THE CALL TO PROLIGION May 31, 2011
I am not having much success convincing good people to become proligious. There are already three or four members of www.spirituallyraw.com that have stopped having discussions with me. At this rate, give me a couple of years and I will be the loneliest man on the face of the Earth. No one will be talking to me. I am sorry it seems that is the way it will be, but I have a mission to accomplish. If I argue too much and if I challenge people’s beliefs, it is because PROLIGION is the search for knowledge and truth, the truth not only about the nature of God but the truth in all our systems, politics, science, ethics, morality, the environment, etc.
PROLIGION IS A PROCESS, using the Art of Ethical Communication in forums and discussions to search for what is true, good, and just. PROLIGION is the arena where ideas do the fighting and where each person chooses the winner or winners in those fights. There may be times when the opposing sides are so evenly matched with valid arguments supporting their views that the result of the fight may be a draw. However, that should be the exception rather than the rule. Usually, a panel of reasonable and impartial judges will find that one point of view is superior, either because it is backed by better logical arguments or because the real world out there confirms the high possibility of that point of view being closer to the truth.
Because TRUTH RULES SUPREME IN PROLIGION and because confirmed truth is found through REASON, not through faith, religious people’s feelings are bound to be hurt, especially when they are committed to their faith to such an extent that they will not consider rational arguments that oppose their views. These people are indoctrinated. They are programmed the same way a computer is programmed. You see, what happens with human beings is that once we accept a belief as true or desirable, it runs our lives automatically. We do not have to worry thinking about it. It is good. It is safe. It makes us feel good. Then if someone challenges our familiar belief (if someone wants to take away our teddy bear) we ignore them or arrogantly state our belief is superior, even though we have no logical reason to support it. That is why we all need to examine our ideas and beliefs periodically, to see if they are well founded. PROLIGION REQUIRES THE PERIODIC EXAMINATION OF THE PROGRAMS (IDEAS AND BELIEFS) IN OUR MINDS AND THE RE-PROGRAMMING NECESSARY WHEN NEW LOGICAL ARGUMENTS FROM OTHERS OR WHEN NEW INFORMATION FROM THE REAL WORLD INDICATES WE ARE MISTAKEN IN ONE OF OUR BELIEFS OR IDEAS.
This is the only way the human race will advance. This is the only way we will end the unnecessary divisions because of religious beliefs. As individuals, PROLIGION REQUIRES US TO BE SUFFICIENTLY HUMBLE AND HONEST TO RECOGNIZE THE SUPERIORITY OF SOME IDEAS OVER OTHERS, EVEN WHEN WE ARE THE ONES HOLDING THE FALSE IDEA OR BELIEF. I know this is easier said than done. For most “loyal” believers, it is not so much that they do not have the INTELLECTUAL FACULTY to “understand” a logical argument that goes against their belief system. They do have “a mind” capable of reasoning. The main problem in entertaining or accepting a logical argument that goes against their belief system is EMOTIONAL. Those religious beliefs they once accepted, those religious beliefs that have indoctrinated and programmed their minds: they have become so entrenched throughout all the years of reading the same book and of participating in the rituals and gatherings of their religious community that they have now become SACRED AND UNTOUCHABLE. In the most fundamentalist types of minds, these programs will drive some to commit even murder, just to pacify that inner need to feel safe. Because they do not have the logical arguments to defeat an opponent’s point of view, they will resort to harassment and violence to eliminate the challenge. By acting arrogantly, with an air of self-righteousness and superiority, they attempt to hide their ignorance.
A couple of the people I have had discussions with have accused me of acting superior, of being judge and jury “Do you think you are right and billions of people in the world are wrong?” they may ask. My answer is that in regards to the nature of the Infinite Source and Ultimate God, YES, I am right and billions of religious people in the world are wrong. However, although I can come on too strong every now and then, most of the time the arrogant stance and the superiority is not coming from my person but from my logical arguments. I have never told anybody to believe them because they are coming from me. What I have written in my book and what I have asked everyone to do is to EXAMINE MY LOGICAL ARGUMENTS. If no one can find logical counterarguments to refute them then, they are SUPERIOR. If they are SOUND ARGUMENTS, as I state they are, which means in Logic that the conclusions follow from the premises and that they constitute TRUTHS, then the religious people of the world are going to have to deal with these pieces of KNOWLEDGE, whether they like it or not. If I am right, then LEARN and get over your emotional state of denial. Do what is necessary to REPROGRAM your mind.
On the possibility (because as a proligious man, I need to be humble and honest) that someone does bring VALID LOGICAL COUNTERARGUMENTS that tear to pieces and dismantle my views, then I WILL REPROGRAM MY MIND TO ACCEPT THOSE TRUTHS AND GET RID OF MY FALSE BELIEFS. However, this will only happen IF someone brings forth superior logical arguments that defeat mine.
Realize that to become a proligious person, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT MY CONCEPT OF GOD. If you decide to become a proligious person, all you agree to do is TO BE IN SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH BY PARTICIPATING IN DISCUSSIONS OR FORUMS. In addition, although you may bring statements of faith to express your points of view, ultimately YOU RECOGNIZE THAT FOR ARGUMENTS TO BE VALID AND BE OR APPROXIMATE KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH, THEY HAVE TO BE BACKED BY LOGICAL REASONS OR BY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, TESTS IN THE REAL WORLD WITH RESULTS THAT CAN BE CONFIRMED BY VARIOUS CREDIBLE SOURCES. For now, this definition will do. It is the closest I can come to ways of separating false beliefs and pseudoscience from knowledge and truth.
What is Ercian Philosophy? Ercian Philosophy is the umbrella name for some of the principles or values I believe a human being should uphold. For example, I believe freedom of thought is integral for the intellectual and spiritual development of a person. It is a freedom more basic and necessary than freedom of expression. Governments may or may not allow for freedom of expression in a society, but it is only the individual person who may grant or deny himself or herself freedom of thought. I also believe that people who deny themselves freedom of thought become prisoners of the Chain of Unconsciousness. Chapter 3 in my book “The Psychology of the Chain” goes into detail to explain that process. I also believe one should follow the good ideas (that are unchangeable) rather than people (whose character may change). Chapter 5 in my book “Ideas and Messiahs” covers that. Naturally I believe in Proligion (see Chapter 4) because I think the good people of the world should be united through knowledge rather than remain divided by false beliefs (those we can “prove” are false). Then there is Chapter 6 “The Art of Ethical Communication” where I explain the fine line we must thread to hold TRUTH as the supreme value without hurting people’s feelings more than it is necessary. That is tough to do, an almost impossible task, unless “believers” learn to adopt an attitude of possible ignorance, one that is sufficiently humble and honest to allow for the reprogramming of their minds given the proper argumentation. Chapter 24 “Ercian Values and Ideals” include Knowledge, Reason, Wisdom, Freedom, Creativity, Responsibility, Emotion, Leadership, Courage, Peace and Love, Honesty, and Humility. The Ercian Motto is “In God with Love, In God with Knowledge, In God with Courage, Forever and Ever, Amen and Xamen." Finally, there are many chapters in the book that cover the nature of the Infinite Source and Ultmate God, the only Reality Ercian Philosophy claims to be the True and Past-Eternal God, ERC. This last one is probably the most important of all the principles and values of Ercian Philosophy.
I am sure I have left other “goodies” out, but if after reading my book and understanding some of the ideas or values contained in Ercian Philosophy you decide you agree with SOME of those ideas or values, then that becomes part of your knowledge or belief system. Note that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO AGREE WITH ANY OF THE PRINCIPLES OR VALUES OF ERCIAN PHILOSOPHY TO BE A PROLIGIOUS PERSON, except for the need for human beings to become proligious in order to create a better world, to search for knowledge and truth so that we may seek the union of peoples of good mind and will.
YOU CAN BECOME A PROLIGIOUS PERSON RIGHT NOW BY AGREEING TO TAKE PART IN THE PROLIGIOUS PROJECT BY PARTICIPATING IN PROLIGIOUS DISCUSSIONS AND FORUMS WHILE OBSERVING THE GUIDELINES SET FORTH EARLIER IN THIS ESSAY. You may use my website http://www.ercian.org to keep informed and my e-mail jmarchante@ercian.org if you have any questions. Of course, I hope http://www.spirituallyraw.com becomes a big part of the Proligious Project, the first site or group that gave me the opportunity to express my views.
NO, I WILL NOT BE CHARGING ANY FEES OR DUES ON MY WEBSITE. THE ONLY FINANCIAL INVESTMENT YOU SHOULD MAKE IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A PROLIGIOUS PERSON IS TO BUY MY BOOK “Ercian Testament, the Teachings of Proligion and Ercian Philosophy,” so that you can learn in detail everything you need to know about my worldview. The cost of the book is $16.95 plus shipping and handling.
If you want to know the differences between proligion and religion before deciding to become proligious, go to my website http://www.ercian.org and click on the tab “Proligion vs Religion.”
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“Ercian Testament, the Teachings of Proligion and Ercian Philosophy" can be purchased through the following link: https://www.createspace.com/3491489
This evolutionary and revolutionary book is also available online at Amazon.com, Kindle Books, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and others. Search by the title Ercian Testament or by the author's name Joseph Marchante. Thank you.
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