Theme: Deception

IT’S BECAUSE BAD RELIGIONS LIE AND LAG, GOOD RELIGIONS USE TRUTH AND LEAD

—“All religions are made up bullshit to control people”—Joanna

Hmmm… Let’s look at this:

PERSONAL DEMAND

. Demand for personal mindfulness

. . Demand for interpersonal mindfulness

. . . Demand for social mindfulness

. . . . Demand for political mindfulness

POLITICAL DEMAND

.. organization (control, conflict suppression)

.. .. vs educate (helpful system of measurement)

.. .. .. vs create a polity (helpful system of measurement)

.. .. .. .. vs create a justification for conquest (not so helpful)

TECHNOLOGICAL DEMAND

…Religion (oral parable) is the optimum means of education prior to writing.

… … Organized religion (written parable) is dependent upon writing and argument, but not literacy

… … … Natural Law is dependent upon literacy, logic and science.

CURRENT CONDITION

So yeah, but they were the only technology available.

We have

… Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Repair)

… … Self Authoring Virtues (Stoic Method) (improve)

… … … Self Choice (epicureanism – living well within means)

… … … … Natural law of Reciprocity, Independent Judiciary

… … … … … History, Reason, science, technology, prosperity.

CURRENT TECHNOLOGY

And we can use:

… Heroic History of Western (or man’s) Ascent

… … Stoic Ritual, Hero/Saint ‘worship’ (thanks, counsel)

… … … Religion: Lesson (history), Play (ritual), Thanks (worship, prayer), Oath(promise), Feast (communal reward), Festival (communal celebration), Sport (community bonding).

… … … … Civic Participation: Family, Jury, Commons Production, emergency service production; Hospitaliers Production, and Defense (war) production.

… … … … … The Natural Law of Reciprocity, an independent judiciary, and a jury of our peers.

REASON

… Because we have ancestors worthy of our debt to them, and because we can create (easily) our debt to one another.

STRATEGY

“Embrace, conquer, and domesticate reality – together – do not cower from it.”