TruthSeeker wrote: ↑Tue Oct 11, 2022 9:36 pm
Fluxinella Stellaris wrote: ↑Mon Oct 10, 2022 8:47 am
Cobra's leadership is already affected by his delusions (which the others called lies, but I think he believes in it himself), harming and limiting Joy of Satan's future in the long term,
What delusions are you talking about? Cobra took JoS from some yahoo groups and brought it to what it is today, with the help of other members that had the necessary knowledge and skills. The results are obvious, you are either delusional yourself or purposefully lying. How is he limiting JoS's future when he has been for years on a spree of making JoS bigger and bigger? You contradict the obvious reality so I am curious in what determined you to think this way
I was disappointed by his inability to discern the truth of a certain complicated matter even after years, but in hindsight that may have been partially my own fault for pressuring him to make a judgement at all despite him not feeling fully ready. But it made me start to wonder what other situations involving other people he has previously misunderstood, and then I noticed an underlying tribal mentality in almost everything he writes that precedes any nuance or physical reality in favour of unity. I then realised many people are really like that, but I've gradually started to make peace with that flawed aspect of humanity (as opposed to the Gods who understand things on a much deeper level with a mere glance), and although I was disappointed in him, I don't think this will overly limit the results of his efforts.
On the other hand, as I mentioned, the current approach is very likely insufficient to get a following of a billion within this century, let alone a decade. Didn't even you say JoS will reach the entire planet in a matter of years? Was that your own idea, or did HP Hoodedcobra make you think that? Then, if most people reject JoS when they find it, will you be let down? Will you be disappointed in the High Priest for setting your expectations too high? Will you be disappointed in the organisation that started your faith, will your faith itself waver due to this? Or will you blame the average person, and think to yourself that humanity is just too rotten to save itself, like the HP has often stated?
I've reflected on many things, and realised that more than anything, it's delusional to misunderstand the outcome of one's actions. HP Hoodedcobra has taken this mission upon himself like some sort of "messiah", but it's nothing short of a recipe of disaster of a similar degree to how disappointed certain people will be if the Gods don't literally arrive here on Earth on a spaceship or something within a few decades. Perhaps they believe their Demon lover will come to visit them physically someday so they can have children together, only to end up growing old, unfulfilled, regretful, and feeling betrayed by the hopes they were fed. Or perhaps they will blame themselves for not making Earth as much of a better place as they hoped, and they would be slightly closer to the truth of that metaphor.
Luminescence and I were like that too once (we plotted to bring Satanism to the masses using brainwashing involving a form of sigil and "name" magick, with Luminescence as the appointed leader), and I know others who were as well. HP Hoodedcobra told Luminescence over email that even he had similar experiences while growing up, where he had unrealistic expectations along with grandiose delusions, but that he learned from it, advising us to snap out of it too. And sometimes it does seem from his behaviour like he did grow a lot. But when I see him setting himself on a mission like that, there are many implications about the mental state behind that, and it seems like he's still childishly trying to convince himself by convincing others, in the hopes it will all work out somehow if he just believes hard enough in what he assumes are the Gods' intentions. Maybe he can just retcon it later and it'll be fine, but there are other factors of danger that concern me too.
Maybe he perfectly understands what he got himself into, and just acts a certain way to get a certain result, and if so, I can respect that. But I won't get ahead of myself or let myself get any fantasies anymore about anything of such a scale. So I'll retcon it myself in advance, and then I can say, "look, I was right all along", not even able to muster a smile as I'm
still disappointed despite my best efforts not to get my hopes up.
To get a following of that size, there needs to be a certain heavy-handedness; but if JoS is too heavy-handed in its approach, it simply turns into xianity 2.0, and it'll end up being a self-sabotaging movement that only appeals to a tiny minority of people, while drawing ire and rejection from all the others; that approach simply doesn't work anymore in this day and age. And without it, it'll stay a peaceful esoteric community that's considered irrelevant in the bigger picture. I can't think of even a single person currently a member of JoS who can walk that balance and transcend all the pitfalls and cultural stereotypes and turn JoS into something that will truly change the world; maybe Maxine knew how to do it, but it's too late for that now.
It's pointless to speculate. In my eyes, material results are all that matter. And if someone fails to live up to the expectation they set, I'll pity them and consider them delusional; and then I'll forgive them, move on, and focus on what matters.
For that matter, what does a Satanic future look like to you? Personally, I don't have faith in the ancient-forums community, but I think that hardly matters in the bigger picture anyway. For there to be Gods here on Earth, and for justice and truth to be at the root of everything, those matters are perfectly achievable and realistic, as long as one keeps an open mind about what that really entails. It just won't look as miraculous as some people make it out to be, if you don't embellish it with metaphors, half-truths and other childish fantasies. Again, maybe HP Hoodedcobra understands that deep down, and is just putting on a show for those who aren't ready to know that; but I won't assume that when he has every reason to give in to the temptation to fool even himself.
Perhaps I'm just projecting. Of course, I do hope I'm wrong; people's fantasies are often much more enticing than plain old reality, after all. But I'll simply set realistic expectations for myself, and take an approach which fulfills those expectations, rather than putting my faith in anyone. Even when it comes to my interactions with the Gods, I don't depend on Them anymore since the incident two years ago, but simply follow Their guidance and let Them help me how They
can.
That's all I need to achieve my humble dreams anyway. I can understand why it might be different for others, but blind faith is never a good thing.
Well, there's not really any point discussing any of this, is there? The truth will surely speak for itself given enough time.