1. NOAH, the Hollywood film (April 2014), is a recent and very evident example of a movie built upon a Gnostic frame of mind and symbols, instead of the original religious ones –in this case: Biblical (be them Christian or Jewish).

   For a full analysis in English:

   http://www.aleteia.org/en/arts-entertainment/aggregated-content/the-secret-gnostic-key-to-aronofskys-noah-that-everyone-missed-5237320601042944 ,

   and also:

   http://drbrianmattson.com/?offset=1396661858451

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   More popular media works built upon a Gnostic frame of mind:

   · Horton Hears a Who! (animated movie about an elephant who protects an endangered tiny world, 2008): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451079/

   · The Matrix series:
   1st film (1999): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/?ref_=nv_sr_1

   · The Gospel of Judas (2006), National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text.html

   · J.K.Rowling’s, extremely popular series (Prince of Asturia’s award because they managed to make children in the electronic age, eagerly read 8 thick books).
   1st one: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, (1997- ):

   · The Pretender TV series, 3 seasons (1996-1999): http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(TV_series)
   ____________________________

   IMPORTANT:

   In Gnosticism, like in any other belief system, there are extraordinary believers (individuals) who live its teachings freely and in good faith.

   In other words: By analyzing the differences between both frames of mind, and the consequences they habitually imprint on society, we are not disqualifying the sincere individuals of goodwill, existing on both sides of this argument.

   ____________________________

   Reply

2. Traducción al español abajo.

   SAMPLE OF POPULAR SONG THAT REFLECTS AND TRANSMITS A GNOSTIC FRAME OF MIND:

   – The original English version of “I dreamt a dream…”, official soundtrack of the Les Miserables film [December 2012], constitutes an example –amongst many others, of how Gnosticism has become pervasive in mass media, as an underlying frame of mind that allows everything in a “story” or lyrics to “make sense” –in other words: that renders actions and reactions in them, intelligible to the audience.
   · School “cliques” and university fraternities & sororities that refuse to accept in their ranks someone who has not submitted him/herself to humiliation, ill-treatment or abuse, are one frequent example amongst many, of how, our cumulative exposure to a Gnostic mindset, has actually re-modelled our society and relationships rendering acceptable what was previously unacceptable (like bullying/mobbing, a prevalent social problem in our days), without many of us realizing we were undergoing a revolution.

   . Let us read its lyrics (video at the end), and then explain what most people entering Gnostic groups go through, so that the relationship between both will become apparent –visible, evident, to us:

   I dreamt a dream in time gone by
   when hope was high, and life worth living…
   I dreamt that love would never die…;
   I dreamt that God would be forgiving…

   Then I was young and unafraid,
   and dreams were made, and used, and wasted.
   There was no ransom to be paid,
   no song unsung, no wine untasted.

   But the tigers come at night,
   with their voices soft as thunder
   …as they tear your hope apart,
   …as they turn your dreams to shame.

   And still I dream she’ll […daugher, family, ideal, fortune…,]
   come to me,
   that we will live the years together…
   But there are dreams that cannot be,
   and there are storms we cannot weather.

   I had a dream my life would be
   so different from this hell I’m living;
   so different now from what it seemed…
   Now life has killed the dream I dreamt.

   – Gnosticism generally understands life (and therefore reality) as a mere emanation, as a dream, without objective existence outside of the mind who “thinks” it (who produces it) –as according to it, either each of us produces our own reality through our thoughts, words and feelings, or a machine or being generates it artificially for us, as in Matrix, the movie.
   · Paradoxically, a person who has been made part of the group, and who gradually discovers what its inner circles hide, ends up losing all idealism –shattered dreams become the rule, very much like in the song.

   – Initiations put him/her to test before that happens. They are fundamental in Gnosticism, because through undergoing, or being forced to do or witness a succesion of shameful, abusive, or criminal acts, the person becomes a puppet in the hands’ of the group …even after he/she stops trusting the group and its alleged goals, for fear those dirty “facts” be disclosed publicly.
   · This grants sense to secrecy oaths and unspeakable penalties and punishments to different members “who tell” –and also to those who disobey or leave the group. It also accounts to the song’s complaint: “They turn your dreams to shame…“.

   – Why do people continue joining these groups, then? Because most of them are lied to –cheated, as to the group’s true goals and inner operations.
   · Not only this: The future member’s ideals and dreams are exalted during the recruitment “set up” –patriotic, civic, political, economic, religious/anti-religious…, so that he/she will see membership as a way to help create a better world (the sentence “do not doubt an organized minority’s power to truly change things”, is found once and again in Gnosticism, even amongst rival groups). Many of the new members, in fact, are wonderful people who would have actually “made a difference in the world” if only the group had not prevented them from following their own vocations and ideas.
   · Power, money, the opportunity to leave scarcity or problems behind, or that of becoming friends with popular, bright or important people, is another frequently-offered bait.
   · Those persons who are less gullible –and whom the group fears or needs, constitute a special case: A dire need is intentionally created in their life, with the goal of forcing them to accept the group’s help …at an unmentionable price, thus becoming entrapped in it, too.

   – Gnosticism is multifarious by definition, which means every generalization will find its exceptions. All potential members, however, are made to feel they are special, chosen to join a unique-group where they will be able to develop their maximum potential, when in truth they are being sought out for life-long exploitation –them, their families and networks, their properties and intangibles…

   – The song’s author laments God cannot forgive him/her –His mercy “cannot reach” this person anymore–, something that makes sense only in Gnosticism, and not in most religions. Why?

   – Because of what they have been forced to do, undergo or witness, of course.
   – But also because, once entrapped, and confused by the groups’ lore and mythology, and by its inner destructive politics (destructive amongst those who pretend to save the world!), it becomes increasingly difficult to continue believing in one single, supreme, fatherly God –good, fair and generous, who is powerful enough to save them from what they are living.
   · Little by little God’s image becomes tarred in their minds, and they start experimenting Him as a bad, capricious, spoilt, menacing and unforseeable being, incapable of forgiveness and mercy, …if He exists altogether.
   · Or He becomes one amongst many “minor” or “lesser” gods.
   That is why people who join a Gnostic group frequently turn their backs to their original religious beliefs, and/or become Agnostic, Atheist or even Anti-theist.

   – At this point, they start flowing through life (instead of working their way through it) in permanent fear: a) of the group, b) of the group’s enemies, and c) of either one or many bad gods.
   · Life seems to turn into an awful dream, into permanent and senseless torture, into Hell –just like the song says, precisely because they have lost all hope that things can ever change.

   – The song goes on lamenting that the days when “there was no ransom to be paid…” are long past gone.
   · It refers to the fact that the group, despite all its promises, does not give away its favours, knowledge or power; and teaches its members that everything “has a [painful] price” (good things, …bad things; and even doing what they are commanded by the group). They are charged for everything, and punished for everything, too, no matter how hard they worked or the fact that they excelled.
   · This reminds me of a teenager I once overheard talking with her “friends”, and who was forced to eat her dessert with vinegar, or else she couldn’t join them to walk around the shopping mall that afternoon… Or the boy who was forced to jump off a bridge by a fellow student who mobbed him in order to merit membership in a gang. Or the father who refused to pay for his kids’ school, unless they actively strove to “win his goodwill” –”Win me”, he would tell them, …when 5 or 6 months of schooling were past due.

   – This is why Gnosticism leads people into believing that “nothing worthwhile in life comes free or cheap to us”, not even love, friendship, or family.

   – Bitterness fills them, and life seems to lose all sense, as they think there is no way to put an end to their suffering. Logically, the more pervasive Gnosticism becomes in a society, the more prevalent suicide, dispair, depression and pesimism become, too (cfr.: prevalence of these voices along the past 200 years in: http://www.mediosmejoresqueganenmas.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NGramsReligionGnosticismoFelicidadTristezaJPG.jpg).
   – And this happens even when Gnosticism has disguised itself as a religious group (the Medieval Cathari, for example, considered themselves Gnostic Christians, and yet stated that there was more virtue in letting oneself die, than in going on with life).

   – All things considered, we can now make sense of the song lines that tell us that:
   1st- “tigers arrive by night”
   (tigers are those in power who have trapped the person into the group),
   2nd- their voices soft
   3rd- …as thunder.

   – The first one because the concept of Gnosticism tends to associate with that of night (they offer a “light in the dark“, “hidden knowledge amidst confusion“, or “protection against what menaces us“;
   whereas religion tends to become associated with day/daylight (as it shares its light and warmth with everyone, even with those who do not share its beliefs or who reject its invitation to moral good).
   · This relationship between Gnosticism and night spins, too, from the fact it is lived in secret by definition –the word Occultism derives from this distinct Gnostic feature; whereas religion, in general terms, is lived openly and publicly.

   – The second line refers to the fact that those who made the initiated person captive and keep him/her in fear (like the tigers), first seemed kind and generous (arrived with a “soft voice”), offering him/her help and recognition while subtly weaving a spiderweb around the person that would eventually render him/her into their hands, thus allowing the group to use him/her at their convenience.
   · “Using people”, by the way, is considered normal in Gnosticism; while religion declares it intrinsically immoral, like slavery.

   – The third line comes from the fact that those “tiger” persons managed to control their victims through fear –as we all fear the thunder when it menaces to fall on us.

   – The initiated person’s resources are not enough to deliver him/herself from such a trap, which accounts for the “there are storms we cannot weather” line in the song.

   – All things being considered, the song closure makes perfect sense:

   “I had a dream my life would be /
   so different from this hell I’m living /
   –so different now from what it seemed. /
   Now life [ truth, which does actually exist ] has killed the dream I dreamt.” /

   SONG WITH LYRICS (version by Glee):
   

   Reply

   • When power is abused, and especially when this happens in extreme, unjust, vicious and cruel ways, the victim sees him/herself as unarmed, defenceless and without hope.

     This leads him/her to connect with other victims, generally while hiding from the abuser, not only to become stronger, but also to secure a more just social order (…or a less unjust one at least).

     Given that this is happening more and more frequently, we should not be surprised that there are many such groups nowadays, nor that their new members believe that “their secretive nature is justified”.

     The problem is that a person who has been victimised and has no hope of getting justice, feels justified –in order to secure his/her goals– in manipulating people, in acting without questioning the means used. And in this way, he/she ends up doing the same to others, as the abuser did to him…

     The secret groups that spring up as a result of some regularly occurring brutal injustice, end up becoming compartmentalised, developing initiation or promotion ceremonies, as well as distorted or falsified explanations of reality that cannot be questioned, etc. –all with the goal of securing the loyalty and survival of their members–.

     And in this way, little by little they end up falling into exactly the same abuses of power they were trying to avoid. …But their secretive nature prevents them from demanding justice from authorities that, in any case, proved to be (during their initial harassment and victimisation) either incompetent or corrupt –which traps the members of these groups in truly terrible situations (…exploited, slandered, subjected to extortion, stripped of their wealth, etc.).

     This is how the present-day world developed –without being aware of it– a pathological, utilitarian and dehumanising social mentality. One imbalance –abuse– led to another, which in turn led to a third one…

     Furthermore: Belonging to these kinds of groups tends to produce a psychopathic mentality, if we agree with the definition of psychopathology which holds that a psychopath is somebody who sees others as mere pieces in their game of chess –somebody who has no qualms about committing crimes to get what is in his/her interest–.
     ___

     Cfr. (in regards to psycopathy): Robert D. Hare, Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us
     ___

     The de facto slavery of many people in these kinds of groups, reminds us that:

     “Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious gifts that Heaven has bestowed upon men. No treasures that the Earth holds buried or the sea conceals, can compare with it. For freedom, as for honour, life may and should be ventured. And on the other hand, captivity is the greatest evil that can befall to the lot of man”: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part II, Chapter LVIII.

     Reply

     • Translation to English by webmaster:

       It’s a structural problem, the one we are addressing, of our present-day world, that creates a certain mentality, which perpetuates it.
       And vice versa: There is a specific mentality that generates this structure, a harmful one, and that allows it to continue.

       These groups function in society the way termites function in wood: They fill it with tunnels and weaken it, until it becomes unstable and turns to dust.
       Which is why society is not responding to the problems with common sense.

       When one sees that the decision maker, SYSTEMATICALLY makes the worst possible decisions, one must conclude one is in an area affected by …termites.
       Because a clever person sometimes makes mistakes; and a stupid person is NOT always wrong…
       If somebody ALWAYS “makes mistakes”, then it is either because he/she wants to, or he/she is being forced to do so.

       When one understands what is happening, the problem can be solved. And one also stops believing EVERYTHING the group tells one. Which is necessary to be able to separate from it.
       That day one understands that the official “villains or enemies” of the group are only excuses, smoke screens, people who realised what was happening, or got in the way of group plans, or who were feared by it…

       When wood has termites, we submerge it in a liquid that kills them.
       Human termites can’t tolerate the truth –That what is hidden should be revealed.
       Let us tell the truth: That the people should know what is happening, so that what is hidden can be brought to light and we can resolve it.

       Let us talk about all this, but without making a witch-hunt, because there are good people trapped in that world, together with bad ones. It is not easy to distinguish between the chaff and the grain.

       Bats move about easily at night, but the day paralyzes them…: Truth.

       The people who are trapped in one of these groups, will not dare to denounce them unless we offer them understanding, compassion, protection, help.
       Their bravery deserves support, their wounds need therapy; they also need something to live off on, when the group takes everything away from them and uses all its power to block them.

       […]

       Reply

       • Translation to English by webmaster:

         You are forgetting, indeed, that Gnosis contains in it so different and varied perspectves, that they are incompatible amongst themselves:
         Occultism is part of Gnosis, but so is Esoterism.
         The New Age movement has everything to do with Gnosis; it restores the spiritual dimension that our world had left behind.
         There is Gnosis in different political activisms, as well as amongst power groups; and so there is amongst our mason brothers.
         There is Gnosis in Mormonism and the Kabbalah –part of dominant religious mentalities; but also in witchcraft, voo-doo, Santeria, Satanism, Luciferianism…, which invert/reverse religions exalting their opposites. Incompatible!
         Reiki is Gnosis…
         Amongst those who live in Gnosis, there are those who seek it for evil purposes, but there are also those who pursue it for good. Like in Star Wars: The dark side and the light side.

         There are many worthy people in it, just like everywhere else; and not all of them feel “trapped” and want to run away…

         Reply

         • Translation to English by webmaster:

           …Where to begin?

           There are all kinds of people in gnostic groups. Likewise: There are all kinds of people amongst those who hold opposing beliefs about life. If not, there would be no need for laws or law enforcement, because nobody would commit any criminal acts.

           The non-gnostic world has great variety as well, to the extent that there are institutions such as religious ones, that hold “opposing truths”, or political parties that advocate incompatible goals (the non-gnostic world is open and public regarding its opinions, actions and interests).

           I have nothing against gnosticism either. But they use their networks, their power, against good people. Against us. That is what can’t be applauded.

           The issue we are addressing here is this:
           Gnosticism inevitably produces a mentality.
           And this mentality ends up controlling everything without owning up to it, flouting laws, in secret, with lies, illicit payments, traps and threats.

           You say that gnosticism empowers. If it did not OFFER something appealing, it would not manage to trap anybody.
           Only after some time has passed, those on the inside realise they were fooled, enslaved.

           When they discover this, they no longer have a way to escape.

           That it satisfies many people’s spiritual hunger, which had been negated or opposed by rationalism, is true.
           But: …It is only after a long time has elapsed since they trapped you, that you realise that what appeared to be good, was not.
           “Good spirituality” aims for the good of ALL those who freely choose it, not just a few.

           Because gnosticism creates castes:
           People with rights, and people without rights.
           Powerful people and Parias;
           those on the inside, and those on the outside.
           And even amongst “those on the inside”,
           …they separate those in the inner circles, from those in the outer circles;
           …those of higher standing, from those of lower standing.

           With rights?, “them”…; without rights?, the rest.
           At the rate we’re going, the average citizen will no longer have the right to be free, nor to protest against an injustice, nor to live.

           If all of us DO NOT have the same rights, obligations and dignity before the law, then the rule of law, the political system, etc., is useless.

           Criminal groups: the mafia, drug dealers, human traffickers, gangs, etc., organize themselves in the same way…, not only the ones you mentioned. Because this mentality helps to commit crimes and cover their tracks.

           But even amongst those who belong to non-criminal gnostic groups, the functioning of their networks prevents them from making right decisions.
           That is why the institutions (which belong to everybody), are collapsing, destroying society, hurting everybody.

           Their networks prevent the right person from being hired for the right job, and good professionals from receiving fair salaries and promotions.

           Their networks prevent criminals from being discovered, pursued and convicted.
           . Is that good for you…?, Is it good for us…?

           You mention that there are religious groups permeated by gnosticism.
           There are some, like the ones you mention, that are openly so. And there are some “dark” gnostic groups permeating the major religions, to guide them in directions they would not otherwise go, as is true of all social institutions nowadays.

           There are also groups that present themselves as religions although they aren’t, or as science although they aren’t; they are gnostic:
           Theosophy was founded by Madame Blavatsky, spiritualist. She used “scientific words” to describe what witchcraft and spiritism do.
           Some people teach Theosophy to monotheistic believers, as though it were compatible with their beliefs: As a branch of Theology.

           Witchcraft and spiritism, and monotheism are incompatible.
           But since they present witchcraft and spiritism as though they were religions or science (The book “The secret…”, for example), many believers and freethinkers are fooled.

           Think about this: Who benefits from saying that you create your reality with your thoughts, and that your misfortunes are your fault?
           The one who is creating them for you, who this way avoids going to prison. The same who benefits from negating that truth exists or can be known.

           That is why it’s advantageous for those who have power, to say that gnosticism is better than other ways of thinking, religions and philosophies.

           Furthermore:
           Although these groups give you little power (compared to how much they promised you, and to how much more they take from you), that small amount of power they do give you ends up corrupting many.

           An example from a popular novel:
           Little by little, Harry Potter ends up becoming bad.
           And his famous school for wizards not only produces beings who are “progressively less good” (like Harry Potter…), but also the worst.

           Human beings can only be happy in a world created for their size, in keeping with their nature, and living a spirituality and a reality which reward good.
           The world of magic, of gnosis, of empowerment at the expense of injustice, of creating and maintaining mafias, of lies, is not.

         • Wow! You really got me thinking.

           A few years ago, amongst the several gnostic colleagues I had, two stood out: Both shared in a common cultural heritage, which allowed me a fairer analysis of the differences between them –one belonged to a group that tried to gain power in the institution at any price, while the other joined in a spiritual gnostic group, searching for “good”.

           The colleague who wanted power, couldn’t stand my other colleague or myself… Good and bad are in a person’s heart, and are not dependent on their mentality or secular, political or religious beliefs.

           What became of them? The one who wanted power, in addition to leaving in her wake a path of human and institutional destruction, now suffers from a terrible illness, and great loneliness. She is full of bitterness and evil.
           The other one continues to be charming, although less and less open, less and less naive… Her experiences with gnosticism have changed her.

           There are certain key concepts in gnosticism, which are found repeatedly in many gnostic groups: “The chinese boxes” and “the mirror tricks” reference the fact that, living in hiding, these groups create stories (versions of reality) and internal groups, which in turn are comprised of even more internal groups –each having its own “story”; and so on –in such way that nobody can be certain that they know the real truth about the group, not even those who are “deepest”–.

           The group is like a glove on somebody else’s hand; but that hand in turn, is a glove on another hand. And this on yet another hand. …Who is really in charge of all these chinese boxes, who hides behind them all? That’s why another key concept in gnosticism, is that of labyrinths.

           I give this explanation to illustrate that it is impossible to make flat-out generalizations, about an area that is as confusing and interwoven by its own essence, as this one is.

           But there is one thing I believe is important for everybody: There can be no true give-and-take, no true change-for-the-better in the world –no solution to our problems–, if all groups structure themselves in the same way –and ultimately according to one common mentality. Particularly considering that each one is supposed to be “unique”, and to offer us a “different” option.

           In our brain, the neural networks spontaneously structure themselves to help us survive. Once public information has ceased to be reliable, our neural networks have learnt to draw conclusions based on reality. And reality leads us to realize that we are submerged in a system comprised of chinese boxes, where nothing is what it claims to be.

           In this way, that which is hidden has become visible, as if all the spotlights in the world had pointed at it at the same time. Gnosis, in the public spotlight, ceases to be gnosis.

         • [Text adapted and translated by webmaster]

           These are complex things; they need sorting out and clear-cut name-tags, to help us understand them, solve them:

           The opposite of a gnostic world-view, is an “EXOTERIC” one (WITH AN X, not with an s).

           An exoteric world is that which is “open and public regarding its opinions, actions and interests”, as Jeronimo said. A person is not always eXoteric and religious, as this post implies; there are also atheits who are transparent and sincere. And the other way round: Being, or feigning to be, either religious or atheist, does not make a person transparent and sincere.

           The word eXoteric, however, has other problems:

           1st. People confuse it with “ESOTERIC” (WITH AN S): With knowledge that, even if in the public domain, is only understood by the “iniciated” (by those inside a gnostic group).

           2nd. Gnostic groups use the word “eXoteric” to name the true or false information they disseminate to make outside people think what the group needs…, or the persons they use to control other groups.

           The fact that words, like texts, symbols, cultural and religious traditions, are granted other meanings by submerged groups, makes fraud easy. As well as misundertandings. And subverts projects we launch with them, taking them where they really want to, but will not tell.

           We are talking about a frame of mind that sistematically hides valuable and necessary information, making things more difficult to ascertain and more confusing to understand. Due to the fact that causes-and-effects occur outside appropriate channels (as seemingly “random” issues, when in fact they were actually fabricated), and due to the fact that nothing is what they say it is, people learn to discard oficial information, and to build probable hypotheses from facts.

         • POST COPIED BY WEBMASTER INTO THIS PLACE
           (AS PART OF THIS CONVERSATION THREAD, WHICH IT CLEARLY WAS):

           You talk about mentalities and philosophical issues. Let me put it in legal terms:

           The precise definition of TREACHERY is
           “To do things in such a way, that the other person will not realize what is truly going on, so that he/she –attacked, won’t be able to defend him/herself, to fight back”.

           In the Roman Law tradition (the foundational one in most of Continental Europe and the Spanish/French/Italian/Portuguese speaking worlds),
           the three main aggravating factors to a human intentional deed, are: Treachery, Premeditation and Advantage (to act from a vantage position).

           There is ADVANTAGE when everything is done to SURPASS the victim’s ability to respond fairly and successfully to the attack; it refers to the disparity of forces/numbers/sizes that favours the agressor over the victim in such a way that the latter will not possibly be able to face up and deal with the attack (particularly if the latter doesn’t know that someone is acting against him/her…

           There is PREMEDITATION when everything is carefully organized ahead of time, in order (again) to prevent the victim and other persons and circumstances, from frustrating the agressor’s plans.
           For example: The agressor may hire specialized consultants (psychologists, medical doctors, forensic experts, lawyers, etc.), and gather money and other tools, etc., that will enable him/her to obtain what he/she wants…, no matter how unjust or abusive it may be.
           Let us elaborate this point: Experts can help the agressor recognize, or fabricate, a moment of great vulnerability in the victim, for example, when the agressor will be more likely to annihilate/con/break him/her down (or whatever else the agressor seeks).

           The kind of people who tend to resort to all three main aggravating factors (premeditation, advantage, and above all: treachery) –that is: who “play dirty”, don’t usually act overtly, publicly or alone.
           They are not dumb; they want to do as they wish in regards to other people –which is wrong, but they don’t want to risk the possibility of ending up in jail.
           The mere fact they build layer over layer of cover-ups to conceal their true actions, means they are aware of the fact that they are commiting a crime; that what they want is wrong.

           That’s why they will create gangs, fraternities/sororities, inner/secret/reserved/initiation circles, associations, groups, or however we want to call them).
           This phenomenum results in plotting, and produces conspiracies –two well known legal terms.

           To all legal intents and purposes, the more the aggravating factors, and the greater their severity, the least possibility there will be for the victim to defend him/herself successfully, and the greater the perpetrators’ guilt. The latter are not only commiting a crime; the very way they operate entails the enslavement of the victim, his/her objectification, his/her dehumanization…

           That’s why abusive and covert actions –most frequently the result of either a Gnostic or a psycopathic frame of mind, indeed, tend to produce crimes that rank amongst the meanest and most destructive ones.

           And that is why the mere fact of belonging to such groups is incompatible with most main religions, although some of these groups will actually present themselves as “advocates of religions”, patriots, “human rights watchdogs”, or staunch believers in other “noble” causes. In the Catholic Church, membership in any covert group is punished with “Excommunication latae sentetiae” (the very moment a Catholic adheres to any of them, he/she ceases to belong to the community-of-believers, without a court needing to dictate a sentence in this regard.

           It had to be this way, because the person who recourses to this type of agreed and covert coertion, goes directly against God’s commandment that:
           “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife [spouse/domestic partner]. You shall not covet your neighbour’s child, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or cart, or anything that belongs to your neighbour” –or your neighbour, either (Exodus 20, 17).

           In other words: Your “neighbour” (the other person) may seem highly useful or attractive to you –or even a pain-in-the-neck, but it will never be licit/lawful/justifiable to enslave him/her, or to rob him/her of what rightly belongs to him/her, to annull or kill him/her.

           The very issue here, is how everything is set up in our “modern” society to force most people (yes: even most good people) into such schemes, so that they will become enslaved covertly. And the only solution is not to fall into the trap, but to resort to a higher authority.

           If most human authorities have become corrupt, then there is always a superior one above them all –an incorruptible one: God. He can make things happen that none of us can
           (We have’t been able to deliver ourselves from covert slavery with our own human resources, neither individually nor collectively;
           and neither have we been able to conquer our freedom manipulating cosmic energies or spiritual laws, nor amassing a larger fortune, nor searching for ways to steal “power” from Heaven, nor invoking spirits,
           nor in any other fashion proposed by Gnosticism…, because its goal finally is that of maintaining us enslaved).

           Maybe that’s why Gnosticism and a healthy religious life –one that enables us to develop a personal relationship with God– are incompatible; because only in the latter can we find a defence against the first one’s abuses.

         • Doña Menda said:
           “Gnosticism and a healthy religious life –one that enables us to develop a personal relationship with God– are incompatible; because only in the latter can we find a defence against the first one’s abuses.”

           The key in this sentence, is the word “healthy”.

           Another key phrase is: “personal relationship with God”. There is no substitute for it –no leader, guru, modern-day prophet or messiah, ascended master, religious group or congregation can take God’s place…

           Why do I make this remark?
           Because an unhealthy religious life may lead us either into a cult —one extreme, or –the opposite: into such a whitewashed religious or spiritual experience, that we will find in it no true protection against “covert slavery”.

           Good to keep it in mind. Thank you!

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