LXVIII. Persecution Complex

Throughout recorded history, I find negative examples of the fate and destiny of those individuals who ventured to disagree with powerful communities of faithful believers. Deviants were condemned as a dangerous threat to the future of society. Deviants were crucified, burned, hung, impaled, disemboweled, beheaded, drowned, banished, exiled, excommunicated, persecuted, tortured, intimidated, interrogated, assaulted, abused, injured, mutilated and or alienated, deprived of property and or status, and or put to death as evil ones, infidels, blasphemers, heretics, and or witches. Maybe religious intolerance continues to dominate hearts, minds, and wills of enough people to cause those who venture to disagree to take pause, make a rigorous examination of reasons for disagreeing, and assess possible risks and costs of doing so before allowing self to become visible to potentially intolerant communities of faithful believers.

Maybe some conservative ideological authorities lead communities of faithful believers to make a fraudulent affirmation of an ability to know that myths about the will, words, way and laws of an angry, perfectionistic, judgmental, masculine, good one in Heaven are true in order for a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to be able to maintain authority, power, order, and control within a fundamentalist state. Will the fabric of such a society disintegrate into anarchy without belief in myths about the existence of one totality divided by a spiritual conflict between a good one in Heaven and an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth terrorizing right and wrong doers? Maybe 'the good news' that some religious leaders claim to offer communities of faithful believers is actually spiritual blackmail. Maybe spiritual blackmail comes from aggressive ideological traditions prominent within the global culture today in the form of exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge. Maybe religious leaders proclaim that these exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge are true and were recorded as words in sacred scrolls written by messengers chosen by a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth. Maybe based upon their interpretations of these exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge, religious leaders proclaim to communities of faithful believers that the will of a good one in Heaven is that members submit to the will of religious leaders who affirm an ability to know about the existence of a good one in Heaven and his will; and in so doing, surrender their authority to make up their own minds about the existence of one totality.

Having gained the authority from believers to make up their minds about the existence of one totality for them, maybe religious leaders begin a life long process of indoctrination or as some atheistic negativists call it 'brain washing' designed to make up the minds of believers with a model of the existence of one totality divided by a spiritual conflict between a good one in Heaven and an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth. Maybe the idea that the good one in Heaven demands communities of faithful believers be "good" by conforming to a standard of conduct described by religious leaders as the will of a good one in Heaven is a part of this indoctrination. Maybe conservative religious leaders proclaim that the word, will, law and way a good one in Heaven commands communities of faithful believers; to be fruitful and multiply, work all the hours of the day from dawn to dusk, and fight evil; to make prohibitions against sex for recreational, occupational, or homosexual purposes; and to raise objections to sexual education that could make these practices safer. Maybe a desire to conform to this standard of conduct motivates communities of faithful believers to out work, out fight, and out number competition in the global culture; and in effect members are led to behave like racist, heterofascist, warmongers. Maybe religious leaders proclaim to communities of faithful believers that a good one in Heaven judges as 'good' those members who conform and do as they are told by religious leaders; and promise that when a good one in Heaven passes final judgment upon the many of our global culture in the end times good members will be rewarded with entry to Heaven and experience divine bliss for the rest of eternity in the presence of the good one. Maybe religious leaders proclaim to communities of faithful believers that a good one in Heaven judges as 'evil' those members who deviate and do not do as they are told by religious leaders; and threaten that when a good one in Heaven passes final judgment in the end times they and everyone else who did not conform to the standard of conduct described by religious leaders as being the will of a good one in Heaven will be made to go to Hell and experience abominable infernal torment for the rest of eternity. Maybe these threats of abominable infernal torment and promises of divine eternal bliss empower these religious leaders to use this spiritual blackmail to extort gold in the form of tithes and/or offerings and to peddle their influence over the minds of communities of faithful believers to a mercenary plutocratic predatory few that prey upon the many of our global culture.

Maybe belief in myths about a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth creates the kind of blind obedience, flawed character, and misguided loyalty that are capable of best satisfying the need and aspiration of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to achieve and maintain authority, power, order and control. In the minds of those who are enslaved to the will of religious leaders claiming to know the will of a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth, the idea of making a terrorist attack upon infidels could easily become equated with fighting evil and if death should come as a result then this could be equated with becoming a martyr on the way to gaining entry to Heaven and experiencing divine bliss for the rest of eternity. From these kinds of equations follows a shakedown of epic proportions some call a global war on terror. This is a form of extortion where in a desire to profit from the sale and manufacture of the services and products of a beast of a military industrial complex leads a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to patronize those ideological authorities who best lead communities of faithful believers into war with one another over differences of opinion in matters of faith.

Conservative ideological authorities use the lie that myth is truth to maintain authority, power, order, and control over communities of faithful believers and motivate their members to support the establishment of a theocracy within a fundamentalist state. Maybe such a theocracy functions in practice as a front for a shakedown of epic proportions some call a global war on terror. Maybe such a theocracy helps to concentrate the wealth of the global culture into the hands of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few who prey upon the many of our global culture. Maybe conservative ideological authorities use aggressive ideological traditions that originated before the establishment of ancient paternalistic theocracies to lead many millions of followers to gleefully look forward to a catastrophic war said to precede the return of a good one in Heaven to Earth control. Maybe some believe that an evil one must rise to power before this catastrophic war can take place. Maybe because of this belief that an evil one must rise to power some unconsciously support the rise to power of whom ever they consider to be a good candidate for an evil one. Maybe this ends up creating a string of bad leaders.

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