Strict Controlling Church Popularity

[Belle]

This is a very interesting article I read this morning. I found a church with the freedom to come and go, participate as much or little, give as much or little as I like so I quit looking at other churches. This article makes some interesting observations about the religions and churches some people choose because they WANT to belong to controlling, manipulating churches. Having been through what we have been through it’s so hard for me to fathom.

http://www.slate.com/id/2118313/?GT1=6443

quote:

Not even the pious have figured out how to communicate to the rest of the world why strict religious observance appeals to them. They just say that they do what they do because God wants them to do it…. Or they lay claim to moral superiority, which, if you believe that morality derives from God, is pretty much the same as saying you're doing what God wants you to do.

moral superiority – I remember all too well spouting and proclaiming my moral superiority in the office. Now I cringe thinking about how I acted.

quote:

…using the amoral language of rational choice theory, which reduces people to "rational agents" who "maximize utility," that is, act out of self-interest. (Economists assume that people are rational for methodological reasons, not because they believe it.) … economist Laurence Iannaccone makes the counterintuitive case that people choose to be strictly religious because of the quantifiable benefits their piety affords them, not just in the afterlife but in the here and now.

Were we submissive to TWI’s ridiculous rules because our egos liked the piety we perceived ourselves as having? I know some of us were certainly afraid to have to face God at the Bema because we hadn’t adhered 100% to TWI’s doctrines and regulations.

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At some point, of course, the disadvantages of zealotry outweigh the benefits. A church reaches that point when it fails to offer acceptable substitutes for everything it has asked its members to give up. Cults that lure their followers into the wilderness but provide them with no livelihood soon fade into history. All-encompassing codes of behavior that isolate people socially…all but disappear unless networks are established to support their adherents.

I can only hope that t his is true. It appears to be thus far given the dramatically declining numbers in TWI. Wayfers definitely have no livelihood given that they spend most of their money paying ridiculous rental fees, fixing up clunkers and providing the lavish lifestyles of the “spiritually mature” who “stand in the gap” for them.

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Pope Benedict XVI may have been onto something when, as cardinal, he told a German journalist that the future of the Catholic Church lies in smaller churches made up of more dedicated followers—a Christianity "characterized more by the mustard seed," as he put it.

Sounds like Pope Benedict XVI and craiggers may have something in common. ;)-->

[oldiesman]

It wasn't the strictness that really ruined twi, it was the lack of morality.

I think most folks can live with rules and regs., as long as they're dispensed in an honest and fair way by folks you can trust.

[Ham]

Perhaps, but many including myself did not have a clue about the guinea pig morals of the founder, his successor, and more yes men than you could shake a stick at..

The austerity, bad manners, and attempt to control every facet of MY life certainly hastened my exit, especially when I started considering how little I was really getting from my "investment".

True, knowledge about the moral depravity would have certainly hastened my departure.

"According to Iannaccone, the devout person pays the high social price because it buys a better religious product. The rules discourage free riders, the people who undermine group efforts by taking more than they give back. (http://www.slate.com) "

This is a very good point.

We were taught that you get what you pay for, and many of us paid, dearly. Up to a point, when the light finally started going off, I thought it was worth it. "We are the best that you can find in the biblical world"- hogwash.

But keep saying it enough times, and some people will believe it..

Unfortunately, what I got out of being closely involved with the Vey was not anywhere near the price I personally paid.

Their "failure" was to continue raising the price. Pretty soon we were paying gold bullion for the priviledge to sit at the BOT's feet and catch a few crumbs.

[Ham]

quote:

At some point, of course, the disadvantages of zealotry outweigh the benefits. A church reaches that point when it fails to offer acceptable substitutes for everything it has asked its members to give up.

Very very good point. When their god is so stinking small that he needs a plethora of rules, regulations and advisors to get anything accomplished- add to that, "results are not guaranteed"- EVENTUALLY, people wake up. At least most. Funny that they call people "disgruntled" at that point..

[GarthP2000]

quote:

This article makes some interesting observations about the religions and churches some people choose because they WANT to belong to controlling, manipulating churches. Having been through what we have been through it’s so hard for me to fathom.

Then again, you see videos of soldiers actually doing the goosestep variety of marching, and they seem to live with it. Or of people actually preferring to live in Muslim religious dictatorships, that they actually go rabid at the thought of not living that way. ... Go figure. -->

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It wasn't the strictness that really ruined twi, it was the lack of morality.

Perhaps the rigid strictness gave a clue as to how immoral they actually were. The strictness only served to quell any dissent.

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We were taught that you get what you pay for, and many of us paid, dearly.

Seems to me that in the religious world, the quality of what you get doesn't coincide with what you pay out, ... if ever. :(-->