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In Reply to: Fearing God not fearing man posted by Oldtimer on September 24, 2006 at 00:50:03:
Intimidation and fear are related but are they the same thing? Not in my mind. Intimidation was/is rampant in the cult but I wonder about fear. Your example is clear and obviously it was/is fear what Berg and his ilk impart through the writings.
What's the difference between one and the other? Fear is more permanent than intimidation. Intimidation instills fear and not the other way around. Intimidation is an action, fear results from accepting the intimidation.
Intimidation was/is rampant but fear came from giving Berg the authority over one's soul. Other leaders followed his example. So-called shepherds and leaders would lead their flock through intimidation. Their flocks fear them and followed them in fear, for fear of retaliation. The intimidation came from their leaders but fear came from a complex mix of elements: their situation, their status in the cult, their internal support, their external support, their past, etc.
Maybe many followed Berg for fear that he would retaliate, but maybe many did also for other reasons, including greed. Fear results from giving power to the intimidation but not everybody bought into it. Some form of greed, an innordinate desire to obtain something, can overcome intimidation - but so many other personal factors. For example, what about an outlaw who is risking going to jail if he/she steps out of the protective annonimity
of the cult?
In my case, I was intimidated, a lot, by some or even most or all of my "leaders" but I did not fear them. If anything, that intimidation turn into perplexity, confusion and pity. Under those conditions, how could I trust these people to be godly leaders? I read too much of the Bible and compared my readings with the letters, and the bible won every time. I guess oplexicon was not too bad after all.
My respect for leaders was minimal and my respect for Berg as a person was never too high, and was totally nothing as a man of God. My payoff for being in the cult came from the people around me, whom I considered my brothers and sisters. They were my family. The people in the chain were an obstacle and most of all a necessary evil.
These thought explorations are helpful to me. I hope they are to others also.
