| The Ginonians A long while ago cults were a frequent topic of discussion and the conclusion reached by the moralists was that they are generally bad. Various reasons were given for the conclusion such as, “they brainwash people.” However, moralists ignored the value of a cult. Cults allow neurotic and stressed individuals the freedom of indoctrination, the freedom from choice. Yes, cults allow weak minded individuals, possibly very similar to you, to avoid the duress endured while analyzing all possibilities when making a choice; the choice is made for them. Anyway, the true objective of any cult is not indoctrination but the betterment of the individual and society. Indeed, cults free individuals from choice, expose to them the ills of humanity, help members progress toward salvation and, I hear, can be quite lucrative. These, of course with the exception of being lucrative, are the reasons why I have decided to start a cult. Now, the first thing any good cult needs is a name. The name of my cult is The Ginonians for obvious reasons (hey, Pythagoras had one named after himself). Unlike the previous incarnation of The Ginonians, this one is for real so I’m going all out stating actual beliefs and maybe even writing some scripture, eventually. As with any major religion (or other bullshit faith), The Ginonians have a few core beliefs. Unlike many other religions, we do not believe in a supreme deity, groups of deities, Hubbard-esque spirit beings trapped inside corpses, a supernatural soul, spirits of any kind, carpenters born of virgins, reincarnation or nirvana. We do, however, believe in personal enlightenment, though freedom of any kind is strictly prohibited (it is for your own good - we are a cult, you know) and is punishable by excommunication and, since we are a cult, forced labor. We believe in no afterlife and do not need salvation. For us there is no sin, though we are not infallible: being incorrect is different from being unethical. Before any action we analyze all possibilities carefully before making a choice. If the choice you make causes you regret even though it was the best possible choice for you then that is your problem, deal with it. To deal with pangs of conscience you must destroy the superego, you don’t need him. The death instinct should be directed outward, not inward. Life for us is long enough, after this infinity we do not need another. With the undeniably large amount of time we have we pursue means of enjoying it thoroughly; we are hedonists through and through. We partake in all supposed vices as well as all supposed virtues, wishing to experience all life has to offer. We accept pain as natural and prevalent and do not try to avoid it. We also accept joy as natural and prevalent and do not avoid it. We strive to be stoic, but not like the Stoics. We let the things that don’t matter truly slide. Our intended victims, I mean, prospective members are confused, socially outcast young men and young comely, possibly pneumatic, women. We attempt to cleanse their brain of societal influences much like one cleanses a plate of foodstuffs’ influences. We attempt to manipulate their minds like one remotely manipulates a remotely controllable car. We believe in a solitary existence. We are always alone even in company. We are alone even when we copulate. We are alone even in the orgiastic splendor of the bacchanal. We accept this loneliness and celebrate it by becoming one in the bacchanalia. We do not believe in consciousness expansion. We do however believe in exploring cognition through the use of state altering tools. We do not believe in charity. Sure, we help people if they ask but we do not seek to make the lives of others better. We believe such an act would demean them. We do not practice pity. We will not put others in before ourselves. We will not pretend that we can solve the world’s problems; they are insoluble and none of our concern. We believe in restitution. Restitution can be rendered through donations. In fact, we often tell our members, “donate, donate, donate,” to the cult, of course. We need such donations to keep the cult running. Certain things are needed to run a cult like a large estate where we can commune, well, where there can exist a commune where our members can live, farm implements for our members to farm the commune with, drugs with which we can explore our cognition, some vans for transportation, a stockpile of weapons to defend ourselves against possible threats and plutonium for various political purposes. This concludes our basic beliefs. I will now preemptively answer various questions: Q1. Are there no apocalyptic prophecies? A1. No. No end time prophecies are needed since we know the Earth will be destroyed by the sun becoming a red giant billions of years from now. Also, humanity will cease to exist through evolution or a cataclysm. Anyhow, none of this is of concern to us since we will all be dead by then. Q2. No human sacrifice? A2. Sorry, but that’s not really my thing. Sex is a lot better than killing anyway, so try that and see how it works out. Q3. a. Are there mass suicides? A3. a. No, we find them detrimental to the whole life angle we’re going for. Q3. b. But how will I ascend to a higher existence? A3. b. Unfortunately, we don’t believe in that crap. However, if you really want we could set up the guys that want mass suicides and those who want human sacrifice for the world premiere of a mass assisted suicide as a one time thing. Oh, look at the time. Sorry, no more questions. All you fine consenting individuals join my cult and reap many rewards. E-mail me at ginonians@hotmail.com for instructions on joining the cult, mailing instructions for monetary donations or to get driving directions for bacchanal locations. |