Frequently Asked Questions
~ Reality FAQ ~
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There are a lot of good questions about the Church of Reality. Here are some of the more common ones. Hopefully you will find the answers here. Our Principle of Scrutiny and Doubt encourages people to question everything. We like questions because they help us to evolve forward to make sure we get it right. Any time someone is questioning us they are thinking about reality, which is one of our missions. We want you to not only understand what we are about, but to join us in improving our doctrine. If this doesn't answer your questions you can join our Discussion Forum and hopefully a real person will answer your question.
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You say you believe in real reality. How do you know your view of reality is real?
We don't. Our claim to believe in reality the way it really is, actually is a goal. As we all know, no one knows everything about reality. So the Church of Reality is really a religious commitment to the pursuit of reality the way it really is. What we do is make reality important in our personal lives and to raise the importance of reality in society.
An important concept is that there is no "our reality" that the Church of Reality believes in that is either right or wrong. Our church doesn't usually declare what is real and what isn't. Our religion is a commitment to pursue reality wherever that leads us. So there is no "our reality" to get wrong. We are more properly judged in respect to whether our pursuit of objective reality is genuine. So - if we took a position on something and you can show us we are wrong, we are committed to changing our minds.
But what if the Church of Reality is wrong? What do you do then?
If we realize that we are wrong, we fix it. Our doctrine, which we call the Kernel, is always under development. We assume that the Kernel can always be improved. The Church of Reality has a dynamic doctrine rather than a static doctrine. We are a religion committed to change, but not just any change. We commit to Positive Evolution. We are evolving forward in the Sacred Direction. Making mistakes is just part of the evolutionary process. What is different about us as compared to most religions is that we fix our mistakes.
Isn't Reality just science? Why do you want to stain science by lowering it to the level of a religion?
In pure science the universe is just stars exploding and rocks in space bumping into each other. In pure science whatever happens - happens. Nothing has any value. It doesn't matter to science if the human race thrives or becomes extinct. The Church of Reality has chosen a world view that our survival does matter and that we are to thrive and to become aware and to understand our reality. We have chosen through the Sacred Choices to move forward in a positive direction towards a better tomorrow. These choices are arbitrary choices and are therefore a religious choice. Other religions envision the future in destruction and that humanity is at its end. Our world view is that we are at the beginning of the Sacred Journey towards a tomorrow that is wondrous, and we have made a religious commitment to dedicate our lives to that goal.
What about personal reality? Isn't everyone's reality different?
There's one's own personal perception of reality, and there is one's personal life and thoughts. But then there's the "real world" or objective reality that we all live in and share. If reality was all personal, then perhaps the universe was created on October 10, 1955 - the day I was born - and the universe will end the day I die. Maybe the world is just an illusion and that you all don't really exist? Maybe my brain is in a jar in a laboratory somewhere and this all is just a computer generated illusion - that some day I'm going to wake up and be back home on my own planet and this all will be nothing more than a dream.
One illustration I like to make about personal reality and objective reality is this: suppose that a Buddhist who has a personal relationship with God and a Christian who has a personal relationship with God both jump off the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time, both believing that their God can make them fly. Which one will hit the water first? (In a vacuum)
Becoming a Realist involves giving up some of your personal beliefs and personal realities because real reality is different and the Church of Reality is about the way it really is - not what you want to believe in.
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Do you believe in God?
The short answer is no. The long answer is - if he comes out of hiding we will believe in him. As long as he remains the invisible guy in the sky - he doesn't meet the objective reality test. The longer answer can be found on our Does God Exist page.
An important point is that the term "God" doesn't refer to a single entity. There are thousands of gods out there and every individual has their own personal conception of God based on their own imagination. So even if the Church of Reality was to decide to accept a deity, we would have to identify which one is real out of millions of choices. So we are going to have to wait till a deity steps forward and identifies itself.
Aren't you afraid you are going to burn in Hell forever if you are wrong?
Nope - not at all. But I would be more afraid if I were a Theist. After all - what if you picked the wrong religion? Maybe the Muslims are right. Maybe the Mormons are right. What if it's the Jehovah's Witnesses. We believe in what's real. Burning in Hell forever over a mistaken opinion clearly isn't. Aren't you afraid of wasting your life believing in fiction if you are wrong? What would scare me more is that if this is our entire existence, maybe 75 years and then we are gone, I wouldn't want to waste it all worshiping a fictional deity.
Do you believe in an after life?
Officially - the Church of Reality does not believe in an afterlife or pre life. If it is ever proven that there is an afterlife - we will believe in it. However - part of who we are survives in the Tree of Knowledge which represents the sum total of all human understanding. You might be remembered positively for something you accomplished or contributed - or negatively for something terrible you did - or - you might not be remembered at all. You might end up being forgotten. After the last person who knew you personally has died - will anyone remember you? Have you accomplished anything or contributed anything worth remembering?
For example - Albert Einstein is still with us because he contributed Relativity to the Tree. The "guy who invented the wheel" is still with us. The only afterlife that we know for sure is if we are remembered or if we accomplish something that becomes part of the Tree of Knowledge. In the Church of Reality - if you want an afterlife - you have to earn it.
What about punishment?
If you turn your back on reality - you will be punished! Seriously though - people who take reality into consideration in their daily lives tend to make better decisions giving them access to opportunities and avoiding the pitfalls of those who turn their back on the real world. Reality can make your life better.
Do you worship anything or anyone?
Not really. However - there are some things we hold as sacred and holy. We consider the Tree of Knowledge to be something that is holy to us. When we use the terms sacred and holy - it's because it is part of our lives and our commitment to the truth. We also consider Mother Earth to be sacred because this is where we evolved and we are dependent on it for our survival.
But - we don't worship anything - pray to anyone - or fear the wrath of deities striking us down for failing to worship them.
Do you believe in a higher intelligence?
Not in the form of a deity. But the human race is interconnected through the Tree of Knowledge and we function as if humanity itself were a super organism that we are all a part of. In that respect humanity could be considered to be a superior being to us individually.
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What about moral values? What does Reality have to do with Morality? Without a God, how do you discern right from wrong?
That's where reality as a religion separates itself from reality as a science. As a religion we are dedicated to the Principle of Positive Evolution. That we are on one planet - that we are all here together - and that we choose to make tomorrow better than today. To us the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life are sacred and we dedicate ourselves to the exploration of reality the way it really is. In order to live our lives the way we have chosen - we have to have a sense of right and wrong based on building a strong functional society in accordance with the Sacred Principles. It is one of the Sacred Moral Missions to ask if any rules or laws or moral principles are really in the best interests of society and are fair and just.
The Church of Reality accepts certain Axioms which form the basis for our moral code. We choose a world view that our existence is important to us and that we are to thrive and to progress and to evolve forward in a sane healthy society where we can all live together in harmony and explore our existence. These axioms form the basis for the Sacred Principles which define our moral code and allows us to distinguish right and wrong.
Our morality comes from wisdom and hard work. We make the effort to figure it out and make careful choices based on realistic concepts. We don't have a "sacred book" where some ancient prophet declared morality based on his personality. But the Sacred Moral Question is very much a part of this religion.
But other religions have a lot of the same moral values as the Church of Reality. Why start a new religion?
Yes - many religions came to the same moral conclusions based on reality as the Church of Reality did. But often religions rely of "Holy Books" and bad cultural habits to define morality in terms that are unrealistic and unjust. For example - Christians and Jews consider the Sabbath to be a holy day putting it in the same list as murder and stealing. They have commandments about having no other gods so that their invisible guy in the sky is exclusive to everyone else's invisible guy in the sky. Religions tend to be very irresponsible when it comes to issues of war and peace. Although they give lip service to being against murd, Muslims will put you to death for sexual crimes.
Many other religions are male dominate in their beliefs and culture. The Church of Reality considers people to be equal, giving the same rights and responsibilities to everyone without regard to gender. The Church of Reality doesn't rely on ancient texts to tell us what to do. We have the responsibility of having to figure it out for ourselves and to put out the effort to get it right and fix it is it's broken. In other religions - if the sacred text has it wrong - it stays wrong. We are always looking for the better way.
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But there's already a religion that is like your's - it's called Atheism. How are you different than Atheists?
Atheism is not a religion. It merely states that one does not believe in God. Realism is much deeper than that. Realists actively pursue reality the way it really is. We have our Sacred Choices and our Sacred Principles to guide our lives. If God does exist and he comes out of hiding into objective reality where everyone can see him - then we all become Theists.
How do you know that the Church of Reality won't become corrupt like all the other religions?
That's a very good question. The short answer is that we don't know that. It is definitely possible that the Church of Reality will become just another cult. But - there are a few differences that we are starting with that distinguish the Church of Reality from other religions.
First - the Church of Reality is about reality. Reality is more stable that a religion based on a fictional premise or lost books or books written by people which are supposed to be influenced by invisible deities. With fiction based religions - if the religion moves from one fiction to another - who is to say which is the better fiction. Reality is something you can always get back to. Reality is something that doesn't go away when you stop believing in it. The Church of Reality can stay true as long as it remembers its original mission.
Second - The Church of Reality isn't about any individual. It's about reality. So it's not something that is driven by a personality. No one is empowered by supernatural forces or otherwise spiritually endowed.
Third - The Principle of Self Scrutiny will help keep us on track and let us look at our progress and evaluate ourselves as objectively as possible so that if we get off track we can correct ourselves and get back to where we should be. We are committed to doing the hard work and making sure that we are in fact successful and that we resist the paths of corruption.
The bottom line is - we are just going to have to try hard and hope for the best.
Do you have physical churches? Do you meet on Sunday?
At this point we do not have a physical church or regular meetings. I do however personally believe that a lot of people who are used to going to church would benefit from it and I'm hoping that someone (not me) will step forward with a plan and make it happen.
So - how are you going to convert Christian, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists into becoming Realists?
It isn't necessary for everyone to convert to Realism, it would be unrealistic to expect that. Converting people into Realists is one of many goals of the Church of Reality. And conversions aren't measured in numbers of people but in the impact that Realists have on society.
Whenever someone talks about reality, it causes the listener to think about reality. When you cause someone to think about reality - you are causing them to be "Real in the Sacred Moment" (the Sacred moment is Now). In that moment they are a Realist. As people spend more time thinking about reality - they become realists for more hours during the day. During this time they become "One with the Tree".
Realists realize that other religions are evolving. Evolution is everywhere and is happening all around us all the time. Religions are evolving too. Some for the better - some for the worse. One of the scared missions of the Church of Reality is to challenge other religions to test their beliefs to see if they are real. In this manner we get others to think about reality and to consider if they might be living a lie. It is our belief that reality is a good thing and that other religions benefit by being exposed to the idea that reality is something that is important.
By promoting reality realists help other religions evolve in the Sacred Direction - forward - towards a better tomorrow. It helps keep them from becoming a suicide cult or destroying the world so that Jesus can return. Realism is a lifestyle that can influence others to bring more reality into their lives.
So - Realists are not just trying to get everyone else to be Realists - but to get everyone to spend more time thinking about reality and asking the Sacred Question - "What is Real?" Realists spread Realism not only through conversion - but by spreading the importance of reality into the social fabric.
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