The Reluctant Heretic: Applied Spiritual Philosophy for Everyday Life

By Rev. Lucifer VanDevender

The Reluctant Heretic is a work of nonfiction. It is not theoretical or speculative. I do express opinions and evaluations based on my own research, study, and experience. In those cases you should consider them opinions I believe to be factual. I have taken very little poetic license whilst writing this book.
The Reluctant Heretic is a distillation of the wisdom and knowledge I’ve gained over a lifetime. It is applied spiritual philosophy. It is what I use in my everyday life to be happier, more successful, and improve my relationship with others. I believe you’ll find the information in this book interesting and helpful.
Life is a Journey, not a destination. Enjoy the ride.

Love, Lucifer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664174481

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Copyright © 2021 by Rev. Lucifer VanDevender.

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The Reluctant Heretic is a work of nonfiction. Copyrighted material is included in this book for the purposes of criticism, research, comment, or teaching and is not an infringement of copyright according to Section 107 of the Copyright Act.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Rev. date: 05/12/2023

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CONTENTS

Introduction

My Spiritual Philosophy

My Inspiration

Chapter 1 You and I

Chapter 2 Applied Spiritual Philosophy

Chapter 3 Truth and Wisdom

Chapter 4 Mental Health

Chapter 5 Spiritual Evolution

Chapter 6 The Art and Science of Politics

Chapter 7 The Circle of Life

Chapter 8 The Middle Path

Chapter 9 My Case for Religious Heresy

Chapter 10 The Three Types of People

Chapter 11 Exercises and Routines

Chapter 12 Solo Therapy

Chapter 13 Effective Communication

Chapter 14 Patience

Chapter 15 The Notorious RBG

Chapter 16 Conflict Resolution

Chapter 17 Reverse Vectors

Chapter 18 The Reason Why

Chapter 19 Epilogue

And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil .

Book of Genesis 3: 4-5

Dedication%20page%20photo.jpg

For my sons, Steven (right) and Joseph (left)

I am always happy to hear from my readers. I welcome

any comments or criticisms. You can contact me at:

VanDevender Author Services, LLC

1940 Walnut Street

Suite 205

Boulder, CO 80302

Lucifer

INTRODUCTION

I don’t know just where I’m going but I’m gonna try for a kingdom if I can.

Lou Reed

This is a book of nonfiction. I do express opinions and evaluations based on my own personal experience but I haven’t taken any poetic license whilst writing it. I started writing this book in October of 2020 in the middle of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. A few months earlier, I had contracted the virus myself and almost died. Confronting death is not new to me. For me, confronting life has always been more of a challenge. I was born Phillip Maurice Jones in Meridian, Mississippi USA. I was raised by a single mom and lived in subsidized housing (the projects). I survived on welfare, food stamps, and got my clothes from thrift stores. My mom grew up during the Great Depression. As a young child, she picked cotton and lived in a sharecropper’s shack. For her, poverty was normal. It was just life. She didn’t go to school much. She married her first husband when she was only 14 years old. He was a Presbyterian Minister. I recently had my name legally changed to Lucifer Morningstar VanDevender. The name Lucifer Morningstar means Bringer of Light. Legend has it that Lucifer was the Hebrew God’s favorite angel who fell from grace. He was the most beautiful and favored angel. He rebelled against his father and was disowned by him. People have speculated that Lucifer is evil and tempts people to do evil. This is not true. They confuse him with the dark angel, the angel of death, called Samael whose wife is Lilith, the mother of demons (Lilith was also Adam’s first wife according to Christian mythology). Lucifer’s sin was pride, not evil. He was cursed to earth, not hell. The earliest Hebrew texts describe Lucifer as a prideful angel who started a rebellion against a tyrannical God. After he and his angels (which included Samael) were defeated by Michael and his band of angels, he was forced to go to earth and become a mortal like the humans he despised. In the ancient Hebrew scripture, the Light Bringer (Lucifer) was forced to sheol. Sheol is a Hebrew word meaning grave. This indicates that Lucifer was cursed to be a mortal and die like all mortals do. The Hebrew word sheol is commonly interpreted to mean hell but the concept of a place where sinners are tortured for eternity in the afterlife wasn’t even contemplated in the Christian Old Testament. The concept of hell doesn’t exist in the Old Testament scriptures. It was first contemplated in a 14th century poem by the Italian poet, Dante, and adopted as part of the Catholic canon and used as a justification for the Inquisition.

The New Testament canon is written in Greek. The Greek word for hell is hades. The word hades doesn’t mean a place where souls go in the afterlife to be burned and tortured; it means an area between lives where a spiritual being is confused and doesn’t recall his previous existence. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament refers to the Bringer of Death falling from heaven to the earth and calling him Satan. He is commonly referred to as the devil. Although the Book of Revelation is obviously a fantasy that reads like a LSD psychedelic delusion, it is part of Christian mythology so it is worth mentioning. Even in this insane, psychotic, hallucinogenic gospel, the mythology could not possibly be referring to the Bringer of Light (Lucifer) because it specifically says it is referring to the Bringer of Death (Samael, the angel of death who became the ruler of hell).

The one who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden wasn’t Lucifer, it was Samael, the angel of death. The one called Satan in the Book of Revelation was not Lucifer, it was Samael, the dark angel. I think the name Lucifer suits me very well because I have committed the sin of pride myself and I have rebelled against my father. And I don’t like dictators or tyrannical governments.

But please don’t call me Samael.

I have a lot of formal education and my I.Q. is very much higher than a normal human being (145 the last time I took the Oxford Capacity Analysis Mental Ability Test). Albert Einstein has me beat by 2 points at 147 which irritates me. Like Ben Franklin said: It is much more expensive to be ignorant than to have an education. I’m well versed on the subjects of Religion, Philosophy, Logic, English and Grammar, History, Politics, and Sociology. I studied for 10 years at Saint Hill college (which is not accredited in the U.S.) and have a PhD in Theology, Philosophy and Logic. This education was useful but I’ve learned a lot more from life experience and self-study than I ever learned at any college or university I attended.

The Reluctant Heretic is a distillation of the knowledge and wisdom I gained over a lifetime of study, research, and living. It is not speculative or theoretical.

It is Applied Religious Philosophy for everyday life.

MY SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY

I am a Buddhist. I’m not a good Buddhist. I’m self-centered and jealous sometimes. I drink alcohol and smoke marijuana occasionally. If someone threatens me or my friends or family, I don’t hesitate to use violence against them in self-defense. I’m not a Buddhist because I regularly attend services at a Buddhist Temple. I don’t. I’ve never set foot in a Buddhist Temple. I’m not a Buddhist because I’m a pacifist. I’m not. I’m actually quite violent when provoked. I’m a Buddhist because I use the Buddha’s teachings and wisdom as a guide for living a happier and more successful life. When I am stressed out and confused, Buddhist Meditation helps me focus and relax. When I am upset or depressed, Buddhist Scriptures give me wise advice on how to address the difficulty and resolve it. For me, being a Buddhist isn’t a matter of faith or ritual. It’s a matter of practicality.

I have studied all of the major world religions and many of the not-so-major ones. There is some wisdom in every religion. Buddhist Philosophy works best for me.

MY INSPIRATION

Life is suffering. Life is pain. But life can also be happy and satisfying if you know the rules and follow the right spiritual path. Jesus said, Seek the truth and the truth will set you free. The truth is very simple. It is what it is. It is the actual reality and existence of something as opposed to the idea or desire for it to be true. People refuse to see what really is by denying its existence or not learning what it is. One finds real truth and wisdom by searching for it and acknowledging it when they find it.

Being very ill with coronavirus and watching the Grim Reaper knocking on my door caused me to take an honest look at my life. I’ve learned a lot of truth and wisdom in my life. Many times, I have denied the existence of it. Many times, I would accept a false concept or idea because of my own selfishness or religious and political indoctrination. My near-death experience resulted in a spiritual awakening. I would like to humbly thank the following for giving me the inspiration to write this book:

Siddartha Guatama (the Buddha)

L. Ron Hubbard

Jesus of Nazareth

Mark Twain

Bruce Lee

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Leah Remini

Mother Teresa

Jesse Ventura

Rep. Ilhan Omar

Rep. Katie Porter

The Prophet Muhammed

Christina Lopes

Steven Jones

Joseph Jones

CHAPTER I

You and I

I’m always chasing rainbows.

Alice Cooper

This is a book about You and I.

I cover the subjects of Philosophy, Religion, Politics, and the practical application of these subjects to life. This is information I’ve found to be useful in my own life which I think can also be helpful to you in your life. So The Reluctant Heretic is a book about you and I.

In 1987, I had become very disillusioned with Christianity because I considered most of the teachings illogical and nonsensical. I did, however, still consider myself to be a Christian. I had read a book by L. Ron Hubbard called Dianetics which claimed to be a Science of the Mind. The book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is mostly nonsense but the therapy Hubbard developed does include some amazing breakthroughs to make a person feel better mentally. I don’t recommend reading Dianetics unless you have a very good vocabulary and a real good bullshit detector. I liked the idea of using the therapy outlined in the book to improve my life so I moved to Tampa, Florida and joined staff at the Church of Scientology (Dianetics and Scientology are both taught and administered at churches of Scientology).

I’m not the type of person who does things half-assed. When I’m in, I’m all in. I became a professional Scientology Auditor (Therapist), Professor (Course Supervisor), and Minister (Doctor of Divinity). The Scientology Ministerial Course requires an intense study and knowledge of all the world’s major religions.

I was a Scientologist for 18 years and left the church in 2005 when the internet became popular and I discovered the church’s abusive practices such as not allowing ex Scientologists to see or speak with their families, and harassing former members who have spoken out on its abuses.

I don’t regret my career as a Scientologist. L. Ron Hubbard was stark raving mad but he was a mad genius. Scientology is not all bullshit. Some of it actually works and I have included some of it in this book. It has some spiritual truths that help me to live a happier life and some of the philosophy given in this book is based on Scientology techniques and principles that I’ve found to be useful and continue to use in my life (but I don’t include the crazy alien stuff).

My spiritual journey began as an Evangelical Christian. As a child, I was forced to wear a tie and go to church every Sunday. By the time I was 18, I had read the Christian New Testament cover to cover and could quote most verses in the New Testament from memory.

I started learning Wing Chun Kung Fu in 1988 and earned my first black belt in 1992. Kung Fu was my first introduction to eastern religious philosophy (thank you Bruce Lee).

I married a Swedish girl and moved to Stockholm, Sweden and lived there for 10 years. I speak Swedish now and have dual U.S./Swedish citizenship.

I had always been indoctrinated as a conservative Republican and taught about the evils of socialism. Sweden was my first introduction to Democratic Socialism. The Swedes actually seemed to be doing quite well despite suffering under the oppression of a socialist system of government. Sweden has democratically-elected representatives, a very high standard of living, free speech, free press, and virtually no crime. And I didn’t see a homeless or poor person during the 10 years I lived there. Not even one. Maybe they were hiding. Maybe socialism really is as bad as my mama told me it was. Or maybe all that socialism is evil talk was just bullshit like the heaven and hell story.

People, including some otherwise intelligent scientists, believe there is an invisible man in the sky who commands them to follow his ten rules or he will send them to be burned and tortured for eternity by a red demon with a tail and horns. So many people believing this nonsense is laughable but it’s also scary to realize how gullible people can be.

Propaganda and religious indoctrination concerning the body, mind, and spirit is pervasive. Many people think that the body and spirit are the same. They believe themselves to be the physical form that they inhabit. And since the physical form can die, they assume that they too can die. The human body has a type of animation during a life cycle. It is able to move around, make decisions, think, fuck, and imagine. Once the human body perishes from age or illness, it no longer has the ability to move around, make decisions, or think or imagine anything. Something is missing. The animation is