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rrmoderator
Josh:
A more obvious explanation for everyone agreeing with McKay on various doctrines and his idiosyncratic interpretation of scripture is that he wants it way.
Those that disagree with McKay eventually either leave and/or are made to feel unwelcome and thus forced out.
McKay essentially controls the environment, much like other leaders in groups called cults, in a way that is deliberately done to produce uniformity.
Essentially he is attempting to clone his version of what a Christian should be and he is the prototype.
See [www.culteducation.com]
This paper explains that the "key factors that distinguish coercive persuasion from other training and socialization schemes are:
The reliance on intense interpersonal and psychological attack to destabilize an individual's sense of self to promote compliance
The use of an organized peer group
Applying interpersonal pressure to promote conformity
The manipulation of the totality of the person's social environment to stabilize behavior once modified."
If you read the entire paper you will better understand what former members are referring to here when they talk about "cult-like" coercive techniques.
IMO--the McKay group mirrors a classic cult profile.
See [www.culteducation.com]
Cults can be identified essentially by three characteristics:
"a charismatic leader who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose their power;
a process I call coercive persuasion or thought reform;
economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie."
Again, the paper goes into far greater detail with precise descriptions at length.
If you study this material it will help you to better understand a group like "Jesus Christians.
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matilda
Congratulations Apostate!
Your style is quite unique, legible, fathomable and often entertaining. Todays post , for example, was really funny. Dave has a point about style.
For example, you rarely, if ever, include drivelly, inane or cliche ridden phrases like
' I am damned if I do and I'm damned if I dont'
'You cant have it both ways guys' or
' You see, April, when you say blah blah blah, what you really mean is blah blah blah'
' There are no locks on the door'
' When they mention Hitler..,we know..'
' ...........we eat babies'
Apostate, this man makes his living writing books!!
:shock: :confused:
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He has very cleverly coaxed the others into admitting that even if I were taken totally out of the picture, they would still continue to attack the rest of you because of what we BELIEVE.
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cultmalleusQuote
He has very cleverly coaxed the others into admitting that even if I were taken totally out of the picture, they would still continue to attack the rest of you because of what we BELIEVE.
The group would simply fall apart without Dave anyway.
I suppose what you believe is influenced by what you do and when you choose to do different things your beliefs change. I never had much drive to "evangalise" even while in the group and leaving the group made me believe even less in it. However, my interest in global justice and helping others is stronger than ever and I can pursue these goals more effectively now, as I don't have to pander to Dave's personality, insecurities and restrictions. Of course, some good things were done, but largely in an amateurish way with a refusal to learn from people with more experience or knowledge and often without concern for cultural sensitivities.
Having children has of course introduced a completely new dimension to life. I always knew the group was not a good place to raise kids, even when I was more enthused about being in the group.
One of the major beliefs that get people into Dave's group is the "end of the world is nigh" type ideas. He has persisted in this ideology since he was a young adult. He cannot see that it is a destructive ideology that cannot build things for the future or the long term because "apocalypse is just around the corner". Dave thrives on crisis and change.
Unfortunately the "apocalypse is just around the corner" belief is as old as time, from the Zoroastrians to the Essenes, from Pseudo Methodius to the Millerites, from the Adventists to the Jehovah witnesses.
[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]
Anyone remember Kohoutek?
Anyone remember "The fall of America"?
The apocalyptic ideology is a useless curse upon humanity, it has robbed Dave of what he might have become and through it he is robbing his followers of what they might become.
Dave and LaHaye will eventually be less remembered than Pseudo Methodius.
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Dogmother
Josh, there're several ex-members you forgot to mention in your last post, myself for one. We are planning a summit-get-together for later in the year to brainstorm on how to shut Dave up, probably an impossible task since he's super human and spends all his time going on and on, day and night, in his unique, defensive, slanderous mode, (doesn't leave him any time to do much constractive work for humanity).
WE would like to close him down forever, dismantle his present "team" of poor, misled followers and have them all come over to our side. There's spiritual and physical freedom where we are, honesty, love, even sex :oops: and the laughter of children. It's the children who are our future. Dave and his virgin-army nonsense doesn't have a long-term future.
I'm only posting once in a while, since I'm very busy with non-Dave realated matters and my dogs--huskies--of course.