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In Reply to: On Apostates posted by Perry on September 01, 2005 at 18:06:19:
You can see my frustration on the subject as I kept pushing the wrong key on the typepad in an effort to respond.
You ask, "Are they really that ignorant that they believe that current members of a controversial religious group would be more objective and truthful about the true nature of the group than former members would be?"
These cult-thinkers and apologists, with blinding tunnel vision and limited education that perceives nothing but their 'pet' fundamentalist mindset and utopian cult future that saves the world, take the long view and justify to themselves that the good of the cult outweighs the bad. This is the long view--the view of denial--the view of delusional, perhaps schizophrenic behavior, rigidly they believe they can do no wrong that would justify the dissolution of their movement--and they have many precedents on both sides of the question.
"So much good is happening, why dwell on the negative." They say to themselves.
What bothers me most of all is that in their trumpeting of "religious freedom" they sound so blindingly ignorant of other human freedoms, rights and laws that democracy has provided the citizenry. They sound silly and vacuous in their boasting and threatening--don't we all?
They continually hearken back to a theocratic age and golden childhood of dreams and innocence--on the blood, sweat and tears of ex-members who labored sincerely, but suffered the abuse the leaders relentlessly deny in thought and word; but now, these dissatisfied and mentally awakened ex-members have changed their simplistic views and developed another mindset--through education, financial independence and that makes them anathema to the cult and the apologists.
The answer, beyond unremitting and bitter war, is to educate these cultics who always want to "help" society. Keep an eye on the children. Keep harping on reality while they keeping trumpeting on the dreams.
Somewhere in the middle is the answer and, dare I say it?----The final solution!
