Topic: Mysticism
Mysticism - Those Unreal Indulgences (22 Feb) Nick Flint explores the many ways a person can indulge in mysticism outside of religion. Shows how whims, opinions, biases, fears, and beliefs can originate from mysticism.by Nick Flint
(Libertarian)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Why am I writing about Mysticism on a political forum? Because one's politics is a reflection of one's psychology. So first, let me define mysticism, which according to F.R. Wallace, goes much wider than mere religious views.
Definition: Mysticism is any thought that the unreal is real, regardless of subject.
The Top Mysticisms of our Modern Times, circa. 2008
1. Belief that Man is evil by nature.
Unfortunately, this one has been spread most prevalently as part of Christian lore since St. Augustine's day (around A.D. 380), but it was Plato that originated the idea that man must be controlled and must give up his pleasures (body) for higher causes (mind). I suppose it depends on what your definition of evil is. If evil means 'destructive', then this is ridiculous because if it were true, then there would be no civilizations, and mankind per se would not exist. In other words, everyone would sadistically kill each other, and then nilhistically the last person would kill himself. If evil means 'sadistic', then I'll have to admit there are few times in political history when man was not behaving in an evil manner. But America would not have been possible if evil was synonymous with sadism. Unfortunately, churches have collected a lot of money and power over the past 1700 years promoting this belief that condemns all men as having an unearned immoral stature.
2. Belief that Man is good by nature.
Taking the opposite premise of 'man is evil by nature' doesn't solve the problem of determinism... it just duplicates it by giving to all men an unearned moral stature. But since morality applies only to a volitional being -- e.g. man -- volition means that there are no guarantees that a person will choose good or choose evil. It simply means it is his choice to make, and no one else's.
3. Believing in the Mind-Body dichotomy.
Originated by Plato. This one says you can't acheive any cultivation of the spirit if you are focused on bodily (material) pleasures. Which is true in one sense: you can only focus your attention on one thing at a time. To pursue intellectual development, you must forego material pursuits, and vice versa. Unfortunately, this one seeds the ground for the mutual contempt the 'egghead' student and the 'brute' athlete have for each other.
4. Opinion that government is 'a necessary evil'.
Thomas Paine's book "Common Sense", Mr. Paine suggests that government is inherently evil : e.g. that since it is created by man and since Mr. Paine's Christian beliefs told him man was inherently evil, therefore any government man may form is also evil. This leads to an anarchist mystical view of government.
5. Opinion that having no government at all would be good.
This is the anarchist answer to Thomas Paine. After accepting his premise that government is inherently evil, the anarchist proclaims the best political system would be none at all.
6. Believing that collective guilt or collective virtue imparts individual guilt or individual virtue onto each member of that collective.
This is the mistaken ethical view that implies your moral character is enhanced or impugned by the character of those high-lifes or low-lifes in your family, your race, your sex, your political affiliation, your ethnicity, your religion, or any other ad-hoc collective to which you 'belong'.
The best simple example of someone implying collective guilt is found in my rebuttal article to James P. Nelson here : [link edited for length]
7. Fear of computers as 'intelligent' or 'sentient beings'.
Since I'm a computer scientist by degree, and a programmer for many years, I can promise all of you poor fearful people that computers are only capable of performing actions as dictated by real people. Thus, in the movie 'Terminator', it wasn't the robots coming to kill mankind, rather it was an elitist few programmers driven by statist thugs that wanted to kill off 'undesirables' and make the world their own. Beware of anyone scaring you with computer paranoia -- they are out to make a buck off you.
8. Believing that UFOs and aliens visit earth.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Not doctored photos, phony 8mm home movies, and government tongue-in-cheek 'witnesses'. Show me the fabulous evidence, not 'History channel' propaganda. Don't you know that UFOs are big business nowadays. It's a sad fact that people make a lot of money off of people with stupid beliefs like this. On the other hand -- given how large the known universe is -- when I think of evolutionary theory combined with probability theory, I have no doubt that other conscious beings as you and I could exist elsewhere.
9. Believing that astrology, tarot cards, and numerology are real.
It would be amusing if this belief wasn't so pathetic. Nothing like going back in time more than 2000 years to believe in goofy things like 'before Christianity' determinism.
10. The opinion that Men and Women are equal.
In what way? Intellectually and morally, I'll agree here. And both are capable of achieving happiness. But physically and sexually... clearly not. And those differences lead to a difference in psychology.
11. Believing 'time travel' is possible.
"Oh boy! Look what I've discovered!" (says the man who makes this claim). "If I take Einstein's special relativity and combine it with geometry on a piece of paper, I've proven that time travel is possible!" This makes me yawn.
... To Be Continued. This will be an ongoing, updated article.
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2008 Nick Flint, all rights reserved.
Published: Saturday, February 16, 2008
Last modified: Friday, February 22, 2008
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Well-written and made me smile a few times. Mysticism does take many forms. Would you agree with the definition of mysticism or religion, for that matter, of being a belief based on faith, in the sense of believing something without any proof?
Posted By: Christian Prophet
Date: 2008-02-18 10:05:37
The only proof possible for anything is personal experience (or logical deduction from a personally experienced premise). Scratch below the surface of mankind's extremely primitive science and you find all kinds of premises that are merely intellectually derived theories. I would call that "mysticism."
On the other hand, my own personal experiences have proven to me the existence of forces and happenings which have nothing to do with scientific measurement (although light years from now mankind's science might be able to detect such things).
So it's not a matter of belief, it's a matter of CERTAINTY arising out of experience. An atheist who has not had a personal experience can only assume incorrectly that a spiritual person is believing something for which there is no proof. False assumption. Because of personal experiences, the spiritual person knows things not out of belief, but out of certainty.
I don't want to say the person who writes against mysticism is the true mystic, having refused to open himself or herself to experiences which are available. But what would you call such refusal?
A person that is insane has experiences of the existence of forces and happenings which have nothing to do with scientific measurement. These are called delusions and hallucinations. But, by no means, would I consider these proofs, though to the insane it is a matter of certainty.
While we enjoy what "primitive" science has provided us, including the computer upon which you write, consider that the Bible or any other holy scripture, for that matter, contains not one iota of scientific value, but is filled with superstitious nonsense. Why? Because it was written by true primitives. Man created God in his own image. Amen.
Posted By: Christian Prophet
Date: 2008-02-19 11:47:21
It seems to me that those who complain about seeming lack of proof among spiritually aware people are themselves guilty of holding ideas with lack of proof.
Please show proof that man created God in his own image.
Please show proof that the Bible contains not one iota of scientific value.
Please show proof that Bible writers were somehow more primative than modern so-called "scientists."
Open minds, please. What if ancients knew things that modern science is blocking themselves from knowing? I have no proof, but at least I'm willing to keep an open mind ... especially since in my lifetime science has so often announced: "Oops! I guess we were wrong. Our new theory is...."
Proof that man created God in his own image: The Bible. Since we have no proof that a being called God actually exists, and since men write books, then we can assume that men wrote the Bible. Since these writers wrote that God created Adam in his own image, then they attributed the qualities and attributes of a man to their concept of God, thus creating God in their image of man.
One can not prove a negative. If the Bible has any scientific insight please cite which chapter and verse.
Show us all what things these ancients knew that somehow have escaped detection for 2,000 years.
Science builds upon and improves our knowledge of the physical world. Einstein did not invalidate Newton. While scientists sometimes become dogmatic in their perspectives, reason sorts things out and science advances. Religion, by tradition, is dogma. When it does change, as in from Catholicism to Protestantism new dogma replaces old, but the use of reason and logic play a mere semantic role.
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2008 Nick Flint, all rights reserved.