Christians
say God, in the Bible, made us rulers over the earth. As such, we are the
keeper and overseer (boss) of earth. God has given us the wisdom, the
responsibility and the permission to control and use the earth and its
resources. We can and must use the earth to satisfy our spiritual and physical
needs. We must also accumulate wealth, which enables us to better care for
ourselves first and then the world. Wealth also shows that God approves of our
endeavors. We need to control the trees, minerals and water. That means we must
pass and enforce laws to keep other individuals or groups from the misuse of these
resources.
Only
large groups of people, like corporations and governments that are led by
Christians, have the wisdom, wealth and will to use these resources wisely. Our
Christian philosophy says it is wise to divide up the land and resources and distribute
them in an orderly fashion to those who can best use them. We must take away
land and resources from the poor and ignorant (Indians, farmers and others)
because they do not know the best long range uses for these resources. We must
institute a system of governmental rules where we control the economical and
resource Laws because God (we) knows best. We must educate the people to obey
us and make others obey God and our laws. If we make a mistake, God has made
the earth self-healing. We need not worry if we over use some resources for
some of our immediate needs. God will supply all our needs in the future.
What is good for Christianity is good for the world.
They
fail to remember that their Bible says, God “. . . is coming to destroy those
who destroy the earth.” (Rev. 11:18 ASV.)
Much
has already been destroyed and the Clear Thinker sees more and more dangers
facing the world and its people. By the nature of his philosophy, the Clear
Thinker is a conservationist. He is against the wholesale misuse of the world's
natural resources including the misuse of man himself. The Clear Thinker is
against the misuse of our natural resources for the purpose of conquest (war),
the building of economic fortunes (corporate business), or for the crime of
over population (sexual ignorance).
(Once
Easter Island was tree covered and supported a large population. Now there are
no trees and the few people there depend on boats and airlifts from abroad for
most of their supplies. The ratio of people to land area today in China and
several other places are about the same as it was on Easter Island when their
decline began.)
The
Clear Thinker is a realist if he is anything. He is not a pacifist as such. If
he is placed in a position to kill or be killed, some will kill. Neither is he
likely to put himself in the position of dying for his philosophy. If he must
say, "I believe in this or that" in order to preserve his life, some
will lie. He wants to get as much out of this life as he possibly can for he
has little proof of another life after this one. He Hopes there is another
life, but he knows of little substantial evidence for it.
As
for conquest and war, it is a waste of mankind and the natural resources of the
earth. Greed is always a major instigator of war. War is usually a sign of
great national problems and is preceded by extremely inflammatory propaganda
and lies designed to get the unthinking believers worked up enough to sacrifice
their sons, husbands and even their own lives to the God of War. Wars are always
fought on the excuse of some high ideal and for the good of mankind. Sometimes
I wonder if revolutions are not the only legitimate wars. To throw off tyranny,
unjust laws, suppression, excessive taxation, minority (or majority)
oppressions and such are dangerous things to do. Who knows what will take their
place? Notice what happened to Russia after their much-needed revolution.
Be
that as it may, wars will be fought. The Clear Thinker usually speaks out
against wars the best he can under the circumstances. But remember this. Wars
are irrational! They are almost as irrational as established religions. Some
have even suggested that war IS a religion with its own doctrines, its
priesthood and its ordinances. Certainly, it does demonstrate some parallels
with religion. Each side is always right and the other side is always wrong.
The war supporters have their prophets, their saints or heroes and their
baptism by fire, called campaigns. War has its evangelists, its altar calls,
its revivals and its music. Those who oppose the war priesthood are called
traitors, the equivalent of heretics or Atheist in religion. Wars are fought to
gain domination over the enemy (competitive businesses, nations, beliefs and
their resources). Wars are fought for dominion over the world, just like
religion. The biggest supporters of war are those corporations, politicians and
men that make fortunes from these blood baths.
Most
wars have an economic and business orientation and/or power struggle as their
basis of origin. For instance, when trade in Europe began to spread out as a
result of the early industrial explosion, everyone's measurements were
different. One section's bushel was larger than someone else's bushel and
smaller than another area’s bushel. The same thing held true for all
measurements. Disputes, competitions and problems abounded. So, under the
pretense of religion and nationalism, Europe experienced a series of wars. The
main result was standardization of measurements and the elimination of much
competition. Tens of thousands of people died fighting. Other tens of thousands
of people died from disease, plagues and starvation. Perhaps it was worth it,
but it is doubtful. The problem would have taken care of itself in a few years
anyway. There are other ways to handle the problems of mankind without these
total wars.
Contrast
that with some logical action in modern times. Europe was having similar
economic problems with money and business after the Second World War. They
formed the Common Market. It was not perfect, but it was a far better solution
for all concerned than another war. It has been said: a good compromise is
affected only when all parties are dissatisfied. There may be more truth to
that statement than appears on the surface.
A
great portion of all the wars fought in the west in the last two thousand years
has been religious wars. They were fought with religious slogans. Believers are
ready to go to war to defend their political and religious beliefs. It is true:
most religious wars have had political or economic power struggles as the real
hidden cause. But the people have rallied, not because of the power struggle.
They have rallied to war because of the religious and patriotic reasons told
them.
WHAT MAKES THE RELIGIOUS VIEW OF WAR SO DIFFERENT
FROM THE CLEAR THINKER’S VIEW OF WAR?
The
answer to that is, the religious person believes he has a divine command to
defend the honor of God and God's country (his country, whichever that is). He
further believes, when a man dies he will live again and of course, that means
heaven (whichever heaven his religion teaches).
On
the other hand, the Clear Thinker hopes he will live again, but he sees small
evidence that will stand up as proof. To a Clear Thinker, dead means Dead. Most
Christian religions conclude when a dog dies, it is dead and will live no more.
When a horse dies it is dead, so also, an ape, a dolphin, a cat, or a cow. When
they die, they are considered to be Dead. Why then would a man be considered
alive after death? The authority for the Christian belief is the Bible. Clear
Thinkers recognize the Bible as a book written and edited many times by men
(unknown). They also point out numerous places in the Bible where the writer
says, when a man is dead, he is Dead, not alive. But we all hope death does not
end it all. There are also a few items that give us the hope of living again.
We will see some of these hopes in later chapters (especially Ch. 30).
Having
little proof that there is a life after this one, the Clear Thinker takes the
position that we must make the most out of This life. If we haven't learned to
get the most we can out of this life, what makes anyone think we will be ready
to get the most out of a future life. Will learning poverty, ignorance and
hardship here prepare us for knowledge, riches and power in a future life? We
wish to live this life to the fullest. We do not wish to cut our own lives
short, nor do we wish to cut the life of anyone else short. We also hope others
will feel the same toward us. Therefore, the Clear Thinker is basically against
war and against those who think the only solution to critical economic and
political problems, is to wage war against a selected enemy.
Another
reason the Christian views war differently from the Clear Thinker is the
Christian always believes he is right. Why? His minister, rabbi, priest,
general or president told him so. Being of a controlled mind, in the habit of
accepting and believing what his Authorities tell him, he believes he is right
and God is on his side. He believes his religion is right. He also believes the
enemy is wrong.
A
third reason for the different view of war held by the Christian is that God
will take care of him and protect him. God will protect the Christian's country.
God will protect the world. Therefore, it is all right to nuke our enemies
because God will not let the world be destroyed. God will preserve his own
people (us) and his world by divine intervention, or by a divine resurrection.
God will prevent the world from being destroyed because the world is his
creation. God will not let evil (the enemy) overcome the good (our side). By
some miracle, our enemies will be unable to do to us what we are going to do to
them. Please, don't believe that! They can and they will!
A
fourth reason for the difference in the view of war between the religious and
the Clear Thinker is this: The Christians and most other religions are taught
through their holy books that their Gods have for ages past ordered the
destruction and conquest of their enemies. One or two religions go so far as to
make the highest positions and pleasures of their heaven only accessible to
those who have waged courageous holy warfare against the enemies of their God.
The highest places go to those killed in defense of their God, their religion
and their country. Thus, it is not hard to find thousands who are willing to
drive a truck loaded with explosives into their enemy's camp and explode it.
Many religions see God as a great general leading the troops into battle.
Religion
is the greatest killer on earth. Why? Under the hypnotic power of Belief,
murder can be counted as a Divine, Pious and Patriotic service to God. Under
the sway of religious or political belief, one can kill, not only with a clear
conscience, but also with pride and congratulations from the Almighty, his Holy
Word, his holy men and his holy government.
I
am not saying the religious believers actually want war. I am saying the
religious believers are easy to froth up into a fighting frenzy. They are
believers in whatever cause is taught them by their authorities. So the fifth
and final reason I will mention is, the religious are Obedient. Obedience is
taught to believers as a godly trait. The religious people believe obedience is
a divine requirement. Blind obedience is viewed as a Slave Trait by the mature
Clear Thinker. Christians and other religious persons will march off into
certain death because they were ordered to do so. They will commit crimes
against the innocent because their authorities have told them, "It is
God's Will."
For
the non-thinkers and believers, faith and belief in some Authorized Fiction is
a stronger motivator than is truth, facts and reality.
That is a Very important statement! Read that statement again and think about it! Governments constantly use this weapon of Authorized Fiction (lies) on you, as do the religions.
THE RELIGIOUS MAKE GOOD SOLDIERS BECAUSE
THEY FOLLOW ORDERS LIKE THE ORDERS CAME
FROM GOD HIMSELF.
When
the Clear Thinker contemplates death, he sees little evidence beyond hope, so
he does not wish to hurry up the inevitable. He knows a little bit about the
game of war played by the power hungry and the wealth hungry. He is not
interested in dying to make someone a little more powerful or a little richer.
He will let the believers do that.
Even
though the Clear Thinker does not see much evidence for a life after this one,
he does have the same wish and hopes that are shared by most of the human race.
He hopes there is a life after death. As a result of that hope, the Clear
Thinker keeps his eye on some of the unusual happenings in this world that seem
to take place in every land and among every type of people. I am talking about
some unusual and strange phenomena. Let's look at some of these things by way
of curiosity.
THE CLEAR THINKER VIEWS UNUSUAL HAPPENINGS
Always,
there are many ghost stories, unusual happenings, hypnotic memories, demon
stories, angel stories and of course, the UFO stories. Clear Thinkers do not
dispute certain of the experiences, sightings or memories of reputable people.
These things, if they are real happenings, cannot yet be accurately placed in
our concept and understanding of the universe. Neither can these stories be
credited as a divine reality without more and better proof. We are constantly
seeking to understand why and how these things occur. The human mind is capable
of many strange experiences and visions that happen only "in their heads.”
People
have been declared legally dead only to revive and tell strange stories of what
took place in their heads while they were dead. Some went to heaven, some went
to hell, some saw long dead friends or relatives, some even spoke with Jesus or
Moses or Peter or some leader of other religions. Some have even seen and patted
their favorite dead pets. Some have gone down a long tunnel to a bright light
at the other end. Some have merely floated around the room near the ceiling and
watched the doctors working on their dead bodies. Some could see and know
things that happened to them while they were dead. (See Chapters 30 and 31 on
the Soul and Ghosts.)
(This
is an addition that recently came to my attention. I think you should know
about it. Men in training to be astronauts and test pilots are subjected to
almost all the human body can endure. One of the training devices is a
centrifugal machine that places a gravitational force of several times the
earth's normal gravity on the trainee. During this rigorous training, many of
the men pass out and some have the Exact Same experiences that others classify
as near death experiences. Not only that, many of the men have personally had
several such experiences. Some of them have been pleasant and others have been
in the "hell" class. These experiences have often happened to the
same person at different times. That IS something to consider.)
The
human mind is capable of many strange experiences that happen only in the mind.
For instance, it is a well-known trick of the hypnotist to make a suggestion
that the hypnotized person will be followed everywhere he goes by a little
black and white dog. Upon being awakened from the hypnotic trance, the person
does see the dog. He can describe it. He can pat it on the head. It has even
been proven, he can see the dog eat and to that person some of the food
disappears for good. This can go on for days or months.
People
can also be hypnotized in religious services. They will believe some
unbelievable religious claim, which they would never in their right mind
believe or accept as being true outside of a hypnotic religious service.
People
can hypnotize themselves, self-hypnosis it is called. In other words, the mind
can play tricks on the person. The mind plays tricks all the time in dreams. In
dreams, people can fly, do superhuman feats, see demons, devils, angels, gods,
saviors, dead loved ones, children, pets and even beautiful women. Everything
in the dream is accepted as being perfectly logical and real until the dreamer
wakes up. Personally, I like the beautiful women dreams best.
Those
who research and study these things, tell us that our subconscious minds dream
all through the day and night at various intervals, whether we are awake or
asleep. They tell us our mind is like a computer that checks its programs and
electronics periodically, even if we are calling on it to do other work.
Some
people, by relaxing their conscious mind while they are awake, can view these
dreams of the subconscious mind and still be aware. Lack of sleep, lack of food
or water, fever, tumors, trances and use of certain drugs can induce this
ability to see their dreams while they are awake. They then call these dreams,
"Visions.” In these visions, they see things that other wide-awake people
around them do not see. They often hear things that others do not hear. All of
these daytime visions (or conscious dreams) are dealt with according to the
Beliefs of the one having those dreams. If they are of the Catholic belief,
their vision will be described in those terms. If they are Hindus, the vision
will be described in other terms. If they are Spiritualists, the interpretation
of what the daytime dream means will be dealt with in yet another manner. And
don’t forget Freud and Jung.
It
is very difficult to separate the real from the imagination in a sane person.
It is close to impossible to separate the real from the imagination in those
who believe in various types of supernatural beings, powers and places.
I
could not count the number the times I have been asked, "Do you believe in
flying saucers?" With eight other students and two teachers in a college
astronomy class, I saw three of the UFOs. I was operating the telescope at the
time and saw one of them through the twenty-power spotter scope mounted to the
twelve-inch reflector telescope. There appeared to be portholes around the
middle of the cup and saucer shaped UFO. They came close together. A head and
shoulders came to a window and looked out the window at us or in our direction.
They sat in a triangle formation for about three or four minutes before they
separated and went in different directions.
What
were they? I don't know, but I could guess. Were they real? They seemed to be.
All of us saw the same thing, but I, and one teacher, got the best view of all
through the telescope. Were they spacecraft from another planet? How should I
know? Were there people or other intelligence inside? I don't know, but
something humanlike moved around and seemed to be looking out the window. Could
they have been some sort of mass hallucination? I doubt it. It is hard to zoom
in on a hallucination. I can only describe what I saw. I cannot interpret it to
mean more than it is, or less than it is.
Some
people have taken such sightings of others, or their own, to claim we are being
visited by intelligence from other planets, or even from other dimensions,
whatever that means. Recently, some have said the UFOs, which simply means
unidentified flying objects, are proof God exists, or angels exist, or Jesus is
coming again in a short while. Some say it proves the Devil is getting ready to
cause a great world war in which most of the earth will be destroyed. Those who
are believers make a multitude of other claims on the basis of these sightings.
Someone's guess is bound to be correct but we will not know it until later. It
makes no difference to most people that these things have been seen for
thousands of years. (Read Charles Fort, or type in “ufo” on your computer
search engine.)
If
a person is a believer, he will try to make every occurrence that is a bit out
of the ordinary, into some sort of proof of his religious or personal belief. I
do not deny there are many occurrences out of the ordinary, so many in fact, we
must consider the possibility they are ordinary when viewed in the long term.
If they are ordinary, they are not to be viewed as miracles, nor as a
malfunctioning of the laws of physics, nor of a manifestation of a supernatural
power or being.
The
problem is not the happenings. It is the interpretations put on the happenings
by the believers, that is the problem. The Clear Thinker views the world and
the universe as being chaotic yet perfectly logical in all of its happenings.
Even chaos has its natural causes and reasons based in physics and chemistry.
That is, nothing happens without a cause and no cause goes without it affecting
something else. Even subatomic particles that seem to have a mind of their own,
nevertheless, will respond in statistically observable patterns. Quantum
theories have been developed to account for these happenings in the subatomic
world. Whatever exists is real, natural, or done by intelligent beings.
This
does not exclude Super Beings, but it does exclude the Supernatural Beings, the
Gods of the Holy Books who are claimed to work outside of the natural causes
and effects of nature, who work miracles without science or nature. If
something happens, it is real and has a natural cause and a natural effect.
There is strong evidence that aliens (often called Lords, Gods or angels in
mythology and religion) have been interacting with man for a long time. It is
claimed that they have instructed men in many things like farming, technology,
government, secret wisdom, philosophy and religion. If so, why? To our benefit
or theirs? If someone can do these unusual super intelligent things, it is
because of their super knowledge, super science and super development. It is
not because they are supernatural and can work outside of the rules of nature
(which we little understand).
The
very best anyone can honestly say about an unusual phenomenon is we just do not
yet know. The Devil or God used to be responsible for all diseases and
calamities that came upon man. Scientific study has shown us that this is not
so. It used to be thought prayer (our next study) could affect everything
including the weather. We now know better. Let's just wait on the honest
doubters of the science world to dig in and find out what these things really
are. (Later there will be more details in Chapter 17 on Miracles.)
THE CLEAR THINKER'S VIEW OF ECOLOGY
Let
us look at the difference between the Clear Thinker’s view and the Christian’s
view of the rape of our ecology. The Christian view is, since God is in charge,
he will not let the world get into a depleted and ravished state. We will not
choke on our own filth and waste. Besides, the product (ultimately the money)
that causes this polluting and plundering of our Mother Earth, is the same
product that makes the religions and the religious rich, powerful and cocky.
This
is of course, not a totally true statement. Many liberals in the church are
waking up to this game of Russian roulette that we are playing with our world.
Some of the leaders and lay people are speaking out. Their ruling church bodies
are censoring some of these concerned men and women. But some are being
supported. Honesty demands that we take care and consideration of our space
ship, our Mother, our Earth. The Clear Thinkers of this country have been
crying and pleading with us for more than two hundred years to care for the
whole earth as we would care for our own gardens and yards.
To
the Clear Thinker, the world is a delicately balanced system, which can absorb
a small amount of abuse, but which cannot take a large amount of misuse without
fighting back. This could take place as disease, droughts, ice ages, floods and
in some cases even earthquakes. You might ask how can man's abuse bring about
these responses from nature? One needs only to do a bit of reading in the areas
of the ozone layer, the rise in carbon dioxide, the red tides, hazardous and
chemical waste, underground nuclear explosions, destruction of forests,
electromagnetic currents, HAARP and our polluted water supplies to reach an
honest conclusion. Nature will fight back with a reduction of the population by
disease, floods, an ice age, or some other form seeking a new balance in
nature. (More on this in Chapter 33 on Morality.)
In
fact, nature seems to cleanse the earth every few thousand years, with or
without man's help. Original Native American Fathers tell us, "It is
time for the cleansing."
As
yet, we know very little about how man affects the weather, but we do know to
denude the land produces deserts and disturbed weather patterns. The Clear
Thinker does not consider cutting and burning hardwood trees and replacing them
with pulp pine as totally good stewardship. In a hundred years, if things
continue like they are now, lumber will be so expensive that only the very rich
can afford it. Stone and metal will be cheaper. Will we be using bamboo, mud
and straw to build our houses?
The
Clear Thinker considers pumping the western ground water out to supply large
cities built in the middle of the desert regions and the cutting and burning of
ancient forests as acts of earthicide. The Clear Thinker knows that making
deserts out of forest and grassland is foolhardy. He knows that putting poisons
into the ground will ultimately breed an inferior type of man and possibly a
superior type of insect or disease.
Preparing
for war is inferior to preparing for peace. For this nation to spend more
wealth and use more resources than it can pay for during this generation is to
pass on to our children and their children a debt that could bring on another
dark age. Our children's children will curse this generation for leaving them
with war and poverty instead of peace and prosperity. They will curse us for
using up their water, wood, oil and natural resources. They will curse the
Christian philosophy that compelled us to have so little regard for their
future. They will curse religion and its beliefs. They will call us Greedy, and
Selfish, and Hypocritical, and Monsters. And they will have a right to do so!
To
the Clear Thinker, the world is on loan. We are caretakers of what is.
Everything is to be passed on to future generations. We Must leave the earth
Better than we found it. But we are more than caretakers. We must be
fearless in our pursuit of knowledge and go wherever it leads us. We must be
willing to carefully and reverently experiment with the universe. We must seek
to make the hopes and dreams of mankind into a reality.
The
earth is a living thing. She is seeking balance and healing for herself. We
must stop destroying our world and give her a chance to heal herself. We must
learn to appreciate the beauty of our world and learn to live in harmony with
her. The world is our space ship. The earth is our Mother. She is all we have.
Love thy Mother.
In
my opinion, the greatest resource on this earth is mankind (I hope I am not in
error on this assumption). The Clear Thinker concludes that only by having
intellectual, political and economic freedom can man become what he is capable
of becoming. Also, he knows the arrangement above is the proper arrangement.
Intellectual freedom must come First. This means science must be free to
explore all of nature and its discoveries must be made available for the
benefit of all mankind, not just for corporate profits. (It should be against
the law to patent Mother Nature.)
It
means the falsified histories need to be corrected so man may know the truth
about his stupidity and barbarism of the past (and present). Man needs to know
the truth about his false beliefs that make him poor and often makes him dead
when one belief wars against another belief. At the very least, his beliefs make
him ignorant. Ignorance quickly becomes hostility.
Intellectual
freedom also means freedom from political falsehoods and secrecy. It means we
need to know the True history of this nation and world, its good and its bad.
We need to know about its Secret Governments and societies. Intellectual
freedom means censorship must stop. Religion and government should no longer be
able to hold a lid over truth, over facts and over logical, honest thinking and
scientific investigation.
Intellectual
freedom means our educational system must be changed from making obedient
citizens, obedient employees and obedient religionists to the one and only
legitimate purpose of education. Children and adults should be taught how to
Think, how to Find the Facts and how to Communicate. (This is developed in
Chapter 12 on Education.) The only part of man that differs markedly from the
other animals must be allowed to develop. The mind of man must be challenged to
Think. When man thinks, he no longer is prey to false claims, emotional
propaganda and political or religious con artists. When man Thinks Honestly and
Clearly, good things happen.
Intellectual
freedom will promote political freedom and economic freedom. When one talks
about freedom, he is talking about peace. Peace will only come when there is
universal intellectual freedom.
When
man becomes rational, the irrational will find no foothold in man's life.
Irrational events like war, religion, famine, poverty, sickness and such will
pass onto the scrap heap of history. The prophesied millennium will not come
about by religious intervention, nor will it come about by the intervention of
misguided secret societies and shadow governments. Religious and criminal
intervention always becomes religious and criminal Tyranny.
The
time of peace on this earth will only come by following the best philosophy
ever developed by honest thinking men. That is, the philosophy of freedom, the
philosophy of Honest Clear Thinking, the philosophy of Justice. It is time to
put away the childishness of criminal, political and religious beliefs and
become Honest Rational Thinking Human Beings. That is our next step in our
evolution on this planet, on our home, our Beautiful Mother Earth.
LET US TAKE IT!
