The Veil of Materialism
by Phillip D. Collins ©, Feb. 10th, 2006
As the mists of antiquity gradually receded and history welcomed modernity, the old theocratic power structures were gradually supplanted by secular theocracies governed by science. No doubt, the chronocentric impulses of the contemporary mind compel many to consider this shift an advancement in “political, social, and cultural evolution.” However, although these new theocracies are veiled in secularism, it must be understood that their new state-sanctioned epistemology is a form of mysticism akin to its religious progenitor. This truth is illustrated by radical empiricism’s rejection of causality, which stipulates the investment of faith in the purported results of scientific research. Likewise, the new state-sanctioned metaphysics is equally mystical in character. Accompanying radical empiricism is materialism, the metaphysical contention that matter holds primacy.
Naturalism works in tandem with materialism because it attempts to sustain the primacy of matter with the metaphysical claim of “self-creation” (i.e., abiogenesis). Of course, this claim suggests that living and dead matter are inseparable. Thus, living things are literally artificial entities that create themselves, an occult theme communicated through the Kabalistic myth of the golem. In a universe where materialistic metaphysics hold sway, the biosphere and the life it supports amount to one enormous golem. Accompanying this contention is the Gnostic doctrine of “self-salvation.” If humanity is a god that created itself, then it is also responsible for its own salvation. Given these strange confluences of occult thought, materialism qualifies as little more than a new secular mysticism.
Not surprisingly, materialistic metaphysics pervade the fabric of many occult institutions. Even the acknowledgement of supra-sensible and incorporeal entities cannot hide the occultist’s materialistic propensities. In fact, such propensities may have given rise to the occultist’s mystical beliefs in the first place. Guenon explains:
Without seeking for the moment to determine more precisely the nature and quality of the supra-sensible, in so far as it is actually involved in this matter, it will be useful to observe how far the very people who still admit it and think that they are aware of its action are in reality penetrated by materialistic influence: for even if they do not deny all extra-corporeal reality, like the majority of their contemporaries, it is only because they have formed for themselves an idea of it which enables them in some way to assimilate it to the likeness of sensible things, and to do that is certainly scarcely better than to deny it. There is no reason to be surprised at this, considering the extent to which all the occultist, theosophist, and other schools of that sort are fond of searching assiduously for points of approach to modern scientific theories, from which they draw their inspiration more directly than they are prepared to admit; the result is what might logically be expected under such conditions. (153-54)
In this sense, materialism acts as a veil. The fact is that, although the occult theocracy of antiquity declined in power, it is still very much alive. It perpetuates itself through secularism. As sociologist William Sims Bainbridge makes clear, secularization actually represents the opening stage of an occult counterculture movement:
Secularization does not mean a decline in the need for religion, but only a loss of power by traditional denominations. Studies of the geography of religion show that where the churches become weak, cults and occultism explode to fill the spiritual vacuum. (“Religions for a Galactic Civilization”)
Thus, the thoroughly secularized society merely presages the emergence of a new theocratic order. The new ecclesiastical authority shall be occult in character, embracing what Guenon calls “neo-spiritualism” (155). The galvanizing mythology of this new theocratic order will most likely reflect the paradigmatic character of the Gnostic cosmology, depicting humanity as a collection of pluralities awaiting unification into a singularity through the sorcery of “science.” As for the dominant religion, it will be Luciferianism, which was initially disseminated on the popular level as secular humanism. This is [the] anatomy of the emergent “Satanic state.”
In addition to facilitating the rise of a new occult theocracy, materialism has also contributed to the enormous volumes of bloodshed witnessed by the 20th century. Arguably, contemporary regimes premised upon dialectical materialism have murdered far more people than any traditional theocracy premised upon a theistic faith. This is directly attributable to materialism’s emphasis upon the primacy of matter. Materialistic metaphysics preclude the spirit, confining moral questions to the ontological plane of the physical universe. Severed from their ontological source, moral principles become tantamount to material phenomena. Thus, in a universe where materialism holds sway, it is reasonable to assume that evil is a purely corporeal entity that can be physically expunged. The ramifications of such an outlook are disturbing. In the article “What Evil Is and Why It Matters,” Christian philosopher John Paul Jones reveals the consequences of this Weltanschauung:
According to this [materialist] methodology, all we need do is find the material cause of evil and destroy it. After, all, since materialists assume all causes are material, they are logically obliged and conceptually predisposed to assume that evil is itself caused by material, physically destructible things or causes. (64)
The outgrowth of this paradigm is what Jones calls the “search and destroy” approach to dealing with evil (64). Jones expands on this approach:
Consequently, those of a materialist mindset, whether Christian or otherwise, are constantly engaged in campaigns to destroy the evil things or people they think are at the root of the problem. So we have, for example, the “war on drugs,” the “war on guns,” the “class war” and various genocides–all of which are known to cause more evil than they allegedly uproot, and today, as we witness the spread of eco-fascism in Europe that holds that we can solve the reputed environmental crisis by simply exterminating many millions of people, we also witness the approval of Chinese population control techniques, such as state-sanctioned abortion, infanticide, and forced sterilization. Strange fruits and bad apples, all. (64)
After years of war and waste, the materialist state is still incapable of expunging evil. This failure is directly attributable to materialism’s misappropriation of matter as the totality of reality. In light of this metaphysical error, one is still left to ponder the source of evil. Yet, Biblical wisdom, which the materialist thoroughly rejects, may have already answered the question of evil. James 4:1-10 states:
From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust and have not; ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet have not, because ye ask not. ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God? Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, the Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Of course, such a conclusion is unthinkable to the materialist. It is interesting that Charles Fort believed:
that man deliberately invented the dogma of materialism in order to shield himself from the evidence of what was being done to him by means of psycho-spiritual warfare methods hyped by “coincidence,” symbolism and ritual. (Hoffman 68)
A metaphysical smoke screen currently obstructs humanity’s view of the spiritual principles upon which so many of the world’s dilemmas rest. It is the veil of materialism.
Sources Cited
- Bainbridge, William Sims. “Religions for a Galactic Civilization.” Excerpted from Science Fiction and Space Futures, edited by Eugene M. Emme. San Diego: American Astronautical Society, pages 187-201, 1982.
- Guenon, Rene. The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times. Trans. Lord Northbourne. Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books Inc, 1953.
- Hoffman, Michael. Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Independent History & Research, 2001.
- Jones, John Paul. “What Evil Is and Why It Matters.” Paranoia Magazine Issue 33 (2003): 62-64.
About the Author
Phillip D. Collins acted as the editor for The Hidden Face of Terrorism. He has also written articles for Paranoia Magazine, MKzine, News With Views, B.I.P.E.D.: The Official Website of Darwinian Dissent and Conspiracy Archive. He has an Associate of Arts and Science. Currently, he is studying for a bachelor’s degree in Communications at Wright State University. During the course of his seven-year college career, Phillip has studied philosophy, religion, and classic literature. He also co-authored the book, The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship: An Examination of Epistemic Autocracy, From the 19th to the 21st Century, which is available online here. He also moderates the Yahoo discussion group “Panoptic Age.”
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