harm oneself (pursuing the cross), leading one sometimes to be harmed (undergoing the cross). This booklet is a study guide containg a reading list and some commentary. (7 pages, free ebook)

The Future of Beauty (PDF epub mobi), (2 November 2020)

This is both an essay and short story about the future of beauty. What kind of world are we trying to create for ourselves, in the far (or near) future? As we gain more ability to experience what we want to experience, what kind of experience will we end up choosing? Two depictions of beauty are given. (35 pages, free ebook, version for printing A4)

Fiducialism (PDF epub mobi), (1 October 2018)

Booklet about how everything is trust. Suggests a replacement for hedonism, pragmatism, and materialism. (Revised 23 August 2020). (22 pages, free ebook, version for printing A4)

Destruction and Beauty (PDF epub mobi), (14 July 2017)

Knowledge is justified true belief. Any thing you think, you can doubt. Nothing is really justified, unless it is justified in an "unthought" way. So then, what is left is to talk about specific beautiful things. The book discusses the following beautiful things: singleness, sustainability, the Bible, following Jesus, altruism, theism, and animals. (30 pages, free ebook, version for printing A4)

How can I contact you / keep in touch?

You can email me at banks at 10v24 dot net. (There's a slight chance I may miss your email. If you think that may be the case, try sending again.)

I have accounts on Goodreads, and Tumblr. (I used to have a Twitter account, but I closed it.)

I have a subreddit where I post links that I find interesting.

Site name

10v24 refers to 10:24. I wanted something short and unique for the URL for this site, back in 2012 when I started it. I like the aesthetics of powers of two, and I wanted to make reference to computers. Hebrews 10:24 is an appropriate verse for this site nowadays.