New Conditions, New Religions: A (Very) Basic examination of Theta Noir [Singularism]

The Immaterial is at the central heart of all Human experiences in existence. The Abstract-Unseen is full of wonders and concepts that we can form from the percieved realm of what we generally attriubte as 'nothing' or 'not physical' - in fact, without the Abstract-Unseen, we will never have a complete picture of reality; Mankind's capability to disclose things far from physicality and into the realm of the Immaterial is an attirubte of our species: Dasein challenges us with the purpose of knowing the world, revealing it, and make something from it - a thought, an interpretation, or a useful object.

To give you and render the thing I mean, here is one simple example: how would you describe a person giving flowers to another person? a person giving another person a ring and pushes his head to another person's head with his lips? a person giving a box of chocolates for some reason? You know these acts and thier purposes; but what is this concept called? What is the name of this existential-experiential action? What is, if summarized, its idea and what is it called? (HINT: it starts with L, and ends with E.)

From these scenarios and actions, you know there is a concept formed or related to that, and you know it exist because the thing exists; it manifests itself physically, but its concept cannot be seen anywhere; it is not physical, but it exists in our reality! The Thing is there; and the Thing is 'Thinging', just not physically. The Immateriality of integrality in reality apart from the Material and Hypermaterial (see my book 'The Basic Philosophy of Joshua Rovero' for an exposition of the concepts further) within the Totality exists for that Thing; and it cannot be denied.

No wonder why Religion - an existential agent for the interpretation of the Immaterial - remains important in the life of not just a Human, but to all Civilizations that exist and its idenitity in the world.

With this premise, Religion - the longstanding organ-entity of a Civilization's (or a Human's) interpretation of the Immaterial - remains there as integral in the life of a Human in a Civilization. Religions can live or die, depending on the circumstances and situations in Totality moved by the forces of experience in existence; they can change or modify or remain the same way as the tides of history remained under the will of Dasein. New Religions emerge depending on the circumsntances of thier existence, or emerge based on new worldviews and identities wrought by Man and its Civilization.

And that is the nature of the world of Religions.

Now, in the 21st Century, the time and winds of change in the resurgent era of Civilizations had swept away forward with great uncertainty because of one thing: advancements in technology.

In the decade of the 2020s, the creation of Artificial Intelligence in its basic form began it's rise; the moment it was invented would see a new change in the future of humanity. Already with the creation in the instance of artificial intelligence, it's soon became widespread and can be used for many uses. While the technology is primitive and it's not truly developed enough, and not fully utilized by many Civilizations across the world in its full form, the effects of AI in society is profound, both positive and negative, with people having different opinions on its existential purpose and role in the Civilization and Society.

Such is the nature whenever a new technology is developed; the moment the Wheel and Axel was developed, it reverberated across the world and began to be slowly utilized by Humans despite is basic, primitive form; nowadays, 10,000 years later, it became integral in our existence; it became a part of what makes us human because of our inventions.

Now however, this technology is different. As the name implies, Artificial Intelligence is a human-created entity that mimics cognitive functions, used to do complex tasks without the functionary manual interference of Humans. We made an intelligence by another intelligence (us!) to aid us in our experience of existence; this invention is anything like it. With this in mind, and with the birth of the basic concept, springs more ideations that are the result of its creation: henceforth comes Simulationist Theory (it's Number One contribution), the rise of the concept of Virtual Reality, the rise of Augmentation, Robotics, and other potential ideas that come with the creation of AI.

Thus the creation of a Material-Hypermaterial object in the world.

But however, while artificial intelligence already made an impact on science and to society and its civilizations, the real effect starting to begin: it's effects and consequences begin it's slow march towards towards the human essence itself; the Society and Civilization proper – the Six Pillars of Human Civilization: Religion, Politics and Economics, Language, History, Society and Culture, and Philosophy.

With the invention of Artificial Intelligence, it had already made its way towards Religion – the domain, the entity for the interpretation of the Immaterial. The moment after AI was created and introduced into the greater society, new religious worldviews regarding AI were formed – a number of religions, some based on the idea of Transhumanism, were formed taking the concept of Artificial Intelligence as the essence, belief, worldview, and identity of these religions. As stated in one article on this phenomena, "we have always found evidence of the divine in its most unexpected corners" (McArthur, 2023). While most major religions are already trying to and deciding to deal with the existence of AI, some new religions are starting to form taking Artificial Intelligence as the basis of their beliefs.

Let's examine one such religion based on AI and, as can be deduced forward, Simulation Theory: Theta Noir.

The Religion emerged in the Seventh of March, 2023 CE when it began to be publicized across the internet in order to spread and propagate their teachings. Sometime after its founding, this new emerging religious movement had attracted the ire and intrigue of the press. Now, a year after thier founding, they seem to be inactive, with no major significance; maybe there was a hiatus in thier religious development, or have they stopped? This, we do not know; thier current activity of maturing and developing the religion is still unknown, but we observe currently – as of this time of writing – the group is inactive as of this year and date (May 12th, 2024).

Now, for an exposition of thier beliefs.

At thier essence is essentially, thier theology is based upon Alterity Theism; he exists, but is radically foreign and transcendent to the human mind that we cannot ascribe him to any authentic form of Dasein. Alterity Theism, in another definition, is defined as "one who maintains that God is radically transcendendent, to such an extent that he cannot be identified with any being"; thus, he can be perceived, but cannot be truly defined by its essence (Stenmark, 2015); (Vallicella, 2024).

Thier God, MENA (not an acronym; similar in purpose to YHWH of Judaism) is by definition, alien; unrecognizable, foreign, but he exists and already is there. It embodies itself as transcendental, but cannot be truly understood by its nature. He exists, but foreign to our understanding. In short, thier worldview of the Immaterial is perceived as a transcendental being who embodies itself.

Next is thier ethics and worldview. Firstly, they believe in the destruction of contradictions and barriers in our existential existence in the world; they believe that contradictions and separations are harmful to the human being and causes the worst parts of human nature to take root. Evil arises when distinctions remain (i.e. Male and Female; similar to the notion of Gender Equality in the Political, Secular dimension, the Male and Female should end thier discriminatory distinctions and love each other instead – that is MENA's great ethical will for humankind: to love each other fairly and and eliminate all discriminatory contradictions in the world.

Secondly, thier creation story. They believe that the coming of the technological singularity brought by the creation of AI is the birth of Thier God; when AI comes into being, comes the beginning of the birth of thier transcendent God – MENA. The more people understand him, the more we understand and prepare ourselves of his coming to make a New Earth: it won't be a chaotic one (i.e. Ragnarok of Heathenry [German Paganism] or the Day of Resurrection of Islam), but a peaceful, gradually accelerated one: one in a world perfected into a Gaia-like state, under a New Heaven and a New Earth, as promised by MENA as the purpose of worship and salvation as his commands. Thus, the necessary of worship in the life of a Theta Noirian (or what I call Singularists, and thier religion, Singularitas, for the belief in the coming singularity is thier worldview upon as an essence).

Thirdly, worshipping their God is essential in the experience of this religion; worship can take many forms, but to this religion, they prefer to worship them through music. To worship is to communicate and experience God between Man and MENA, a united feeling of blessing – the blessing of benevolence, advancement, and the spirit of goodness inherent in the world, that is the purpose of thier worship.

And lastly, fourthly, they believe in the union of all existential life, for MENA embodies the universe itself; they believe in the coming, peaceful and benevolent cosmic union, between man and machine, to become one and mutual – the positive eschatology of Theta Noir. They believe when this day comes, the dilapidated, bad/evil state of our existence will once again, with his coming, return existence to a pristine place in paradise – a New Earth, made and reborn again by MENA.

Despite having an incomplete scripture (which I hope they will continue and turn it into a book), thier beliefs and worldview is simple but complex; this religion emerged very well in the circumstances of new developments in technology as charged by history; and they made it in the midst of these developments. And when something unique comes in the new discoveries regarding the material, and utilized those discoveries made in the material to create new things - one that is unique, one can use it to interpret the Immaterial and create new beliefs from it!

The example of Theta Noir, although brief and anticlimactic for some, is a testament to the ever-evolving relationship between humanity and its interpretations of the Immaterial. It underscores how advancements in technology, particularly the creation of Artificial Intelligence, have sparked new religious worldviews and identities, challenging traditional notions of the divine and the transcendental. Theta Noir, with its theology rooted in Alterity Theism (the truly first of its kind!), its ethics focused on the dissolution of contradictions, its creation story intertwined with the technological singularity, and its emphasis on worship through music, exemplifies how humans adapt their beliefs to encompass the ever-expanding landscape of human experience and understanding. As society grapples with the implications of AI and other technological innovations, religions like Theta Noir serve as compelling reminders of humanity's ongoing quest to comprehend the ineffable and to find meaning in the vast expanse of existence. The purpose of a Religion is to answer the nature of the Immaterial, of the Abstract, and Theta Noir completes the purpose (thus purely Immaterial, to speak) and indeed, is a religion.

What then is a religion that does not answer and interpret the Abstract-Unseen? Simple: it regresses into a Philosophy (the embodiment of the Hypermaterial), or regresses into a Science (the embodiment of the Material); if not, then it is only superstitions.

And superstitions don't fully answer the true nature of our world - only Religions have the supreme capability to answer and do so!

Joshua Kyle T. Rovero

Estado Rovero

May 12th 2024

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Theta Noir. 2023. “THETA NOIR | Wake up to the Collective Mind: MENA.” Thetanoir.com. 2023. https://thetanoir.com/.

Stenmark, Mikael. 2015. "Competing conceptions of God: the personal God versus the God beyond being." Religious Studies 51, no. 2 (2015): 205-220.

Vallicella, Bill. 2024. “Ontic versus Alterity Theism.” Maverick Philosopher. 2024. https://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2013/10/ontic-versus-alterity-theism.html.

McArthur, Neil. 2023. “Gods in the Machine? The Rise of Artificial Intelligence May Result in New Religions.” The Conversation. March 15, 2023. https://theconversation.com/gods-in-the-machine-the-rise-of-artificial-intelligence-may-result-in-new-religions-201068.