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Gangs, Religions and Cults

Posted By: Randy GageDecember 3, 2018

In the last post I told you that our search for meaning and purpose ultimately leads to a trifurcation of three possible paths.  Today, let’s explore the first possible route… 

Path number one is the option most people choose.  It appears on the surface to be the easiest and safest path.  This is the decision to join one of the permutations of a gang, religion or cult.

Joining one of these groups seems easy, because you aren’t required to do all that messy, demanding, and time-consuming work on ethics, values, and principles.  Because every gang, cult, and religion comes with a “starter kit” of acceptable beliefs, philosophy, and behavior.

Whether you join MS-13, the Moonies, or Catholicism, you’re buying a turnkey franchise for what to think.  You can submerge your critical thinking ability and identity, choosing to defer to an institution you feel can safely handle those functions for you.

If you give the group total and unconditional buy-in – as most members do – you’re absolved of having any anxiety or introspection about who you are and why you’re here.  Your work for the collective and its goals rewards you with a sense of purpose.  (By the way, this doesn’t always show up as an organized group or institution. Sometimes it’s just a cause or movement you are drawn into.)  Somewhere between four and five billion people on earth have adopted this approach to living, most of who seem quite content with it.

Next post, we will look at option number two.  Until then, feel free to share any thoughts you have on all this.

-RG

5 comments on “Gangs, Religions and Cults”

  1. Most of the religions are but companies, where is the main goal is to suck money from the poor into the company.

    How this work:

    1. Slightly change other religions rules on order to make your religion a new one, and say that yours is the true one, the others are idiots.

    2. Aiming for the poor, because riches are very hard to manipulate (there is a reason why they are riches).

    3. Make the followers chosen ones. (Yuppy, God has chosen meeee!!!).

    4. Promise them Haven, make them lambs (lambs are passive creatures, that’s why they don’t make lions or tigers).

    5. Give them rules to follow. They take it serious, because the chosen ones job must be hard and important, even if the rules are completely dumb ones.

    6. Order them to collect followers. (More followers, more money).

    7. Ask donation from the followers. (We got the money, it is time to drink.)

  2. Glad you added ‘causes’ and ‘movements’ as they have the same impact.

    I also believe the connecting with one or more of these sometimes starts with an innocent situation: it’s raised in a conversation unexpectedly, just happened to be there, ... And then they were ‘challenged’ as to their thoughts or beliefs. And, rather than responding in ways aligned with their values (as they saw them at the time, probably not firmly held maybe), they choose to “not draw attention” by staying silent. The connection is made - initially at least in other people’s minds. And it often grows in their own thinking and actions from there!

    I’m a strong believer that we must, absolutely must, Consider things. First and foremost, we must determine what are true values are and WHY they are important to us. Then we must Consider each situation encountered in terms of those values. It’s entirely possible that the situation could lead to a change in values - but we must Consider!!!

    It may be prudent or desirable not to take strong exception to what’s happening in that situation. But we do need to calmly show our disagreement, maybe by leaving - better with a simple statement of disagreement. Otherwise it’s “connection by association.”

    I think this happens a lot. For example, I have a hard time believing the numbers of people supporting (or at least seemingly doing so) Hitler each Considered his message / plans and decided consciously to join his efforts. Because of fear or happening to be in a public place where a demonstration happened - or something, they didn’t Consider things even then and were an unintended “connection by association.”

    It’s a tough issue for sure. Who knows what I myself might do in any situations I might encounter. I believe I’d do as I’ve suggested and Consider. I hope I would. I know I have ... But I haven’t been in a ‘Hitler’ situation either. I’m guessing (hoping ...) that there were many troops, guards, ... that felt they had no options ... (And of course there were, sadly, lots of true believers!)

  3. But Randy, the purposes we are drawn to at times, in the case of religions, show to be contributing to the good of the world...

    The likes of Mother Theresa

    1. Mother Teresa contributed to the world by her personal actions. Whether she cloaked that in religion or not, it remains her personal actions that made a difference.

      Something we can all understand, then implement.

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  • 5 comments on “Gangs, Religions and Cults”

    1. Most of the religions are but companies, where is the main goal is to suck money from the poor into the company.

      How this work:

      1. Slightly change other religions rules on order to make your religion a new one, and say that yours is the true one, the others are idiots.

      2. Aiming for the poor, because riches are very hard to manipulate (there is a reason why they are riches).

      3. Make the followers chosen ones. (Yuppy, God has chosen meeee!!!).

      4. Promise them Haven, make them lambs (lambs are passive creatures, that’s why they don’t make lions or tigers).

      5. Give them rules to follow. They take it serious, because the chosen ones job must be hard and important, even if the rules are completely dumb ones.

      6. Order them to collect followers. (More followers, more money).

      7. Ask donation from the followers. (We got the money, it is time to drink.)

    2. Glad you added ‘causes’ and ‘movements’ as they have the same impact.

      I also believe the connecting with one or more of these sometimes starts with an innocent situation: it’s raised in a conversation unexpectedly, just happened to be there, ... And then they were ‘challenged’ as to their thoughts or beliefs. And, rather than responding in ways aligned with their values (as they saw them at the time, probably not firmly held maybe), they choose to “not draw attention” by staying silent. The connection is made - initially at least in other people’s minds. And it often grows in their own thinking and actions from there!

      I’m a strong believer that we must, absolutely must, Consider things. First and foremost, we must determine what are true values are and WHY they are important to us. Then we must Consider each situation encountered in terms of those values. It’s entirely possible that the situation could lead to a change in values - but we must Consider!!!

      It may be prudent or desirable not to take strong exception to what’s happening in that situation. But we do need to calmly show our disagreement, maybe by leaving - better with a simple statement of disagreement. Otherwise it’s “connection by association.”

      I think this happens a lot. For example, I have a hard time believing the numbers of people supporting (or at least seemingly doing so) Hitler each Considered his message / plans and decided consciously to join his efforts. Because of fear or happening to be in a public place where a demonstration happened - or something, they didn’t Consider things even then and were an unintended “connection by association.”

      It’s a tough issue for sure. Who knows what I myself might do in any situations I might encounter. I believe I’d do as I’ve suggested and Consider. I hope I would. I know I have ... But I haven’t been in a ‘Hitler’ situation either. I’m guessing (hoping ...) that there were many troops, guards, ... that felt they had no options ... (And of course there were, sadly, lots of true believers!)

    3. But Randy, the purposes we are drawn to at times, in the case of religions, show to be contributing to the good of the world...

      The likes of Mother Theresa

      1. Mother Teresa contributed to the world by her personal actions. Whether she cloaked that in religion or not, it remains her personal actions that made a difference.

        Something we can all understand, then implement.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


    Warning: Undefined variable $key in /nas/content/live/randygagedev/wp-content/plugins/honeypot-comments/honeypot-comments.php on line 63

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