Bolshevik

My #4 is probably related to #3 and the rise of the internet. The boundaries between private and public are yesterday's news. I highly respect your efforts with your own, Chockfull.

Japan's demographics are quite different too. The population is shrinking. Obviously, children are not a priority.

1) Nobody can define cult. This would open yet another avenue for The State's active dissolution of the family unit altogether while putting large segments of the population into financial bondage. This will contribute to authoritarian rule. As it is family members fear one another and the whole concept is increasingly being avoided. Government and family are tied. 2) The bigger issue is the lack of role models in the first place. Probably why the first generation got involved in the first place. 3) My own experience with people trying to intervene is that it causes permanent division. No program will fill the void of the absent family. 4) A person can never escape the fact the he or she exists because a group consisiting of easily impressionable people intensely followed a pervert. 5) If people can raise themselves babies should be made in factories. 6) The stigma remains regardless. Culties have cooties. 7) This is likely a political issue.

Jiminy Cricket symbolizes the conscience in the Pinocchio story. Jiminy and Pinocchio don't converse well and Pinocchio ends up lying and getting into all sorts of trouble. When you learn to stop lying to yourself things tend to go better for you. Jiminy Cricket also has the same initials as Jesus Christ. Still a better story than snow on the gas pumps.

If sin is to "miss the mark" . . . like with a bow and arrow, missing the target Having and Absent Christ with this Word and a bazillion conditions and promises to keep track of makes it hard to focus on anything . . . because it's too much noise . . . ultimately you aim at nothing and hit nothing. Jesus giving just one or two commandments gives a simple target to focus on . . . you're more likely to hit it

You begin with the assumption of an infallible, perfect Word - The Bible. This interpretation requires a perfect gift, the holy spirit. - you have what, 900 promises to figure out? That's a lot of perfection to expect of YOURSELF. When things fail, which they WILL, what does one do? Pretend not to condemn oneself and repeat . . . and things fail AGAIN . . . rinse . . . repeat . . . this is nonsense I think Jesus hung all the commandments on two for a simple reason . . . everything flows from there

He can not hand out contrived platitudes, for starters. There's an argument in here. You've dismissed the importance of working in groups, and put the emphasis on the individual receiving divine revelation. Does he just keep that information to himself? Or walk around as God's gift to the human race? "Look at me, God sent ME a message . . . see how giving I am" So now others are supposed to expect the same? "If I just do this right, God will speak to ME too . . " Is God in the individual, or is God in the group? Or is God in a specific group with a specific individual? Well you've start by referring to working in groups as "matching wits with the obfuscating powers"

You're describing the narcissist's need to devalue and discard others. Mike described how narcissists/borderlines see the world as a play, and you are simply there to fill a predetermined role. (That's from a video by Vaknin)

The United States of America has a written document called the Constitution. There are whole bodies of people dedicated to deciding its interpretation. This has been going on with some continuity for 200 years. Plenty to discuss. Scripture is thousands of years old. How is its proper interpretation decided? Do you see how conforming and restricting and suffocating this is?

SOLA COLLATERALA! *thumps chest*

TVTs were bred by bad ideas people accepted. Stop pretending there was corruption. Things self destruct by design.

Before jumping out to help others one should have their own house in order. I was referring to the perfect internal image one has of oneself as if Jesus. That is perfectionism. That erodes itself. That does not help others.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Timothy 3%3A16-17&version=ESV Instead of perfect, complete is translated here. https://apologeticessay.wordpress.com/2022/05/02/does-2-timothy-316-17-teaches-sola-scriptura/ Verse 16 is talking about The Old Testament. Interesting also the article points out that inspiration includes prophecy, music and art. Ever seen the artwork from The Way? Bland. The music? zzzzzzzz The Word taking the place of the Absent Christ is kinda like saying "Art takes the place of the Absent Christ" "Literature takes the place of the Absent Christ" From the comments:

Thoughts, words and action going in the same way? The synchronized life?

Being inspired by an image may be different. I'm reasonably certain in TWI results were expected to be instantaneous. Which is insane.

2 Tim 3:17 . . . There's probably a thread about this verse. Or the verse prior. I think prior you mentioned this is how one can talk to Paul. This holding of an image of oneself involves no real growth or self reflection. If you hold a perfect image and it doesn't work when tested in the real world you will begin patchwork excuses and blame. If you are in a leadership or administrative position this magnifies the problem.

You are literally telling people to be perfect. Demand for perfection is utopian thinking. This leads to demand for control. And control leads to whining about groupthink. This image you have to be a Jesus is dangerous.

Ambivalence That's the word I'm looking for.

Well I think Anthony Burgess's illustration of authoritarian rule showed a dystopia where harm came from above and below. That type of control makes chaos. Changing those in power, even a different party, changes nothing. You can't force liberty on others. "What I tried to do with bullets he accomplished with a song" - RRR (the movie) Questions what Jesus was doing when turning the other cheek. Made for a stronger statement on the cross.

The use of mind control to reform a criminal ultimately leads to more depravity.

Yeah groupthink doesn't make sense in a cult context. Culties want the easy route. It's a fantasy. It's pleasure island. I like you used the term sacrifice. The cult didn't take anything. Everything was freely given.

The Bible is not a text on real factual history. Victor Paul Wierwille did not speak the truth.

When engaging in groupthink the individual is making a decision, as in collectivism, to put the group cohesion before oneself. Maybe fear is involved but I don't think it has to be. I guess that begs a question, is it always best to put oneself before the group? Is it always groupthink to put others first? Is ostracism not a real threat? If a sense of belonging is a genuine need to be addressed doesn't some form of groupthink become acceptable? Is there a right or wrong context to groupthink? The whole Research Department is the idea that The Word is The Bible and it needs to be "dug into". Which has already been done by VPW. The groupthink is the individual's and the group's acceptance of that idea? Renewing your mind is essentially, "Lie to yourself". Just lie to yourself. Accept what you don't accept. Ignore the internal boundaries within yourself. Scramble the internal world. If you are lying to yourself, how can you trust yourself? Are you you anymore? Do you know you at all? Who is doing the following? You or you or they? The Followers of The Way are liars. All of them. A group of liars where each non-individual is putting the group of liars before themselves.

Clockwork Orange is also a book. Some people are orange. The use of fear is quite the motivator. The fear of mind-control is also a motivator.

Crap . . . I've been so busy I haven't read a book about it . . . . I mean I've gotten through the title but soooo busy . . . . . . I asked a lot of questions years ago. Blank faces. Blank faces everywhere. It boggles the mind how some people are content to stay where they are year after year after year after year. Being handed pre-cut responses is noticeable, even for kids. If two people are saying the same things . . . are they two separate individuals? If you can guess what they will say without taking into account who they are . . . when the person doesn't matter . . . like people are interchangeable parts in an ideology