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XVIII. Limitations
Imposed Upon Divine Inspiration I have heard it said by some authority figures claiming to represent the ‘one true god’ that god only communes with those who satisfy certain minimum requirements. 'A pure heart', 'innocent mind', 'righteous life', ‘miraculous birth’, and or ‘super powers’ are phrases some people use to characterize these requirements. Some people believe that certain individuals have met these noble requirements and communed with god. Some people claim that these individuals received exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge about the truth, words, will, and laws, of a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth. Some people believe the words and actions of these individuals were recorded in sacred scrolls that have become the foundation of their respective ideological traditions. Some people believe that the words and actions of these individuals are accurately recorded truth. Some people measure the veracity of all other words by the words of these individuals. Some people cite the actions of such individuals as a standard of conduct for all to study and follow. Some people measure the righteousness of all other actions by the actions of these individuals. Some people use record of the words and actions of such individuals as a measure of the words and actions of all others who claim divine inspiration. Some people judge to be evil those whose words and actions do not measure up and judge to be good those whose words and actions do measure up. Some people think, believe, and expect, that only their way of ornamenting a model of the existence of one totality with myth is good and all other ways are evil to a lesser or greater degree. Some people claim to know that their beliefs are true. Hence some people are Gnostic Theists. Gnostic Theists affirm an ability to know about the existence of a deity or deities and claim an ability to know leads to a belief. Some
authorities stand behind claims of
exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge with great conviction.
Perhaps great conviction is enough to convince some people that these exclusive divine revelations
of spiritual knowledge offer us a record of spiritual truth. Others such as myself put
the myth of
exclusive access to divine inspiration and the requirements, tests, standards, and dogma
that follow from such claims in a larger box called ideology. An ideology is a body of ideas created for a
purpose. One creates an ideology to satisfy the needs and aspirations of an individual,
group, class, and or culture. Therefore, I consider the source of an ideology to
understand whose and what needs and aspirations are being satisfied. If the source of
an ideology is a state dominated by a mercenary plutocratic predatory few, then I may
expect that the needs and aspirations of the mercenary plutocratic predatory few will be
satisfied. How does the myth of limited access to divine inspiration help
satisfy the needs and aspirations of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few that
preys upon the many of our global culture?
Maybe the myth of limited access to divine inspiration and claims of exclusive access to divinely inspired truth is part of a strategy
that enables a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to achieve
and maintain authority, power, order, and control over the state. From the myth of limited
access to divine inspiration and claims of exclusive
access to divinely inspired truth follows the authority to lead
communities of faithful believers. From the myth of limited access to divine
inspiration and claims of exclusive access to divinely inspired truth follows the power to
establish a standard of conduct that motivates communities of faithful believers
to out work, out fight, and out number the rest of the global culture in a race to win in the game of survival and sacrifice.
From the myth of limited access to divine inspiration and claims of exclusive access to
divinely inspired truth follows the power to make laws of God out of the laws of state. From the myth of limited access to
divine inspiration and claims of exclusive access to divinely
inspired truth follows the power to make the idea of God into the ultimate state sponsored
surveillance system. From the myth of limited access to divine inspiration and claims of exclusive access to divinely inspired truth follows
the power to define the meaning of life as a test of character and define the value of
each individual according to their record of conforming to a standard of
conduct. From the myth of limited access to divine inspiration and claims of exclusive access to divinely inspired truth comes the
power to threaten deviants with judgment by a good one in Heaven and eternal
punishment in an abominable infernal place some call Hell. From the myth of
limited access to divine inspiration and claims of
exclusive access to divinely inspired truth comes the power to promise believers
judgment by a good one in Heaven and eternal reward in a divine eternal place
some call Heaven. From the myth of limited access to divine inspiration and claims of
exclusive access to divinely inspired truth follows the power to control communities of
faithful believers by employing fashion police to punish those who noticeably deviate from
a standard of conduct that leads some members to behave like racist,
hetero-fascist, warmongers. If somebody was privileged to have an exclusive divine revelation of spiritual knowledge that was true, then by the very nature of its' exclusivity; both the truth; and the validity of the revelation would be unverifiable. Claims of exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge that are true are as old as religion itself. The fact there are so many contradictory claims; that have resulted in the establishment of so many different religions; leads by valid logical inductive inference to the conclusion; that the act of making such claims of having had exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge that are true; may have motivations that are deeper than offering revealed truth to communities of faithful believers. Why use the idea of exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge that are true to limit access to divine inspiration? Why not think, believe, and expect that access to divine inspiration is limitless? I theorize that a belief in the myth of limited access to divine inspiration creates a need for the establishment of religious leaders to act as intermediaries between communities of faithful believers and a good one in Heaven. Some of these religious leaders who act as intermediaries claim that the mystery of myth is in fact discovery of truth. That is some of these religious leaders claim that mystery of a myth about the existence of exclusive divine revelations of spiritual knowledge recorded in writings contained within the sacred scrolls that serve as the foundation of their particular religion is, in fact, discovery of the truth about the existence of the word, will, way and laws of a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth. It is a lie to claim that myth is truth. An affirmation of an ability to know about the existence of a good one in Heaven at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth is a fraud that follows from the lie that myth is truth. Religious leaders who repeat the lie that myth is truth in defense of their fraudulent affirmations of an ability to know; make threats against the life and or afterlife of anybody that does not submit to their authority. Thereby religious leaders who repeat the lie that myth is truth in defense of their fraudulent affirmations of an ability to know; extort tithes and offerings from communities of faithful believers in exchange for a life long indoctrination in the lie that myth is truth. Religious extremists make terrorist attacks in support of religious leaders who repeat the lie that myth is truth in defense of their fraud, threat making and extortion. Some religious leaders might
attempt to refute the above charges by quoting verses and or chapters from a
holy book they proclaim to be an unimpeachable source of truth about events of
the distant past. The key
issue here is verification! Scientists say we use our senses and perceptions to
gather objective evidence that leads by valid logical deductive inference to the
scientifically reproducible discovery that an idea is true and that is how
verification is achieved. If religious leaders can not say that they have
actually used their senses and perceptions to verify an idea given to them by
their holy book about events of the distant past is true; then the best they can
do is say that an idea given to them by their holy book about events of the
distant past is a myth. If an idea given to them by their holy book about events
of the distant past is a myth; then it is a lie for them to claim this myth is
truth! Therefore, at the very least such religious leaders are liars; who either
willfully refuse to; or lack the ability to; use their senses and perceptions;
to sort ideas correctly into three distinct categories: truth, lie and myth. At
worst, an idea given to such religious leaders by their holy books about events of the distant
past is a lie. If an idea given to such religious leaders by their holy books about events of the
distant past is a lie; then the reason ancient scribes lied in the first place
may very well have been to support religious leaders who repeat the lie that myth is
truth in defense of their fraud,
threat making and extortion.
If we stop to consider that lying about events of the distant past could confer
upon religious leaders a fraudulent ability to know about a good one in Heaven
at war with an evil one cast down to and ruling over Earth; and that perpetrating this fraud
could enable religious leaders to make threats against the life and or afterlife
of anybody that does not submit to their authority; then we may begin to
understand how it is that extortion of tithes and offerings from communities of
faithful believers could provide a motive for making threats; and defense of
their lucrative fraud, threat making and extortion could be a reason for lying. As a secondary source of income, some of these same ideological authorities who act as intermediaries might be expected to be willing to sell their influence over communities of faithful believers to a mercenary plutocratic predatory few. Satisfying a need and aspiration of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to achieve and maintain authority, power, order, and control over the state might then be a matter of buying influence over members from religious authorities leading communities of faithful believers. The result of such influence peddling being that those religious leaders who are most useful in satisfying the need and aspiration of a mercenary plutocratic predatory few to achieve and maintain authority, power, order, and control over the state are given funding and those who are not receive little or no patronage. Once authority, power, order, and control over the state are attained, the mercenary plutocratic predatory few may then seek to expand their authority, power, order, and control to bring the entire global culture under their rule by patronizing those ideological authorities who best motivate communities of faithful believers to out work, out fight, and out number competition in a race to Armageddon. As communities of faithful believers race to out work, out fight, and out number competition in the global culture, they are confronted by the limited dimensions of the planet Earth. We live in a body consuming biosphere on a crusted magma globe of limited dimensions. There is a limit to the supply of energy and space made available to communities of faithful believers by the planet Earth and thus there would appear to be a limit to the exponential growth of these communities of faithful believers; and a limit to the time that the race to out work, out fight, and out number competition could be run. Yet the world today appears headed towards ever more profound disasters, calamities, desolations and conflicts as some authoritarian, powerful, orderly, controlling states drive their own people to out work, out fight, and out number the rest of the global culture in a race to win the game of survival and sacrifice as it pertains to states and nations of people. As such, the need and aspiration of some states to maintain and achieve authority, power, order, and control over communities of faithful believers and the global culture as a whole supersedes the need and aspiration of the individual to be happy and healthy. If the
source of an ideology is self, then I may expect that my needs and aspirations
will be satisfied. The difficulties and problems faced by self have to do with a
need and aspiration to achieve and maintain happiness and health. Discovery of
the impending disease and death of my seed body challenges me. The emotional
forces of sorrow, fear, and anger caused by discovery of the impending disease
and death of my seed body are extreme since for all I know from my senses,
perceptions and truth and knowledge of theory based on scientifically reproducible discovery, my seed body and our
universe are all that exist. In this light, I understand emotional forces caused
by the myth of the divine immunity and eternal life of the soul spirit to be
another kind of extreme that serves to balance emotional forces of my mind with
powerful emotional responses of joy, faith and love. To deny continuous
spiritual communion between soul and spirit exists is to impose a limit on a limitless
soul spirit. I think, believe, and expect that the limitless
and selfless giving of the soul spirit means that everyone communes with 'god' continuously.
The voice of self is none other than the voice of a divine eternal soul in continuous
communion with spirit and temporal communion with body. The House of Ideology is devoted
to leading many to think, believe, and expect that a divine eternal soul spirit is in
everything, everywhere, at all times. I do not let anyone
tell me that I cannot know truths and imagine myths for myself. I do not let anyone tell
me that I cannot achieve for myself or that I must permit a synagogue, church, mosque
and or temple to make up my
mind about the existence of one totality for me. I accept useful ideas should these come to me from a
synagogue, church, mosque and or temple. However, I was not born a spiritual slave.
I am the authority
who distinguishes between what is true and untrue, what is spiritual and unspiritual. It
is so easy to just let authority figures tell me what to believe and how to live my life.
It is much easier than consciously choosing the journey of self-discovery and
self-knowledge, a journey that can be very rocky indeed. I believe that
everything is sacred, not just musty old "holy" books or special buildings or
even special people whose job it is to act as intermediaries between the sacred and the
profane. There is no difference between the sacred and the profane. There is no escaping
sacredness. It is contained within everything as everything is contained within it. Just look
at
the amazing variety of life that is going on around us all the time. In all its
splendiferous color, shape and form, webs of energy connect us all: Trees sway
rhythmically in the breeze high over our heads. Water runs merrily or sedately over stones
and sand, forming ripples and eddies and making delicious music. Grasses and flowers grow
boisterously, seductively. The rich panoply of life goes on all around us, always,
endlessly. I too am a unique
and wondrous creation. I feel the blood rushing through my veins as my heart
pumps continuously and obligingly. My lungs breathe effortlessly in and out, drawing rich
oxygen and energy. My eyes scan the page, deciphering the pixels, while my marvelous brain
interprets them to my consciousness. My every cell hums with life, with energy, with
consciousness. Who knows what further adventures await me when I tire of this body and
leave it behind, setting my soul adrift into the arms of the great and loving spirit? The limiting
factor is not spiritual. It is physical. It is the body. My body joins with my soul to
form my mind. My soul chooses from only a limited set of possible ideas provided to my
mind by my body. My body knows only a limited vocabulary of words, and is capable of
generating only a limited variety of thought, feeling, and action possibilities. My soul
evaluates these possibilities. Out of all possibilities for thought, feeling, and
action that my body makes available, my soul selects the one possibility for conscious
thought, feeling, and action that becomes my free will. I speak words and make gestures and
others hear, interpret, and transform these words and gestures back into thoughts and
feelings within their own minds. If the bodies of listeners lack the variety and diversity
of thought and feeling possibilities necessary for their minds to translate spoken or
written words back into meaningful thoughts and feelings, then the flow of ideas is
blocked. In this way, the impact of my ideas on the culture is limited. At times, my bodies'
needs become urgent and cause my soul to have to deal with what some may call
"a one-track mind". If my body is suffering from extreme hunger then the thought and feeling
possibilities my mind produces pertain primarily to feeding. If my body is sexually
aroused then the thought and feeling possibilities my mind produces pertain mostly to
satiation of sexual desire. If my body is under physical stress then the thought and
feeling possibilities my mind produces pertain mostly to seeking refuge and relief. If my
body is in a balanced physiological state, and no immediate threats to well-being are
perceived then it might be possible for my soul to guide my mind to spiritual
enlightenment that follows from love and
freedom. |
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