Principia Discordia

Ha Ha, so funny it made me laugh out loud. Parts of it reminded me of Sir Terry Pratchett's humour (the monks dutifully copying the religious text eventually referred to the original after years, only to discover the word was "celebrate") I loved the literary references to Joyce, R A Wilson, the pop-culture references, Greek mythology, Tao enlightenment, religious hierarchy, Newton, the Bible, and the pretentious ranting. A refreshing parody. Unfortunately my poorly printed version missed out some of the symbols illustrated in the text, but it was easy to decipher the misprinted symbols (bad case of the publisher's OCR). I loved the fact that this book sparked Shea & Wilson to publish the Illuminatus Trilogy. A real piece of hippie show more history. Fnord. The layout is very much like a scrapbook of ideas. I also love the fact a cult developed around the book, feeding conspiracies and philosophies. show less

A riotous riposte to religious literalism and monotheistic mumbo-jumbo, this is vindication for the sane. It shows, among other things, how and why to replace dogmas with catmas, and it's more fun and less mental than fundamentalism.

I experienced excursion from Christianity with the help of a professional. His name was John Patrick McCllimans, a/k/a "Hugo the Bear", an "old" snaggle-toothed hippy with a love of life. He was one of the founders of the Church of All Worlds, and head of the Chicago Nest (if you don't understand that, don't worry). Unfortunately, he died very much too early in his life, and I miss him very much.

JP was not only introduced a Neo-Pagan, he was also an anarchist (in the Platonic sense). There was never an organized anything, he thought, that couldn't be made a little better by the liberal application of anarchy. This was not only true of government but also of religion. And here is where the Principia Discordia comes in.

The Principia is show more probably the best textbook on anarchy every written. It is funny, disrespectful, irreverent, and one of the best ideas that's ever come to fruition. The principle ideas come to us compliments of Robert Anton Wilson's Illluminati trilogy (3 more amazingly anarchic books, and it's high-time I find my copies and reread them). In 1958, Malaclypse, and his friend, Omar Khayyan Ravenhurst, founded Discordianism after reading them. I suspect that there were liberal imbibements involved as well.

The book contains such pieces of wisdom as "The Classification of Saints," of which there are five levels ranging from Saint Second Class to Five Star Saints, although humans can only attain the first level. The other four are "reserved for fictional beings who, not being actual, are more capable of perfection." There are instructions on how to become Pope, an explanation of the Erisian movement (the religion that is the basis for this tome), important quotes, and just plain silliness.

The only thing not included in it is a warning that reading about or discussing either the Illuminati trilogy or the Principia while stoned is not a very good idea. It might lead to either paranoia or a fit of laughing that can make you very sore. show less

No me ha convertido al Discordianismo, pero me ha entretenido. Este manifiesto es obra de un par de porreros en los sesenta que empezaron bromeando con que se podía sacar una religión de cualquier parte, y acabaron llegando más lejos de lo que pensaban.

Léase más como una especie de "Guía para la Vida de Bart Simpson", solo que en lugar del travieso springfieldiano tienes a un profeta de la diosa Eris soltando incoherencias pseudo-religiosas, inventándose símbolos místicos y textos sagrados, y consumiendo muchas drogas. No está mal, después de todo.

This book covers some serious issues, in a very silly fashion.

The main belief of Discordians is that the universe is in a state of constant chaos and that our 'understanding' is merely a filter which allows only ideas that fit our belief system to pass through to our senses.

This is a discomforting thought because, if there is no order, there can be no perfect world in which we may all be happy. It does, however neatly explain why humans can so easily hold diverse views: if the filtering is right, anything can appear to be the path to eternal happiness.

Essential reading for any existentialist, atheist, antitheist, or true theist in my opinion. The Principia still has some gems of actual wisdom hidden among the apple jokes - but I could just be saying that. You'll never know unless you check for yourself (and perhaps not even then).

Just read it. It's the only holy book which has a copy in the Library of Congress.

Is it a base pit of cynicism or a sublime theology? Is it a religion disguised as a joke or a joke disguised as a religion? Read it for yourself. To diverse gods do mortals bow, Holy Cow and Wholly Chao. Dedicated to Emperor Norton - Live Like Him! Hail Eris!