Discordian Skeptic? How Dare You!

Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, January 7, 2009 | Published in

Yes, yes, I know. Discordianism and Skepticism are ideas that are often opposed to each other and very rarely overlap. How is it even possible to be a follower of oth at the same time? Which I assume is what many of you are asking right now.

Maybe I need to go back and explain both positions first. Discordianism is the worship of Eris, the goddess of Chaos, Discord, and Strife. Ok, not really. Discordianism is more like an irreligion stance that focuses on the illusion of order and chaos in the universe. It is an attempt to escape dogma of all types. Or as I have called it elsewhere, "militant subjectivism".

Skepticism, on the other hand, is "a scientific or practical, epistemological position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence". It is the rejection of all supernatural explanations in favor of critical thinking and inductive reasoning.

Again, you may ask, how do this two things ever intersect and how can someone be a disciple of both? One is about being completely subjective while the other relies whole-heartedly on being objective. All very good question, I might add. The main similarity between them is the outright rejection of beliefs. As the late Robert Anton Wilson said, "belief is the death of intelligence." Or as another wise man said, "A belief is just a thought you keep having." Holding on too tightly to one ideology or another stops all thought. We should strive to question things as often as possible. And don't stop questioning until you stop moving.

That being said, I'm not a big fan of "woo" like some of my fellow Discordians are. I'm not currently a practitioner of Chaos Magick but I have tried it before. I realize that the occult is a very subjective thing that happens between your ears and won't begruge someone for their beliefs unless they try to pass it off as something it's not.

Now, as for what I'm planning on for this blog: I'm hoping to give an irreligion and humorous outlook on such skeptical hot buttons like religion, Creationism, alternative medicine, the "Culture Wars", psychics, Big Foot, and whatever other woo comes down the pike. Barring that I'll just make fun of a lot of people for being idiots. Hope you enjoy the ride.

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