tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post652713568478554836..comments2024-01-12T12:39:47.241-08:00Comments on The Christian Monist: My 95 . . . Okay, maybe 1 . . . Thesis Against the Evangelicals, Part I-BUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-18639779381708897352010-10-01T21:56:20.428-07:002010-10-01T21:56:20.428-07:00Augh. I am LOVING this series. Did you read my m...Augh. I am LOVING this series. Did you read my mind? Did you steal my thoughts? <br /><br />This is pure joy to read. (I mean, I know that I'm not alone, but sometimes it's so nice to really really FEEL like I'm not alone!--lol)...<br /><br />AinM<br /><br />(PS. Hi, HUG). :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-10158891207018276372010-10-01T14:00:45.504-07:002010-10-01T14:00:45.504-07:00am in agreement with HUG as to the logical extensi...<i> am in agreement with HUG as to the logical extension of one-true-doctrine believers.</i> -- Sixwing<br /><br />The original Internet Monk used to cite someone named "A.W.Pink" as the type example of this. He ended up literally "fellowshipping at home" in a "Church of One" because no other church could meet his exactly-parsed theology.<br /><br /><i>One of my relatives' churches is like that: their congregation (and nobody else) have Got It Right and are saved, and everyone else has Missed The Boat.</i> -- Sixwing<br /><br />This is also called the "Sacred Society of Secluded Saints" or "Us Four, No More (and I have doubts about the other three), Amen."<br /><br />Over at IMonk, I usually snark them with a comment like "Going to be awfully lonely with just you in Heaven."<br /><br />Headless Unicorn GuyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-45847903010346642292010-09-30T13:01:54.737-07:002010-09-30T13:01:54.737-07:00becky, man that article is so distrubing for me. W...becky, man that article is so distrubing for me. When in college I got involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). I experienced a lot that was written - lovebombing, trying to get you move involved etc.. It was nice until I realized Joseph Smith was a fraud and no longer believed the Book of Mormon. So I left, leaving wasn't easy but it helped that I moved from one region of the counry to another. <br /><br />Toward the end of my time as an evangelical I was noticing all these similarities between the LDS and modern day evangelicalism. Consider...<br /><br />Multitude of friends (as long as you believe the right way)<br /><br />"Us" vs "them" mentality with a sense of being persecuted (by liberals, gays, intellectuals, etc..). (In Mormonism this is classic LDS thinking...) <br /><br />Efforts at controlling what is read or watched as doubt is not healthy. <br /><br />Making idols out of missionaries, mega church pastors, where you worship the system, etc..<br /><br />And one of the most disturbing for me is the lack of boundaries. For example evangelcals I knew who would ignore my requests to not contact me who would send Facebook messages, send emails at work, etc.. What took the cake was my former Campus Crusade for Christ director..he would leave 4 voicemails each day, DAILY for 6 months. I thought I was going to have to change my phone number. <br /><br />That article Becky is chilling maybe that explains why I saw similarities between the two faith systems. Unbelievable...Eaglenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-15614341179513860832010-09-30T12:25:05.185-07:002010-09-30T12:25:05.185-07:00I am in agreement with HUG as to the logical exten...I am in agreement with HUG as to the logical extension of one-true-doctrine believers. One of my relatives' churches is like that: their congregation (and nobody else) have Got It Right and are saved, and everyone else has Missed The Boat. Whether the issue is rock music, piercings, tattoos, roleplaying games, or more along the lines of preferred translation (there is also, according to them, One True Bible Translation and One True Concordance), the issue is unimportant. The question is whether someone is one of them, or Other.Sixwinghttp://redsixwing.dreamwidth.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-91317920407039018352010-09-30T10:13:48.112-07:002010-09-30T10:13:48.112-07:00Re: indoctrination vs education
From the article:...Re: indoctrination vs education<br /><br />From the article:<br /><br />"There is a difference between teaching and indoctrination. Good teaching should equip the mind to think critically. Indoctrination tends to turn off the mind’s critical faculties. Indoctrination imposes an ideology upon people, an ideology that often restricts them from giving expression to important aspects of their lives. Teaching grants people the tools with which they can begin to work towards true expression of the world, God and themselves. Someone who has been taught, rather than indoctrinated, is empowered to think in a way that goes beyond their teachers."<br /><br />And his criticism is that churches (or teachers within churches) too often indoctrinate rather than educate.Beckynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-46370553846916732342010-09-30T09:50:07.320-07:002010-09-30T09:50:07.320-07:00"Remember how most any comment thread on Inte..."Remember how most any comment thread on Internet Monk turns into parsing theology letter-by-letter and flying anathemas and denunciations?"<br /><br />That's why I try to skip over those posts/comments that want to pick a theological fight with somebody.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240462070445948163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-66612198380833832362010-09-30T09:47:22.559-07:002010-09-30T09:47:22.559-07:00Becky, does he use the term indoctrinate, to mean ...Becky, does he use the term indoctrinate, to mean "This is what you suppose to believe so believe it, don't think about it, but, as an act of obedience just believe it." That's how it strikes me, the difference between education and indoctrination.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240462070445948163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-6512475226784947332010-09-30T08:08:45.337-07:002010-09-30T08:08:45.337-07:00I have several good Evangelical friends. Each have...<i>I have several good Evangelical friends. Each have this same attitude when it comes to this issue, basically, their precise church (or denomination) is the ONLY one that has their theology right.</i><br /><br />Remember how most any comment thread on Internet Monk turns into parsing theology letter-by-letter and flying anathemas and denunciations?<br /> <br />Remember the theoretical ultimate end state of Protestantism: <br /><br />MILLIONS of One True Churches, each with exactly ONE member, each denouncing all the others as Heretics and Apostates.<br /><br />Headless Unicorn GuyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-878914472051909043.post-60043811697463959712010-09-30T07:50:43.448-07:002010-09-30T07:50:43.448-07:00I've been thinking recently of an article by a...I've been thinking recently of an article by a guy whose blog Michael Spencer used to find thought-provoking and mention on Boarshead Tavern. I think the article may dovetail with some of the thoughts you've been having recently, especially about indoctrination vs education. Alastair's use of the "c" word in the title may put you off, but here are some of the main observations he makes about some (many?) church cultures, which may gain your interest again. (I haven't actually watched the video that Alastair is using to start his thoughts.)<br /> <br />-A failure to engage with the broader Church tradition and a tendency to become theologically inbred. <br />-The manner in which conversion is spoken of and conceptualized, resulting in "boring clones."<br />-Too many church meetings and activities that one is expected or encouraged to attend. <br />-There is a difference between indoctrination and education, and too many churches tend to indoctrinate rather than educate.<br /><br />Here's the link: <a href="http://alastair.adversaria.co.uk/?p=535" rel="nofollow">How To Become a Cult Leader</a>Beckynoreply@blogger.com