After several years outside of their circles, I went to my parents' church over my vacation. Here's my rundown of the ~30min sermon:
--Pre-emptive strike at science and philosophy to discredit any opposition before it starts.
--Sexism (with vague swipe at feminism)
--Homophobia
--Transphobia
--An endorsement of capitalism
--Worm theology; it is actually part of their Statement of Faith -- a core, binding document -- that humans live under God's condemnation by default!
This stuff is shockingly mainstream in #Christian circles.
I felt compelled to take notes to remind myself of all these elements that I am actively rejecting from how I was indoctrinated for the first 30+ years of my life.
Propaganda works by dehumanising people. Many church folks are so propagandised that they cannot even feel it anymore.
They're conditioned to feel *really* lucky to be in their in-group. It works by accepting, and saying, any insult about any out-group, for any reasons.
@sumpnlikefaith Yes! Spot on. I often tell people who are coming out of that religious world and angry at themselves for taking so long to leave, “You don’t know you’re in a cult until you’re no longer in the cult.”
It’s very sad.
@iamwill1w9 Just think about how often church people are even invited to define "cult."
(And that's only one example of a myriad of exclusively outward-facing boogeyman-buzzwords the church uses without clear definition.)
If church folks are unable to readily define it, how could they even begin to process its reality in their midst?
@sumpnlikefaith Absolutely right. Words are used without definition because they can be manipulated. It’s sad.
@iamwill1w9 @sumpnlikefaith
I read a book called "The Four Major Cults" and by their definition of the difference between a cult and a sect (extra-scriptural authority [the NT] unique end-times revelation, exclusivity [only believers can be saved] and some others), Christianity is a Jewish cult.
^^^ it was talking about JW, LDS, 7th Day Adventists and Christian Science Church, but from a Jewish perspective, Christianity fits perfectly.
@sumpnlikefaith @stueytheround @iamwill1w9 in our ancient past, fearing the outsider was probably a highly advantageous response. It kept the tribe together and safe from harmful opponents, as well as making them unite against the perceived threat. We don't need it as much now but I suppose that old habits die hard, especially when they have stuck around since antiquity.
@Cynanthrope @stueytheround @iamwill1w9 Cleary, there is a deep, instinctual element to fear. But this is something we humans have been trying to address for several thousand years, in various ways.
Yet now, people are somehow twisting the very language of welcome and hospitality into justification of prejudice, supremacism and xenophobia.
It's...a lot.
@sumpnlikefaith @stueytheround @iamwill1w9 maybe due to the uncertainty making people feel more afraid and out of control? We have had a cost of living crisis, environmental disasters and have not long come out of a pandemic. Scared people are more likely to believe conspiracies and maybe that's why people are even more suspicious of the outsider beyond what is healthy?
@Cynanthrope @stueytheround @iamwill1w9 You might be on to something. It's a really sad commentary of humanity if you are -- that a default way we try to manage our fear is to be scary.
Then again, this is the reality built into FDR's speech: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Fear does indeed make people scary.
@sumpnlikefaith @stueytheround @iamwill1w9 it is not a uniquely human thing to meet fear with fear aggression. Ever tried to make friends with a rescue dog or cat? Looking scary either for the other animal to back down first or to strike at the perceived threat before it strikes first is not uncommon. I know from my own experience that fear and uncertainty makes me a less wholesome person. I'm more someone who is looking to hide and save myself than lash out though.
@stueytheround @iamwill1w9 Some measure of self-awareness would certainly serve us well. As would extending some grace across these boundaries.
It's always been strange to me how focused human beings tend to be on what makes us different, instead of seeking out common ground.