Faith: the absence of delusion

The rejection of graven images, idols, a refusal to treat pink as green, to usurp ‘God’s creation’ with our own. Can I get a witness?

This is a companion piece to

Science: the avoidance of delusion

both linked from the overview piece

The two colour protocol

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Certain core religious terminology may be interpreted as urging us to live in the real world rather than confusing our fertile imagination for reality.

Rather than it urging us to believe with certainty as many seem to imagine, it is categorically urging us never to believe but instead to live in faith (the absence of belief / delusion).

Words

I sooooo wanted to call this essay,

Religion: the avoidance of delusion

because

• a) It would sit nicely with Science: the avoidance of delusion, which is best read first.

• b) It sounds ridiculously provocative and untrue but is actually true

Trouble is,

it’s words isn’t it.

I’ve had a lot of problem with words. People use the same words in many different ways. I often use certain words in a technical way, restricting their wider meaning, to hone down a specific meaning for clarity. I ask people to understand some of my statements with the word understood in this technical sense.

It doesn’t always work.

For example ‘belief’.

The working title of my book was Beyond Belief. I tried to get people to accept that belief was always delusional and destructive, that we need to go beyond it.

However, many discussions made me realise that a lot of people use the word belief for other than certainty, certain belief. They often use it just as an expression of high probability.

People may say, “I believe it will rain tomorrow.”

They do not mean “I am certain it will rain tomorrow.” They mean “I think the probability is high that it will rain tomorrow.”

But when people say “I believe in God the Father”,

they do not mean “I think the probability is high that an entity we call God…”

This ambiguity of meaning can lead to flirting with the cardinal sin: blurring pink and green!

A Might Be can “become” a thing without people noticing. The reification fallacy.

So I was on a crusade against belief.

Here is my original trial book cover

I have now moved to the phrase Beyond Certainty and stopped trying to hijack what people mean by belief.

Also, the expression ‘terrain over brain’ sounds like it’s saying terrain should ‘beat’ brain.

Though what it really means is:

Models of how things are had better respect how things are.

Nowadays, I try to discuss mainly the separation of the two worlds and their nature.

God’s Creation

In the context of this essay I shall state that God’s Creation is another word for Terrain,

You can put it the other way round if you need it that way and say Terrain is another word for God’s Creation.

These are just words.

Call it Reality. Green Stuff. That Which Is The Case. What we are given.

Our Creation

Then there is Pink Stuff, our creation. The world we create in our minds. Our imagination.

In this we are totally free. We have total freedom in our imagination.

Freedom is restricted in the real world by hard (sometimes physically hard) facts.

You are not free to cross the Grand Canyon without a tightrope.

But we are free to imagine doing so.

Terrain is not better than brain. It’s just that you had better make damn sure to…

Separate the Day from the Night

We may perhaps think of reality as God’s special dream. Run with it. Humour me. This is about concepts not belief.

It seems to be an observable fact that in the whole sea of possibilities to be dreamt, the whole of Pink, the whole of ‘Night’ there is a set that is different from all the rest - this ‘reality’ thing that we all navigate together.

Why? How? What? … It is curious.

Doesn’t matter. Somehow, and whatever it means, there is truth in the mysterious observation that:

God separated the day from the night.

An island within the sea of possibilities, within the infinity of dreams arose, a special dream called reality seen in a dreaming-state called being awake, a consistent ‘universe’ like a simulation (?!?!), observable from many witness points…

Truly mysterious.

The call of science could be understood as the urging to be clear that our images and representations, as fine and beautiful and useful as they are should never be confused with real things.

This latter error may be described in religious terminology as making graven images unto thyself. i.e. treating your Ceci as if it was a real pipe, ie mistaking your Pink for actual Green.

Thou shalt not mistake Pink for Green

Be sane

There are no stipulations in the text of the well known commandment

Thou shalt not make graven images unto thyself 

that limits what the subject of the images may be.

It is usually assumed that a graven image of the Absolute is the only “prohibition”.

Don’t draw God

I shall choose to see it in a wider context; I shall take it as I think it was originally meant - as an image of hard reality treated as hard reality. As an object from the Brain considered as part of the Terrain.

I made the following image as the cover of a book on the foundation stone of science, showing the key fundamentals.

It also turns out to be a perfect representation of the commandment.

“Thou shalt not make any graven images unto thyself”

The attempted Red Arrow would make one of the images in the brain side graven:

Carved, engraved into the fabric of the Terrain… supposedly.

Not really of course.

A graven image is not really Green Stuff. It’s a delusion. It’s Brown Stuff. It’s bullshit.

But the Arrow is not ‘allowed’.

It is thwarted, cut in two by the ‘prohibition’.

Thou shalt not make graven images unto thyself

The black saw which represents - in the world of science - the concept of scepticism/ doubt.

In a religious context it is perhaps also seen as humility. This is what the commandment is all about. To raise one’s own imagination to the same level as God’s creation is arrogance, hubris.

Pride goes before a fall.

You think the stuff you’ve created in your head is a match for reality?

An image is fine. Modelling, representations, abstractions are all fine.

Maps. Stories, pictures, hypotheses… Yes please.

Thou mayest make any images and representations at all - no problemo.


But mistaking them for reality is NOT OK 

Certain belief = delusion is not on.

It’s not ‘naughty’; It’s not really prohibited as such. It’s just confused, crazy, insane. A recipe for disaster - for misunderstanding and acting in a way that courts catastrophe.

Face it.

The bass ‘fact’

A clear division has been made - somehow - between stuff of the ‘Day’ and dreams of the ‘Night’. Reality and imagination. Green and Pink.

God knows how. But it has.

We have to respect it.

Our task in being scientific and sane is thus the same as in following this ‘commandment’:

Thou shalt not make pink into green

Burn your idols

Avoid the reification fallacy.

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”

Or rather to be more accurate

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below and treat it as if it was real.”

Faith as the absence of certainty

It was reading Osho that I first came across the notion of Faith being the absence of belief.

I’m also currently writing a post called The New Age Trap which contains a section called “Was Osho controlled opposition?” ☹️

But I got an awful lot from Osho.

One thing was the idea that Faith is blind or it is not Faith at all. You can’t have Faith in something or someone, that’s belief that certain things will happen or not happen because of your protector.

Coddiwompling

My favourite word and activity.

To stride purposefully forward towards an as yet unknown destination

That is Faith.

You expect nothing. You can never be disappointed. There is no testable outcome. You can’t lose Faith. You can only lose a belief you had that things would work out a certain way. That was never Faith.

Faith is being open, accepting. Faith though blind and empty is yet brimming with love and gratitude. It is awareness. And awareness brings awe.

Open eyes on God’s Creation: unpolluted by brown stuff, delusion, beliefs, certainties, idols, graven images…

Faith: the absence of delusion

So is God Green Stuff or Pink Stuff?

Examining why this question is like a koan would take a book in itself! Or a laugh.

But I’ll stick my head out and say this to anyone, if you have a picture, a description of God,..

… then that’s all pink stuff.

Whether you affirm or deny it, whether atheist or theist, that ‘thing’ you affirm or deny is nothing much to do with God.

Can I get a witness?

Science is about amassing truth.

The key feature of green stuff is that it is true. It is true because it is direct witness of what is rather than imagination about what could be.

It is given (Latin : DATA) we do not make it up.

Witness / witness

What is the nature of this direct witness?

Who is the witness?

Are there many separate witnesses?

Is there a Witness?

Is the Witness different to the witness?

My view is th….

Nah.

atman = Brahman: prolly another conversation!

In the mean time I hope you go in blind Faith, leaning paradoxically on the featureless empty Rock of Ages.

Faith literally cannot let you down.

There is going to be lots of free music!

Please become a paid subscriber if you can afford to. I know there are so many others clamouring! I’ve 400 bits of music to share! Thanks

Here is a song of mine on that solid emptiness that never fails.

The Rock of Ages

Ain’t nothing else on which to ... rest your back.

You can place your trust in The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

However we see it ... it isn’t that.

It’s a steep glass mountain to reach The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

More solid than matter, more empty than space,

Much older than time: The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

Fishes keep a’swimming - never find the sea;

So crazy reaching out for the Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

Build a wonderful model with predictive power -

A fine map but it isn’t The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

Dress it up like superman or an essence swathed in clouds; so easy to mock The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

But In the filthiest street you will still find gold.

Best take care what you dismiss as not The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

So many different names in the most ancient of cultures.

The true emperor wears no clothes - The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

You may get lost in the head-above-your-head.

Don’t worry ‘cos hell is no distance at all to the The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages. Click your heels three times.

Clear pointing fingers - the child just stares at them.

Yet is strangely closer than us to The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

Yeah little fishes keep a’swimming. They never mind the sea, what sea? We’ve already missed it if we believe in The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages. Throw the picture away! Throw the picture away!

Ain’t nothing else on which to ... rest your back.

You can always place your trust in The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

However we see it - it isn’t that.

Blind faith is required, blind trust in The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

So make your way home. Make your way home.

Open your eyes and trust in The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.

Welcome back home. You never left home.

There’s nothing to fear, for ever is near The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

So make your way home. You never left home.

Open your eyes; is it such a surprise? You are The Rock of Ages, The Rock of Ages.

Now bring them back home. Lead them back home.

Only connect. Only be kind. Welcome them home; the lost and alone.

You never left home. So make your way home.

Open your eyes, for you are The Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages.