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Here is a list of traits that the Church of Reality generally considers to be bad traits. As with the good traits, no one is perfect and something listed here might not be bad depending on the circumstances. However, in general these are traits to be avoided and the less of them you have the better off you are.
- Anger - Everyone gets angry every now and then, but being angry is a bad habit. Anger is something that we avoid. There are many cultures and religions that are angry and the Church of Reality is not one of them. We consider anger in general to be a negative trait. Which doesn't mean that one should never get angry and that some anger might be good in some situations. However, it is our way to not stay angry. We are a culture that solves problems and we are a culture of peace. So if we get angry we seek to get over it, find some resolution, and move on.
- Hate - Hate is something we actively avoid. Hate is like poison for the soul. It is destructive in nature and if you focus on destruction, then you're not focusing on being constructive. The Church of Reality is a culture of construction. We are a people who build on things rather than tearing things down. In order to build the Tree of Knowledge we have to focus on seeking solutions to find ways to make things work. Our world view is Inclusive and we see everyone as being one of us. Hating would undermine the mission of what we are as Realists.
- Violence - We are a non-violent religion. Even in situations where violence may be necessary we always consider having to resort to violence as a failure. We are not a religion that sees ourselves "at war" with the non-believers. We see the use of force as a last resort. We are a religion of peace and a culture that focuses on getting along with people rather than looking for a fight.
- Terrorism - Our world view is that any religion that has to rely on terrorism to enforce their point of view is admitting, by their conduct, that their world view is too weak to stand on it's own. Terrorism has no place in Realist culture. Our world-view is strong enough to endure on its own.
- Racism, Prejudice, and Bigotry - The Church of Reality is an inclusive religion. Our would-view sees everyone as unique individuals. We do not see the world in terms of "us" vs. "them" where "we" are the "chosen people" and "they" are "infidels" or the "evil ones". We do not judge people or condemn them based on their beliefs, race, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, culture, or what sports teams they cheer for. A Realist tries to make a place at the table for everyone.
- Dishonesty - You don't get to reality through dishonesty. This is especially true when it comes to your religion. When someone chooses to believe something and uses deception to promote their believes, that's just plain wrong. Many religions take the position that you can say whatever it takes to get converts and that the end justifies the means. In the Church of Reality if we don't stick to reality then our religion means nothing. Reality stops where dishonesty starts. Our religion doesn't have to make false and dishonest arguments to sustain itself.
- Rationalization - Rationalization is a rejection of reality. It's a way of finding a reason to justify things we know are wrong. Rationalization is an excuse for a lie. Sometimes one is lying to oneself and sometimes one is lying to others. It is a process to hold on to belief systems that fails to stand up to scrutiny. Our world view is that rationalization is something you give up when you become a Realist.
- Living the Lie - Living the Lie is when rationalization becomes your lifestyle or your livelihood. It's when you identify yourself with the deception. We Realists value our Life Story which is the sum total of everything we've done in our life in this world. Living the Lie includes cults and religions that don't stand up to scrutiny.
- Selfishness/Greed - Realists are a culture of people who value giving and sharing. We are exploring reality together and building the Tree of Knowledge. Selfishness might give an individual a short term advantage, but in the long run we do better when everyone does better. Our world view is that it is in our self interest to not be selfish.
- Ego - We live in a universe with trillions of galaxies containing billions of stars each. Our planet is a spec of dust in the universe and we live about 80 years (if we're lucky) in a universe that is about 15 billion years old. So how important can a person be? Should the biggest tick on a dog have an inflated sense of self importance? If I were the smartest person on this planet, what would that mean? It would mean we live on a dumb planet.
Ego is a bad habit. It can get hungry if you indulge it. We do need, however, to have a sense of purpose. Because we are social by nature, we need to feel that we are a productive and useful member of society. We have evolved to need the affirmations of our fellow humans to feel good about ourselves. But some people become addicted to that feeling and it can be like having a drug addiction where you need more and more of it to feel normal. We look at ego as if it were like eating candy. You can have a little every now and then, but if you eat too much, it will rot your teeth. So it's alright to have an Ego Treat but we are mindful not to do too much. Our Principle of Humility helps to ensure that we don't allow our illusion of self importance to cloud our judgment and become a distraction from our collective pursuit of reality.
Having too much ego makes you vulnerable to Ego Addiction where a person is completely dependent on the affirmations of others for a sense of well being. This allows others to control you and manipulate you through the giving or withholding of ego treats. It is one of the ways that cults maintain control over the individuals. They get you hooked on feeling that you are special and they use it to make you believe what they want.
A Realist must be able to withstand rejection and ridicule in order to pursue reality as it really is. We have to be strong enough to know we are right when everyone around us thinks we are wrong. And when we are wrong, we need to be humble enough to admit we are wrong, change our minds, and move on. A limited ego is necessary to maintain intellectual independence and freedom. One can be proud of one's humility. But just a little proud.
- Stupidity - Some people are smarter than others, but some people don't even try to think things through. They let their mind atrophy from disuse. We believe that's wrong. Realists are expected to use their brain. Our world view is that those who think make better decisions than those who don't. Some people see being stupid as a virtue and are actually proud of how stupid they are. Not us! We don't expect everyone to be a genius. We do however expect people to use what they have and to think things through.
- Self-Righteousness and Condemnation - There are a lot of religions out there where people believe that they were chosen by some deity and that they are better than everyone else. The Church of Reality is not one of those religions. One of the problems with being judgmental of others is that you never live up to your own standards and you just end up hating yourself. Self-righteousness and condemnation are a prelude to justifying violent behavior and is one of the steps that leads to wars. They create a self sense of self-importance allowing others to easily manipulate you. They create separation between people.
- Obsession, Compulsion, and Addiction - People are sometimes driven by their bad habits. Realists try to discipline themselves to resist bad habits, being obsessed with things that are trivial, and becoming addicted. All these undermine self control and good judgment that are essential to being a functional member of society.
- Destructiveness - The Church of Reality is a constructive culture. We like to build rather than destroy. We aren't the kind of people who take pride in burning things down or blowing things up.
- Negativity - You can't always be positive all the time, but our culture is positive rather than negative. Some religions take an Extinctionist view of the future. They are paranoid of people from other religions. They see everyone else as an "enemy" and that they are "at war" with the "outside world". We as Realists choose to shift our view to the bright side and be positive. Our world view is that one can choose to be either positive or negative towards their lot in life. We see being negative as something that is a drain, a waste of energy, and a bad habit.
- Repression - The Church of Reality values individuality. we want to be who we are and therefore we respect the rights of others to be who they are. We are not a repressive culture that forces people into a mold to make them be a particular way. We see ourselves as the sum total of all of our individualities.
- Close Mindedness - We are a culture of thinkers looking for new ideas and things for our minds to explore. Even weird bizarre ideas need to be thought about to some extent just to appreciate how weird and bizarre they are. In some cultures and religions one is encouraged to be closed minded. You are expected to believe in something without questioning it. In the Church of Reality we embrace Scrutiny and we believe that truth is purified through Doubt. We are an open minded culture and being closed minded is a bad trait.
Close mindedness takes many forms. Often people get in the habit of ridiculing people with new and innovative ideas. Even if someone's idea is neither new or innovative, we encourage people to keep thinking and keep trying. A closed minded person doesn't like any new ideas and they often will attack and ridicule anything that represents change. That is also another reason why Realists should keep a low ego profile and keep anger under control because there are too many closed minded people out there that will get under your skin if you don't maintain mental disciplines. We are close-minded only to the idea that being close-minded is a virtue.
- Indifference - The Church of Reality is based on the axiom that the pursuit of reality has value. Our world-view is that reality matters. Indifference is the opposite position, that nothing matters. Indifference undermines the concept of values. It implies that what you believe is equal to what is actually real. It implies that truth doesn't matter. It implies that actions do not have consequences. It undermines purpose.
- Irresponsibility - Irresponsibility is the fruit of indifference. We live in a society and the acts of the individual affect the whole. Our culture values thinking things through, respecting others, accomplishment, and creating a Life Story that one can be proud of.
- Faith without Questioning - In the Church of Reality, faith is considered a bad trait. Faith is the ultimate form of close-mindedness. Faith as we define it is the requirement that things are believed, not only without any proof or evidence, but often in spite of the evidence. Or things are required to be believed where questioning and scrutiny are prohibited. Our world-view is that truth is purified through scrutiny and that anything that is true and real will stand the tests of logic, reason, evidence, and the principles of science. We see faith as cheating and that it leads to the obscuring of reality as it really is. In our religion, anything that you have to accept on faith is considered to be not true.
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Newsflash |
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The IRS has approved the 501(C)3 tax exempt status of the Church of Reality. |
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Please link to us, discuss us in online forums, and blog about us. Every time anyone thinks about reality the world becomes a little smarter.
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The Church of Reality is a non-prophet organization.
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