I do not mention other blogs on my site because I do not often have time to spend reading them. Also, I find
that many of them turn into forums for people to dart off on tangents,
pick on others, fawn all over the
writer, and generally spout nonsense. I welcome comments, but only if pertanent
to the subject and only if reasonable and constructive.
Having said that, I do on occassion read a little here and there;
especially those dealing with the stranger things out society is going through,
and I have grown apalled and a bit alarmed by the prevalence of sites dealing
with 'gnosticism.' In itself, gnosticism is perfectly valid topic and quite
fascinating, but folks who do not really understand it should stay away from
it. Gnosticism has become a catch phrase for all sorts of weirdness. So, in the
next few posts, I would like to try and explain a few things.
First, let me go through a few terms you see bandied about.
Occult: Occult simply means hidden. The CIA's actions are occult. Military
secrets are occult. Hiddden business plans are occult. The term is used on many
sites to refer to the aspects of religious beliefs hidden from all but the
elite of the religion's leaders or to the inner most workings of a Magick
society, ie the OTO or the Golden Dawn. The reason for hiding the material is
said to be that a certain degree of initiation or preparation is needded befor
ethe initiate can accept the full truth. Realistically, material is hidden from
the neophyte becuase any sane person would reject it and run the other way when
presented it. The group first wants to work on breaking down his/ her personality
before fully letting them in on what is really going on.
Mystery Religion: In the past, as far back as we have records of
civilizations, religions were very hierarchical. The priests kept secrets,
'mysteries,' that they revealed in a series of initiations to individuals. The
higher up you went, the deeper the mysteries. Often the initiations involved
some sort of ritual imitaing death and rebirth. Often, from what we can gather,
they degenerated into a very slick method of controlling the thoughts and actions
of individuals. There are groups today that mimic the Mystery Religions. Many,
like the much maligned Freemasons, are social organizations, at least on the
lower levels, that do a lot of good. We do not know what happens on the upper
levels because, well, it is a mystery not revealed to most. Some groups, like
the Skull and Bones, with the political and economic power of its members, are
a bit more problematic. Others, such as Scientology are very problematic which
leads to our next term-
Cults: Cults are basically close knit groups of like minded people. That is
all. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that. A celebrity fan club is
really a cult. Small religious sects may be thought of as cults and many are
quite beneficent. There are, however, dark cults. Scientology is such an
example. Going back to the 60s and 70s
you can see many such examples, the Process Church, the Children, the 22
Disciples, the 4 Pi, Hari Krishna, the Children of God, then in later years,
Heaven's Gate, The Order of the Solar Temple, The Raelians, Jonestown, The
Branch Davidians, The City of Elohim and others. These things pop in and out of
existence frequently. A current, nasty example, is the 5 Angle movement.
Magick: Magick, not David Copperfield, is bending the fabric of space-time
to your will. It is that simple. Technology is magic. Making a ham sandwich
when hungry is magick. Growing crops is magick. The problem comes when you try
and use your will to force others to do as you want or to force the Cosmos to
follow your will. Then you have 'black magic.' Stay away from that.
Extraterrestraisl/Aliens: Beings not of this Earth, or at least not from
the same 4 dimensions we live in. Are thay physical beings or spirits? From
other planets or other dimensions? Friendly or hostile? Yes, no, maybe, all,
some. Who knows? It is also, to make things a whole lot stranger,
manifestations of our own mind and/or manifestations of thoughts put in our
minds by certain unsavory humans. Confused? You should be. I am, but I will try
to sort all that out, as much as it can be.
In my next post, I will explain a bit more about Gnosticism. Do not worry.
It will be light on history because, contrary to what you may read elsewhere,
we know very little of its history. There will also be very little philosophy
or theology because what we do know of Gnostci thinking is a muddled mess. But,
I will let you know why I think the fascination with these ancient loonies is
important and upsetting.
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