Scientific materialism: the path to hell

A critical examination of the premises, promises and plans of material science

Introduction

We have not chosen the title of this article lightly, or to court controversy, but because we sincerely believe that scientific materialism is a sinister force for evil that is paving the path to hell. Many readers will not accept our thesis. Some may think we exaggerate the dangers science poses to mankind. Whatever your own views, we ask only that you carefully analyse the facts we shall put before you, and reach your own conclusions, using reason and correct deduction and intuition as your guides. Whoso hath ears, let him hear; whoso hath brains, let him THINK!

Before we begin, we would like to make it absolutely clear that we praise with all our heart and mind the great and good scientists, who work for the betterment of humanity in full consciousness of their responsibilities to man and duty to God. Sadly, such enlightened scientists are in the minority, and it does not require the gift of Biblical prophecy to see where the Faustian gifts of science are leading humanity, and to tremble at that which the Eye of the Mind beholds. . .

Stripping away the pride and vanity of science

The facts of science are real enough; so are the techniques that scientists use, and the technologies based on them. But the belief system that governs the material sciences has become an act of faith, founded upon an increasingly dogmatic and dangerous ideology which threatens the very existence of our planet and the purpose of life upon it. We have touched on this subject before in our review of Professor Rupert Sheldrake's groundbreaking book, The Science Delusion, which accompanies our article on 'how peace leads to war'. Alexander Pope, in the second epistle of his Essay on Man placed science in its proper place more than 300 years ago.

Trace science then, with modesty thy guide;
First strip off all her equipage of pride;
Deduct what is but vanity, or dress,
Or learning's luxury, or idleness;
Or tricks to show the stretch of human brain,
Mere curious pleasure, or ingenious pain;
Expunge the whole, or lop th' excrescent parts
Of all our Vices have created Arts;
Then see how little the remaining sum,
Which serv'd the past, and must the times to come!

Pope sums up in a few words all that is wrong with science today. He singles out pride, vanity, idle curiosity and the tricks that science employs to demonstrate its cleverness, the better to impress and befuddle the minds of the unthinking masses. We alluded to these tricks in our article on the 'discovery' of so-called gravitational waves which was widely reported in the media in February 2016. Pride was rightly called the 'first peer and president of Hell' by Daniel Defoe, and we all know that "pride goes before a fall." Pride is mentioned no less than 100 times in the Bible and is the defining characteristic of the Prince of Hell, Iambus, in J Michaud's occult play, Symphonie Fantastique.

Many famous men have written about Pride. Thomas Jefferson said that "Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold." How true these words are today as we survey the terrible cost in human suffering of the pursuit of scientific materialism. Need we give examples? The present arsenal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons invented by science are sufficient to wipe out every living thing on this planet several times over, and leave this earth a blasted cinder, floating like another dead moon in space.

If we strip science of its pride and vanity, and the scientific 'arts' which provide us with our pleasures and luxuries, as well as those that pander to our vices, then as the poet tells us, we are left with very little which is of any real and lasting value to mankind. We emphasise 'real' and 'lasting', because there are very few scientific inventions that have contributed to the spiritual progress and enlightenment of mankind, whereas the number that have stifled such progress and increased man's ignorance, inhumanity, greed and selfishness are legion. We shall develop this point in the next section.

The myth of scientific progress

John Anthony West, in his pioneering presentation of the work of the Egyptologist, Schwaller de Lubicz—Serpent in the Sky—questioned the prevailing scientific myth that man has 'progressed' and that science is responsible for an 'evolution' in human affairs. West went on to challenge these assumptions with six statements that are as true today as when he wrote them nearly 50 years ago. These assumptions are:

That man has 'progressed'. That there has been an 'evolution' in human affairs.
That civilisation implies progress, and that the height of civilisation is in direct proportion to the rate of progress.
That progress, hence civilisation, began with the Greeks, who invented speculative philosophy and rational science.
That science and science-based disciplines are the only valid instruments for arriving at 'objective truth'.
That without rational science and speculative philosophy there is no real civilisation.
That there is nothing the ancients knew that we do not know, or understand better.

These assumptions have been accepted by almost every scientist for the last two hundred years. They underpin every aspect of modern education and inform the opinion and thinking of the vast majority of people in every part of the world. Very few readers of this article will have been taught otherwise at school or university. Yet, as Professor Sheldrake makes clear in The Science Delusion mentioned earlier, all these assumptions are false, or represent half-truths, and half-truths, as we point out in so many of our articles, are far more misleading than outright falsehoods.

After seeing the terrible use to which the atomic bomb was put, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the famous physicist in charge of the Manhattan project, came to regret ever having taken part in it. "In some crude sense which no vulgarity, no humour, no overstatement can quite extinguish," said Oppenheimer, "the physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge they cannot lose." What a pity he did not recognise this truth before he lit the fuse. The Faustian temptation to pursue knowledge at any price without regard for the consequences has led science down some very dark avenues, of which the misuse of atomic energy is one of the darkest. We discuss the implications of the legend of Faust in our commentary to this article (see sidebar).

The Faustian gifts of science

The inventive genius of science continues to spawn new technologies at an ever-increasing rate. With each new invention, new industries arise to feed, clothe and shelter it. But the same hand that gives also takes, and old industries disappear and jobs with them, leading to distress, unemployment and suffering for millions. Something is insanely wrong with this unthinking, precipitous progress. Not only have the promises of scientific utopia not materialised for the majority of mankind, but in many places society has regressed back to the Middle Ages, ravaged by constant wars, famine and grinding poverty. Science has not eliminated murder; it has made murder easier on a hitherto unprecedented scale. It has not eliminated theft; it has made stealing easier, from multinational banking fraud, through corporate money-laundering, to individual cybercrime and email phishing. It has not eliminated poverty, hunger, or disease; it has spread these scourges of mankind ever further across the globe.

Many good things have undeniably come from the technological breakthroughs of science. Unfortunately, these developments have often been subverted for selfish and evil purposes. Indeed, the evils science has fostered cancel out much of the good it has done, and hinder the greater good it might do. The great tragedy of science is that material and technological progress has not gone hand-in-hand with moral and spiritual progress. Even as we mount up to the stars in our exploration of space, our vaunted Western civilisation, the proud product of centuries of so-called scientific progress, lies mired in the mud of selfishness, greed, corruption and rampant materialism. These are the first-fruits of the inventive genius of science, plotting and playing its game of chess with all humanity as its helpless pawns.

Many scientists regard themselves as a new hierarchy of almost mythical gods, and such vainglorious egoists strut about displaying the bigoted speculations of their vapid minds to the detriment of the dignity of their own profession. This is the sort of scientist we oppose with all our mind and heart, for they are the most dangerous of all, lacking both humility and morality and any sense of personal responsibility for the uses to which the fruits of their inventive genius are put.

We recently listened to just such a self-important 'expert' on the radio, who airily assured his listeners that self-driving cars would soon make taxi drivers redundant, and what a jolly good thing that would be. For then, according to this smug scientist, taxi drivers would be liberated from their menial drudgery and be able to lead more productive and fulfilling lives. Quite what alternatives he had in mind for them this oily pundit did not say, but we imagine that it might well include sitting for long periods in front of a screen in a windowless air-conditioned room for the benefit of his paymasters.

This well-meaning expert is typical of the narrow, unconnected thinking of so many scientists, who did not stop to think that there might be more to taxi driving than the simple task of operating a vehicle. Perhaps he had never taken a taxi-ride and so sinned through ignorance? If he had he would know that many of the unfortunates he wished to liberate actually enjoy interacting with real, live human beings. Taxi-drivers have delivered babies; many act as unpaid social workers to their varied clientele, whilst others have met kings and movie stars in their cabs.

The fact that we can speak to relatives or friends who live thousands of miles away is unquestionably progress in communications, but does this constitute an 'evolution' in human affairs? Do such instantaneous methods of communication add anything of real and lasting value to our lives, or do they perhaps lure us into a web of self-indulgent triviality and instant gratification? If we regard evolution as the growth and development of all that is noble, wise, loving and god-like in man, then we must concede that science has done very little to foster it during the last few centuries.

Stemming the tide of scientific materialism

It is for these reasons that many thinking people now question the inexorable pace of technological development and the global epidemic of consumerism it feeds. Many more recognise that this is having a detrimental effect on the physical, mental and spiritual health of humanity which is quite unprecedented in human history. Others are quite happy to continue to enjoy the technological gifts of science and may even wish for more of them, provided that they are left in peace to enjoy their gadgets, untroubled by such annoying inconveniences as economic recessions, revolutions, wars, other people's troubles, or the eternal verities.

It is only when peoples' lives are seriously disrupted that they are forced to re-evaluate their thinking, real needs and aspirations. We would like to think that our readers, at any rate, do not need a major crisis to shake them out of their complacency and encourage them to think for themselves. They would not dispute that whilst science has given us many benefits it has also given us atomic weapons, toxic plastics, contaminated food, pesticides and environmental pollution on a global scale. It has used innocent people and animals in deadly medical experiments and facilitated the endless conflicts that rage throughout the world by inventing ever more sophisticated weapons to destroy human life and allowing such weapons to proliferate unchecked.

Yet many, perhaps most scientists, sincerely believe they are creating a better world for us all. When they are confronted with the unpleasant fruits of their genius, they invariably justify themselves by saying that science is impartial, and gives to the world its discoveries to be used for better or for worse. Yet if we or you as responsible parents were to hand a loaded revolver to a small child and disclaim all responsibility for what it did with it, we would be loudly condemned as evil monsters, and quite rightly so.

A parent is only responsible for his children, whereas a scientist holds the wellbeing and fate of humanity in his hands. When a scientist invents or controls the means whereby this earth is turned into a slaughter-house, or permits others to use his invention in this way, he is a criminal, together with his colleagues and partners, whether they are fellow scientists, or merely financiers, politicians, or militarists. There can never be any excuse for murder, whatever form it takes. If the scientist is able to construct a better world by peaceful means—he has our blessing; and no decent, or well-thinking person would disagree with us, and the reverse holds good accordingly.

But most people are vain and look for glory, honour, fame, riches and all the rest of the useless baggage of self-aggrandisement which only pleases the wearer and leaves all others cold, or turns them into enemies. This applies as much to scientists as the rest of us, so perhaps we should not blame them too harshly for their irresponsible and foolish acts. Yet we do blame them, just as we blame ourselves when we succumb to the worst traits of our lower human nature. The reasons why so many men and women do give way to these base instincts is that so few realise they even have a lower and a higher nature, which Occult Science calls the lower and Higher selves or Higher and lower minds. Many poets have intuitively sensed these two beings and described them in verse, such as Goethe, who wrote:

"Two souls, alas! are lodg'd within my breast,
Which struggle there for undivided reign:
One to the world, with obstinate desire,
And closely-cleaving organs, still adheres;
Above the mist, the other doth aspire,
With sacred vehemence, to purer spheres"

(Faust—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

It will be abundantly clear to you which of these two selves has been the main driving force behind the dangerous direction science has taken during the last few centuries. The scientist has free choice, but also an inescapable responsibility. He may become an angel in a Higher Realm or a saturnine imp in a lower world. Let the secrets of his deadly discoveries be buried at the bottom of the deepest, silent well, or within the depths of a cavern so dark that the eyes fear to gaze at its vast profundities, lest, like unto another Faust, to him appears inscrutable Mephistopheles in flames to claim his besmirched soul.

We, too, have the same free choice. We can choose to lead a more natural and balanced life in harmony with the laws of Nature by wisely controlling the desires of our lower self, or we can indulge them to the full and shut out the light of the spirit and crush every noble and selfless aspiration in our breast. Taming the lower self is not easy, as we discuss in our article on Inner Peace through applied wisdom, but it can be done and is being done, by thousands of spiritually-minded men and women throughout the world. In the degree that we are willing to take up this battle so shall we do our part in stemming the tide of scientific materialism and making the world a better place for all.

We do not need to become tree-hugging hippies living on nuts and berries on a Welsh hillside to do so. Nor should we become fanatical Luddites and reject any technology more advanced than the wheel. Let us be balanced in all things, accepting and using what is truly useful and essential among the gifts of science and firmly rejecting those which are mere fripperies to tickle our vanity or incitements to our greed, laziness and selfishness. It is not so very hard to do if we truly apply our minds to the problem. Especially if we consider what benefit others may gain from the choices we make rather than what we may get out of them.

The coming scientific slavery

As seekers after Truth it behoves us all to be vigilant and protect ourselves and others from the coming slavery of scientific materialism. Slavery which threatens to rob our bodies of health and happiness, our minds of freedom and our very souls of their God-given Light. It is time to jettison the quackery of science, to decline its alluring gifts, the price of which is often paid in blood, pain and tears by others.

The new plan for scientific world domination is already being drafted. Silently and stealthily, sinister minds are filling in the details, not, as some imagine, in an orchestrated conspiracy of conscious collaboration, directed by a secret cabal of the so-called 'illuminati', but in the collective adherence of scientists, politicians, businessmen and ordinary men and women, to the shared ideology of scientific materialism and the myth of continual technological progress.

Many are not even aware there IS a plan, much less the evil to which they are the unwitting and often unconscious contributors. They are blind and deaf to the new menace, and like the gullible creatures in the allegory of the sheep and goats in Vision One of J Michaud's The Golden Star, have been lulled into a false sense of security by means of the cunningly contrived propaganda which is persistently and mercilessly pounded into every mind daily via every conceivable media. In short, mankind is being slowly but surely brainwashed and shaped to be more readily digestible for assimilation into the brave new world science is constructing for us all, aided and abetted by the industrial power-complex which is in thrall to the profitable fruits of its inventive genius.

The words of Alexander Pope with which we began this article are as true today as they were in Pope's time, and they will still be true in the future. Always assuming there will be any future generations to read them, which is by no means certain if the warped ideology of scientific materialism is not checked. It is up to each one of us to do what lies within our power to challenge and oppose this ideology and the evil inventions it has spawned, or to sit idly by and watch this earth of ours and all that it sustains, turned into cosmic dust, to be perhaps re-assembled at some future time if God so wills it.

Occult science posits that there is nothing that can be imagined by the mind of man which does not exist somewhere, in some form, at some point in time. So although the mindless drones of the 'Borg collective' depicted in the TV series Star Trek are the product of fiction, they are a frightening and not altogether inaccurate allegory for the hell toward which scientific materialism is leading us. The governments of the world already regard their citizens as 'data' rather than individuals, to be manipulated in whatever way science wishes, to facilitate their assimilation into the hungry maws of computer algorithms, to be spewed forth as mindless drones, ready and willing to do their masters' bidding. Freedom once lost is not easily or quickly regained.

As we update this article in March 2024, what we wrote eight years ago seems chillingly prophetic. During the last four years the entire population of the planet has been subjected to the relentless propaganda of governments waging a fruitless and inept 'war' against a virus no more deadly than seasonal flu, resulting in the loss of liberty, freedom and health on a global scale never seen before. With the 'European digital identity wallet' now a reality for millions of people and the precipitate rush toward 'Net Zero' destroying economies and impoverishing millions, the enslavement of the ordinary man and woman to an evil scientific technocracy is no longer a conspiracy theory dreamed up by a madman but an increasingly real future for every one of us.

So we say to all our readers with added urgency—be on the alert and protect yourself and others from the coming slavery which now stands on the doorstep of your palace of individual freedom, knocker in hand, ready to demand admittance to the portals of your very Soul and Mind. Fight the new scientific Satan, who is but another apparition of the horned Beast of Revelation described in the Bible, greedily licking his lips in anticipation; waiting to drag us all down to the new Hell of his own making—a veritable Prince of Darkness with whom it is fit to wage internecine war.

NOTE: If you have enjoyed this article you may also like How Peace leads to war in which we discuss the paradox of how the desire for peace leads to conflict and war. We also review Rupert Sheldrake's book, The Science Delusion in the same article. For related articles please see our 'Further Reading' list in the sidebar at right.

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The Faust Legend

In this commentary we examine the legend of Faust to uncover the meaning it has for us all in these times of test and trial.

The legend of the student who sells his soul to the Devil in return for occult knowledge and power is as old as man. It first became widely-known in the early 17th century when Christopher Marlowe based his famous drama—The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus—on the legend. He drew on many tales about people who had sold their souls to the Devil. One of the oldest is that of Theophilus of Adana who is said to have made a compact with the Devil to obtain an ecclesiastical position in the 6th century. Many people are still making pacts with the Devil today, and not just within the Church, as we shall see.

There was even a real 'Dr Faustus' around which some of the legend may have been woven. This was a north German magician and alchemist known as Dr. Johann Georg Faust who flourished during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In Polish folklore there is a tale of another 'Faust' in the guise of one Pan Twardowski who sold his soul to the Devil and raised the spirit of the dead wife of the King. He was carried off by his master, who dropped him on the moon, where he is said to be living to this day! Amusing as such tales may be to the modern cynic and the scoffer, they are not without a hidden meaning and warning for us all.

As we say in our article, unless we wisely restrain the desires of the lower self, it will eventually lead us to the darkness of the lower realms. We are all familiar with the expression "the devil made me do it", but few stop to think what this really means. The only 'devil' that has ever tempted man to sin is the devil that resides within each one of us. That devil is the lower self, whose machinations have never been better described than in the Sublime words of Hermes Trismegistus:

"But first thou must tear to pieces, and break through the garment thou wearest, the web of Ignorance; the foundation of all Mischief; the bond of Corruption; the dark Coverture; the living Death; the sensible Carcass; the Sepulchre, carried about with us; the domestical Thief, which in what he loves us, hates us, envies us.

"Such is the hurtful Apparel, wherewith thou art clothed, which draws and pulls thee downward by its own self, lest looking upward and seeing the beauty of Truth, and the Good that is reposed therein, thou shouldst hate the wickedness of this Garment and understand the traps and ambushes which it had laid for thee.

"Therefore doth it labour to make good those things that seem, and are by the senses, judged and determined; and the things that are truly, it hides, and envelopeth in much matter, filling what it presents unto thee, with hateful pleasure, that thou canst neither hear what thou shouldst hear, nor see what thou shouldst see."

Study these verses well with your full attention if you would halt the downward spiral of scientific materialism. For in them lies your salvation and the salvation of your fellowmen and women from the coming scientific slavery which threatens to dissolve this world and all that dwell upon it in a holocaust of horror such as this sorry globe has not seen for the ages of the ages that have gone by in the long night of man's wilfulness and greed.

We said earlier that many people still make pacts with the devil today. You may think we were exaggerating, or referring to black magic which fascinates so many young people nowadays. We were not. Any man or woman who puts their petty, selfish ambitions and desires before their duty to their fellowmen and women and their love of God is guilty of making such a pact, whether they realise it or not. You do not need to write your name in blood on a parchment or invoke the dark powers to sell your soul to the Devil. You sell a little bit of it every time you commit a selfish act, utter an unkind word, harm another to further your own interests, or turn away from those in genuine need.

That soul is your own Higher Self; the part of you which is from God, and in its highest aspect IS God. You may lose it all at once, like poor Dr Faustus, or Iambus, as you can read in Symphonie Fantastique, or bit by bit, lifetime after lifetime, as the acid of selfishness slowly corrodes its goodness, until it sinks into the darkness of the lower realms, bewailing its lost empire of Light. Judas Iscariot is the type of just such 'lost' souls and he is more common than you may think.

There are millions of Judas' upon this earth, who betray the Christ within them each and every day. Some do it for silver; many more do it for social advancement, for the empty bubble of fame or simply to indulge their sensual desires to the full. Each time they do so, the Christ within them receives another wound, whose scalding tears flood the mind with searing agony and deep regret.

Yea, as Hermes tells us, "the malice of Ignorance surroundeth all the Earth, and corrupteth the Soul, shut up in the Body, not suffering it to arrive at the Havens of Salvation." If this article and our commentary upon it have opened your eyes and moved your heart, then we say exercise your God-given freewill and do your part in stemming the inexorable descent into hell toward which scientific materialism is leading us. Lay hold of the haven of safety which is the One Light of Truth, and make your full course towards it. In this way you will not only save your own soul but that of others too, and so find eternal freedom in heaven, rather than slavery on earth.

But let us not become fanatics on account of our efforts to tame and control our lower selves. The lower self is not evil, though it can become so if it is allowed to indulge its passions and desires without hindrance. Rather, it is a work in progress that is evolving to a higher state and it is our responsibility to aid that development, wisely, calmly and compassionately. When we are no longer in thrall to its selfish and insatiable desires we alter our priorities. Gradually and often imperceptibly at first, we draw nearer to the great Light which is the goal of all true seekers and so reverse the downward direction of our thinking and actions.

We turn our back on the selfishness that once ruled our lives and begin to consider others before we consider ourselves. Wherever we can, and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, we try to be of service, modestly and prudently, without ostentation or preaching. And when we fail to live up to the highest and best in us, we dust ourselves down, pick ourselves up and try again. Until with constant practise, good thoughts, pure aspirations and compassionate actions become as natural to us as their opposites were before.

In this and other good ways, we gradually learn to direct all our thinking and action through the Higher Self. We will be better able to express our own unique gifts and abilities for the greatest good. We will be tolerant of differences, but cooperate in harmony with those who are like minded. We will enjoy the good things of this world without becoming attached to them and value them for what they are. We will become a channel for the healing influences of Love, Beauty, Tolerance, and Goodwill, and radiate these qualities to others.

By changing the direction of our lives in this way we will influence the lives of others in many unforeseen directions. We will no longer sit by the wayside of life like the rest of humanity, blaming others for our misfortunes and demanding that 'the government' do something about the sorry mess the world is in. We will have become active and conscious agents of positive change, in full harmony with the Higher Powers, and play our full part in improving worldly conditions for all. We will be upon the path to the Light and our own light will light the way for those of our brothers and sisters who have yet to find the path, but may do so in God's good time through our example.

This is the inner meaning of the Faust legend as you have probably never heard it explained before. Profit then, by the example of that fictitious, but all too common seeker after material knowledge and power, and turning your back on Mephistopheles in whatever shape he should tempt you, take the Royal Road to Freedom that leads to the heart of the Universe where all sorrows cease and all dreams come true.

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