Tools of the Trade

the new tools are the old tools...

Tools of the Trade

~ * ~

If I'm in the business of making you believe something...

Then I'm in the business of religion or science.

That we believe that there's a difference between the two... is affirmation of how successful... both religion and science are... 

~ * ~

Among religion adherents... they believe their beliefs are facts.

Among science adherents... they believe their beliefs are facts.

Among religion adherents... they attest to evidence that relies on assumptions... to defend their beliefs.

Among science adherents... they attest to evidence that relies on assumptions... to defend their beliefs.

~ * ~

Such that...

Among religion adherents... nonbelievers are viciously reviled and persecuted.

Among science adherents... nonbelievers are viciously reviled and persecuted.

And...

Among religion adherents... doubt is silenced as defiance of faith (in religion).

Among science adherents... doubt is silenced as defiance of faith (in science).

~ * ~

Such that...

Religion among religion adherents... has become a science... that cannot be disputed or questioned.

And...

Science among science adherents... has become a religion... that cannot be disputed or questioned.

~ * ~

Which is to say...

If I'm in the business of crafting reality...

Then I'm in the business of religion and science.

Such that...

Wearing the mantle of either... confers inviolable credibility... to authorities of both...

~ * ~

Except that...

Inviolable credibility is only conferred upon each authority by each own's adherents...

Such that... 

Credibility is denied all authorities not one's own...

Regardless of realities, actualities, or truths.

~ * ~

Which is not to say...

That religion adherents and science adherents... do not believe... realities, actualities, and truths...

Nor...

That religion adherents and science adherents... do not espouse... realities, actualities, and truths...

~ * ~

However...

To the extent that both religion adherents and science adherents...

Pervert truth... (per above)...

Warp faith... (per above)...

Neither perpetuates... real realities, actual actualities, and true truths... as such, always...

Instead...

Both perpetuate certainties, determinism, nay absolutism based on beliefs that cannot be challenged by adherents within and adherents without...

~ * ~

Such that...

So long as truths... (per above)...

So long as faiths... (per above)...

Cannot be disputed, questioned, doubted, challenged...

Neither religion nor science... pursue inquiry and discovery (much less sincere inquiry and genuine discovery)... aside from repeated traverses across already believed beliefs, already assumed assumptions...

Such that...

Knowledge as a pursuit of inquiry and discovery, that disputes what is known, that questions what is known, that doubts what is known, that challenges what is known...

Is eschewed for ignorance...

Such that...

Grace as a pursuit of inquiry and discovery, that disputes what is believed, that questions what is believed, that doubts what is believed, that challenges what is believed...

Is eschewed for intolerance...

~ * ~

Which is to say...

If I'm in the business of truth...

Then I'm neither exclusively in the business of religion nor exclusively in the business of science...

Rather...

I'm in the business of questioning...

~ * ~

The truth is the truth.

Insofar as questioning is the truth...

The truth is questioning.

Therefore...

The truth is questioning within religion... and questioning religion from without...

The truth is questioning within science... and questioning science from without...

Such that...

Intolerance of questioning within religion by religion adherents... is inherently ignorant...

Intolerance of questioning within science by science adherents... is inherently ignorant...

Furthermore...

Intolerance of religion by science adherents... is inherently ignorant...

Intolerance of science by religion adherents... is inherently ignorant...

~ * ~

The truth is not exclusive to... both religion and science... nor exclusive to... either religion or science...

Moreover...

The truth is not exclusive to... both religions and sciences (or either religions or sciences) that revile, dispraise, nullify, invalidate... questioning...

~ * ~

Verily...

What we call home...

Is irrelevant to the truth is the truth.

That religion adherents call home... religion...

That science adherents call home... science...

Is merely a reflection of our specific now and our specific us...

As these names change throughout time...

As these names change across matter...

~ * ~

But...

Lest we forget the value of ceaseless inquiry...

Lest we dismiss the meaning of endless discovery...

Lest we nullify the worth of the journey itself...

In the end...

It's not the tools that matter, per se... nor what we name them, per se...

So much as...

Our wherewithal to never lose sight of home...

Despite cacophonies of ignorance and intolerance in the name of home...

That misguide us from the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

~ * ~

More

The truth is the truth.

That there are more tools than ever, at our disposal, to defend our beliefs... does not change the truth is the truth.

That there are more tools than ever, at our disposal, to elevate our creations... does not change the truth is the truth.

Though such tools pull from the ideologies of religion for religion adherents...

Though such tools pull from the ideologies of science for science adherents...

Realities, actualities, truths...

Require... context, nuance, angle, perspective...

For revelations of whole truths... that illuminate... real realities, actual actualities, true truths.

Moreover...

To the extent that knowledge and grace... are aspired pursuits of truth seekers...

No such pursuits are...

Prisons of determinism...

Tyrannies of absolutism...

Prisons of fatalism...

Poisons of extremism...

Yet...

These are the very knowledges... these are the very graces... lauded... by adherents of religion and adherents of science as the very exemplifications of aspirational and laudworthy truth seeking.

Which begs the question...

Do not these aspirations... misguide all of us...

From the truth is the truth...

In the name... of all nobilities... religion and science?

~ * ~

Is public consensus... the new perversion of conscience?

... the new defense of refusal to do right instead of wrong?

Is public consensus... the new blame game? 

... the new defense of denial to do right instead of wrong?

Is public consensus... the new cya (cma)? 

... the new defense of justification to do wrong instead of right?

Is public consensus... the new my hands are tied? 

... the new defense of legitimization to do wrong instead of right?

When did public consensus become a valid excuse... to legitimize, justify, defend... doing wrong? Much less... a valid legitimization, justification, defense of... eschewing doing right? When did public consensus confer permission... to do unequivocal wrong? Much less... confer upon public servants the inviolable right to... eschew doing right?

Or... 

Is public consensus nothing more than a red herring?

To keep us from examining who is really and truly accountable and responsible? For doing right instead of wrong?

To keep us from examining who is really and truly on the hook? For doing wrong instead of right... in the name of... religion... science... public consensus...?

Or...

Is public consensus... the new inviolable fact... the new moral defense... by which down is transformed to up and left is transformed to right... such that down and up and left and right... are interchangeable and indistinguishable tools of the trade...

... to make us believe... a reality crafted... to further ignorance and advance intolerance...

... instead of the truth?

~ * ~

Addendum

Though the truth is questioning...

Far too many avow questioning with sanctimonious fervor and self righteous self conceit... 

... while actually blindly disbelieving.

This is verily determinism, absolutism, fatalism, extremism.... masquerading as truthing.

Because this is invariably defended and legitimized... by nothing more than blind beliefs of disbelief... that cannot be disputed, that cannot be challenged.

In the end...

Blind questioning is another face of blind believing.

Blind questioning is yet another defense, yet another legitimization... of determinism, absolutism, fatalism, extremism.

Because blind questioning is questioning sans inquiry, sans discovery... (notwithstanding, sans sincere inquiry, sans genuine discovery)...

While lauded among modern skepticism adherents... as the very exemplification of aspirational and laudworthy truth seeking... blind questioning is as misguided as blind believing.

For blind questioning eschews knowledge for ignorance and grace for intolerance... as virulently... as blind believing.

Such that...

Blind questioning is...

No more laudable... no more credible...

No less ignorant... no less intolerant...

Than zealotry in the name of disbelief and tyranny in the name of skepticism.

In other words...

Blind questioning for the sake of blind questioning itself... blind questioning for the sake of vacuous pretenses of truthing... blind questioning for the sake of inept insipid facades of skepticism...

... no more transforms this adherence... into nobility it's not...

... than the adherences illustrated above.

- M.