Dream Interpretation

…it is human nature to value mysticism over fact, since facts are nowhere near as intriguing…

- Xenocrates

Dreams are visual representations of our desires.

Have you ever had one of those vivid dreams where you were positive that it carried some strong omen but you weren’t sure what it was? Well that’s what this post is really all about. Dream interpretation is actually a lot simpler than people tend to think and I’m going to tell you how to understand them using simple science. Eventually you’ll come to see that there is absolutely nothing mystical about dreams at all. You won’t fear your nightmares after this.

Morality vs. Religion

“Morality and religion exist as mutually exclusive concepts as one does not automatically predicate the other.”

- Xenocrates

Taking an oath on the Bible is something of a conflict of interest – considering what’s written in it.

When asked about why religion is necessary, one of the common answers most people will probably tell you (even if they aren’t believers) is that religion provides a framework for moral behaviour. So allow me to permanently fix that problem by blowing this fatuous assumption out of the water once and for all.

The Anatomy of Belief

“Conflict over belief is as worthwhile as conflict over a favourite colour.”

- Xenocrates

There are many systems of belief in the world. Most beliefs are propagated by the innate compulsion of their subscribers to derive purpose from the world around them. As such, religion is effectively a moderate transmutation of mythology, philosophy and science. It attempts to be the silver bullet that is the catch-all solution for all of life’s problems. That’s why religion is the most conspicuous of all systems of belief. It attempts to explicitly fill the gaps science and philosophy do not. However, there are some dark, disturbing characteristics about religious belief that a lot of religious people are either unaware of or seem to ignore altogether. Growing up in an environment that catered to the far Christian right taught me a lot of highly valuable lessons about these characteristics. This post details the top ten most valuable lessons I’ve learned about religious cognition. Most of these I learned after intense debate and oftentimes, vicious confrontation:

Epiphanies Volume 2: Epistemology

“All knowledge is based on the assumption that the product of our senses is real.”

- Xenocrates

What is knowledge? How do we define what it is that we’ve come to know? How do we express what we think we believe? What makes it valid? On what grounds do we make the separation between what is faith and what is proof? The theory of knowledge underscores all of these questions. However, the unfortunate reality is that knowledge as most people understand it, is nothing more than a cultural approximation of information determined by individual perceptions. Most of what you know has very little useful purpose outside of the environment where you learned it. It is a tragic waste of brain cells, and in worst case scenarios, a potential waste of human life where that information is interpreted differently. Humanity’s hunger for knowledge both creates and decimates human existence – although I’m led to believe it’s more of the latter than the former. The following epiphanies examine the flimsy basis on which we define knowledge. As far as I know, these are all my own original thoughts:

The Science of Deception

“Anything is justifiable in the name of religion.”

- Xenocrates

Over the last couple of months, my blog entries have focused on the lies most ubiquitously propagated by religion. I’ve sought to explain this phenomenon through analyzing the responses I’ve gotten from many folks – particularly those who’ve responded to me in person. From talking to these people, I’ve established a most discernable pattern: The average person is a linear thinker. They tend to accept most ideas at face value and interpret most problems using the most conspicuous parameters defined by that problem. They assume that the underlying premise is true so long as it appears to make sense – whether or not it actually does. This is why people believe so many of the highly illogical and perhaps even nonsensical things they do – especially as it relates to religion. In this entry, I will discuss some of the core ideas we’ve come to know in religion and how we can use critical thinking to expose the illogical nature of these teachings. You will see that deception is more of a science than an art and you will understand why it is used to snare the minds of the simple minded.