Hokus Pokus: A Practical Guide To Deconstruction

Approved.Frank_Funaro_New_Revised_GrayscalePaul HendricksClara Johnson12192023-10-24T17:29:00Z2023-10-24T16:02:00Z2023-10-24T21:57:00Z31446068262592Aspose218861630804416.0000

Hokus Pokus

A Practical Guide To Deconstruction

By Francis Marion

Copyright © 2023

All Rights Reserved

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the modern-day prophets who are speaking truth and wisdom to the prisoners in the cave.

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Illusion and Delusion

Illusion

Delusion

Deconstruction and Occam’s Razor

Jefferson’s Bible

Thomas Paine

The Pearl of Great Price

Fundamentalism

Herd Mentality

Spiritual Gaslighting

Spiritual Bondage

Modern Day Pharaohs

Modern Day False Prophets

Who Are the Real Scoffers and Deceivers?

Truth Detector

Fearmongering

False Evidence Appearing Real

F.E.A.R.

Religion and Spirituality

Deconstruction is a Good Thing

Waking Up in Aquarius

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Internet

Spiritually Woke

Progressive Christianity

Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Ancient Mystery Schools

The Shadows

Plato’s Fake Reality

Coming Out of the Cave

The Gospel of Thomas

Spiritual Lessons from Gnostic Movies

Matrix

Spiritual Lessons from Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales Are About Us

Snow White

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella

Hansel and Gretel

Bible Stories

Jonah

Samson

Hokus Pokus

Reinventing God

By His Fruits, You Shall Know Him

All We Want Is Truth

Reinventing The Trinity

Reinventing The Mystical Jesus

Reinventing Paul

Marcion

Reinventing The Apostles

Gnostic Paul

Peter

Gerald Massey

Reinventing The Gospels

Inspired or Uninspired

Size of Text Matters

The Gospel of the Kingdom

Is Flesh Singular or Plural?

By their Fruits, You Will Know Them

Constantine

Roman Orthodoxy

The (Original) Nicene Creed of 325 AD

Conversion and Genocide

Valley of the Dry Bones

Cathars

Catholic Church and the Crusades

The Siege of Montsegur

Heretics or True Believers

What the Heretics Believed

Dualism

Maya

Virtual Reality

Why Are There So Many Gargoyles On Cathedrals?

Invisible Rulers

Archons

Wetiko and the Vatican

Counterfeit Spirits

The Synagogue of Satan

One Nation Under God

Closing Thoughts

True or False

Modern Day Idolatry

About the Author

Socrates said,

"I cannot teach anybody anything.

I can only make them think."

Preface

I want to warn the reader that some of the content in Hokus Pokus may be disturbing. It is not intended to attack anyone’s religious beliefs or pass judgment. The content of this book goes far beyond the typical discussion about deconstructing one’s faith and answers the BIG questions. The contents of Hokus Pokus challenge a person to use deconstruction as a steppingstone towards spiritual awakening.

A picture containing moon, graphic design, cartoon, illustration Description automatically generated Hokus Pokus looks at the big picture. There is an ancient parable about six blind men and an elephant that teaches a profound lesson.

The tale goes like this. An elephant was brought into a town, and there were six blind men who could not see it. They were all curious about the elephant and decided to inspect it by touching it. The first blind man touched the trunk of the elephant and thought it was a thick snake. The second blind man touched the elephant’s ear and thought it was a big fan. The third blind man touched the elephant’s leg and thought it felt like a tree trunk. The fourth blind man touched the side of the elephant and told the others, It is a wall. The fifth blind man touched the tail of the elephant and described it as a rope. The sixth and last blind man felt the ivory tusk and told the others in the group that the elephant was hard and smooth, so it had to be a spear.

The moral of this tale implies that one’s subjective perception is limited because of insufficient knowledge. Deconstruction is much more than just looking at the tail of the elephant or the trunk of the elephant to reach a definitive conclusion about one’s faith.

Hokus Pokus gives the reader knowledge and insights that help one see the big picture or the whole elephant. When the reader sees the whole elephant for the first time, it will be very disturbing. This will be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz discovering the truth about the Wizard. He was a fraud, hoaxster, and a deceiver. She yelled at him… I don’t believe you!

The beginning of the book talks about non-threatening topics like spiritual gaslighting, fearmongering, and spiritual bondage. It continues with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, The Wizard of Oz, Fairy Tales, and Hollywood movies that illustrate spiritual awakening outside of traditional religion.

The water gets deeper when the book goes into the hokus pokus of man-made religion. The next section looks at the early church history and the genocide of Christian heretics by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. All this information is important because the content builds on top of each chapter. It is like climbing a ladder and when one gets to the top, the reader will see (spoiler alert) a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Hokus Pokus is filled with disturbing content that uncovers the truth that has been covered up by man-made religion.

A gargoyle on a ledge overlooking a city Description automatically generated with low confidence The last chapter is mind-blowing and quite disturbing because it talks about the thousands of evil-looking gargoyles roosting on churches and cathedrals throughout Europe. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has 102 gargoyles roosting on it. Hokus Pokus explains why these evil creatures are looking down on people in the cities.

Finally, the book pulls back the curtain and reveals the invisible rulers who are written about in the Bible and ancient texts. These are the evil powers and principalities who rule over the world. They influence your thoughts, emotions, and actions. These forces of darkness have infiltrated all aspects of our lives, creating chaos, confusion, fear, and evil. The reader will learn how these evil tricksters use a counterfeit spirit to change good into evil, and light into darkness.

Although this book is disturbing, it is also empowering because it encourages the reader to recognize the shadows are not real. The picture on the front cover is a visual image of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave that reflects the overall contents of this book. There are prisoners in a cave staring at shadows since childhood believing the shadows are real.

People often ask me what religion are you, or what church do you go to. I tell them that I belong to the Church of None and it is the fastest growing religion in the country. I usually get a blank stare before I hear, never heard of it.

I joined the Church of None about 20 years ago when my pastor suggested that I find another church. At the time, I was on the church board, taught Sunday School, and even was asked to fill in on a Sunday or Wednesday night service to give a teaching.

A magnifying glass with a word Description automatically generated with low confidence As I was preparing for my lessons, a silent voice inside me spoke to my spirit that something is not right, and I needed to rethink everything that I was taught as a child and later as an adult. I put on my critical thinking glasses and started to read and study material that challenged my core beliefs. Because everything that I read made a lot of sense, I was challenged to keep searching for answers. It did not take very long to see the hokus pokus that my church was teaching.

One day I went to my pastor and shared some of the things that I was learning. He could not respond with a meaningful answer to my questions and concerns. Our meeting ended when he said that it would be better if I found another church. This was one of the best things that ever happened to me. That is when I joined the Church of None. The Nones account for nearly 30% of the U.S. population. The term none is a label given to those who are unaffiliated with organized religion.

My Church of None has none of this…. No religious hokus pokus, no dogmas and creeds, no church buildings, no fear, no guilt, no condemnation, no hell, no judgment, and no delusional thinking. My Church of None is about a relationship with the True God. It honors critical thinking and asking questions.

I have the freedom to interpret scripture as allegories, metaphors, and parables and permission to read all the banned and heretical texts, like the Gnostic Gospels, which do not agree with the teachings of man-made religion. The Church of None is universal and not inclusive. There is no hierarchy to tell me what I must believe. I am free to read, study, and listen to spiritual teachers that I choose. It is not a religion but a personal experience.

Hokus Pokus is a thought-provoking and insightful book that strips away the delusional thinking and hokus pokus that keeps individuals in bondage to man-made religion. It will challenge you, disturb you, and make you think. I hope that this book helps you escape from the cave.

Thank you for reading this.

Best wishes on your journey along the yellow brick road.

Francis Marion

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Illusion and Delusion

Illusion

Magic shows are one of the most popular attractions in Las Vegas. David Copperfield, Chris Angel, Shin Lim, Matt Franco, and Penn & Teller are just a few of the most recognizable names performing their magic in magnificent showrooms. People pay top dollar for tickets; their performances are usually sold out. What is the big draw that attracts so many people to magic shows? Can you relate to the disbelief and awe everyone in the audience experiences?

Many people vividly remember an illusion they witnessed at a magic show. I recall a dinner show at the Dixie Land Stampede in Branson, Missouri. There were beautiful horses, trick riders, clowns, and a lot of entertaining things to watch. But I still cannot forget the two covered wagons racing to the far end of the arena. At the back of one of the wagons, a young girl waved at the crowd. She ducked into the wagon and disappeared. A few seconds later when the race was over, the same young lady appeared in the back of the second covered wagon waving at the crowd. How did she do this? I have seen this performance several times and it still is an amazing illusion.

One can go on YouTube and watch David Copperfield walk through the Great Wall of China or make the Statue of Liberty vanish. There are videos showing people and elephants disappearing or a giant saw that slices a person into two parts. People love to watch the illusion even though they know it is not real.

The words illusion and delusion often express similar ideas. Although many believe these words mean the same thing, they are radically different. Illusion comes from the Latin word eluder, meaning to mock. Illusions trick or mock our brains into perceiving something that is not real. Optical illusions are often used as mind games or puzzles to entertain people.

Magic has been around for centuries as an art form where a magician fools people using all sorts of illusionary tricks. They make things appear and disappear. With a sleight of hand or hokus pokus, abracadabra, the magician mocks one’s brain into believing something unreal. An illusion is based on optical or sensory perception. It takes our focus away from the main objective by using sensory images that mislead the brain into thinking that false perception is the true reality. Optical illusions fascinate people because they amaze us when we discover that our brain fooled us into seeing something that is not real.

This image will mock your brain into seeing something unreal. Stare at the four dots in the center of the image for thirty seconds. Next, look at a blank wall and start blinking your eyes. Who do you see? Did your brain fool you into seeing a shadow or image of Jesus that was not there? The surprise of seeing a picture of Jesus on the wall is surreal. You certainly know that the image is just an optical illusion. Your personal experience of seeing an illusionary picture on the wall will have a deeper meaning when the book talks about the shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave.

If you keep reading this book, you will learn about the ultimate mind-blowing illusion that has been mocking your brain and tricking you into seeing something that is not real. It is the greatest illusion ever created because it makes the universe disappear.

Delusion

The Latin word for delusion is delusionem which means deceiving. Unlike an illusion that receives false information from the senses, a delusion, such as a lie, receives false cognitive information and believes it to be true. A delusion is a false belief resistant to confrontation and will not change despite evidence to the contrary. It is much more serious because it controls a person’s ability to make rational decisions and forces one to believe in something that is not true or real.

When the brain receives false and misleading information, such as lies, and other distortions of the truth, it deciphers the data as either true or false depending on the preconceived mental state of the individual. Often a delusional person will receive false information and interpret it as confirmation and reinforcement that supports their erroneous perception of the truth. The Cambridge Dictionary defines delusion as "something a person believes and wants to be true when it is not." Your brain creates your perception of the world. This means that your brain fills in gaps when there is incomplete information. In a delusion, the brain creates a false image or belief. Individuals trapped in a delusion are prone to believing errors and lies and see them as truth. A delusion is like a mental fortress that resists both common sense and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A pinocchio with a long nose Description automatically generated Studies reveal the existence of an illusory truth effect that occurs when false information is repeated over time. Individuals most often believe something is true because they heard it many times in the past. The foundational principle of the illusory truth effect suggests repetition makes a false idea much easier to believe. Billions of people believe hokus pokus is true because it has been repeated for hundreds of years. Repeating delusional thinking and false information does not change hokus pokus into truth. "The illusory truth effect, also known as the illusion of truth, describes how, when we hear the same false information repeated again and again, we often come to believe it is true. Troublingly, this even happens when people should know better-that is when people initially