For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 KJV:
As we see with Adam & Eve, the pursuit of knowledge can produce the loss of paradise. "Paradise," in this respect, is the comfort zone of our "beliefs" that we refuse to question or even think too much about. In short, the story in the Book of Genesis is a reminder of that old saying, "ignorance is bliss."
In an attempt to return humanity to it's blissful ignorance, then, the Christian religion wishes for its faithful "flock" to "become like children" in their willingness to blindly trust in the moral benevolence of their parental Church leaders; especially that priestly class of authoritarians who trade their worldly troubles for the life long security found in the bosom of the church.
Such a dependence only raises a number of obvious questions, of course, such as why does "enlightenment" so often darken one's perspective? If Christ was "the light of the world," why is a "belief" in Him so often used to snuff out "truth"? And how can anyone ever find any objective "truth" when they are convinced they must avoid hell and obtain heaven by devoting all of their intellectual energies to only ever proving their "beliefs" are "true"?
In truth, it is impossible to engage in any objective search for "truth" when one is shackled to a "belief" bias that they are only ever tasked with trying to validate through their interpretation of any evidence they may encounter. While it is always possible to find a way of interpreting any evidence we may find as supporting our beliefs, especially for the clever mind, knowingly doing so while claiming to be only trying to reveal "objective truth" is perhaps the most sinister and dishonest exercise anyone can engage in.
Such an exercise has only turned Christ into both a chain and a coffin nail, because the never ending attempt to interpret all evidence as confirming the very "belief" we have chosen to start with, assumes that humanity has already discovered the infallible bedrock of "truth," and that everything from this point forward is simply a matter of putting together the pieces science or reason may discover in ways that only ever support that "truth." But such an assumption, which is everywhere lauded by the "believer" as the epitome of humility, is merely a "belief," and clearly the greatest vanity humanity could ever dream up.
This contrast between an honest search for "truth" and the dishonest attempt to only ever validate a "belief" as "true" is not only what led the Sanhedrin to crucify Christ and the Catholic Church to murder thousands of heretics throughout history, it is also why "much wisdom" brings "much grief." For to understand the grand lie that has seduced humanity in an Orwellian twist of phrases - by preaching humility while practicing only hubris and by enslaving in ignorance with claims of enlightenment - is to discover that the bliss of an endorphin induced ignorance is far more preferable to the vulgar herd than accepting the cross of freedom that "truth" requires us all to bear.
Knowledge may be power, but ignorance is an addiction. And as Isreal Zangwil put it, "the vulgar herd catches at the gross apparent fact, but the man of insight knows what lies on the surfaces does lie."
In truth, it is impossible to engage in any objective search for "truth" when one is shackled to a "belief" bias that they are only ever tasked with trying to validate through their interpretation of any evidence they may encounter. While it is always possible to find a way of interpreting any evidence we may find as supporting our beliefs, especially for the clever mind, knowingly doing so while claiming to be only trying to reveal "objective truth" is perhaps the most sinister and dishonest exercise anyone can engage in.
Such an exercise has only turned Christ into both a chain and a coffin nail, because the never ending attempt to interpret all evidence as confirming the very "belief" we have chosen to start with, assumes that humanity has already discovered the infallible bedrock of "truth," and that everything from this point forward is simply a matter of putting together the pieces science or reason may discover in ways that only ever support that "truth." But such an assumption, which is everywhere lauded by the "believer" as the epitome of humility, is merely a "belief," and clearly the greatest vanity humanity could ever dream up.
This contrast between an honest search for "truth" and the dishonest attempt to only ever validate a "belief" as "true" is not only what led the Sanhedrin to crucify Christ and the Catholic Church to murder thousands of heretics throughout history, it is also why "much wisdom" brings "much grief." For to understand the grand lie that has seduced humanity in an Orwellian twist of phrases - by preaching humility while practicing only hubris and by enslaving in ignorance with claims of enlightenment - is to discover that the bliss of an endorphin induced ignorance is far more preferable to the vulgar herd than accepting the cross of freedom that "truth" requires us all to bear.
Knowledge may be power, but ignorance is an addiction. And as Isreal Zangwil put it, "the vulgar herd catches at the gross apparent fact, but the man of insight knows what lies on the surfaces does lie."
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