Worship Praxis

I found this on my hard drive while looking for something else. Hopefully, you were looking for something else, too — I think this stuff works better that way. Two things are probably true of the harmlessly blustering manifesto below:

1) I’m pretty sure I wrote this, although I don’t entirely remember it. The tension between humility and hectoring didacticism certainly does sound like me.

2) It works whether you believe in G-d, or not. At least, I think it will.

Give it a try, and let me know how you fare.


To welcome the universe as gift, lover, and duty is the whole law. Everything that matters flows from this.

You have no more ability to impress G-D than a dung beetle has to impress the Dog Star. Humble yourself before G-D, and impress the world with your service.

There has never been a priest or prophet who knew more about the nature of G-D than you do, and there never will be. Every religion passes from the earth, but G-D is eternal and undefinable. Given that any smudge of human agency contaminates the purity of G-D’s will, it is those who claim access to holy writ commit the foulest sacrilege.

Allow no religion to codify the human will to exclusion and arrogance. You know not the name of G-D, far less the desires of G-D. You can no more understand the Prime Will than a single corpuscle can read a blueprint.

If G-D is the sum of knowledge perfected, those who deny the evidence of their senses and the best efforts of human thought scorn G-D. Seek not to impose doctrine, but to improve knowledge. Doctrine is authoritarian folly, the antithesis of creation energy.

There are no devils and you cannot assign your soul. You are responsible for yourself, and for those around you. You are the guardian angel. So is the person next to you.

There is no Only Begotten, but billions of the outsparks of G-D — nearly all of whom have glowed, faded, and died as will we. Most humans yet to be born are so far beyond your comprehension as to appear gods themselves. They, too, will wonder about eternity.

You need not fear Hell to behave decently. You need not fear G-D to love others. Human up.

No one who charges for the ticket is taking you to G-D.

G-D will never win your jackpot, slaughter your enemies, or heal your child. You don’t get a personal Savior. This tiny world does not now, nor will it ever, revolve around you — no more than does the sun circle the earth, our galaxy circle the solar system, or the universe reverentially orbit the Milky Way. Encompassing every possible universe, since before time until eternity’s end, G-D does not revolve around you, either.

We are not the center of anything. For the sake of your own sanity and cheer, quash that arrogance.

It does not matter what you call G-D, or if you do. A G-D who exists does not require you.

There is no litmus test for heaven. If that’s where you want to exist, prototype it now. Make sure it’s not a gated community. HOAs are not the way to eternal bliss.

There are no curse words. You don’t have the power to curse, but attitude matters. Make your presence a balm, and the world around you will improve. The most practical magick has always been kindness.

Life is always sacred — your life, that of your friend, your lover, your relative, your enemy, each stranger — and deserves our constant reverence and care. The gentle ablutions of a single hospice attendant are worth more than the howling prestidigitation of every cleric in human renown.

Why would G-D value your soul above that of a faithful dog? No being is holier than you, yet you are no holier than crabgrass.

Every graceful action sanctifies the world.

Meanness is applied weakness. Carry the confidence to walk humbly, listen attentively, and speak with grace.

Altruism is your duty and your gift. Let no human being deny or impede this sacred impulse. Why on Earth would the Lord need to help those who help themselves? Shekinah blesses those who lift up others.

Supporting the strong against the weak is an affront to the Compassionate One. Prosperity gospels invert morality, and fuel Hell.

To plant a tree, to teach a child: these are the foundational sacraments.

To make a home together is to kindle a lamp against the darkness.

To heal the smallest creature, to repair the smallest damage: these actions outweigh the ruling of nations.

Humility, compassion, forbearance, and charity are prayer.

Meaningful work, well-performed, is the hymn most suitable to your Creator.

Kindness is the only worship that matters.

Seek what is lovely. Be grateful when you find it.

Embrace joy! It would be churlish not to.

Human love is magic enough. Don’t be greedy.

Try.