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Cal · 09-10-2008, 09:34 PM

Matt, et al,

I've been thinking about this idolatry issue and here's the problem I have with it.

If there is idolatry in the LC system it's a symptom, not a root cause.

LCers don't think Lee is the minister of the age because they idolize him, they idolize him because they think he's the minister of the age. This may seem at first like an empty distinction, but I believe it is crucial.

Because of the dynamics of the LC view of authority and oneness, LCers generally believe what they are told to believe. They don't obey unquestioningly because they are idolaters, they do so because they believe in a false system of authority and oneness, and fear the consequences of resisting it. This warped system more or less pushes them into something that appears like idolatry, but this something is still a symptom of that mindset.

In fact, I think the LC adulation of Lee and the features of his ministry is in many cases a reaction somewhat similar to what's known as the Stockholm Syndrome, the phenomenon which occurs when hostages begin to show loyalty to their captors, even in the face of grave danger. When someone has immense power over a human being, the human mind tends to begin to give the person in power the benefit of the doubt, in order to make itself feel better about the situation it is in, and thus deal with it better. Better to be controlled by a saint than an ogre, and since the subordinate is controlled either way, the situation is much easier to swallow if the subordinate thinks of his controller as a saint. This is a "defense mechanism of identification"*, i.e the controlled identifies with the controller to achieve reassurance that he's not threatened.

Now some, (I'm thinking SC) are probably chortling in their glasses of milk right now, but I think I have a point. LCers are first taught that Lee is the minister of the age. Since they feel (due to their extreme set of beliefs regarding authority and oneness) that they have no choice in the matter, and since they cannot exist in their society without going along with this, it is much easier to embrace and even champion Lee's special standing than it is to truly think critically about it. So the idolizing, if it exists, is a symptom, a result of a mind trapped in a set of beliefs in which the only way to find wholeness is either to reject the beliefs outright or embrace them to the nth degree.

So Matt does has some points to make. But I think he is attacking a symptom, not a cause.

Igzy

* Wikipedia

09-10-2008, 09:34 PM	#801
Cal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 4,333	Matt, et al, I've been thinking about this idolatry issue and here's the problem I have with it. If there is idolatry in the LC system it's a symptom, not a root cause. LCers don't think Lee is the minister of the age because they idolize him, they idolize him because they think he's the minister of the age. This may seem at first like an empty distinction, but I believe it is crucial. Because of the dynamics of the LC view of authority and oneness, LCers generally believe what they are told to believe. They don't obey unquestioningly because they are idolaters, they do so because they believe in a false system of authority and oneness, and fear the consequences of resisting it. This warped system more or less pushes them into something that appears like idolatry, but this something is still a symptom of that mindset. In fact, I think the LC adulation of Lee and the features of his ministry is in many cases a reaction somewhat similar to what's known as the Stockholm Syndrome, the phenomenon which occurs when hostages begin to show loyalty to their captors, even in the face of grave danger. When someone has immense power over a human being, the human mind tends to begin to give the person in power the benefit of the doubt, in order to make itself feel better about the situation it is in, and thus deal with it better. Better to be controlled by a saint than an ogre, and since the subordinate is controlled either way, the situation is much easier to swallow if the subordinate thinks of his controller as a saint. This is a "defense mechanism of identification", i.e the controlled identifies with the controller to achieve reassurance that he's not threatened. Now some, (I'm thinking SC) are probably chortling in their glasses of milk right now, but I think I have a point. LCers are first taught that Lee is the minister of the age. Since they feel (due to their extreme set of beliefs regarding authority and oneness) that they have no choice in the matter, and since they cannot exist in their society without going along with this, it is much easier to embrace and even champion Lee's special standing than it is to truly think critically about it. So the idolizing, if it exists, is a symptom, a result of a mind trapped in a set of beliefs in which the only way to find wholeness is either to reject the beliefs outright or embrace them to the nth degree. So Matt does has some points to make. But I think he is attacking a symptom, not a cause. Igzy Wikipedia Last edited by Cal; 09-10-2008 at 10:09 PM.