A sampling of practices and ideas from the philosophy/religion The Fifth Path
Actions
• The Earth is a living entity that needs our good tending. Part of our highest calling will be to engage our own members and to create and join external partnerships in order to reduce pollution we humans cause to the Earth.
• We see significant value in giving each other emotional strength in order to avoid the “4 unintended oppressors” of loneliness, boredom, pessimism and hopelessness.
• Competition has its place for entertainment purposes but we believe that cooperation yields a more positive outcome in most constructive “real-life” scenarios.
• Do not be cruel to animals! Even if we must use them for food, clothing or medicine, diligent efforts should be taken to minimize their suffering and keep their numbers viable.
• When we become numerous enough to make it financially feasible, the omnivores and carnivores among us will practice a more humane manner of killing animals for food than is currently the norm.
• No trophy hunting allowed! In other words don’t kill other animals for any frivolous reason or simply to show off your skill as a hunter. If you feel the strong urge to follow or track a wild animal, bring a camera instead of a weapon (and share the interesting photos when you get back from safari).
• With more initiative in distributing and using contraception we could reduce the demand for abortion to nearly zero. Under appropriate circumstances however, such as earliness in the fetal development, we condone abortion, especially if there is no loving family that will raise the baby to a healthy and happy age of majority. If an abortion is contemplated it should not be thought about casually, frivolously, or as a substitute for contraception.
• Food is such an important part of life that safe food handlers and skillful food preparers should be given special recognition from time to time.
• Malevolent gossips and “drama queens” (of both genders) should strive to develop a more meaningful life for themselves and leave most of the drama to the professionals in the theater arts.
Beliefs
• I see too much evidence of an orderly universe to believe that it all happens by chance as Atheists believe, but I also see evidence that God does not behave according to human emotions such as pride, spite, revenge, jealousy, etc. as some traditional Bibles tell us.
• God does not micro manage all human issues but prayer does seem to account for some percentage of outcome as do “positive visualization” and “karma”.
• Instead of spending a lot of time “worshipping” God (who isn’t vain or vengeful anyway) by word, we endeavor to perform beneficial deeds for ourselves, other living beings, and our physical environment. That being said, we are not averse to giving thanks to God.
• God/Nature endowed humans with a very powerful brain, therefore we can determine what are appropriate social rules for our times without being bound to thousand year old traditions in older religions’ bibles.
• Humans are not created in God’s image and although our intelligence is comparatively great, it is only one of many survival strategies seen throughout the animal kingdom in God’s other creatures such as fleetness of locomotion, physical strength, sharpness of tooth or claw, camouflage, ability to fly or swim, parasitism, and ability to inject toxins into predators and prey.
• We certainly don’t believe in Hell and we see no evidence for Heaven/Reincarnation/Life after death, but if the absence of an afterlife is too intimidating to you, you may draw comfort and believe what you choose about what happens after your earthly life. In a certain manner the preoccupation with afterlife doesn’t make much sense since most people are not concerned about what happens in a metaphysical sense before life starts.
• Since it’s extremely difficult to find an appropriate partner for marriage and since sex has health benefits we don’t frown on non-marital sex, however it is such a powerful urge that we are wise to treat it with reverence and respect. We should treat our sex partners with kindness and respect too since people’s feelings could be hurt and because repercussions could occur as a result of that hurt.
• If by the previous paragraph you assume that “anything goes”, it does NOT, as we don’t condone extra-marital sex except in rare occasions where one partner is not able to participate for a lengthy time period.
• People who are oriented to the same gender are still people and are to be treated as such! You have the right to feel uncomfortable with their practices and avoid them socially but you don’t have the right to hinder them from life’s normal activities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why we’re in need of a new religion | 5 |
Highlights of our teachings | 6 |
Some of what distinguishes us from other religious systems | 7 |
The historical formation of religions | 8 |
Referring to God | 9 |
Our beliefs vs. surrounding pressures | 10 |
Like-mindedness & belonging | 11 |
Glossary | 12 |
Article of faith – What God is not | 14 |
Article of faith – What God is | 15 |
Article of faith – Miracles, premonitions, answered prayers, and good luck | 16 |
Article of faith – Karma, emotional outlook, and unaccounted for luck | 18 |
Article of faith – Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Creationism | 19 |
Mankind and “Tabula Raza” | 20 |
What’s the meaning of life? | 21 |
The “afterlife” | 22 |
Fasting and other symbolic actions intended to show humility towards God | 24 |
The implications of not having to please a vain God | 25 |
The unintentional oppressors – loneliness, boredom, pessimism & hopelessness | 26 |
Virtue | 27 |
True virtue vs. attaching yourself to a label of virtue | 28 |
When is it proper to do favorable actions? | 29 |
Part of the necessary respect for other animals | 30 |
Dietary laws | 31 |
Prayer – it’s a power, use it responsibly | 33 |
Sex – I bet you were waiting for this topic! | 34 |
Foul language | 35 |
Get to know thyself | 36 |
Politics and social justice | 37 |
The odds against a good relationship | 39 |
The “bitter end” of a relationship | 40 |
Divorce by contract | 41 |
Marriage – a higher level bond | 42 |
Genetic testing | 44 |
Homosexuality and non-traditional domestic partnerships | 45 |
The difficult art of raising a child to be a happy and successful adult | 46 |
The difficult art of training and letting an adolescent become responsibly independent | 48 |
A word on behavior contracts between parents and teens/children | 49 |
Reproducing – should we add to our already large numbers? | 50 |
Contraception | 51 |
Abortion | 52 |
Preparing to leave “the big blue marble” | 53 |
Death and funerals | 54 |
A word to honor the dead | 55 |
Bodily remains | 56 |
A word on privacy | 58 |
Cooperation vs. competition | 59 |
Alcohol and other potential vices | 60 |
Happiness in a (sometimes complicated) nutshell | 61 |
I looked for “someday” on the calendar but it wasn’t there | 62 |
Backup choices and alternative planning | 63 |
Eliminating an undesirable habit | 64 |
Imprisonment – rehabilitation vs. punishment | 65 |
Passion, grudges and anger | 66 |
Love just gets you to the dance | 67 |
Our own ventures and cooperative ones | 69 |
Special days, ceremonies, rituals, and specific prayers | 70 |
The adult and cerebral nature of our regular gatherings | 71 |
Dress code | 72 |
Censurable characteristics | 73 |
My relationship to our Union | 74 |
A note of temporality and a request | 75 |