Demopheles: ... Or, to speak less scientifically, truth that generally cannot be expressed except mythically and allegorically, is like water that cannot be carried about without a vessel; but philosophers who insist on possessing it, pure and unalloyed, are like the man who breaks the vessel in order to have the water simply by itself. Perhaps this is actually the case. At any rate, religion is truth allegorically and mythically expressed and thus rendered accessible and digestible for mankind at large…
Philalethes: What a dangerous weapon is put into the hands of those who are given authority to employ falsehood as the vehicle of truth! If this is the case, I am afraid that the damage done by falsehood will be greater than any advantage ever produced by the truth.
Demopheles: Properly speaking, a mystery is an obviously absurd dogma which nevertheless conceals within itself a sublime truth. In itself, this truth is wholly unintelligible to the ordinary understanding of the crude and uncultured masses, who now accept it in this disguise on faith and trust, without allowing themselves to be led astray by the absurdity that is obvious even to them. In this way, they now participate in the kernel of the matter in so far as it is possible for them to do so…
Philalethes: That would be all right if only religion were allowed to declare itself to be true merely allegorically. But it appears with the claim to be positively and absolutely true in the literal sense of the word. Herein lies the deception and it is here that the friend of truth must adopt a hostile attitude.
Demopheles: If religion were to admit that only the allegorical meaning of its teachings were in it the element of truth, it would be deprived of all effectiveness and its inestimable and beneficial influence on the hearts and morals of mankind would be lost by such rigorous treatment. …
How much you will then guard against casting suspicion on something through theoretical fault-finding and thus finally wresting from the people something which for them is an in- exhaustible source of consolation and relief and which they need so much in fact, with their harder lot, even more than we. For this reason it should be positively sacred and inviolable.
Philalethes: What is the use of grounds of consolation and tranquillity which are constantly overshadowed by the Damocles sword of disillusion? Truth, my friend, is the only sound thing; it alone remains steadfast and staunch; its consolation alone is solid; it is the indestructible diamond.
Demopheles: Yes, if you had truth in your pocket, ready to bless us with it on demand. But what you have are only metaphysical systems where nothing is certain except the headaches they cost. Before we take something away from a man, we must have something better to put in its place.
Philalethes: If only I did not have to hear the same thing over and over again! To free a man from an error is not to take something away from him, but to give him something; for the knowledge that something is false is just a truth. But no error is harmless; on the contrary, sooner or later, every error will land in trouble the man who harbours it.
by Arthur Schopenhauer
Today's reading captured my attention. I narrowed down the selection to a few quotes that were significant for me.
I am drawn into space again, thanks to Star Trek Voyageur. For those not aware of one of the greats of the Star Trek Franchise, Voyageur is the ship that was trust in to the Delta quadrant, seventy light years away from Earth.
I find so many similarities to my journey in Voyageur's journey "far from home".
- It wasn't my choice to be trust into a Post-Christian agnosticism
- I feel light years away from most people I used to spend my Christian life with.
- Going home seems impossible
- As Janeway and crew could not imagine the Delta quadrant until they were there, I could not imagine my journey today, from where I was twenty years ago.
- I feel alone, until I'm reminded that I'm not.
- I wouldn't trade my "trek through the Delta Quadrant, now that I understand what I got from it."
- No one in "the Alpha quadrant" will truly understand, because they haven't been here
I found a couple great conversations between Captain Janeway and her first officer Chakotay. If you are familiar with the series, they might make more sense, but I think even without familiarity, the messages are pretty clear.
Janeway and Chakotay are facing the adversarial Borg. Janeway looks for comforting wisdom from previous Captains that experienced the Borg... Chakotay offers her a different kind of hope.
Janeway and Chakotay's Conversation about the present
In this episode, Chakotay time travels back to when the Voyageur was still in the Alpha quadrant, before it was thrust into the Delta quadrant. He has a conversation with Janeway about what really matters.
Janeway and Chakotay's Conversation about the future
