The Madness of Fantasy

Madness, insanity if you will, may be defined as a failure or refusal in a mind using consciousness to differentiate between fact and fantasy. This is the major fault with human consciousness as described in my book, “Authority! Implications of Consciousness and the Reality of Existence.”

Consciousness, characterized by conceptual language, is a cultural, i.e. learned adaptation which distinguishes human beings from all other species on the planet. It represents the foundation of civilization as we know it, and everything that is good about human beings. But it is also the foundation for deception, falsehood and madness, the nature of which afflicts no other species, and everything that is bad about human beings.   

Fantasy, the product of consciousness, might be good or bad depending upon whether the individual engaging in it recognizes it for what it is. It can be benevolent or malevolent for civilization. In no case is it more malevolent, however, than with organized religion.

Those who accept fantasy above reality are usually deemed insane, except particularly in the case of organized religion, which seems to engender large measures of respect and credibility even from people who don’t practice it. There are many millions of people who actually believe that their fantasy is more important than reality and are willing to kill innocent people in order to preserve and protect it.

Consider the recent religious uproar in Afghanistan over the burning of the Koran by NATO forces at Bagram airfield. Two American military officers were shot dead at close range inside the Interior Ministry last Saturday, as mindless religious rage continued to grip the country for a fifth day over the burning of the Muslim holy book.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shootings. The killer would have had to have the highest security clearance to get into the room where the officers were killed according to news reports. So the murderer was not just some ordinary riff raff from the street, but someone trusted with rank and importance that infiltrated the U.S. command.   

NATO is recalling staff from its Afghan ministries because the Afghan security forces simply cannot be trusted not to carry out more of these kinds of murderous attacks. The deluded Afghan religious savages consider the Koran to be the literal word of God and, therefore, desecration of a paper book is regarded as the worst sort of blasphemy. Any desecration, whether intentional or unintentional, in their minds gives them a license to kill.

Thousands of Afghans have taken to the streets and at least 27 people have been killed since Afghan laborers at the NATO base found charred copies of the Koran while collecting rubbish. Two other American soldiers were shot dead last Thursday by an Afghan national army soldier who joined the frenzied mob.

Another angry Afghan mob stormed a UN compound in northern Balkh province killing seven people last year after the loons found out that one attention seeking Christian minister in Florida burned a copy of the Koran. Religion, instead of civilizing these fanatics, has had the effect of un-civilizing them. They are dangerous to themselves and others because of religion.  

In Padang, Indonesia a civil servant who posted “God does not exist” on his Facebook page faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars for blasphemy. The man was attacked by an angry mob on his way to work and then hauled away by police after his factually correct post triggered public outcry in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Indonesia, you see, a supposedly civilized nation of 240 million people, allows only five religions by law. Atheism is illegal there. So an honest man was charged with the “crime” of using a social networking site to spread beliefs that violate the law. Exposing fantasy for what it is in Indonesia is a “crime.” The population of that country is apparently deathly afraid of anyone having the guts to point out the truth of their madness.

Meanwhile, in the crazed Islamic Republic of Iran, a former Muslim citizen, who went over the fence to Christianity and became a Christian pastor, has been sentenced to death. That’s because, in Iran, one is not supposed to change religions unless the change is to Islam. These deluded religious savages kill their own people for the “crime” of apostasy. So another poor innocent soul is going to die for refusing to recant his belief in Jesus and declining to recognize Muhammad as his savior.

All of this madness has been going on in the world just within the last week. Billions of human beings on this planet are still living in the Dark Ages.

Not that long ago it was the Christians who were also in the business of killing people who refused to believe. Blasphemy, apostasy, witchcraft, paganism, and just plain old atheism, agnosticism, and freethinking would result in the most excruciating forms of torture and execution for innocent proponents, all for the purpose of perpetuating the madness of fantasy over reality.

There are still some Christian American politicians even today who would love to take us all back to the good old days of yore when blasphemy was a crime and not believing right would get you death. Thankfully, they are slowly losing their influence in the west.

Sadly, it won’t happen in my lifetime, but the time will eventually come on this Earth when every organized religion has been mocked, excoriated, and laughed out of existence and the madness part of fantasy will finally be cured.