The Gospel of Amanity

The Gospel has three parts: Paideia, Paradosis and Telos.

Paideia comprises the first five books of The Gospel and is our central founding Mythos. Salus and Genesis are the short introductory epistles.

Casurus follows the story of Heraclitus, Hermodorus and Hermione of Ephesus, who lead the Greeks out of slavery under Darius the Great in Susa as they awaken the world to the love of wisdom.

Libertus follows Hermodorus as he works with the Romans to set down the basis of the civil law we still follow in the Western world.

Exodus follows the life and death of Socrates as he leads us out of our greater slavery, the slavery of the false self, through his sacred teachings on aporia and radical unknowing. He is ultimately put to death by the city of Athens and becomes the first martyr of the faith.

Paradosis follows the lives of the Stoics, whom we count as our ancestors, from Zeno right through to Aurelius. It also includes three wisdom books, Phronesis, Proverbs and Psalms, which honor the ancient wisdom of the Greco-Roman world.

The Gospel ends in Telos with the book of Simon, born Simonides, who was burned to death by the Emperor Valens but never lost his kindness or his virtue. He is our Sophos, the long-awaited Sage of Stoicism, who overcame extreme suffering and gives hope to all who follow his example. Telos also contains Lamentations, our book of martyrs. The Queen of the Martyrs in Amanity is Hypatia of Alexandria, our enduring symbol of strength in the face of violent persecution. Lastly, Telos includes the heavy book of Revelation and the much lighter book of Commission.

So this book was born out of a great deal of suffering. At first it was a standalone mantra; only later did it become the opening of The Gospel. It still works as a daily devotional for anyone whom life is kicking the crap out of and who just needs a solid floor to keep from falling into the abyss. You can take the terms “Lord” and “Father” poetically, or literally and personally. I myself am an atheist on Monday, a believer on Tuesday, an agnostic on Wednesday and a mystic on Thursday. We’re all human here, so read The Gospel however you need to, so that it can help move you from a dark place to a better one.

In Amanity, we do not tell long, grand myths about the divine origins of things. In the Book of Casurus, we have a brief creation story: a poetic retelling of the myths of Zeus in a philosophical way, as Plato tasked the Western world with doing. But that’s it.

Instead, what we do is much more radical. We make it clear that love itself is the ground of all being, and that we are sons and daughters of that Higher Love by virtue of being alive. This radical, here-focused, love-centered way of living is the beating heart of Amanity.