Freewill, Religion, and Castles Made of Sand.

Watch the Gnostic allegory Westworld produced by HBO to get a sense of what I'm going to be talking about here.

Obviously, incompatibilism, if it were true, is as counter-intuitive as anything could be-- that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't true.

Many of the latest scientific studies argue favorably for incompatibilism. Read Sam Harris, too, on this issue. And who knew Sam would have so much in common with Islam which for the most part is completely consistent with incompatibilism. And, no, this doesn't make The Koran true although from the Gnostic perspective it does make it another masterpiece of the demiurge who controls this matrix (see the Anthony Hopkins character in Westworld or The Architect in the Matrix movies); also look into Christian Calvinism which also espoused that free will is illusionary--certainly, from the perspective of both science and religion we can easily agree that it's not an obvious given that free will exists.

Given that FACT I'm always quite amused (and concerned) when various and sundry spiritualists build complete metaphysical cosmologies upon the foundational assumption of free will. Consider this: almost everything a human does is automatic: breathing, digestion, blood flow, well...this list could be endless so I'll stop there and you should get the point. AUTOMATIC! Preconditioned responses. It's this way with all other mammals, too. What isn't preconditioned by nature is conditioned by culture and no more so than the mass profiled, mass mind controlled superstructure which the archons are building today--our agenda 21 smart grid super cities where humans will merge with machines who in Gnostic mythology are the Greys of modern sci-fi lore.

Why would a designer, if there were one, instantiate the most important aspect of consciousness (according to compatibilists) within an incredible spectrum of determinism? It's something like hiding the steering wheel of a Tesla in the trunk (please send my deposit, Elon). Not only is it incompatible; it also makes no rational sense, and one certainly wouldn't make it the lynchpin of eternity unless one was a complete ass-hole! Was the architect in the Matrix an A-hole?

In Buddhism, especially, we see that the idea of the ego as a false construct. According to most Buddhist schools, it's only upon this realization that one frees oneself from the whims and vices of Samsara and enters the ocean of infinity known as *Nirvana. Please note there is nothing the ego could do to attain this other than to come to the realization that the ego isn't what the ego tells you it is. A cloud analogy may be useful: at one moment there are clouds and the next moment the clouds are gone and have changed form ( through no will of their own). This may very well be how it is with humans and their metaphysical condition.

Having said that, I'm not a Buddhist per se. I think it extraordinarily problematic to declare universals solely from the experiences within the human mind. I think it far more humble and honest to say that we don't know when it comes to universals which also can't be an excuse to declare as truth every manner of absurdity, irrationality, and illogic. We have to honestly search where the evidence leads us and yes, it is also possible that God doesn't exist, period--and if one can't contemplate that possibility then I can assure you one is steeped in one's own ego construction.

NOTE*: please, my Buddhist friends; I'm not looking for a deconstruction of Nirvana here. My understanding is that it's complete absorption back into the primordial waters of being--or, cessation of one's personal ego construct.

From one of my fave Vancouver artists and one from me which I classify as Gnostic rock: