Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
No we weren't actively responsible like BP and some others. But we were obedient to a fault even when something inside wanted to deck someone or just tell them to go mind their own business. To take their pointless insistence on some ridiculous thing like having your badge on and visible before you get out of your car at the video training and shove it. ([I]I came early one time to unlock the building and make sure that the A/C (or heater) was on well before anyone else would be coming. One of the leading ones came along just after I got there an raked me over the coals for not having my badge on. I bit my tongue. But it was pretty hard.
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Yes but don't beat yourself for that, not at all. The system itself teaches obedience ad nauseam (at least in Church in HK), it's part of the faith, it's part of being a "Christian". I am sure many members bite their tongues out of either fear (of millennial hell/rejection by the group) or desire to be "in the spirit". If you had complained about those things, such as badge wearing, you would have been manipulated into feeling you were a very poor soul indeed. I was berated many times for this, constantly being told I was "not in my spirit" and "if I had Christ I would not raise these points" and "all we need to do is focus on the Word"... (and, outside LC, at AOG, "we need to check if you are possessed by a demon" haha….)
I even went through a phase of questioning my questioning - I may have outlined it here before.. I decided on a project for "40 days" to stop being such a troublesome brother, and to accept everything in obedience no matter how annoying or petty it was. Fair to say, I did learn quite a lot during that period - but I couldn't do the full 40 days I promised myself, 30 days was all I could manage and then some unbelievable annoyance just tipped me over the edge. I was kicked out shortly after that.
Point being, Harold may be correct to say members are enablers for not questioning, but it's not the members fault, they've been tricked or manipulated into being that enabler. That's why a cult doesn't encourage critical thinking. That's the dangers of such a group.