Ball of Confusion: Part 1 – What is "TRUE"?

[Anonymous]

[Administrative note: This is the last comment, I hope, about what I’m going to address. This post is about “truth” – not “cults” – and I’ll explain why it needs to stay that way at the end of this comment.]

That’s a good definition of “cult”, as long as we are willing to say that many churches, businesses, social organizations, sports teams, political parties, book clubs, charitable foundations, military units, etc. are cults.

It’s such a fine line, and, to me, the point where lines have been crossed between “normal cults” and “unacceptable, dangerous cults” is where actual physical force is used to enforce conformity and participation and stop someone from leaving the group. Too many people leave the LDS Church too easily for it to be considered as part of the second category, imo – as hard as it is for others to leave; also, there really is room for people with radically different views about lots of things – and the more “cultish” actions generally occur at the local level, due to over-zealousness by insensitive leaders.

Further, and this is absolutely critical:

I’ve said many times here that there is a basic, fundamental difference between settlers and explorers – and the explorers tend to over-see and resist “cultish” behavior, while settlers tend to under-see and accept “cultish” behavior. Those who participate here tend to be explorers, and it’s important, therefore, to be aware of and resist the tendency to dismiss what works for so many settlers by throwing around the “cult” label. Thus, as a friend of mine wrote once, “Whenever I hear of a charge of cultism, I try to think, ‘Is it I?'” That’s far more productive on a personal level than simply blasting “those others”.

Finally, this is not the right thread for an extended discussion of cultish behavior, and the LDS Church is not uniquely cultish – especially in the way that term is bandied about as a unique charge by many people whose own religious communities are every bit as cultish as we are (and, in many ways, even more so – think many evangelical organizations). It’s a loaded and automatically pejorative word in our current society, so, while it is a perfectly valid academic question, we can have that discussion about specific things without throwing around accusations or implications that the entire religion is a cult in some unique way. It isn’t.

Let’s try to stick here, in this thread, to the question posed by BofC about “truth”. OK?

[Anonymous]

Old-Timer wrote:

It’s a loaded and automatically pejorative word in our current society

Much like the words molest/molestation and intercourse. (meaning to bother and interact, respectively)

So while it would be technically true to say, “I routinely molest people and then engage in social intercourse with them.” It would probably conjure up all kinds of perverse meanings in the mind of the recipient/receiver of the message.

Being that the whole point of communication is to understand and be understood, and that using such words would become a barrier and obstacle to this purpose, the logical conclusion is to not use these words (except in the sexual context).

Bringing this back to “truth” and testimony bearing – a TBM that is bearing testimony and TBM’s that receive said testimony are communicating a form of understanding and being understood (an acceptance) that belies the actual words being used. The words are just “keys” or “tokens” to a deeper meaning. I see one of the struggles of faith crises as being locked out of this hidden meaning (the challenge of dissecting the wording in a way that still provides meaning to you, the tightrope of communicating in a way that is authentic to yourself but also does not betray you as an outsider or divergent thinker).

[Anonymous]

Roy, you make a good point about the need to be responsible with the words we use and the audience used with if we are seeking understanding with our communications. I also think there are times when truth should be explained to debunk misperceptions or stereotypes, even to “settlers”. But it often takes tact, timing, and to be done in digestible doses.

The truth often lies behind the words, so understanding it for oneself, and expressing it to others are two separate challenges.

[Author]

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