Wachs - Rational Universalism, The Second Directive

Table of Contents

Rational

Universalism

The Second

Directive

A NEW VIEW OF LIFE AFTER DEATH

AND OUR SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION

by

Barry Wachs, Ph.D.

CCB Publishing

British Columbia, Canada

Rational Universalism, The Second Directive:

A New View of Life After Death and Our Spiritual Evolution

Copyright 2012 by Barry Wachs, Ph.D.

ISBN-13 978-1-927360-83-5

First Edition

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Wachs, Barry, 1944-

Rational universalism, the second directive [electronic resource] : a new view of life after death and our spiritual evolution / by Barry Wachs 1st ed.

Electronic monograph in PDF format.

ISBN 978-1-927360-83-5

Also available in print format.

1. Future life. 2. Religion and science.

I. Title. II. Title: Second directive.

BL535.W33 2012 202'.3 C2012-904767-8

Extreme care has been taken to ensure that all information presented in this book is accurate and up to date at the time of publishing. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Additionally, neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express written permission of the publisher.

Publisher:

CCB Publishing

British Columbia, Canada

www.ccbpublishing.com

Dedicated to all the flawed yet evolving souls

Preface

What motivated me to write a book on religion? Its obvious upon visitation to any library or bookstore that there is certainly no shortage of theories or analyses of religions and/or religious doctrine. There are so many selling their particular view or opinion or research on the subject.

I have been, like so many of my generation, in search of the truth. Weve become disenchanted with or disenfranchised from, our traditional religious roots, especially in the Judeo-Christian teachings. Then, of course, there are those born again, who have marched blindly and proudly into the abyss of dogmatic acceptance and staunch defense of their bible, Koran, Torah or New Testament.

In John Bradshaws book The Family, he talks about the rules of total obedience which children are forced to accept through guilt, fear and intimidation. He talks about the family rules, like the no talk rule, where children should be seen and not heard, etc. Total obedience to the parent ultimately deifies the parent who assumes that these powers over the child are God given. Bradshaw quotes Alice Miller, a Swiss psychiatrist, who developed the concept of Poisonous Pedagogy in which society sees a good child as meek, agreeable, considerate, and unselfish. Adults are seen as masters of the dependent child and parents determine in a godlike fashion what is right and wrong. All this leads to child shame, compulsivity, repression of free thought and feelings, and the blind acceptance of beliefs. It should be obvious that, once grown, the adult child carries this repression and guilt with him as well as a realization that his parents are only human and therefore imperfect, so he turns to an idealized spiritual mystical parent who has filled his early childhood in terms of religion and faith. This mystical parent doles out reward and punishment for the acts of the new adult, their children and all future generations. The insidiousness of total obedience first to our original parents, then to the Mystical father, leads to the expectation of obedience, rigidity, orderliness, denial of feelings, and to a society, easily manipulated and led by fear, promises of reward, forgiveness, and guilt.

We must balance out ultimate authoritarianism of the parent, society and religion, in favor of freedom of thoughts and feelings. This is an enlightened view of the social and religious order. This is the biggest threat to established religious doctrine and power.

In this humble set of essays, I will put forth a theory and concept that could be acceptable to all. My intention is not to dispel someones belief, but rather to meld the obvious proofs of science with that of faith; offering a logical explanation and rationalization for ones faith and beliefs as viewed from a scientific background. We can become free from authoritarianism and blind faith by providing a basis for belief that is rational.

When all is said and done, I am hopeful that those who can embrace this theory (which is, as we will see, all that it can be) will be perfectly comfortable within their own set of beliefs, dogma and religious practices. They will know that there is a rational basis for their beliefs and they will no longer have to defend, proselytize, or question them.

I am not writing this for profit or fame, but simply to share the message and lessons that have come to me. I make no claim of burning bushes or voices from afar, only my years of learning, hurting, healing, loving, fearing, caring, experiencing, and sensing from an intuitive place that there is indeed more. Perhaps now at age 67, I have come to this as recognition of my own mortality. This is not meant to be autobiographical so I wont bore you with how I came to this place in life. Simply put, as a man, I experienced child rearing as the normal path to immortality, but something inside me is driving me to give birth to something even grander. Behold my child--Rational Universalism, The Second Directive--spawned from the fertilization of the flagellate of science with the ovum of religion and faith. It is up to you, the reader, to determine how you will care for this child; with understanding and love, allowing it to grow and mature, or to ignore it as just another religious mutation.

I am writing this, not to change or challenge your beliefs but rather, to offer an opportunity to view them from a slightly different point of view; one which will carry you and your soul into the future.

Barry Wachs

We have a window of opportunity, to stop battling for supremacy of belief, and to embrace a new paradigm based on science, which can at the same time support faith.

Chapter I

In the Beginning

Life force was set into motion. It makes no difference whether it was Big Bang or by Design, only that it began.

I choose not to be drawn into the debate of how life began, as it is only a matter of group or individual Ego, as to who is right. For our lives today, what does it matter? What really matters is how we live our lives in the present, not to win some esoteric debate for the sake of winning. Do we need to kill, maim, reject, destroy, distrust, or fear someone or some other group so that we can claim we are the winner of the creation debate? When we fly a victory flag because we have won, vanquished, or destroyed in the name of our own belief system, this flies in the face of the evolution of our own spirit and soul, the life force, and even God as we each define it. (Note: I give God no gender identity; thats up to you.)

What is important about Life is that Life Force was set into motion. It makes no difference if it was Big Bang or by Design; only that it began. Darwin is indisputable, except to those who seek to gain power, control or money from questioning it. The Scopes trial has long since passed. I will not argue or debate the beginning or what set evolution into motion. Intelligent Design is just as good an explanation as any; you can make that decision individually. Just accept that the evolutionary process began, even if was primordial ooze from some unknown source, an accident of amino acids, or some divine intervention.