Can religion be replaced?

The Guardian UK has an interesting article asking if “religion is irreplaceable”. It’s worth a read, but their conclusion is that “religion is irreplaceable”. I make a differentiation between mystical religion (such as Theism or any kind of mysticism) and religion as a system of spiritual beliefs. A system of spiritual beliefs, in my view, could simply be a believe in human goodness, virtue, and compassion — but that is far from being religious mysticism.

I feel that traditional, theistic religion can be replaced, and that it can be replace by a “religion of wonder” that reveres nature and the universe for all its glory and grandeur. Just look at a few images from the Hubble telescope and perhaps a few who read this will understand to what I am referring. We don’t need to believe in angels, demons, ghost, goblins, or big bearded men in the sky to be spiritual. We just need to believe in science, to revere the order of the cosmos, and act with compassion toward others.

If you have a chance, please visit Apollonica.org to learn more about spirituality based on science, ethics, and compassion.

Are you an Apollonian?

It may surprise you to know that you may already possess many Apollonian qualities. If you are curious, just take this quick test and see.

Elevator Pitches

An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is a short, succinct statement about a particular subject which can be given in the time it takes for a brief elevator ride. They are usually under 30 seconds, and perhaps even shorter. The term “elevator pitch” is a business term, and they are typically used to create the shortest and most effective “pitch” to sell or describe a product. However, the usefulness of such a concept can be applied to a wider range of subject matters. For example, one should be able to make an effective elevator pitch on any topic with which they came to be familiar. Nothing is worse than being asked a simple question such as “What do you believe about God?”, and then stammering around for a few minutes delivering abstract metaphysical concepts that only leave your listener needlessly befuddled.

To that end, the following “elevator pitches” are given to help anyone wishing to give a short, succinct statement on the topics of Apollonian Spirituality,Neoplatonism , and similar topics. Naturally, these are only relevant if you consider yourself to be an Apollonian or subscribe to Apollonian philosophy. These may vary for you personally.

Apollonian Spirituality: “Apollonian spirituality is a philosophical religion based on the principles of science and reason. Apollonianism asserts there is no greater truth in the Cosmos than what can be observed and discovered, and that science and reason are the keys to gaining such knowledge. We also believe the Cosmos can be likened to a divine, ever-evolving entity, with all sentient beings comprising the Mind of the Universe. For that reason, we believe that knowledge and reason are the greatest source of good and that all sentient beings should act with compassion toward every other being.”

Neoplatonism: “Neoplatonism is a philosophical belief system combining ideas from Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. At the core of Neoplatonism is the doctrine of the universal One, which is the source of all being and existence. But the One is not God in the usual sense, but more like that state of the universe as it was before the Big Bang. Neoplatonisms also advances a belief in spiritual reincarnation and the idea that the divine can be found in Nature and throughout the Cosmos.”

Hermetic Philosophy: “The core of Hermetic philosophy is contained within the body of literature known as the Corpus Hermeticum, written sometime between the 1st to 3rd centuries CE, and presented as a dialogue between Hermes Trismegistus and his students. The basic philosophy is essentially Platonic and early Neoplatonic in nature, but influenced by Egyptian culture and religion. Hermetists work to attain spiritual enlightenment through mystical experiences and discourse with higher levels of consciousness.”

Apollonius of Tyana: “Apollonius of Tyana is the foremost figure in the development of late Hellenistic theology, the man who some have called the “the lost Christ of the Pagan World”. He was a philosopher and holy man who travelled the known world during the 1st century CE, traveling as far East as Nepal where he lived for a time with a sect of Buddhist monks. Upon his return, he taught a doctrine of peace and spiritual reform, and was renowned for working many great miracles, especially of healing and prophesy.”

The Cosmos as God: “Apollonians recognizing that the universe could be viewed as a divine entity with all sentient life constituting the “Mind of the Cosmos”. This and similar pantheistic views have been held by many philosophers throughout history. However, unlike pantheism, which is the belief that God is in Nature,Apollonians view God as synonymous with the Cosmos–that is to say, God is the Cosmos and the Cosmos is God, nothing more and nothing less.”

Belief in Jesus: “Jesus of Nazareth was a man who, like many great spiritual teachers, strove to enlighten the world with teachings of peace and compassion. Above all he taught that we must learn to love one another, to never cause another person harm, and not judge others. All else is a matter of needless debate which stands counter to his very teachings of brotherhood and tolerance.”

Spiritual Salvation: “Salvation implies that we must be saved from “something”, and for Apollonians that “something” is ignorance, for the great philosophers agree that the source of evil is ignorance. Thus, salvation comes in our quest for knowledge through scientific discovery, intellectual inquiry, and spiritual enlightenment.”

Life After Death: “Apollonian Spirituality offers no set belief on the afterlife or reincarnation, as these matters cannot be directly verified through science. It is left the individual to decide for his or herself what happens to consciousness after death. One may choose to believe that consciousness ends at death, or that the spirit reincarnates into a new body, or that the spirit passes on to a higher world. All Apollonians are encouraged to study a diversity of philosophies and religions, as well as the latest scientific research, to decide for themselves on this matter.”

On the Cosmogogy, or Divine Principles

Another aspect of Apollonianism that hails back to ancient times is a reverence for “divine principles”, or Cosmogogues. For purposes of meditation, contemplation, and acts of reverence, these divine principles are cast in the persona of Greek or Egyptian gods. In addition to the concept that the Cosmos is God, with sentient beings constituting the Mind of the Cosmos, this is perhaps as closest to “religious mysticism” as Apollonian spirituality will go. Chiefly, Apollonians revere three divine principles of the Cosmos: Apollo, the embodiment of light, order, and reason; Athena, the embodiment of strength, wisdom, and virtue; and Hermes Trismegistus, the embodiment of knowledge and science.

However, one need not perceive these principles as “Gods” that are real or tangible, but only as symbolic representations of concepts valued by Apollonianism. One may pray to them, or the Cosmos itself, if one wishes, but one should not expect to get an answer nor for some miraculous divine intervention to occur. They may be envisioned to help focus one’s meditation, or be the focus of praise and reverence. In honoring and revering Apollo, one honors and revers the aspects he represents, such as order and reason. Likewise, in honoring Hermes Trismegistus, one honors and reverses knowledge and science. Other divine principles also exist, but discussion of these matters would be better left to a full essay on the subject.

Is Apollonianism a Religion?

What makes a particular philosophy, doctrine, or set of beliefs, a true religion? Some might say that only a belief in god, or gods, is required to constitute a religion. Others may argue that one also needs to believe in the transcendental nature of the soul, perform meaningful worship, adhere to a specific doctrine, and have a distinct priesthood. These later points are somewhat arguable, so if we accept only that a belief in a god or gods is required to constitute a religion, then Apollonian spirituality is a religion. Apollonianism asserts that the Cosmos is a divine, ever-evolving entity, with all sentient beings comprising the Mind of the Universe.

If we were to address the remaining points, however, Apollonianism fails in regards to having a distinct priesthood (although at some point in the future Apollonianism could have a priesthood). Apollonian spirituality also lacks a rigid belief in the transcendental nature of the soul. By this it is simply meant that Apollonianism neither asserts nor denies that the soul may exist or transcend material reality in some way. It is, once again, a point which cannot be conclusively proved or disproved. Many Neoplatonists and other philosophers have made various arguments both for and against the existence of the soul, and these arguments should be carefully read and studied by Apollonians who should then decide for themselves.

As far as having a doctrine and conducting meaningful worship are concerned, Apollonianism satisfies these points. Apollonian spirituality has a distinct set of tenets, which can be considered “doctrine”, as well as suggesting a basic adherence to the Apothegms of Enlightenment. Of course, the highest doctrines for an Apollonian should always be the doctrines of science. An Apollonian may also choose to worship or pray in the manner of his or her choosing. However, such prayer and worship is generally conducted as either a means of offering one’s reverence or respect toward the Cosmos, or in celebrations of events and the lives of great philosophers.

Therefore, Apollonianism is at least a spiritual or religious philosophy, if not rightfully a religion, depending on your particular definition. As a religion, Apollonianism accepts the findings of science as the highest source of truth and knowledge within our universe. Apollonianism also denies that faith (belief without proof) has any merit whatsoever, and furthermore asserts that any argument for the existence of a thing based on a lack of evidence for its non-existence are invalid. In other words, an argument that “Nessie, the Lock Ness Monster, is real because no one has proven that Nessie is not real” is completely meaningless; after all, one cannot disprove a negative statement with absolute certainty. This is the essence of skepticism–to remain cautiously doubtful in light of limited knowledge. Apollonianism is a skeptical religion, but should not be skeptical to an extreme.

Old Ideas and New Paradigms

Do the philosophies valued by Apollonians conflict with modern science? Many of the essential tenets of Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy do stand in contrast to the modern findings of science. For example, the ancient Neoplatonists believed the Cosmos was uncreated and will not be destroyed (although they believed the Cosmos originated from a singularity, called the One or Monad, this singularity itself was not created).

Until the middle of the 20th century, most scientists also believed the universe had no beginning and would have no end–this was a theory called the “Steady State Model”. However, with the discovery that the universe was expanding astronomers and cosmologists developed the “Big Bang” theory. But even this is not in conflict with Neoplatonic cosmology. In both cases the Singularity, or Platonic Monad, pre-existed before the cosmos, outside of time and space, and upon coming into being resulted in the physical universe we observe.

Modern science also dictates that the universe will not end, but continue to expand forever–although all matter will eventually decay into heat spread over a vast infinity, essentially leaving the universe empty. The Neoplatonists did not believe this would occur, but of course, they lacked sufficient information. Had they possessed the same information we have, their conclusion would have been similar to our modern conclusions. Therefore, modern Neoplatonic philosophers, as well as Apollonian philosophers, should incorporate modern scientific views as superior to antiquated concept, as part of the natural evolution of philosophy itself.

Can a Religion be Compatible with Science?

Is religion truly compatible with science? It depends on the religion. While there are countless religions all with their own set beliefs, science is simply a process of rational inquiry, testing, and analysis. We can say science is compatible with religion if the religion in question has the following properties: 1) it is non-dogmatic, 2) it is not a “revealed religion”, 3) it encourages rational inquiry over “blind faith”, 4) it accepts myth for what it is, and 5) it does not accept supernatural explanation for phenomenon when rational, scientific explanations exist. Apollonian spirituality (along side Humanism) perfectly fits these properties. Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism also fit most, if not all, of these properties as well, although Buddhism and Taoism both have their share of dogma, supernaturalism, and some “revealed” aspects.

Unfortunately, dogmatic revealed religion with a heavy emphasis on divine interaction, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are starkly incompatible with science no matter how much their proponents wish to fudge. Being the Word of God as revealed by God, followers of such faiths are left with the torturous reality that either science is wrong or the Word of God is wrong–and you cannot have it both ways. If science is correct then God is wrong, and the faithful of these religions cannot accept such a conclusion.

In fact, however, the so-called “Word of God” was written in their holy books by the hand of men thousands of years ago. They had little or no concept of science, and saw a world governed by supernatural forces. Naturally, they ascribed supernatural causes to explanations phenomenon. Apollonianism flatly rejects the idea of “divine revelation”, and since human beings are quite fallible, then anything that human beings write are equally fallible no matter how pious or well-intended the writer may be. Apollonianism also rejects the idea that there is “one true religion”; instead there is only the Cosmos, and our grossly incomplete understanding of it. Once one accepts this, and accepts that myths are myths and facts are facts, then reconciling science and religion becomes a significantly less daunting endeavor.

Apollonian Texts and Literature

Above all, Apollonianism encourages the study of modern empirical sciences, including chemistry, physics, biology, and other natural sciences, but most especially astronomy and cosmology, for these seek answers to our most fundamental questions of the Cosmos. Anyone wishing to put to practice Apollonian ideals needs only to open a book on science and endeavor to learn.

However, we also recognize that science alone does not provide a sufficient intellectual framework through which we can achieve a complete understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the universe. For this reason, Apollonians study various philosophical spiritual system of ancient times, including the works of Plato and Aristotle, and the philosophies which came after them, for these do not stand contrary to science.

The Old with the New

If Apollonianism aspires to create a new spiritual philosophy for the 21st century and beyond, some may wonder why we look to ancient philosophies such as Neoplatonism, Stoicism, and Hermetism, as well as various religions both Eastern and Western. The answer is simply that, as a religion, Apollonian spirituality requires a solid foundation firmly rooted in the past. These ancient philosophies and religions constitute a basic framework into which Apollonianism can prosper and grow. Without such a framework, Apollonianism would have no direction and no concrete basis, and would very likely crumble, or simply dissolve into pure atheism.

However, Apollonianism is not Neoplatonism; nor is it Hermetism, Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, Humanism, or anything else other than Apollonianism. The works of Plato, Plotinus, Aurelius, Seneca, Iamblichus, Proclus, and all the rest, are read for the intellectual pursuit of knowledge and to gain a valuable perspective into the Golden Age of Philosophy from which our own spiritual philosophy is derived. The same is also true of the Buddhist and Taoist writings, the books and essays of Humanists, and such holy scriptures as the Tanakh, the Bible, the Koran, the Hindu Vedas, the Corpus Hermeticum, and certainly many others.

While the Apothegms of Enlightenment encourage us to know all that is knowable and to learn all that is learnable, the Apothegms do not tell us to believe everything we read. In fact, the Apothegms tell us to “accept nothing without evidence.” Apollonianism disagrees with numerous points from these philosophies and religions on the grounds of modern scientific findings and sound skepticism, but we also recognize the value of well-reasoned philosophical arguments, moral stories, ethical virtues, and the powerful myths found in such wittings as these. Apollonians do not believe such stories as Fall of Man from Paradise, or the adventures of Odysseus, or the tale of Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra, are any more real than the latest Hollywood blockbusters; but we do acknowledge the central role they play in the development of rational inquiry, ethics, and various life principles that not only help us to be better persons, but enrich our lives as well.

The 7 Tenets of Apollonianism

While the individual beliefs of any Apollonian may vary widely, there are a number of essential tenets that underlie the basic Apollonian world-view. However, these tenets should not be considered dogma, and may change given the revelations of science.

The following should be considered a list of those basic tenets.

• We believe no greater truth can be found other than what science and reason provide through study and inquiry.
• We believe the Cosmos began as a point of infinite density outside of time and space, known to ancient philosophers as the Hypercosmic Monad and to modern science as the Singularity.
• We believe the Cosmos is a divine, ever-evolving entity, with all sentient beings comprising the Nous–the Greater Mind of the Universe.
• We believe all sentient beings should act with compassion toward every other being, and strive to uphold the virtues of Temperance, Prudence, Courage, and Justice.
• We believe the only evil that exists is caused by ignorance, that is, the absence of knowledge and reason, and that all the ills we suffer are the result of this ignorance.
• We believe the light of knowledge and reason is the greatest source of good in the universe, and that only through enlightenment can the ills of the world be cured.
• We adhere to the Apothegms of Enlightenment in order to better ourselves and achieve a state of Enlightened Reason.