The Reluctant Heretic

Rev. Lucifer VanDevender

Description

The Reluctant Heretic is a work of nonfiction. It is not theoretical or speculative. I do express opinions and evaluations based on my own research, study, and experience. In those cases you should consider them opinions I believe to be factual. I have taken very little poetic license whilst writing this book.
The Reluctant Heretic is a distillation of the wisdom and knowledge I’ve gained over a lifetime. It is applied spiritual philosophy. It is what I use in my everyday life to be happier, more successful, and improve my relationship with others. I believe you’ll find the information in this book interesting and helpful.
Life is a Journey, not a destination. Enjoy the ride.
Love, Lucifer

Sujets

• Self-Help
• Political Science
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religión
• Philosophy
• Self-help (disambiguation)
• Spirituality
• Reincarnation
• Government
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 07 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664174481
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE RELUCTANT HERETIC
Applied Spiritual Philosophy for Everyday Life
Rev. Lucifer VanDevender

 
Copyright © 2021 by Rev. Lucifer VanDevender.
Library of Congress Control Number:
2021909576
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6641-7450-4

Softcover
978-1-6641-7449-8

eBook
978-1-6641-7448-1
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
The Reluctant Heretic is a work of nonfiction. Copyrighted material is included in this book for the purposes of criticism, research, comment, or teaching and is not an infringement of copyright according to Section 107 of the Copyright Act.
 
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 05/12/2023
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
830397
CONTENTS
Introduction
My Spiritual Philosophy
My Inspiration
 
Chapter 1You and I
Chapter 2Applied Spiritual Philosophy
Chapter 3Truth and Wisdom
Chapter 4Mental Health
Chapter 5Spiritual Evolution
Chapter 6The Art and Science of Politics
Chapter 7The Circle of Life
Chapter 8The Middle Path
Chapter 9My Case for Religious Heresy
Chapter 10The Three Types of People
Chapter 11Exercises and Routines
Chapter 12Solo Therapy
Chapter 13Effective Communication
Chapter 14Patience
Chapter 15The Notorious RBG
Chapter 16Conflict Resolution
Chapter 17Reverse Vectors
Chapter 18The Reason Why
Chapter 19Epilogue

And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil .
Book of Genesis 3: 4-5


“For my sons, Steven (right) and Joseph (left)”

I am always happy to hear from my readers. I welcome any comments or criticisms. You can contact me at:
VanDevender Author Services, LLC
1940 Walnut Street
Suite 205
Boulder, CO 80302
Lucifer
INTRODUCTION
I don’t know just where I’m going but I’m gonna try for a kingdom if I can.
Lou Reed
T his is a book of nonfiction. I do express opinions and evaluations based on my own personal experience but I haven’t taken any poetic license whilst writing it. I started writing this book in October of 2020 in the middle of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. A few months earlier, I had contracted the virus myself and almost died. Confronting death is not new to me. For me, confronting life has always been more of a challenge. I was born Phillip Maurice Jones in Meridian, Mississippi USA. I was raised by a single mom and lived in subsidized housing (the “projects”). I survived on welfare, food stamps, and got my clothes from thrift stores. My mom grew up during the Great Depression. As a young child, she picked cotton and lived in a sharecropper’s shack. For her, poverty was normal. It was just life. She didn’t go to school much. She married her first husband when she was only 14 years old. He was a Presbyterian Minister. I recently had my name legally changed to Lucifer Morningstar VanDevender. The name “Lucifer Morningstar” means “Bringer of Light.” Legend has it that Lucifer was the Hebrew God’s favorite angel who fell from grace. He was the most beautiful and favored angel. He rebelled against his father and was disowned by him. People have speculated that Lucifer is evil and tempts people to do evil. This is not true. They confuse him with the dark angel, the angel of death, called Samael whose wife is Lilith, the mother of demons (Lilith was also Adam’s first wife according to Christian mythology). Lucifer’s sin was pride, not evil. He was cursed to earth, not hell. The earliest Hebrew texts describe Lucifer as a prideful angel who started a rebellion against a tyrannical God. After he and his angels (which included Samael) were defeated by Michael and his band of angels, he was forced to go to earth and become a mortal like the humans he despised. In the ancient Hebrew scripture, the “Light Bringer” (Lucifer) was forced to “sheol”. “Sheol” is a Hebrew word meaning “grave”. This indicates that Lucifer was cursed to be a mortal and die like all mortals do. The Hebrew word “sheol” is commonly interpreted to mean “hell” but the concept of a place where sinners are tortured for eternity in the afterlife wasn’t even contemplated in the Christian Old Testament. The concept of hell doesn’t exist in the Old Testament scriptures. It was first contemplated in a 14 th century poem by the Italian poet, Dante, and adopted as part of the Catholic canon and used as a justification for the Inquisition.
The New Testament canon is written in Greek. The Greek word for hell is hades . The word “hades” doesn’t mean a place where souls go in the afterlife to be burned and tortured; it means an area between lives where a spiritual being is confused and doesn’t recall his previous existence. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament refers to the “Bringer of Death” falling from heaven to the earth and calling him Satan. He is commonly referred to as the devil. Although the Book of Revelation is obviously a fantasy that reads like a LSD psychedelic delusion, it is part of Christian mythology so it is worth mentioning. Even in this insane, psychotic, hallucinogenic gospel, the mythology could not possibly be referring to the Bringer of Light (Lucifer) because it specifically says it is referring to the Bringer of Death (Samael, the angel of death who became the ruler of “hell”).
The one who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden wasn’t Lucifer, it was Samael, the angel of death. The one called Satan in the Book of Revelation was not Lucifer, it was Samael, the dark angel. I think the name Lucifer suits me very well because I have committed the sin of pride myself and I have rebelled against my father. And I don’t like dictators or tyrannical governments.
But please don’t call me Samael.
I have a lot of formal education and my I.Q. is very much higher than a normal human being (145 the last time I took the Oxford Capacity Analysis Mental Ability Test). Albert Einstein has me beat by 2 points at 147 which irritates me. Like Ben Franklin said: “It is much more expensive to be ignorant than to have an education”. I’m well versed on the subjects of Religion, Philosophy, Logic, English and Grammar, History, Politics, and Sociology. I studied for 10 years at Saint Hill college (which is not accredited in the U.S.) and have a PhD in Theology, Philosophy and Logic. This education was useful but I’ve learned a lot more from life experience and self-study than I ever learned at any college or university I attended.
The Reluctant Heretic is a distillation of the knowledge and wisdom I gained over a lifetime of study, research, and living. It is not speculative or theoretical.
It is Applied Religious Philosophy for everyday life.
MY SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY
I am a Buddhist. I’m not a good Buddhist. I’m self-centered and jealous sometimes. I drink alcohol and smoke marijuana occasionally. If someone threatens me or my friends or family, I don’t hesitate to use violence against them in self-defense. I’m not a Buddhist because I regularly attend services at a Buddhist Temple. I don’t. I’ve never set foot in a Buddhist Temple. I’m not a Buddhist because I’m a pacifist. I’m not. I’m actually quite violent when provoked. I’m a Buddhist because I use the Buddha’s teachings and wisdom as a guide for living a happier and more successful life. When I am stressed out and confused, Buddhist Meditation helps me focus and relax. When I am upset or depressed, Buddhist Scriptures give me wise advice on how to address the difficulty and resolve it. For me, being a Buddhist isn’t a matter of faith or ritual. It’s a matter of practicality.
I have studied all of the major world religions and many of the not-so-major ones. There is some wisdom in every religion. Buddhist Philosophy works best for me.
MY INSPIRATION
L ife is suffering. Life is pain. But life can also be happy and satisfying if you know the rules and follow the right spiritual path. Jesus said, “Seek the truth and the truth will set you free”. The truth is very simple. It is what it is. It is the actual reality and existence of something as opposed to the idea or desire for it to be true. People refuse to see what really is by denying its existence or not learning what it is. One finds real truth and wisdom by searching for it and acknowledging it when they find it.
Being very ill with coronavirus and watching the Grim Reaper knocking on my door caused me to take an honest look at my life. I’ve learned a lot of truth and wisdom in my life. Many times, I have denied the existence of it. Many times, I would accept a false concept or idea because of my own selfishness or religious and political indoctrination. My near-death experience resulted in a spiritual awakening. I would like to humbly thank the following for giving me the inspiration to write this book:
Siddartha Guatama (the Buddha)
L. Ron Hubbard
Jesus of Nazareth
Mark Twain