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The Disciplines of the Church of Reality |
What is the different between someone who is into science and someone who practices Realism? There is a lot of difference. There are a lot of people who will state, "Of course I believe in reality, who doesn't?" But - does that make them a member of the Church? No - it doesn't.
To be a Realist and practice Realism requires a greater commitment than just acknowledging that reality is real. The Church of Reality isn't just about what you believe in - it's what you do. Realism goes beyond just giving lip service to reality. To be a Realist you have to dedicate yourself to the cause of promoting Realism, publicly identify yourself as a Realist, and actively participate in growing the Tree of Knowledge. This church isn't about what you believe - it's about what you do.
Realists - and I use a capital R to indicate I use the term referring to church members - are expected to practice the disciplines of the church - which include growing the Tree of Knowledge. This involves such things as original thinking and communicating new good original ideas. It involves promoting the good ideas of others. It involves education, learning, communications, asking the Sacred Question, challenging beliefs on the basis of reality, insisting that decisions be made in a realistic way, contributing to the promotion of Realism, strengthening society through public service, charity, giving, sharing, and taking care of one another. A Realist is expected to be actively Realistic - not passively.
We choose to work to grow the Tree of Knowledge and we choose to work to cause humanity to evolve in a positive direction for a better tomorrow. It is these choices that make the Church of Reality a Religion.
The Tree of Knowledge is the central concept in the Church of Reality. The Tree of Knowledge represents the sum total of all human understanding. We are all members of the human race and we are all bound together as one being through the Tree of Knowledge. It is central to our belief that we acknowledge the reality that we are not - for the most part - separate individuals, in that our lives, our thoughts, our language, what we know, what we do, who we are, are all bound together in a vast matrix of information. And as Realists practicing Realism it is our duty to the Tree of Knowledge to improve ourselves individually, and as members of the human race for the good of all mankind.
The Church of Reality makes the assumptions that if life has a purpose - it is because we give it purpose. That we as a race have made the arbitrary decision to both survive and to prosper. That we choose to become better than we are today. That we should move forward into a better tomorrow. These choices do not come from reality itself. As far as the universe is concerned, we are just a rock in space.
But - the Church of Reality believes - through the Tree of Knowledge, that humanity as a race has made a choice to evolve in a positive direction. We as individuals and as church members stand for the principle that we want a better tomorrow; and that we want to know the truth. That we want to have a better understanding of who we are, why we are here, and why there is something rather than nothing. And it is our Dharma as Realists practicing Realism to ensure that humanity goes in that direction - forward - known to us as the Sacred Direction. It is this choice that we make that establishes the doctrine of the church.
To that end it is our discipline, our dharma, to make it our purpose, and to actively work to achieve the goals of the church. And in order to achieve this end - we create the Sacred Principles that form a practical foundation to achieve this purpose.
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