For The PRESS

RETURN TO

RETURN TO
AGE OF REALITY
HOME PAGE

        Synopsis of the Age of Reality

          Thomas Jefferson had encountered great difficulty in the establishment of the "first" University in American that was not church and/or religiously sponsored or related.  He obviously had the properly conceived notion that, where religions and their consistently and doggedly insistence that the truth lies only within those narrowly defined tenants of its own faith, it would be almost impossible to achieve a true atmosphere of academic freedom and thought as well as the scientific establishment of  new discoveries.  That more than noble effort of Thomas Jefferson, resulting in the founding of the University of Virginia, was the quintessential essence of that ideal socio-political circumstance where there would exist a distinct separation of the church and its mostly conservative ideologies from that of a modern civil state that should rightly foster individual achievement and growth over which there should be NO moral authority.  Only in that ideal of circumstances would it be at all possible to actually have what is aptly called freedom of religion wherein every single individual remains equally free to pursue the truth according to his own beliefs and personals needs.
          As a great man of letters, I am very confident that Thomas Jefferson, in the light of modern day knowledge and scientific realities, would be amusingly appalled at the present state of affairs where so many individuals still so blindly hold fast to these embellished religious mythologies that have been so totally challenged and dispelled by modern discoveries and science dramatically beginning with those far-reaching theories of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and that were so dramatically confirmed by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) with his masterful and most timely invention and use of the telescope.  For Galileo's courageous contribution to the knowledge of his day that we were NOT the center of the universe and therefore most likely not the singular focus of creation, he was hastily placed under 'house arrest' by the head of the Catholic Church, and that atrocious and malign decree was only lifted in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, some three hundred and fifty years after his death.
          Reality has not changed in its essence from the very first time that man began to explore his ever-expanding universe; the difficulty lies with man's ability or inability to successfully and realistically integrate his antiquated mythologies with the hard sciences of our modern times.  The beginning of any age of mankind is appropriately marked not with just the simple discovery of some previously undiscovered reality that had always existed, but most appropriately when the tangible fruits of that revelation or discovery have actually entered the mainstream of mankind's day-to-day world.  From our own Western culture perspective, the singular event that might well mark the beginning of this great Age of Reality could possibly be focused on Pope John Paul II, when on October 31, 1992, when the Vatican 'revisited' its initial indictment of Galileo's scientific confirmation of Copernicus' take on our universe's heavenly bodies and their actual relationship to earth.
          Mankind and his innate noble spirit, has for too long, been held totally captive and spiritually enslaved to these archaic and notoriously oppressive religions and their often-time radical leaders who all too frequently subjugate that very loving nature that every individual man and woman should be equally and universally heir to. We are so very fortunate to be living in an age of such magnanimous discoveries.  And in most every instance mankind continues to challenge the spiritual impact of these modern discoveries and in too few cases might even be able to successfully dispel many of those notoriously and conservatively held points of view.
          There is in reality nothing new under our own life-giving sun; mankind has only to accept and broaden his fundamental knowledge of what is already most evident in nature.  Mankind is most fortuitously and finally leaving behind the very infancy of his once political, social, psychological and spiritual development, and with this ever-immerging social and spiritual maturity mankind is fastly entering this most progressive Age of Reality.  And, above all, mankind is seemingly achieving much of this newly discovered maturity most notably with or without the blessings of many of our world religions, most notably that multitude of Christian faiths.
          These rather large number of spiritually oppressive churches, temples, and mosques need not be totally dismissed or even left behind in the dust of modern discoveries; they should, however, all, so to speak, come clean about the ghastly multitude of their mostly bogus and certainly mythological claims.  Then, and only then, should these now spiritually irrelevant mythologies have the greatest of obligations to become more spiritually relevant to the real needs of their congregations.  I would suppose that this metamorphose could be easily achieved by simply redefining their various spiritual and social roles to reflect an ideology that truly and sincerely fosters the love and acceptance of all mankind as well as the infinitely and most magnanimous beauty of this naturally occurring diversity of mankind that has been manifested in this wonderful Garden of Eden.
          This great diversity also carries with it the reality that not all individuals will posses either the desire or ability to recognize and/or even accept the fundamental precepts of this wonderfully freeing age; they are equally free to experience their own life's joy in any manner they see fit.  Mankind, for far too many reasons, has remained in the infancy of his deeper spirituality and it has only been the purveyors of these now terribly archaic mythologies that have selfishly profited far beyond any reasonable or authentic concern for these often blindly led followers’ spiritual wellbeing.  It is a reasonable expectation for the infant to believe in a Santa Clause, BUT to continue these fabled and mythological beliefs into the mature adulthood is a grave travesty that only feeds the despots of these infantile mythologies despite all the social order and good behavior that many of these old religions and mythologies are totally and rightfully given full credit for fostering.
          So, you tell me; what should these now outdated and benign religions be doing to correct their misgivings.  Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote a book entitled, Why Christianity Must Change Or Die that only scratched the benign surface of the problems with America’s number one religion that claims the same God as is depicted as part of our country’s heritage as reflected in the expression, “One nation under God.”  I am appalled that we as free Americans still hold to this now failed expression as we have the most horrid statistical records when it comes to human failure as in; the broken homes, alcoholism, every crime under the sun, drug dependency and those countless and growing numbers of what is presently called “street people” or “the homeless.”
         Jesus, as the greatest and most certainly profound humanitarian that ever lived on this planet spent most of his adult life seeking some reasonable answer for mankind’s pour plight and then sharing it with those who cared enough to try and did so until the troubled times of Constantine the Great.  Elaine Pagels explains the problem in the very first chapter of her best seller book, Beyond Belief.  The title of this first chapter truly sez and defines it all, From the Feast of Agapé to Constantine.  The operative words here are “Feast of Agapé” as this was the only real action required in order to respect and reflect the one and only commandment of Jesus and that is to, “Love your neighbor as I have loved you.”  You see, Constantine had absolutely no need of this singular power of love, but instead Constantine demanded “Absolute Obedience” of those slaves that constituted 90% of the population over which he ruled.  That is precisely why the Nicaean Creed is so totally devoid of even the very mention of Love, which was the one and only commandment of Jesus of Nazareth that we should learn to “Love” our neighbors.  You tell me, where in the hell did Constantine ever show any love for his slaves or those countless hordes of enemies that were ruthlessly murdered and slain under his ruthless and military command.  Constantine was, to the contrary the very epitome of the antichrist and yet he is hailed by many as the founder of the great Faith.  It is no wonder that Christianity has followed in the footsteps of its founder and absolutely showed no love for the countless neighbors put to death and its auspices of serving the one and only vengeful God. This death wielding God has no place in my universe and that includes the mythological Jesus created by this devil worshiper, Constantine the Great.
          The reality is quite simple; Constantine created Christianity to meet his own carnal needs and it was his Spiritual Mafioso, those bishops that met at Nicaea at Constantine's demand, that created heaven and hell as a reward or punishment to the slaves as a means of obtaining from those slaves, their absolute submission to the dictates of the newly formulated religion (then the Catholic Church) as well as their absolute obedience to their slave-owners (the evidence of which was easily supplied by the slaves’ confessions to priests).  That is precisely why the Catholic Church’s FIRST rule over its own parishioners is governed by that one singular word "obedience" rather than Jesus of Nazareth one and only commandment of "love."
          So, my good friends whom I love enough to share this historical reality with; I wish that all of you who are freed by the inherit truth of this fundamental knowledge will accept my most humble dedication of these six modest treatises, that in each instance and in their own unique manner affirmatively proclaim that mankind has, for his spiritual betterment as well as his most affirmative future already embarked on that arduous journey that will hopefully and eventually bring all of mankind entirely into this truly wonderful and most freedom imbued AGE OF REALITY.