NewsX Views

Religion is very important to a lot of people, but if expressed publicly, can be a major detriment to the truth movement. Again, religion in itself is not necessarily bad for the movement, but when you coincide beliefs with facts, you form an instant contradiction that discredits all further discussions.

Religion is defined as follows:

“A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth. Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner’s prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, and is often interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.”

The relevant part to this discussion is the fact that religion is a system of faith that contradicts reason and evidence, and therefore, invalidates any attempt to use reason and evidence. This is crucial, because the majority of society only accepts arguments on the basis of reason and evidence. Granted most people are religious, but they will still use religion as argument against you referencing the logical contradiction. They will be much more crude in their description of this contradiction, but they draw comparisons based on your beliefs and your reason and evidence. The media does this all the time. Instant debunking. This is how people will perceive it.

This can certainly come across as a case to remove religion itself from the people in the truth movement. That is not necessarily the case, and that is beside the point. My first point is credibility, which the truth movement is very lacking right now. Public admission of religious beliefs only complicates that issue. My second point is that religious beliefs should be a personal and private matter in the first place. It has no place in the public sphere; even if it was not a detriment to the movement. When I say “public sphere”, I mean in places where there are people from many religions and people with no religion.

In attempt to provide some clarity to exactly where the logical contradiction lies, I will provide the proof for the non-existence of god. This proof is based on the lack of evidence for God.

1. The definition of non-existence is the lack of evidence sufficient to prove existence.

2. There is no empirical evidence for the existence of God.

3. Therefore, God does not exist.

This is not the same thing as saying God could not exist. Of course, it is possible that anything exists, but it is not reasonable to make presumptions without evidence. If there is no evidence, logically it is a non-issue, and not worth debating.

What should one take out of this article? If you want to add credibility and move the truth movement forward, please heed this advice:

Please let religion be a personal matter that should not be discussed in the public sphere. This will only serve to discredit the truth movement.

What is Occultism?

“Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom. To the occultist it is the study of “Truth”, a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface: ‘The truth is always hidden in plain sight’. It can involve such subjects as magic (alternatively spelled and defined as magick), alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism and numerology. There is often a strong religious element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Luciferianism, Thelema, and Neopaganism. While Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are generally not considered occult, some of their modern interpretations can be, as the interpretation of Hinduism within Theosophy or the various occult interpretations of the Jewish Kabbalah. Orthodox members of such religions are likely to consider such interpretations false; for example, the Kabbalah Centre has been criticised by Jewish scholars.”

To further define the word Occult:

“The word “occult” is somewhat generic, in that almost everything that isn’t claimed by any of the major religions can be considered the occult. Even religious scientists have difficulties in defining occultism. A broad definition is offered by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke:

“OCCULTISM has its basis in a religious way of thinking, the roots of which stretch back into antiquity and which may be described as the Western esoteric tradition. Its principal ingredients have been identified as Gnosticism, the Hermetic treatises on alchemy and magic, Neo-Platonism, and the Kabbalah, all originating in the eastern Mediterranean area during the first few centuries AD.”"

1. When we are concerned with the truth movement and the role of occultism in it, we have to think about how this would be perceived by all walks of life. The average joe isn’t going to make it past the word occult, occultism, or any religion commonly referred to when discussing occultism. In other words, we have instantaneously lost a person that could have become informed to all the lies and deceit in the world.

2. Is there any benefit to discussing some occultism? Sure. For example, symbology is important, but if you approach it from a psychological perspective, you’re much less likely to “scare” people away with your “crazy” talk.

3. How much truth is involved in occultism? From a reason and evidence standpoint, next to none. In this regard I am speaking more toward the smaller religions that fall into the category of occultism.

The occult is a fascinating subject and worthy of inquiry by people that find it interesting, but in the context of the truth movement or the search for truth in general, it shouldn’t have a home. It will only serve to degrade the credibility and make one look like a “kook.”

Aristotle would define virtue (arete) as excellence in fulfillment of a particular function.

Virtue is something we can achieve, but the people that care nothing for excellence will never find it. If we wish to make change in the world, we must first make changes within ourselves. Virtue brings out the best in others. If you can personify excellence, you can change the world.

We need to rise up and set the example of how a human being ought to behave–make such a bold contrast that it makes others seem crooks and criminals without looking very hard.

I notice that a lot of people in the truth movement sidestep virtue for various reasons. We all know the saying “two wrongs don’t make a right.” If you need to justify your actions by making exceptions for excellence, then you’re not being virtuous. If you intend to fight fire with fire, this attitude will suffice. But if you want to be excellent and bring the others to moral decay by comparison, you must be virtuous.

It’s not as hard as you might think. All you have to do is what you want. Not what’s easy, but deep down what you know is right and what you really want.

Be the truth movement you want to see in everyone else. If you are honest, and keep your integrity, you will move others to do the same thing. Personify the best in all of us so that we may become the same.

Those definitions aren’t perfect, but will help us in this discussion of the concept. The word Truth as a philosophical term can be discussed, defined and debated all day.

The truth that I am concerned with is the truth based on facts and evidence.  This requires the use of man’s rational ability and the scientific method; to find the most probable truth based on evidence. We will not discuss absolute truths–they are not relevant in this context.

The truth movement started as the 9/11 truth movement. What happened on 9/11 was a tragedy in every sense of the word. Our first goal (as a nation) should have been the truth, but from the beginning it was very obvious that the opposite was the case. Immediately after the buildings crashed, there was a mad dash to cover up all possible evidence of what happened. All the large and noticeable physical evidence was quickly taken away.

After the 9/11 commission failed miserably at investigating the tragedy, it became more obvious that the government had no interest in finding out the truth behind 9/11. This thrusted forth an onslaught of American citizens with great concern about what really happened, and why was the government so concerned with covering up the truth. Thus, the 9/11 truth movement was born.

To clarify, the intent is not to discuss the merits of the case in particular, but to explore the surface of what became the catalyst for the 9/11 truth movement.

At this point, countless videos, organizations, and websites sprouted up everywhere despite the massive suppression of the mainstream media. This also sprouted around the same time the internet was growing exponentially; especially the alternative media and blogging. As the government and media used more lies to cover up past lies, it started to make people wonder what else might the government and media be lying about. The alternative media made it nearly impossible for the mainstream media to feed lies as they always had. The more we researched, the more deception we found. The more we looked around, the more we realized we lived in a world of lies and deceit.

Prior to our findings, we lived in a world where we had come to expect deception, but that’s not what we called it. It was called “white” lies or lies that were used to protect the innocence of others–and somehow this became a virtue. We all thought “lies are OK as long as we don’t hurt anyone.” Personal integrity had very little meaning. As we all know, this is a very slippery slope. And most of us fell down that slope long ago.

Why is the truth important? Truth validates our reality. Why do we know that 2 + 2 = 4? We know this, because it can be validated over and over again amongst our peers. That’s what our rational mind does. It allows us to take evidence that is empirically verified by our peers and we make rational conclusions based upon that evidence.

Why is lying so devastating? It leads to logical contradictions in our thoughts and actions. Additionally, it creates the inability to think clearly and consistently. Truth is vital for a stable and happy society or even for a single happy person. Truth creates a clear reality; despite the possible negative consequences, telling the truth makes the mind consistent and happy. Lies and deception causes chaos in the mind (for a sane person), which leads to a guilt ridden existence where the mind is always at conflict with itself.

What is the “Truth Movement”?  Wikipedia says, “9/11 Truth movement is the collective name of loosely affiliated organizations and individuals who question the mainstream interpretation of the September 11, 2001 attacks.” This is originally how it started, but over the years since the tragedy of 09/11/2001, it has evolved into something greater–something magnanimous.

It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to see that today’s world is filled with a barrage of propaganda (government), psychological manipulation (mainstream media), and indoctrination (religious institutions and public schools). You combine all these things, and you have a world full of deceit. It’s bad enough that we get lies constantly from whom most consider to be our moral authority, but at what point did it become the norm to tell lies to each other. We do it every day. Think about it. It starts with “white lies”–seemingly harmless lies that lead toward a slippery slope. At this point in our society, most people feel it’s OK to lie about anything if makes people feel better or if it keeps them from hurting someone else’s feelings. Forget virtue; forget what’s right or wrong. Let’s all do what makes everyone happy and let’s protect everyone from themselves.

The Movement as it stands now is more about freedom from deceit. People just want to know the truth. People are tired of the lies. We just want someone to be straight up with us! We have been forced to search and find the truth for ourselves. The alternative media’s massive growth is due to this need.  We need, we desire, we crave some simple honesty about what is really going on around us.

Along this path there have been many road blocks that have caused us to stumble and take steps back. I intend to discuss these issues individually with the purpose of reforming the movement. Reforming this movement back to it’s true, clear, and succinct directive–the truth.

In the coming weeks, I will discuss the following:

Part I: Concepts

1. Truth
2. Virtue
3. Ideas
3. Occultism
4. Religiosity

Part II: Content

1. Rational Analysis
2. Realistic Goals
3. Narrow the Scope
4. Professionalism
5. Mainstream