Here’s the chapter breakdown from The Dark Wheel …

Part 1: Course Correction

• Born to Be Brainwashed
• Copycat Killers
• Land of Confusion
• Fire and Brimstone
• Christianity – The Remake
• History in Hiding
• Dare to Disbelieve
• I, Pendulum

Part 2: True Bearing

• Forever Forward
• When Two Truths Go to War
• Man the Myth-Maker
• How Gods Are Made
• Beyond Theism and Atheism
• The Devil Inside
• Survival Ethics
• The Essence of Evil
• Evolution Evolved
• I Can’t Get No …

Part 3: Sunken Treasure

• The Unconscious, At Your Service
• The Self Behind the Self
• Invisible Influences
• Irrational Fears
• What Am I?
• Where Am I?
• When Am I?
• Who Am I?
• The Outward Urge
• Beyond Materialism

Part 4: Uncharted Waters

• The Surprise of Psi
• Weird Science
• Scepticism on Steroids
• Don’t Take My Word for It
• The (Not So) Dark Side
• Psi and Black Magic

• The Devil’s Notebook by Anton Szandor LaVey
• Black Magic by Michael A. Aquino
• A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
• The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort
• The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish
• Listen, Little Man! by Wilhelm Reich
• The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
• From Witchcraft to Christ by Doreen Irvine
• Liber HVHI by Michael W. Ford
• Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
• Entangled Minds by Dean Radin
• The Taking by Dean Koontz
• Rage by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)
• Encyclopedia of World History
• Edgar Cayce on ESP by Doris Agee
• Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire
• Starstormers 5: Volcano by Nicholas Fisk
• Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott
• Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll
• A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
• The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
• God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

In this life there will be many struggles. You may suffer; you may fall; you may think that you are alone. But fear not, my child. I am with you. I have always been with you. I’ve been with you when you’ve laughed. In your joy, in your sorrow, I am with you. You are a child of God. You are wonderfully made. You are here for a purpose. And I will guide you. I will lift you up; I will carry you; I will rescue you. For I love you and will never leave you, simply because you are my child and I am your Father.

For me, the words represent wishful thinking that is entirely disconnected from reality, and so they evoke no positive feelings whatsoever. I think of the reality of life for a starving child in Africa and I ask myself, “What do the words ‘I will rescue you’ mean to that child?” Absolutely nothing, that’s what.

For a Christian, I suppose the words communicate some vague sense of positivity about their relationship with God – something that provides warm fuzzies without the necessity for any actual thinking about whether the statements ring true in practical day-to-day living.

Now, watch the following video and take careful note of what’s being done to your emotions and why.

With the aid of evocative music and photographs (especially the cute kid at the end), a few empty phrases are turned into words of immense power. Check out the comments on the video:

• “Amazing I near cried at this. This is inspired by the Holy Spirit”
• “AMEN! In Jesus name…This is so comforting!!!”
• “why did this make me almost cry ?”
• “FANTASTIC. Beautiful and inspiring.”
• “Really inspiring , thx & may God shine his Face upon u.”
• “oh wow…. thankyou so much for making this..”

It’s obvious emotional manipulation, using the tried-and-true tactics of commercial television advertising, and yet there’s not a single Christian in the room who is even remotely aware of how he is being played. Those words either have power – raw, honest, rational power coming from truth – or they don’t. If the words have it, then they should evoke the strong feelings without your emotions needing to be artificially stimulated. If reading the words felt different from watching the video, then you are being played.

Like I’ve often said, religion is a tool that preys upon human weakness – in this case, our need to be loved. Many of us will suck on any teat offered, as long as we don’t have to face the painful truth – that we are not divinely protected by God, and anything might happen to us. If you want evidence that religion today is for weak-minded and non-thinking people, look no further.

I feel like putting together a remix of this video, only substituting the existing photos for shots of starving children, victims of abuse, and horrible accidents. I would leave the words and music the same. Now, that would really mess with your head. Bad taste, maybe, but a damn sight more honest.

Thanks to marlonsuniverse for the following video response:

Something I have been working on for more than a year. Check it out.

Thanks to Nick Dutch for the following video response:

Nahhhh. Truth is I’ve been saving my pennies for the past four years, attempting to pay off my mortgage early, but frankly I’m just in the mood to live a little this summer. Summers are a bit tough on me generally, because I live alone, and due to the nature of my job I work largely alone during July and August. So it’s time to create some change in my life.

For the past four years, I’ve lived life without a car, successfully, and I fully intend to continue doing all my local business by bicycle. But there are just those occasions when I need to travel further afield, and I hate having to leech off friends for this. In particular, I really miss visiting Ballymartin beach, a place that has been a part of my life since I was about twelve.

So, I decided it was time to invest in another mode of transport, one that was more economical than a car. The bike is a Honda Varadero 125cc, which is about as big as you can go on a learner’s licence. I have never ridden a motorcycle before. Wish me luck.

(Long-time readers may remember the mouldy monstrosity that was my old Nissan Terrano 4×4. It’s been sleeping in my driveway for the past four years, and I’m finally sending it to the knackers yard. I even got £200 for it.)