The Fear of Religion
Many years ago, back when I actually had to work to earn an income, I had a customer who had a fear and loathing of salesmen. I would tease him about his fear. “Better be careful, I just might sell you something.” He was not really afraid of me. He was afraid of himself, afraid that he might lose control of his senses and do something illogical, in defiance of his better judgment, and actually buy what I had to sell.
I find this same irrational fear is rampant among atheists or non-theists or anti-religionists or anti-fundamentalists. All people are ultimately seekers of freedom. They seek their version of freedom of the mind and freedom of thought. They want no barriers to obstruct their intellectual journey of exploration into ideas. Atheists fear religion as something that imposes barriers on that which is most precious to them – the freedom of their own mind and spirit. Some atheists believe they are the most open-minded of people. In fact they are not. They can be unconsciously intolerant and are closing doors to interesting intellectual adventures.
Everyone has their own moral construct. It’s about whether this construct conforms to an existing construct or not. Atheists fear preconstructed religion because it conflicts with their own construct. In this way, they are like any other religious group. To me, this fear appears irrational as if, like my mercatophobic friend, they fear that their whole world will collapse if in a fit of madness, they decide to convert to Calvinism on the spot. It is the same as the irrational urge one has crossing high bridges, a fear that in a fit of madness, one may hurl their wallet, then their keys and finally themselves over the bridge for the pure Hell of it.
It is very primal, this whole business of fear.
But I have found the solution. The solution is to embrace the madness, skirt the edge, peer over the bridge and dangle your keys, but don’t let go of them and feel the rush. Live your emotions in the now, take control of them and use them as you would use your intellect. This makes one incredibly powerful as fear becomes a tool, an engine upon which one draws strength. And it allows one to peer deeper into the abyss. To jump off the intellectual bridge while tied with an emotional bungee cord that will always save you from spiritual collision.
True freedom of the mind permits one to explore a broad religious experience and not just from a spiritual perspective which I find rather dull. What is fascinating is to study the flow of power that develops from having a group of people under a set of controls. The effect this power has on people’s daily lives, the affairs of the state and the progression of culture, science and technology is truly fascinating. Too many deprive themselves of this. One can also enjoy studying and being around so called moral and religious people, be they people, saints or gods. To wit may I present my discontemporal meeting with St. Francis at Assisi. To deprive oneself of what these people have to offer is to deprive oneself of opportunity to learn about them and about oneself.
Cheers and Good Mental Health
Many years ago, back when I actually had to work to earn an income, I had a customer who had a fear and loathing of salesmen. I would tease him about his fear. “Better be careful, I just might sell you something.” He was not really afraid of me. He was afraid of himself, afraid that he might lose control of his senses and do something illogical, in defiance of his better judgment, and actually buy what I had to sell.
I find this same irrational fear is rampant among atheists or non-theists or anti-religionists or anti-fundamentalists. All people are ultimately seekers of freedom. They seek their version of freedom of the mind and freedom of thought. They want no barriers to obstruct their intellectual journey of exploration into ideas. Atheists fear religion as something that imposes barriers on that which is most precious to them – the freedom of their own mind and spirit. Some atheists believe they are the most open-minded of people. In fact they are not. They can be unconsciously intolerant and are closing doors to interesting intellectual adventures.
Everyone has their own moral construct. It’s about whether this construct conforms to an existing construct or not. Atheists fear preconstructed religion because it conflicts with their own construct. In this way, they are like any other religious group. To me, this fear appears irrational as if, like my mercatophobic friend, they fear that their whole world will collapse if in a fit of madness, they decide to convert to Calvinism on the spot. It is the same as the irrational urge one has crossing high bridges, a fear that in a fit of madness, one may hurl their wallet, then their keys and finally themselves over the bridge for the pure Hell of it.
It is very primal, this whole business of fear.
But I have found the solution. The solution is to embrace the madness, skirt the edge, peer over the bridge and dangle your keys, but don’t let go of them and feel the rush. Live your emotions in the now, take control of them and use them as you would use your intellect. This makes one incredibly powerful as fear becomes a tool, an engine upon which one draws strength. And it allows one to peer deeper into the abyss. To jump off the intellectual bridge while tied with an emotional bungee cord that will always save you from spiritual collision.
True freedom of the mind permits one to explore a broad religious experience and not just from a spiritual perspective which I find rather dull. What is fascinating is to study the flow of power that develops from having a group of people under a set of controls. The effect this power has on people’s daily lives, the affairs of the state and the progression of culture, science and technology is truly fascinating. Too many deprive themselves of this. One can also enjoy studying and being around so called moral and religious people, be they people, saints or gods. To wit may I present my discontemporal meeting with St. Francis at Assisi. To deprive oneself of what these people have to offer is to deprive oneself of opportunity to learn about them and about oneself.
Cheers and Good Mental Health
posted by The Commisioner and McKay | 7:32 AM
6 Comments:
well said. For those who choose to think at all times, they never need fear ideology however truthful or fanciful. A thinking mind may always find the pole star. I fear though that the undisciplined mind is always preyed upon by certain ideas. And some ideas are more powerful in their grip upon the lazy mind. While religion doesn't have a monopoly on this power, it is certainly a visible target.
In other matters, you can imagine my surprise when mine own "page 88 test" was duplicated by your page 79 test! Curiouser and curiouser said Alice.
Wishes of the season to you,
daviditron
I like your comments about the undisciplined mind.
The capture of these minds is what power is all about.
You got me thinking about the page number I use for referencing books. We are only 8 pages off. I think it has to do with the fact that I am right handed and right "eyed" and my grip and focus is therefore drawn to the right and lower part of the page where I grip the book.
Pages 79 through 88 also represent an appropriate spot in the book from a physical harmony perspective. It means that you are well into the book and are unlikely to abandon it at this point and it represents about the first quarter or third of a book - a nice place to be if you are well into a good book.
A typical book requires 20 to 50 pages to submerge fully into the material. Once we hit pages 50 through 100, we are usually exploring fairly interesting content, enough to whet the interest but without disclosing key plots and spoilers that would be present in the latter half of the book.
As for page 79 and not 73, 75 or 81, I think it has to do with wanting an accelerating number ie one that has the second number larger than the first. This implies growth and order. It is also a prime number suggesting uniqueness. I think key plot points should be disclosed on pages with prime numbers or at points on a page that correspond to numbers like pi and phi but that is my personal opinion.
As for 88, that too is a highly auspicious number in terms of oriental superstition, its physical and mathematical symmetry and its lack of semiotic references in mythologyy ie
"we three kings"
"the four horseman of the apocalypse"
"the pentacle and phi etc"
"the hexagon and Plato"
"the Seven Seas, Seventh Heaven, Dwarves, Deadly Sins, Wonders of the World et cetera, ad nauseum"
Eight - nothing
"Cats Nine Lives"
So if we multiply a cat's lives by the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse, what do we get?
Buon Natale, Cheers and Good Mental Health
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My wet and windy one,
Let no one say that the Commisioner and McKay is too proud to admit that another may be correct. Even you. So I begrudgingly and almost imperceptibly nod my head in approval.
But you must grant me the credit for already having raised the auspicious symbolism of 88 in China.
And yes, Odin's horse and Indra's trunk, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I prefer to think of Odin as driving a two-horsed chariot. I will grant you a point here but only out of sympathy and will grant you full marks for Indra's trunk though I am sure I can find something wrong with it too if I wanted too.
The Assyrian-Babylonians were incorrect depicting Venus as an 8 pointed star since Venus actually traces a 5 pointed star over an 8 year cycle. It would be more practical for them to represent the star as it appears circumscribing the sun rather than representing the number of years to do so. I therefore dismiss this argument on account of typical Assyrian ignorance.
The 88 constellations are a recent convention. The Greeks had more. This does not count as myth and I dismiss this argument. And spit on it. "Ptah, ptah."
The 8 days of Hanukkah. Yesssss! One o' me faavrit subjecks like!
So there are 8 gaps in a 9 candled menorah. This provides us with some semiotic convergence.
A menorah, be it 7 or 9 candled, very accurately mirrors a labyrinth sliced horizontally.
What does this mean, my octocentric friend?
Buon Natale, Cheers and Good Mental Health
And thank goodness for the Moderation function since you double posted.
Oh wet and windy one,
Prithee tell whether I have been acclaimed into holy membership within your esteemed group entitled "Little Scratches". Seems an appropriate name given your somewhat thorny nature and prickly personality.
If so, I promise to elevate your rather humble site into something worth reading and worth my time.
As for beverages, I am partial to hemlock.
Buon Natale, Cheers and Good Mental Health
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