Greetings from the Xyphokonic Order and Ordinance. It is once again Augrussé, 1^st Period of Lord Pharuuii, and so we have the opportunity to once again direct the Sacred Day posts towards questions of interesting and intriguing discussion to stimulate the psyche and explore the inner workings of the Philosophy. As this is the start of the period, we’ll ease into the discussions with some questions to ignite a fire of curiosity. As said before in a previous Commentary, fearing Knowledge is akin to killing Truths, and that is a trait best associated with Deceptuary. If you would like to read our first FAQ post, you can find it here. But without any further wait, let us answer some curious questions about Xyphoism.

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Question:  Is modern science compatible with Xyphoist Philosophy?

Answer: We consider it so, yes. From the perspective of the Philosophy, all science is the localized and proximal study of the existing world or realm in which one currently exists within. As such, the rules and laws existing with Nature that science aims to understand are part of the spiritual existence of the Spectrum and the Order. We don’t target or condemn any such studies, even if they aim to disprove parts of or the whole of our Philosophy. After all, the intended goal of the Order is to guarantee freed existence and liberty to exist as one deems fit, and so we keep our faith close to ourselves and not in the face of others. In other words, you can absolutely keep your Xyphoist faith and fully support scientific endeavors and discovery—in fact, we actively encourage those to do so for we believe scientific research is a useful tool to meeting our goals of Maintaining the Equilibrium. This is particularly true in the case of protecting the environment or fighting worldly suffering on the front of pathogenic research and other medical afflictions.

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Question: What does the Philosophy say about drug use?

Answer: Frankly, the Philosophy says one should refrain from using drugs to obtain a state of unmanageable intoxication. In fact, one of the Immoral Acts is explicitly about regular intoxication and how one should never engage in it. We Xyphoists are realists in most cases, however, and understand that it is implausible to expect people not to engage in forms of intoxication, from the use of alcohol, over-indulgence in digital forms of substance overuse, to the reality that there are many people who are sadly consumed by the addictive nature of hard drugs. In an ideal situation, nobody would use these things to that degree, or in the case of very dangerous substances, at all. The goal as Xyphoites is to hold off the habitual and abusive use of these substances, but you won’t be sent into divine condemnation if you have a drink or two, no.

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Question: Can you share your faith with your family or does it remain personal and private?

Answer: This is where the Philosophy does make an avenue of exception for proselyting. The Philosophy recognizes the power of a close and loving family, and how in the hardest of times, those that you consider family should be the ones you can confide and trust in the most. Therefore, it is both allowed and encouraged to be open about your faith with those you trust most within your immediate family. Parents can share the faith and its teachings with their children throughout their childhood. We hold confident that the lessons and morals of the Philosophy will be to an ethical and moral benefit to our children growing up.

Upon reaching the age of adulthood, however, it is entirely okay for the now adult child to freely choose whether they want to continue the faith or not, and all Xyphoist parents are expected to honor their children’s Free Will and life choices and love them unconditionally. It is the hope that the virtues of the Philosophy will shine through by that time and our children will also see the world as we do, but they most certainly don’t have to, and that’s within their right and liberty. The Philosophy does limit this sharing within the immediate family, so pestering extended family is not condoned nor encouraged.

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Question: What does the Philosophy say about envy or greed?

Answer: Both are extensions of the Immoral Act of Worldly Self-Obsession. Striped to their roots, both envy and greed are results of one being so self-absorbed that they project their insecurities and inability to control their desire to overindulge on others. But we also understand that these are expected thoughts and actions to have, particularly in a world inflicted with Deceptuary’s corruption. In the end, envy and greed come from fear; one may fear others having nicer things than them or having more of something than them. Deceptuary envies the powers of the other deities and desires to have all those powers for himself. Fear is the catalyst for both concepts.

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Question: Will the Ordinance establish Xyphoist schools and hospitals like other religious organizations?

Answer: No, or at least not ones explicitly based on the religiosity of the Ordinance. This is a question we must break into two. Let’s address schools first. The Ordinance is not interested and has unofficially decided to not establish any such preschool, primary, secondary, or post-secondary schools for we believe that would fall under the Immoral Act of Proselytizing and Preaching. The world already has secular schools that, in theory, should teach all manners of academics. And although we recognize the issue of varying educational standards and underfunding, we don’t believe that our Philosophy should usurp or “step in” the place of secular education. We’re more likely to donate to secular institutions of learning instead.

In terms of hospitals or other medical facilities, such as mental health clinics and homeless shelters, we’re less strict on the matter. The Ordinance is able to be responsible for the establishment of facilities of this manner but only through our secular Humanitarian subsidiaries laid out in the Sacred Hill Project. The Ordinance believes increasing access to, at the very least, mental healthcare, homeless shelters aimed at rehabilitating people down on their luck, and placing them in the path to future independent success is a key part of our goal to mitigate worldly suffering. This will include drug rehab centers, mental health and therapy clinics, and helping people get access to the providers and services they need to live successfully despite the state of this world.

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Question: if the Xyphokron isn’t a holy text, does Xyphoism have a central holy book?

Answer: Not particularly, no. The central story of our predicament, known as the Cosmic Struggle, functions as what one would consider the “holy text” of the Philosophy, and that pretty much just incorporates what Daetos recounts in Xykozheiz as what the current dilemma we face is; one could argue Xykozheiz itself is the holy text but we don’t personally see it as one nor would we be upset if someone were defile or damage the writing in that portion of the Xyphokron. The Xyphokron is a form of scripture, but it is not Sacred; it is akin to a religious textbook and manual. Likewise, these Commentary will eventually be compiled into a series of books, but they too are not sacred texts, only scripture written by humankind.

In the near future, the Ordinance will also publish a series of  texts that recount the events that took place in the greater beyond of the context within Xykozheiz. These books, which will be called the “Chronicles of Xyphos,” will go through various eras of existence from the recounts of the Hayles and other ancient figures, including the recounts of the first ten spirits of Xykopsysomi, the era in which the Hayles were caring for the Sacred Children in Xyzokizon, and the early lives of the Sacred Children as mortals leading up to our current time. These Chronicles will simply be supplementary recounts to the Xyphokron, which will still function as our major instructional text. The Chronicles of Xyphos will, likewise, not be holy texts but simply supplementary texts that give a greater understanding to the Cosmic Struggle recounted in Xykozheiz.

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And with that, we will end our questions here for today. Hopefully, we have answered a few burning questions from our readers and followers of the Order. With that said, we wish you a great rest of your Sacred Day.

—AHG, et al