Monday, July 16, 2012

thought for the day/ white magic and black magic

Jacob Bronowski in his "Magic, Science, and Civilization" considers science as white magic, and religion as black magic.  In his "Ascent of Man" episode/video one, at the end he notes the difference between those who try to conjure the universe through magic and those who try learn it through science. He say's that magic is a vague word; it says we have a power, but what power?  He explains black magic of religion and white magic of science further in his "Magic, Science, and Civilization."

He point out that religion and those who are into magic often have this idea of doing science by making nature go backwards.  He notes that witches are often depicted as riding their brooms backwards.


He further notes a 'black mass' celebrated backwards; i found this wiki,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_of_Saint-S%C3%A9caire

and then, there's Joshua 10:12-13 where Joshua makes the sun stand still.

This reminded me of an interesting passage of genesis; I managed to find it quickly enough; it is Genesis chapter 3 at the very end, God sets the cherubim back. Well, i'm not sure about this passage of the cheribum, a flashing sword.  It may not be the passage I'm thinking of; i'll try to read through genesis again to see what else I can find.

The point is that magic and religions often have this idea that the way to make nature work is by magic words, rituals which makes nature go backwards. Mathematical science gets at the underlying structural relations and tries to flow with nature; mathematical science tries to become harmonius with nature.

The anti-science religions are often dividing the universe from what is knowable from what is not knowable; they said the heavens were perfect and made of different substances; they said the human conscious was a separate spirit from the material body.  People are forever trying to blame mathematical science as the dividing us from the universe when it is mathematical science that shows the connections.  The religious seem to have their heads backwards.  Their always making vague words to play evasive games so they don't have to be disproved.  They first place their god in heaven, then they make him infinit, then say he's in another dimension, and then finaly, they resort to vague word games like faith, "god did it" "god works in mysterious ways"(when something bad happens which doesn't fit their faith).

- I've recently found some more cultish/religion turning things upside down and backwards in a symbol for satan.


The symbol for satan appears to be an upside down star. 

No comments:

Post a Comment