Metaphysical Moments Part IV

"The words ‘question’ and ‘quest’ are cognates. Only through inquiry can we discover truth” (Sagan 365).

In Part I of this series, Metaphysical Moments, I discussed the definition of ‘Metaphysics’, of what it is and of what it is not. In Part II, I continued highlighting Metaphysical aspects by examining Metaphysical Universal Principles. Part III looked at what ‘deconstruction’ is and lay the groundwork for how Metaphysical practices and principles can transmute traditional religion’s exoteric (coming from outside oneself) dogma and doctrine into esoteric (discovered within oneself) spirituality, especially after deconstructing religion and reconstructing spiritual concepts. And now, in Part IV, I’m sharing specific reasons why people deconstruct traditional religion, what may be gained from deconstructing, what to consider removing from your life, what to consider altering in your life, and what to consider adding to your life especially after deconstruction or when you are making adjustments to how you practice your traditional religion or when you are adding Metaphysical Principles into your personal practices.

Much of what I am sharing here comes from my doctoral dissertation minus the academic focus.  I’m letting readers know this so you know I’m not plagiarizing myself and to remind you that if you choose to copy anything from this or any of my posts, you must cite me and my work. I have provided a Works Cited at the end.

At the heart of the philosophy of Metaphysics is inquiry, questioning, discovering reality and truth for oneself.  Contrast that to traditional religion in which inquiry, questioning, and discovering truth for oneself is not encouraged; it maintains a strict system of standard doctrines, dogmatic beliefs, and narratives that everyone must believe in / embrace.  Metaphysics is esoteric (discovered from within) and traditional religion is exoteric (told what to believe from outside oneself).

What are some traits of Metaphysical Philosophy? In Jonathan Torralba Torreón’s book, The Metaphysical Compass, Finding Your Way In A Complex World Full Of Conflicting Worldviews, Mr. Torreón shares what Metaphysics is.  This was a key resource to demonstrate the differences between traditional Christian religion (and it is assumed this is true of all traditional religions) and Metaphysical philosophy, which is helpful for those transitioning out of religion, deconstructing religion, seeking to know True-God rather than Bible-God, and who are discovering their spirituality apart from the conventions of religious dogma.  According to Mr. Torreón, “[Metaphysics] can be defined as the discipline concerned with understanding the fundamental nature and structure of reality . . . Metaphysics differentiates between abstract and concrete [without absolutism and Christian theology involved]” (20-21). Torreón, a scientist and engineer, went on a twenty-year quest to examine philosophies, including Metaphysics, to look for answers from various worldviews that dove into the profound intricate questions humans encounter in life. Other key Metaphysical principles include the study of ontology, cosmology, epistemology, causality, space and time properties.  It is a philosophy, a science, and a spiritual concept that combines the nature of the divine and the universe (94-100).

* It’s important to provide context for what is meant by Bible-God and True-God. ”Bible-God” (Tiger 64) is a term author Steven Tiger coined to mean the character in the Christian Bible who people are told to believe is the only god.  But Bible-God, especially in the Old Testament, is not the loving, nurturing, forgiving, teaching, guiding True-God who Metaphysicians know. To comprehend the Higher Power/Source, it’s essential to distinguish Bible-God from True-God. Richard Dawkins contributed to Dan Barker’s book, God, The Most Unpleasant Character  in All Fiction: “Barker lists nineteen character traits [of  Bible-God] that if they were all combined in a single fictional villain, would strain the reader’s credulity to the point of ridicule.  Certifiable, psychopaths apart, no real human individual is quite so irredeemably nasty [as  Bible-God] ” (qtd. in Barker xii).  Bible-God seems to align with mythological gods that often seem more human than divine: jealous, “petty, unjust, unforgiving, control-freak, vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, misogynistic, . . . racist, infanticidal, genocidal, . . .pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, . . . a bully” (qtd. in Barker xii).  While these descriptions appear heretical, they are, unfortunately, accurate word pictures of  Bible-God.  This version of God is a turn-off to people who know True-God.  Dr. Peter Enns, a Bible scholar, explains, “It’s hard to appeal to the God of the Bible to condemn genocide today when the God of the Bible commanded genocide many times . . . [Bible-God] killing people . . . isn’t a last-ditch measure of an otherwise patient deity . . . [Bible-God] is flat-out terrifying [; he is] more like Megatron than heavenly father” (Ennis 30-31).

Why do some people deconstruct traditional religion? Here are a few reasons for someone choosing to deconstruct traditional religion from their life.

• release from control

• release from fear of hell, sin, and punishment

• release from condemnation, blame, and shame

• release from religious rules and identify

• release from group-think

• release from pressure to proselytize, evangelize

• letting go of religious hypocrisy, judgement, and arrogance

• dislike of Bible-God

What may be gained from deconstructing traditional religion?

• peace in one’s life

• freedom to question, to choose, to discover one’s own reality, and to make one’s own decisions concerning spiritual, political, lifestyle, and civic aspects of life

• personal consciousness rather than group consciousness

focus on the unmanifested (consciousness) rather than the manifested (unconsciousness)

• acceptance, non-judgement, tolerance

• connection to True-God

• spiritual practices that are not limited to one’s religion

What are possible results of deconstructing traditional religion?

• may lose friends and family members

• may lose some of one’s old identify

• may feel lost, angry, and sad for a time

• priorities shift in how one spends money, time, and effort

• interests may change

• new friends may come into one’s life

• may feel more loving, caring, and accepting toward all kinds of people, for animals, for nature

• may feel more hopeful

• may feel more freedom to explore the nature of True-God, of reality, of spiritual practices, of reincarnation, of sacred contracts, of past lives, and of the meaning of life

• may be less prone to judge others and self

After deconstruction, what to eliminate, to keep, and to add? When someone has left or is in the process of leaving the traditional Christian religion, it is important to consider what to eliminate, what to retain, and what to add to avoid upending all aspects.  In other words, even though people question and examine the value of traditional religious beliefs, it is not necessary to toss out everything; they can rationally and through meditation discover what to leave behind, what to keep, and what can be added to transmute dogma into spiritual communion with True-God.

Here are some of the elements of traditional religion that can be eliminated when deconstructing:

• Dogma and doctrine of the Bible - opt for Metaphysical interpretations - consider leaving the entire Old Testament behind

• Rites and rituals that no longer resonate

• Blind faith

• Judging others and self

• Explaining your life to others

• Patriarchal directives including pronouns that refer to True-God as only masculine gender

• Intermediaries as essential to gaining access to True-God: no need to go through priests, preachers, pastors,  or Jesus first

• Public / corporate prayer that draws attention to the person praying aloud rather than private prayer to True-God

• The concepts of sin and salvation - of original sin and of sin altogether

• Concepts of religious heaven and hell

• Need for being ‘saved’, no need for Jesus’ sacrifice

• Religious guilt, shame, and blame

• Intolerance of others

• Arrogant attitude of ‘My way or the highway’, ‘My religion is the right one’

• Faith in the Bible, bibliolatry

• Fallacies to logic and circular reasoning about Bible-God

• Purity culture, guilt, shame

• Christian nationalism and theocracy, proselytizing, forcing one set of beliefs on everyone

• Letting go of or limiting communications with friends and family whose religious views or zeal are not healthy to be exposed to

• Anger, fear, meanness, judgement, arrogance, hatred, uncaring and unkind attitudes

•  Bible-God.

The process of deconstructionism often works like this: one lets go of what no longer resonates as true for them, one learns Metaphysical principles and meditation practices to connect  to True-God, and one transmutes Bible-God / dogma / biblical accounts that are not valuable and not trustworthy into True-God’s spirituality; they find balance.  While it is possible that the outcomes of deconstructionism may be choosing agnosticism or atheism, that is not an inevitable consequence.   

Here are some elements to keep after deconstructing:

• True-God

• Reason, logic

• Rites and rituals that honor and assist in communing with True-God

• Making holidays spiritual rather than traditionally religious

• Personal prayer in private

• Meditation

• Values that are godly from True-God

• Kindness, tolerance, equality, empathy, compassion, love: traits Jesus taught

• Ongoing inquiry, discovery, and dismantling indoctrination

• Family and friends who are accepting, spiritually open

• Spiritual symbols transformed - for example, the Christian Cross can be seen as the vertical line representing the spiritual life fully connected from head to feet to True-God and the horizontal line can represent the outstretched arms of sending out love; they are the helping hands to the world.

New spiritual aspects will likely be added after deconstruction. The final step in transmuting dogma into spirituality after deconstructing is to plan what to add to life:

• Continuing individual discovery and thinking about the nature of reality, who we are, where we have been, where we are going

• Honoring True-God

• Sacred space / home altar

• Rites and rituals that support spiritual practices

• Metaphysical practices

• Learning identity at a soul level

• Working through karmic debts and doing shadow work

• Metaphysical interpretations of the Bible

• Deepening Meditation and private prayer practices

• Using affirmations

• Discovering reincarnation processes

• Standing up to pressure from culture, friends, and family to ‘change back’

• Identifying ‘family of choice’  whose spirituality resonates with your own

• Developing and honing intuition and spiritual gifts / skills

• Gratitude acknowledgment and expression

• Cultivating mindfulness

• Reading / studying the Mystics and Metaphysical masters

• Shifting the mind from the personal mind to the Higher God-Mind

• Focusing on positivity

What one takes away, keeps, and adds to her / his life after deconstructing traditional religion is an individual decision, so these ideas are suggestions to consider.  Aligning with Metaphysical principles after one has deconstructed from traditional religion is like experiencing freedom and full acceptance for the first time.  Because people are encouraged to question, to learn about True-God, to commune with True-God, to see beyond the veil of religious dogma and doctrine, Metaphysical studies and practices offer more individual, genuine, and rational spirituality.

Has this series on Metaphysics resonated with you?  Have you considered deconstructing traditional religion from your life or have you already deconstructed? What has been the result?  What do you think, feel, experience as a result? Please share your stories, thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading and participating in this blog essay; I invite you to subscribe to my blog at www.reimaginelifecoach.com. 

I’m taking off the week of 12/7-14.  I’ll post again on 12/21.

Works Cited

Barker, Dan. God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction. Prometheus, 2023. pp. vii-viii, xii, 51.

Duncan, Linda Missy, PhD. “METAPHYSICAL TRANSMUTATION AFTER DECONSTRUCTION: FROM EXOTERIC DOGMA TO ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY.” University of Sedona, University of Sedona, 2025, pp. i–49.

Enns, Peter. The Bible Tells Me so: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It. Harper One, 2015. pp. 30-31.

Tiger, Steven. Doctrine Impossible, A Journey From Dogmatic Religiosity To Rational Spirituality. 3rd ed., Tiger, 2020. pp. 2, 708, 13-14, 17, 20, 64, 114.

Torron, Jonathan Torralba. Metaphysical Compass: Finding Your Way in a Complex World Full of Conflicting Worldviews. Metaphysical Compass Project, 2024, Hoopla. pp. 12, 20-21, 32, 35, 94-100.