I was listening to NPR this morning, and the Trump verdict in New York was the focus of the news. One of the things that stood out to me was the loyalty test which Trump has devised for his supporters. If you don't support me, you're not really a Republican - you're a RINO (Republican In Name Only). That got me to thinking about how Armstrongites do the exact same thing in the religious realm.
They say that traditional Christians aren't really Christians. They say that only those who have accepted their teachings (what they call "THE TRUTH") are "TRUE" Christians. All of those other folks are just pretending to be Christian! In other words, such a person is a Christian in name only! Hmmm, that seems like an interesting parallel to me - What do you think?
The following comment was posted to my private account:
ReplyDeleteYou're right . . . but many orthodox Christians do the same with those who hold heterodox ideas. Why, Calvin even had Servetus burned at the stake with green wood so that the torment could be extended because his victim rejected a belief in the Trinity. I think it's human nature to want to think "I and my tribe are right and you are not" and often, to condemn and even hurt in some way those who disagree with us. "You're a Trotskyite? Then you're not a true Russian Communist!" said Stalin, who had Trotskyites purged and eventually Trotsky himself murdered.
Why can't we just have our convictions and allow others to have theirs? The answer is, we can't. We want to control others. Others don't want to be controlled by us. So we fight and hurt and even kill one another. Might makes right. It's been that way forever and I don't see it changing anytime soon.
Sorry for getting on my soapbox!