When one embarks on creating a religion with the name Church of Reality one can not rely on arbitrary subjective assumptions that reflect the preference of a single individual. The Church of Reality must - by definition - be based on something that is objective. We have accepted the burden of having to show our work. We can't just arbitrarily declare something to be true. We have to support it. We have to stand up to Scrutiny. In the Church of Reality the Root Axiom is what gives meaning meaning. It's the logical basis to separate right from wrong and form the basis for Morality.
Our Root Axiom is that to Exist it better that to not exist.
Our Root Axiom is that to exist is better than to not exist. By continuing to exist we don't mean as an individual, or as in eternal life. What we mean is that it is better that humanity continues to avoid extinction. That humanity is not Left Behind.
That in itself can be questioned as an arbitrary value judgment. One might ask why it is better for humanity to exist than to become extinct? And that would be a fair question for which we offer this justification.
Our first justification is that the opinion to exist is rigged in favor of existence. Those who exist get to vote. Those who don't exist don't get to vote. We humans are also a creation of evolution. Our ancestors did whatever it took to exist. This who failed to exist were Left Behind. Because of our method of creation we are pre-programmed by evolution to favor existence over nonexistence. Since the Church of Reality is about the understanding of reality by humans we have to incorporate our human nature into the equation.
Some might say that the Earth or the Universe would be better off without us. Maybe if we were gone the cockroaches will evolve into something better than we are. We just don't know. But the Church of Reality was created by humans for humans and in order to accomplish our mission we have to Stay in the Game. Thus for humans to continue to exist is better than humans becoming extinct is true in the context of how the Church of Reality is defined.
Reality is the story of everything that exists. We have to continue to exist to be part of the Story of Reality
Reality itself is about what exists. Without existence there would be no reality. Therefore a Church of Reality must accept existence as a universal positive value over extinction which is looked at as a negative value. Morality and value systems are artificial constructs based on axioms that we accept as true within a specific context. Thus we as Realists accept this root axiom and we have something solid to base our systems of morality - right and wrong - without the need for an omnipotent rule giver.
In order to continue to exist we have to pursue the understanding of reality.
In addition to the Root Axiom, the Church of Reality has the Sacred Axiom - that the pursuit of the understanding of reality has value. The Sacred Axiom used to be our root axiom but our new root axiom is technically better in that it is more primitive and less subjective. Our Sacred Axiom is derived from the root axiom. In order to continue to exist we need to live in Right Relationship with Reality. We have to understand the reality we exist in in order to survive. Thus the Sacred Axiom becomes a method for accomplishing the Root Axiom.
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