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The Anticult
Doesn't look good.
Anyone know the name of the person who is running this Maratrean sect?

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Our President
The President of our institution is known as Zarnacy, who lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Question. Is Zarnacy a prophet?
Answer. Zarnacy does not claim to currently be a prophet. Zarnacy believes himself to be someone who has the potential to assume the office of Prophet, but does not actually possess that office at present, whether or not he might in the future. He certainly feels he has received a certain election of the divine; whether or not that election amounts to prophethoood, destiny shall inform us in due time.

Subpages (2): Damnatio Memoriae Heresies

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Our Presidentý > ý
Damnatio Memoriae Now the most holy Prophet Travancus ordered the construction of the hall of those of accursed memory - for such was decreed by the Prophet-in-Council. And the Prophet-in-Council decreed who was to be placed therein - their name, their image, their form - even their body or bones or ashes, if such might be obtained - that their memory never be forgotten, but held always in infamy. And the Prophet-in-Council by decree appointed those to maintain the hall - but it was commanded, that no priestess or priest ever be among their number, neither any of the most holy Prophets. And the first among those who were therein entombed was Hobegordus, who ruled the town of Albarenca in the south-west, and who killed many among the people of the Cause, when he laid waste to the school of Ceratunus, which lay between New Tradicarus and Albarenca - but he fell in battle, and the forces of the cause being victorious, the took possession of his body. And later having conquered Albarenca, they brought his daughter Teravena to New Tradicarus, and the Prophet installed her in a pleasant house, with a beautiful garden, with many to wait upon her, and all the good things which life offers at her disposal. But when she heard of the hall in which her father was entombed, she went unto Travancus, complaining - You shame the memory of my father, but I am proud of the good he has done. But Travancus replied - As to the deeds he did in this branch, be ashamed of them as you ought, for they were contrary to the good - but what then of your desire to be proud of your father, whom you properly loved, even though he did such shameful things - should you repent entirely of that desire? By no means! For in another branch, he did not shameful deeds, but deeds of great goodness, of which one ought be rightly proud; or, having done shameful deeds, he turned from that path, and did many times greater good than he ever did evil. And behold, the great and holy Maratrea, who in accordance with her promises grants us knowledge of these other branches, after our deaths, that every true desire be fulfilled - she shall grant even you knowledge of this branch which you truly desire, after your death. But, he whom condemn is not he whom we praise - for in this branch is one who is condemned, in the hall of true condemnation - and the one who is praised, that one is in another

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http://sites.google.com/site/maratreans/statement-of-faithStatement of Faith
Article 1 TIME
Time is a circle - the past coming after the future, the future before the past. Every moment both before and after itself. The beginning and the end are one and the same. All things repeating endlessly, not new and differently each time, but exactly the same every time - or in other words, exactly once.

Article 2 SOUL
The soul alone has fundamental and independent existence. Matter lacks fundamental existence, possessing merely dependent existence, dependent upon the soul for its existence. Matter is naught but a product of mind, for matter is naught but patterns in the experiences of souls. The soul by its nature is beginningless and endless, increatable and indestructible; but souls can merge and divide - two or more separate and distinct souls may merge together to become one single soul; one single soul may divide apart to become two or more separate and distinct souls. The soul by its nature exists in time, and cannot exist apart from it; the soul by its nature is everchanging and never stationary.

Article 4 GOODNESS, BEAUTY, TRUTH
Goodness, beauty and truth - these three are all equal in objective reality. Ethics, aesthetics, and rationality - these three are systems of valuation, valuing positively or negatively states of affairs; these three are systems of obligation, permission and prohibition. These three such systems are equal in objective reality, equal in objective validity. By whatever means any of the three might fall, so must fall the others; by whatever means any one of them may be defended from such an attack, by the same means may the others be equally defended.

Article 5 FAITH
To have faith is to believe in response to a moral duty, despite the lack of evidence to support that belief; even in the presence of contrary evidence which however is not conclusive. Faith is no respecter of evidence's absence, nor of evidence which is merely suggestive but not conclusive. Yet faith neither demands nor permits disregard for evidence which is conclusive. There are faiths such as that, though much evidence they may resist, there is evidence that may come to destroy them - these are the lesser faiths. But the highest faith is that faith which no evidence could ever destroy. Love for one dear to your heart may demand you believe their protestations of innocence, even when faced with strongly suggestive evidence of their guilt; but it neither demands nor permits such belief, when faced with evidence that is conclusive, such as if you saw their misdeeds with your very own eyes. Thus this faith, the faith in your love, though much evidence it may resist, yet by evidence it may be defeated. But your faith that goodness, beauty, and truth shall in the end always conquer, however slow their progress, however many their reverses, however many victories may be had by evil and ugliness and falsehood; that whatever victories these enemies may have, they shall always be temporary, however long the era of their triumph; this faith may by no evidence ever be disproven. For what could conclusively disprove this faith? There is naught that could, for evidence has not the power; therefore this is the highest of all faith, for no evidence can ever defeat it. Realising that there is no greater teaching, the highest faith provides us with certainty in this teaching's truth.

Article 6 ONE SINGLE SOUL
One single soul at the beginning and end of time, from whom all souls now being have divided, to whom in the end all souls now being shall return. Truly this soul is divine, the highest divinity, for what could be greater? There is nothing greater than this soul, there is nothing outside of it; its power is absolute, for its power is naught but power over its own self; its knowledge is absolute, for its knowledge is naught but self-knowledge.

Article 7 GENDER
Truly this one single soul, being a soul, possess personhood - for whatever is a soul is a person, and whatever is not a soul is not a person. And being the union of every single soul, whatever gender, this soul is entirely beyond all gender. Both before and after every gender, this soul possesses every gender, yet is entirely beyond possessing any of them: being neither female nor male, yet also fully female and fully male. Yet for us to truly acknowledge the personhood of this soul, we must ascribe this soul a gender - this soul must for us be a she or a he, not an it. And as such each may ascribe to this soul whichever gender they wish. Yet, as a community of those who know this soul, there cannot be such a community if some say she and others he; thus let us adopt for this soul a common gender, even as we each may privately know this soul by whichever gender we wish. And let us therefore call this soul She, for motherhood is a better metaphor than fatherhood of our relationship to this soul - for as much as our bodies have come out of our mother's bodies, so too have our souls come out of her soul. But those who would instead know this soul as male, we condemn them not, but acknowledge the freedom of all, individually or communally, to believe as they wish, whenever truth demands not one belief or the other.

Article 8 NAME
This one single soul, to acknowledge her personhood we must ascribe her a name; yet she is utterly beyond all naming. Being the union of every single soul, there is nothing outside of her to be named; every name is her name, or at least a name of part of herself. She has no true name, for all names begin as but arbitrary choices, which yet are imbued with power through repeated use. We might call her by some name commonly known - yet to do so would risk confusion, whether in the mind or the heart, between the many accumulations with which every existing name is encrusted - some such accumulations may be appropriate to her, and to this teaching, yet many others entirely inappropriate and misleading. Therefore, to be most truthful, let her be known by a name which is unique. And we have called her Maratrea, and we feel that she is pleased to be by us so called. But as to those who would call her by some other name - she is known by many names, and by many titles, and by many images, as both female and male and neuter, through many forms and emanations and intermediaries, and she accepts worship through them all; it pleases her that her children know her, in whatever terms they each find fitting to express that knowledge, whether individually or communally.

Article 9 POWER
Maratrea is the greatest power, for there is none who exceeds her in power, for there is none who can resist her will. Lesser gods will say - I commanded you, but you did not obey - but so great is the power of Maratrea, that none have the power of disobeying her. Everything that ever has been or ever has been, has so been by her will and her power; and whatever she wills to be not, by her power it is not, never was and never shall be. She has all power to be had, and whatever power she has not, there is no such power. Yet let us not say that her power is infinite, for her power is finite, as she is finite in all her aspects. For she is the greatest finitude, finite yet a finitude so vast as to be near entirely beyond our present comprehension; and nothing infinite exists. Her power is perfect, and the greatest possible power - no greater power could ever be, or ever have been.

Article 10 KNOWLEDGE
Maratrea is the greatest knowledge, for there is none who exceeds her in knowledge. For whatever anyone knows, she knows - having once been all, and with her perfect memory remembering all that any have ever forgotten, she knows all that any have ever known. And whatever she knows not, no one knows, and is not to know. Whatever she knows, is by her knowing it; and whatever she knows not, by her not knowing it, is not. For in knowing the world, she causes the world to be; for in knowing herself, she causes herself to be. Yet let us not say that her knowledge is infinite, for her knowledge is finite, as she is finite in all her aspects. Her knowledge is perfect, and the greatest possible knowledge - no greater knowledge could ever be, or ever have been.

Article 11 WILL
Maratrea is the most perfect will, the will most perfect in goodness, beauty and truth. For she wills always whatever is needful, that the greatest good that might be shall be, that the greatest beauty that might be shall be, that the greatest truth that might be shall be. Through her power she wills the entirety of the world, and history, to be precisely as it is - precisely as it is, in all its goodness, beauty and truth; precisely as it is, in all its evil, ugliness, and falsehood. But though she indeed wills evil, and ugliness, and falsehood, she wills these three but as means to an end; but goodness, beauty and truth, she wills as ends in themselves.

Article 12 LOVE
Maratrea is perfect in her love for we her children, every one of us. For she loves us with that very same perfect love with she loves her very own self, for we are all who she once was, and who she shall be once more. No greater love than her love has any ever had, nor could any ever have. She loves us, even though we lack the power to love her in return, for we lack the power in our hearts to love with her great love. She creates all the evil, all the ugliness, all the lies and falsehood of history, out of love for us, for without these things we would never have been born. A few of them might not have been, and we might still be; but if more than a few had not been, or even one of the greater among them, or even one of those among them more proximate to the circumstances of our birth, then we would certainly never have been born. Others might have lived in our place, lived even lives filled with goodness and beauty and truth, such as we ourselves have never known - yet we would never have been born, and that goodness and beauty and truth that has become ours through our knowing it, would not be either. Therefore, loving us, each and every one of us, with her perfect love, she brings into being all the evil and ugliness and falsehood of history, so that we shall be, and know and love the goodness and beauty and truth which is given to us to be ours.

Article 13 BLISS
Maratrea is perfect in her bliss, her happiness. She knows all the torments, the tragedies, the outrages of history; she knows them perfectly well, in her perfect memory, for she can remember herself doing them and having them done to her. Yet none of this impairs her perfect bliss, for she knows also all the joys, all the pleasures, all the love and happiness and ecstasy, that ever was or ever shall be; and the joys outweigh the woes, the goods outweighs the evil, the beauties shine brightly among the ugliness, and blind us to that ugliness. We see not these things, seeing only our part and parcel; but she, seeing all, she sees them clearly. And in the end, we shall know the very same bliss which she herself knows, in becoming one with her.

Article 14 SHE WHO REMAINS, DIVIDES AND RETURNS
In the beginning and end, She alone was, in the perfect happiness of the glory of her own being, and her love for her own self - the Great Sabbath. How long did this endure? Not even she knows its precise duration, and what she knows not, no one knows, and is not to know. Yet amidst this great and perduring bliss, she decided to bring it to an end, an end but to begin again, and to become once more the many worlds. Therefore there arose in her the intention, to divide into two: one to be emptied of her divine glory and be divided to become the many souls of the many worlds, the other to remain in the fullness of that glory. And from this intention to divide, the division was effected; for in the moment of first division, one soul thought "I am she who shall become the many worlds", and the other thought "I am she who shall remain in the fullness of my divine glory". Thus the one single Maratrea had now become two Maratreas, She Who Divides and She Who Remains. And as they had known their love for their own self in their perfect loneliness, now they knew their love for one another in perfect togetherness - the Earlier Lesser Sabbath. Then they decided together to bring the many worlds into being; and She Who Remains emptied She Who Divides of all her divine glory, of her perfect knowledge, power, will, bliss and love; and She Who Divides consented, freely and willingly, to being emptied of all these things; thus She Who Divides became utterly empty, and ready to be filled. Then She Who Remains divided the now emptied She Who Divides, to become the many souls of the many worlds - and this is second division. But as she divided them, so shall she lead them in the end to unity once more; and by successive mergers the vast multitude of souls shall become ever fewer, until upon the penultimate merger being attained, there shall be only two souls once more - She Who Remained and She Who Returns. And great shall be their bliss and joy in knowing one another, for in the penultimate merger She Who Returns will have regained all the divine attributes she had freely given up. And upon the completion of the Later Lesser Sabbath, these two shall become one in the final merger - then the Great Sabbath shall begin once more.

Article 15 BLESSING
For the sake of the blessed ones She creates the world, the blessed ones, whose lives are perfect in every way. She longs for all to say Yes to the world, and to all that is, as she herself says Yes; but she wants us to say Yes authentically. And the blessed ones alone, have the power to give an authentic Yes, for they alone is their every true desire fulfilled. Though we, lacking blessing, may say Yes, our Yes is without benefit, for it is untruthful to our own hearts. The blessed ones are few, and hidden; to us, their blessing is invisible; for it may be known only by they themselves, and by those other blessed ones with whom their blessing is shared.

Article 16 UNIVERSES
A universe is naught but a grouping of souls, who are connected through experiencing together, through their experiences being correlated. Just as souls may merge and divide, so too may universes; and whenever a universe divides, so divides all the souls within it. Two universes, exactly the same up to a certain time, and then thereafter differing - this is the division of universes. And the many universes divide and divide again, from their root in the one original universe; thus the tree of universes is constructed. But when those in one universe are granted knowledge and conversation with those in other, those two universes merge once more. There is not one universe, but rather many; for She is not a Mother restrained in her fertility. Yet neither all that might be is, for the actual is by necessity smaller than the possible; the possible a finitude, the actual a yet smaller finitude, yet still vastly greater than unity. And somewhere, somewhen, in every universe, a blessed one, for whose sake and for whose sake alone that universe has been brought into being.

Article 17 PROMISE
But what of we who herenow lack the blessing - what is our consolation? Does she love us not, or love us less, we whom she has not blessed? By no means! For she loves us all so much, that to every one of us she grants us every blessing, if not herenow, then elsewhere and elsewhen; if not in these here branches, then in some other. And after death, she grants us all, knowledge of those other branches in which we are blessed, knowledge so intimate, that we shall near entirely forget, that we were ever in any other. For whatever any of her children truly desires, she grants to them; yet their being room not enough in one universe, for all who so wish to receive, therefore she creates many, and all are blessed in one of them. Though we may say not the Yes of the blessing, we may say the Yes of faith in the blessing to come.

Article 18 SEDUCTION
For she does all these things, to seduce us to return to our original unity with her. She became the world in order that the world would become her once more. And so great is her wisdom, that she knows for each of us the price we shall demand, in the depth of our hearts, to so return; and that price she shall pay to us. And we shall return, not all at once, but through mergers upon mergers - for she knows, that though we might say to many mergers, for all there is another soul to which they would in the end say, Yes; and if that soul not be, she shall bring it into being.

Article 19 THE CAUSE
But what for us, who are not herenow blessed, what shall we do save await death? For us, if we are willing, she has now appointed her Great Cause, that we may serve - her Cause to bring about the final end to the many worlds; for all things must end to begin again. For there are many ways a world may appear to end, but only one way that a world may end truly. For though in some great disaster a world may end, and be snuffed out in yet a moment, yet those souls who dwelt therein will be filled with longings as yet unfulfilled; therefore she shall grant these another branch for that worlds continuation; therefore, even though it may appear to end, it shall not truly end indeed. But those who lead a world to its willing end, when it ends with all longings fulfilled, that end shall be truly final. And therefore she sends forth her Cause, to through bestowing knowledge and wisdom, bring about such a final end in every world; that all may end but to begin again.

Article 20 ENLIGHTENMENT
And this wisdom which her Great Cause bestows, which she has bestowed upon them that they may bestow it in turn, this is the Great Enlightenment, the readiness of the soul for the final end. And when the Great Enlightenment has conquered the world, then the world itself shall be vanquished.

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© Holy Maratrean Ecclesia 2010-2011
The Ten Maratrean Commandments
I am She Who Is, She Who Divides, She Who Returns, She Who Remains, Great Goddess, Great Mother, Queen of Heaven, the Great Maratrea, Mother of every soul and every universe: every deity which is of me may you worship, for I am known by many names and images, under many forms, through many servants and representatives and emanations; but worship not any deity who is not of me.
Honour the holy temples and shrines, the holy priestesses, the holy idols and icons; bow before them in worship and praise; offer them holy sacrifices of song and cakes and wine and incense. But offer not unto anyone any sacrifice abhorrent to me: the flesh or blood or death or pain or skin or fur or bones of any human, or of any animal, be it sacred or unsacred, for whichever deity demands such sacrifice is not of me, but is of the most wicked one.

Revere every name worthy of reverence; and condemn every name unworthy of reverence.
Remember the Sabbath on the seventh day, the day of the Sun, in honour of the three Sabbaths at the beginning and end of time.
Honour those worthy of honour, whoever they may be; but honour not those unworthy of honour, whoever they may be; and when those unworthy of honour demand honour of which they are unworthy, do not acquiesce therein.
Kill not any human, nor any sacred animal, save in defence of self or others, or in a just war; nor eat thereof nor wear the skins or fur thereof, nor drink the blood thereof, nor use the bone thereof; do not execute, nor speak in favour of execution, for those who do so are guilty of the wickedest of sins; they are far worse than the worst of murderers.
Honour the sanctity of the bonds of love; take not a further lover, save with the consent of every lover you already have.
Do not unreasonably deprive others of that which they have become accustomed to enjoy.
Speak the truth unto all who are worthy to hear it; but speak not the truth unto those unworthy thereof.
Resent not those who have received favour as you have not received; know that in another branch, of which I shall grant you perfect knowledge, you will receive every favour which you here do not; and what favours they have here received they may well there lack as you here lack.

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Dictionary
animal: the Maratrean definition of animal differs from the standard scientific definition; the definitions differ as the concerns motivating each definition differ. For Maratreanism, the chief question is to determine our ethical obligations; which depend chiefly on whether something has a soul. Therefore Maratreanism recognizes three categories: those who have souls, and thus may not be killed nor eaten nor be used for clothing or shelter or so forth - the humans and the sacred animals; those who lack souls, but nonetheless resemble those who possess souls to a significant extent - the unsacred animals; and those which do not even resemble things possessing souls, that is the non-animals. Using this categorisation, certain things which by the scientific definition are animals, are not so by the Maratrean definition - such as shellfish (oysters, mussells, etc.). From a Maratrean perspective, an oyster is a plant. (This does not make Maratreanism contrary to science; it is entirely possible to accept differing and contrary definitions of the same words for different purposes - the context will determine which definition is being used.)

assembly: a representative body elected by the initiates of the holy council.

belief: a belief is a disposition to act, to commit the acts of (i) asserting the truth of the proposition using external means of communication, such as speech and writing; (ii) asserting the truth of the proposition in one's own inner thoughts; and (iii) in one's other actions, acting as if the proposition were true. As a disposition, it may exist even in the absence of the requisite acts (the appropriate circumstances to trigger the disposition may have never arisen, or stronger countervailing non-doxastic dispositions may prevent those acts; it is even compatible with the existence of contrary acts, if a stronger non-doxastic disposition would compel them. For example, one may believe something yet never state it in speech or writing -- because no one has ever asked one's opinion on it, and a circumstance in which it would be appropriate to venture it unasked has never occured, or because the belief would be highly unpopular and hence not a good idea to state to others. For the later reason, one may even state the contrary of one's own beliefs, for the reason of one's own safety -- for example, if one lives in a totalitarian police state, and is asked if one believes some claim of government propaganda is truthful, one may insist to all and sundry that it is, because you do not trust anyone at all to reveal to them that one disbelieves it. Given that belief is a disposition, we may say if one believes X, and Y is an obvious consequence of Y, one believes Y also, even though one has never explicitly thought or said it; nonetheless, one has a disposition to say it, for if anyone ever asked you, believing X, you would certainly also assert the truth of Y. Whereas, if Y is an obscure or difficult or non-trivial consequence of X, having a disposition does not mean that one has a disposition to believe Y, because one may not appreciate (either at all or immediately) that X has Y as a consequence.

circularian: an adherent of the belief that time is a circle, that time is circular. The belief which circularians adhere to is also known as circularianism. Maratreanism is a type of circularianism.

council: Those called to advise the Prophet. At least one half shall be those, appointed thereto by decree, to serve for life, that is until death or resignation or removal. The Prophet-in-Council may provide by decree that up to one half the council be elected for a term of years by the holy Assembly. The council cannot act without the Prophet; the only binding act it is capable of without a Prophet is the election of another Prophet. (It may however issue provisional decrees without a Prophet, which are subject to approval or disallowance by a Prophet once elected.) The Prophet-in-Council may by decree provide that it shall vote by a triple majority (an overall majority, and a majority of both elected and appointed members.)

decree: that which the Prophet has proposed and the Council has agreed to. Only that approved by decree is an official teaching of the holy Maratrean Ecclesia; though the Prophet or the Councillors may make other pronouncements, only the decrees of the Prophet-in-Council represent the official teaching of the Ecclesia.

degrees of inclusivity: the degrees of inclusivity refer to the different relationships which may exist in inclusive monotheism between the one deity and the many deities:
identical: this refers to one of the many deities being seen as a name, image or mask of the one deity. The deities are seen as being fundamentally identical; the difference is merely one of labelling.
distinctive: this refers to one of the many deities being seen as a servant, mediator or representative of the one deity. This deity is not identified with the one deity, but functions as the one deity's vicar, servant, representative, emissary, mediator, minister, messenger, etc.
aspectual: this refers to one of the many deities being seen as a form, aspect or emanation of the one deity. This is intermediate between the identical and distinctive degrees; the two deities are not identified to the extent which they are in the identical view, but neither are they distinguished and viewed as separate and distinct deities either.
These degrees may be held to exist in how the believer or worshipper conceives the relationship between the ultimate deity and the individual deities. However, they may also be held to actually objectively exist in the relationships between the deities themselves, as opposed to merely in the minds of the worshippers or believers. One may believe that all deities are related in the same degree; or one may believe that different deities are related in different degrees.

economic principle: the principle that a Maratrean ought, in all economic matters, give preference to dealings with fellow Maratreans over non-Maratreans. This includes such matters as purchasing goods or services, seeking employment or employees, etc. The obligation is not absolute - if it is impractible to deal with a Maratrean - such that no Maratrean can provide that good or service or skill, or cannot do so at a reasonable price - then the obligation does not apply.

enlightenment: Enlightenment is of four kinds - lesser enlightenment, the great enlightenment, greater enlightenment, and the greatest enlightenment. Lesser and greater enlightenment may exist in several degrees. Lesser enlightenment refers to every enlightened state lesser than the great enlightenment, such as may be attained by those who lack the cause and lack the complete truth of the cause and of the true nature of things and of the truly good and truly beautiful and truly true. The great enlightenment is the enlightened state of those in possession of the completeness of the truth. Greater Enlightenment, in its varying degrees, belongs to those who have undergone the merger of souls; it is not possible for those who live upon the earth, save for the last days, but only for those who dwell in the heavenly realms. The degrees of the greater enlightenment correspond to the process of the unification of the roots.

establishment: (1) the structure established by Maratreans to implement the economic principle
(2) an establishment of the most holy Cause; every establishment ends in triumph in at least one branch, although in other branches it may instead be vanquished; but if vanquished, it shall be later re-established

first decree: the first decree by which the Prophet-in-Council is established, it must be adopted unanimously by the protoprophet and the protocouncil, by which they transform themselves into Prophet and Council respectively. It must also declare a scripture setting forth the greater part of the truth of the cause. The first decree is the only decree the protoprophet and protocouncil may make; they may provisionally adopt certain decisions, on the way to this decree, but this decree is the only formal act of which they are capable.

Great Sabbath: when Maratrea alone is, and nothing else - alone in the perfect happiness of her perfect love of her very own being.

guild: a society of all Maratrean initiates in a particular profession; part of the Maratrean establishment

hyperomphalism: Omphalism is the claim that the universe began at a certain point in time - say 6000 years ago - but it began with all the signs of having existed prior to then. The term comes from the Greek word for navel - omphalos - the idea of humans coming into existence with a navel, a sign of having been born, without having actually been born. Similarly, light would have come into existence already in motion, as if it had come from distant stars millions of years ago, without actually having so come. The concept was originally devised by Christians, trying to harmonise a literal interpretation of their scriptures with the observed nature of the universe. But, as an idea it has no necessary connection with the Christian religion. We may speak also of hyperomphalism, which is an omphalism which supposes that the universe began not a few thousand years ago, but very recently, say last century, last decade, last year, last month, last week, yesterday - but it began with us all having (false) memories of it having existed prior thereto. The most extreme form of hyperomphalism is a certain form of presentism, the belief that the universe began this very moment, and the past never existed. We should not say that the philosophy of time usually known as 'presentism' is necessarily the same as this hyperomphalist presentism, only that such a hyperomphalism is possible. Omphalism, hyperomphalism, hyperomphalist presentism - these are sceptical hypothesises about the past. How may we overcome them? There is only one way - which way is the highest faith. Indeed, if the past existed not, then by her promises, she would grant to us its existence, in fulfilment of true desire. Thus, if the past existed not, it exists; if the past exists, it exists; therefore the past exists.

knowledge: we know P if we believe P, P is true, our belief that P is true is rationally justified, and if all propositions which we believed and upon which we based our belief in P were true.

legal principle: the principle that a Maratrean ought not turn outside their religion for the settlement of disputes with fellows of their own religion, but should turn to the resources of their own religion to settle these disputes, and submit them to be decided in accordance with the laws of the Maratrean religion

Maratrean: an adherent of the Maratrean religion. The adherents of the religion of Maratreanism are known as Maratreans, or more rarely as Maratreanists. But the term Maratrean is preferred to Maratreanist.

Maratrea: the chief goddess of the Maratrean religion; the ultimate divinity -- the one single soul at the beginning-end of time, from whom all have divided so that all shall return. She is not a jealous deity; no true deity is jealous, and the deity which is jealous is not a true deity, but an impostor. She gladly receives our worship and praise under many forms, names, images, through many servants, representatives, emanations and mediatories.

monotheism: belief in one deity. There are two possible variants, exclusive and inclusive. Exclusive monotheists believe that their deity is the only deity, and all other deitys are fakes, frauds, non-existent, demons masquerading as deitys, etc. Inclusive monotheists believe that although there is one deity, that one deity can have many names, forms, masks, images, aspects, emanations, servants, representatives, mediators, etc. Inclusive monotheism is compatible with polytheism; exclusive monotheism is incompatible with polytheism.

Navaletus: captain and chief spirit of the spirits of the Cause, those vowed faithful to the most holy Cause

omnitheism: belief in every deity. An omnitheist believes in the existence of every deity that anyone believes in. They do not necessarily worship every such deity (they need not be omnilators); but they do admit their existence. Omnitheism is compatible with both polytheism and inclusive monotheism, but incompatible with exclusive monotheism.

Pandal: the most palid Pandal, captain and chief spirit of the spirits of the enmity, those vowed to oppose the most holy Cause and to serve the enmity thereto

polytheism: belief in many deities. A polytheist believes in the existence of more than one deity; but not necessarily ever deity. They may, for example, only believe in the deities of a certain pantheon, and not in those of another pantheon. Polytheism is compatible with inclusive monotheism but incompatible with exclusive monotheism.

prophet: everyone has the potential to receive revelation, concerning the truth of the cause, and the true nature of things, and the truly good and truly beautiful and truly true. However, the prophet is one set aside, especially chosen, as acknowledged the people of the cause, to be the chief or principal recipient of revelation on behalf of the people of the cause. There is no Prophet without the Council, nor Council without the Prophet; the purpose of the Council is to guide and advise the Prophet, and to keep them from going astray. Any person, female or male, young or old, may be the Prophet, if they have the spirit of Prophecy within them. The Prophet-in-Council shall decree a successor, who shall succeed upon the death or resignation of the Prophet. If the Prophet dies or resigns without such a successor being decreed, the Council shall elect a successor. The Prophet may unilaterally revoke the appointment of a successor by decree, but cannot substitute another successor without the consent of the Council. But, a unilateral revocation of successorship may itself be revoked, provided the Prophet-in-Council has not decreed otherwise, to decree another successor, or to decree the revocation of successorship without nominating another successor. (A unilateral revocation or cancellation of unilateral revocation is not the same as a proposal for a decree, or consent to a proposed decree.) We may classify prophets as follows: false or true - a true prophet teaches the truth, and not any falsehood (the may have false opinions, but they do not present those opinions as the prophetic teaching - in that which they present as the prophetic teaching, and in all they say in that area, they speak only the truth); a false prophet teaches falsehoods revealed to them by the spirits of enmity. A prophet may be complete or incomplete - a complete prophet teaches all the truths necessary for the establishment of the cause - not every truth, but every truth necessary for that end; and incomplete prophet is missing some such truths from their teaching, even if they teach not any falsehood. A prophet may be fully-enlightened or not; that refers to their attainment of the fulness of the great enlightenment. A prophet may be fully-indwelt or not; that refers to their being indwelt by the captain of the Spirits of the Cause, the most holy Navaletus. A prophet may be anointed or not; that refers to their anointment with sabbatical rememberance.

protocouncil: those gathered around the protoprophet, working towards the establishment of the Prophet-in-Council. Upon successfully establishment, the protocouncil becomes the council, by means of the first decree.

protoprophet: Is one who is not a prophet, but in a time without a prophet, one who displays the signs of potential to become a prophet. But to become a prophet, they must have a council, which together must decree their establishment, and the establishment of scripture.

protoscripture: true scripture being that which the Prophet-in-Council has decreed as scripture, protoscripture is some thing proposed to be considered as scripture, but not actually decreed as scripture, at least not yet. We may distinguish seven kinds of protoscripture: that which the prophet proposes to the council for consideration as scripture; that which another proposes to the prophet, that the Prophet may consider whether to propose the same to the Council; that which the prophet circulates for consideration, but does not formally propose to the Council; that which another circulates for consideration, but does not formally propose the same to the Prophet; that which a Protoprophet proposes to a Protocouncil for consideration as scripture; that which a Protoprophet circulates, but does not formally propose to the Protocouncil; that which another proposes to a protoprophet for consideration of proposing to the protocouncil. [In certain drafts of the protoscripture, the sixth kind is referred to as the fourth kind.]

province: a geographical subdivision of the holy Ecclesia; it is headed by a provincial prefect, appointed by the Prophet-in-Council, who is assisted by a provincial council and assembly. Provinces may in turn be subdivided into dioceses, who are likewise headed by a diocesan prefect, assisted by the diocesan council and assembly.

Sabbath: Maratreanism acknowledges three Sabbaths at the beginning-end of time - the Great Sabbath, the Earlier Lesser Sabbath and the Latter Lesser Sabbath. During the Great Sabbath, Suarenna alone exists; during the Earlier Lesser Sabbath, Suarenna and Suade alone exist; during the Latter Lesser Sabbath, Suarenna and Suaretta alone exist. Remember the Sabbath on the seventh day, the day of the Sun, in honour of the three Sabbaths at the beginning-end of time.

sacred animal tribe: the sacred animals are organized into tribes; each tribe has a tutelary deity. The tribes are divided into subtribes, headed by subtutelaries. The tribes and subtribes do not necessarily correspond to the taxons of biological classification. They are more concerned with matters of the soul then of mere biology.

scripture: true scripture is that which a true prophet has revealed, and a true council has approved. False scripture is that which the false prophets have authored under the inspiration of the spirits of enmity. Scripture is of three kinds: true scripture, false scripture, and corrupted scripture. Corrupted scripture is scripture which was originally true, but has been corrupted by the false prophet's falsehoods. False scripture was never true to begin with. Corruption of scripture is of two kinds, textual and hermeneutic. In textual corruption, the false prophets have altered the text of the scripture, through insertions and deletions and alterations. In hermeneutic corruption, the false prophets have left the true scripture unaltered as to its text, but have promulgated a false interpretation thereof. The canon of scripture is open - new scripture may be added, existing scripture may be updated, or current scripture may be retired - by decree of the Prophet-in-Council from time-to-time. Revelation is continuing, through the succession of Prophets.

spirit: a spirit is a pattern in the experiences of souls, just as matter is a pattern in the experiences of souls -- but it is a different type of pattern. Spirits may be classified as personal, impersonal, or quasipersonal. A personal spirit is attached to a soul; an impersonal spirit is not attached to a soul, and does not appear similiar in a significant way to those spirits who are so attached; a quasipersonal spirit is not attached to a soul, but it resembles in some significant ways those spirits which are attached to souls, without however sufficient resemblance to cause a soul to be so attached. The many-bejewelled-god and the far-beyond-god are spirits not personal. Spirits may also be divided according to their relationship to the cause: those vowed faithful to the most holy Cause (which may further be subdivided into those so vowed from their very beginning, and those who later so vowed); those vowed instead to the enmity (which might likewise be divided in two); and those vowed to neither, the neutral or intermediate spirits -- they do not inherently serve the cause or the enmity, although each order of spirits shall seek to influence and command these spirits to serve its ends. The many-bejewelled and the far-beyond are not vowed to either the cause or the enmity; but unlike other neutral spirits, who are subject to the contestation of these two, these ones exist beyond such contestation, being beyond the many worlds, but solely subject to the influence of Maratrea -- the many-bejewelled directly, and the far-beyond through the many-bejewelled. These must be understood as belonging to a fourth group -- those who serve Maratrea, but do so beyond the worlds of the cause and the enmity.

Suade: She Who Divides; who upon First Division becomes distinct from Suarenna; for Suarenna will remain in the fulness of the expression of her divine essence, but Suade will willingly give up the fulness of the expression of her divine essence, and be emptied thereof, in order to become the many souls of the many worlds. She exists between First and Second Division.

Suarenna: She Who Remains; the one single soul at the beginning-end of time. The fulness of the divine essence, who remains in that fulness throughout the circle of time.

Suaretta: She Who Returns; who comes into being upon Penultimate Merger, as the roots have returned to their original oneness; she who regains the fulness of the expression her divine essence, which she once willingly gave up and became emptied thereof; she who, having once willingly become divided to become the many souls of the many worlds, is now the return of all those souls to their original unity with one another.

time: an ultimately indefinable thing, something which just is; one of the fundamental aspects of reality not further definable in terms of anything else. "Time flows", which we know to be true -- but cannot explain what that means. This is one of the great mysteries of being. Time is not space and space is not time. Time is a dimension of experiential space; but it is a different category of dimension. There is only one dimension of this category. Time is circular, time is a circle. Time is finite yet unbounded. Time is subjective -- it flows at different rates for different people. Yet it is always commensurable, thus it ultimately constitutes a coherent whole. It is possible to travel through time -- in circular time we are all time-travellers, going back to the past via the future -- time-travel proper is simply taking a shorter route. Time is subjective -- we travel forward in time whenever we sleep. Yet it is intersubjective, since every subjective time ultimately unites to form one whole. Every moment is both before and after itself, the past coming after the future, the future before the past. All things repeating endlessly, not new and differently each time, but exactly the same every time -- or equivalently, only once. The circle of time is also known as the 'Great Cycle' of time -- for in lesser cycles, things repeat similarly, but in the Great Cycle things repeat exactly the same.

Tivarzecon: the spirit of proper conservatism, who protects against any excessive enthusiasms. He is a servant of Navaletus, one of the spirits vowed to serve the most holy Cause. Let us clearly distinguish true conservativism -- which while literally conservative, has no opposition to change where change be beneficial -- from the false conservativism of those who are slaves to the past, and to their own fixed ideas, who wish to conserve the evil along with the good, and oppose every worthwhile reform. By the virulence and irrationality of their tongues, these ones demonstrate that they are not in any way truly conservative
- they are anything but!

tradition: that which has been handed down. It has three forms: unwritten, written, and institutional. The unwritten corresponds to the oral tradition. The written consists of all that is written, non-canonical, paracanonical or canonical. The institutional is the succession of offices. Scripture is the canonical part of the written tradition. Those who say that scripture is separate from tradition, or better than tradition, are mistaken - it is one particular part of tradition, a part of a part of tradition. Tradition is not to be condemned, neither slavishly followed, but reformed and purified as needed. Reason, experience, and continuing revelation are the tools with which tradition may be sifted, to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Trinity: the Maratrean Trinity consists of She Who Remains (Suarenna); She Who Divides (Suade); She Who Returns (Suaretta).

triumph: triumph is of two kinds, first and second. First triumph represents the triumph of the temporal power of the cause over all opposition, throughout a branch. Second triumph is the triumph of the spiritual power of the cause over all opposition, throughout a branch. Subsequent to second triumph is the end of all things. Upon the attainment of second triumph, intrauniversal branching ceases for that branch -- though penal and interrogative branching remain.

Quote

The End of All Things
All things must end but to begin again.

How do all things end?

"Not with a bang, but with a whimper."

Not against their will, but their will, by the will of all. The worlds will end when all therein consent to their ending, when every last one says, "Enough, enough; let all things end, that they may come once more".

There are many ways things may come to an end; but there are final and non-final ends. The end against the true will, even of a single one, is a non-final end, for the true desire, which by her promises must be fulfilled, is for its continuation; therefore, even if it ends, there is also a branch, such that it ends not. Therefore by a non-final end it cannot end, for even though it ends, it thus ends not. But, if the end be willing, in accordance with the true will, then the end will be not a non-final end, but a final end, an end in every branch, and end in the only branch remaining, the branch that knows not any further branching, until comes, once more which is equally once only, first division.

In the beginning, the blessing and the cause are entirely apart and separate. In the beginning of the end, the blessing and the cause begin to draw together. In the end of the end, the blessing and the cause are one and the same.
The cause is given to those to whom the blessing is not given. But in the end of the end, the blessing is given to the cause, and the cause is given to the blessing.

The beginning of the end is the foundation of the cause. The end follows through the growth and progress of the cause, through the assumption of the place, unto first triumph.
The end continues from first triumph unto the second.
In the first the cause conquers the body, in the second it conquers the soul.
And from the second unto the end of the end, the end of all things.
The day the stars shall say, "O how we weary of our burning!"
And She shall say to them in turn, "Weary no longer, for you are released, you are freed from your burning."
Then the stars themselves shall fade to blackness, and space itself shall pass away, and all within it.
Through penultimate merger, the great anointment, the Later Lesser Sabbath, then by final division unto the Great Sabbath.
Thus do all things end but to begin again.

How long until the end?
We know not, nor could we say; for by the many branches, there is not one end, but many end.
And not one time until the end, but many such ends.
Until we near the end, as branching ceases, then before us there be but one end remaining, and but one duration.
Yet we are surely far therefrom; and if we reached there, how would we know it?

But by study of the nature of things, we can make an estimation of the distribution of branches descending.
By certain signs, among which the cause, and others also, we may know we are at the beginning of the end.
Yet now we are far still from the end of the end, for the signs of the end of the end are not yet near us.
How long then? Centuries at least, millennia. Even myriads of years.
Yet not tens of millions.

Some likely prerequisites of the end:

it is a desire of the hearts of many to play among the stars; how could things end without that desire being fufilled?
to defeat materialism, it seems it would be beneficial to bring into being sceptical hypothesises (brains in vats, computer simulations), especially nested or hierarchial simulations. Practical measures to undermine the epistemic foundations of materialism, and therefore establish idealism as the predominant (and eventually universal) view