![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastIn my previous tip, I mentioned the cult tactic of renaming someone. It's an effort to take control of someone else's identity. It's also something people do thinking that they're being friendly and polite. Some people will even take the refusal to accept a new name, such as a nickname based on one's name, as being standoffish or taking oneself too seriously.
If you prefer to be called Raymond or Rachel and dislike being called Ray, people don't understand. After all, they're just trying to be friendly.
The problems only exaggerate when in the context of evangelism and apologism. As stated before*, you're not the only one.
Nicknames, with a pressure to accept, aren't the only way that one's own culture and practices can mirror cult tactics. "Love Bombs" are the use of conspicuous acts of kindness and gifts as a means of making someone feel good for being in your presence. It's an act of manipulation... and it could also be an attempt at a romantic gesture.
When initially joining, many cults have a confession or "unburdening" practice of having the member say what they feel guilty about, releasing themselves of a burden that will, later on, be used as a means of blackmail. And, similarly, manipulation of guilt can be a means of making someone feel unfree to leave a relationship or group.
Some of my target audience might point out that this series is meant to be about avoiding mistakes and tactics that do not work. Cult tactics, if you ignore the morality, at least work.
That depends on your goal. Cult tactics are not useful in convincing the unconvinced to freely take up your faith and freely continue to carry it. Cult tactics are useful in controlling people, not always specific people, into being unable to leave a group or practice.
I am, perhaps, expressing some optimism, here, that I my target audience is composed of those who genuinely wish to "win souls for Christ" and are in a culture that often times loses sight of other things in the search for that win. If that's your goal, you want to avoid cult tactics. They don't make for believers, they make for the controlled. There is a difference.
Additionally, while all human beings can be manipulated with cult tactics, an old phrase (often miss-attributed to Abraham Lincoln) does apply. You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Those cult tactics might "win" you one controlled person who will certainly go out of way to make sure you continue to believe that they'r a true believer (that will become more important than actual belief, because cult tactics encourage the Orwellian). But, they'll be noticed by others.
The old standby line of "if it saves even one person..." well, that too should be another tip.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/39359.html
If you prefer to be called Raymond or Rachel and dislike being called Ray, people don't understand. After all, they're just trying to be friendly.
The problems only exaggerate when in the context of evangelism and apologism. As stated before*, you're not the only one.
Nicknames, with a pressure to accept, aren't the only way that one's own culture and practices can mirror cult tactics. "Love Bombs" are the use of conspicuous acts of kindness and gifts as a means of making someone feel good for being in your presence. It's an act of manipulation... and it could also be an attempt at a romantic gesture.
When initially joining, many cults have a confession or "unburdening" practice of having the member say what they feel guilty about, releasing themselves of a burden that will, later on, be used as a means of blackmail. And, similarly, manipulation of guilt can be a means of making someone feel unfree to leave a relationship or group.
Some of my target audience might point out that this series is meant to be about avoiding mistakes and tactics that do not work. Cult tactics, if you ignore the morality, at least work.
That depends on your goal. Cult tactics are not useful in convincing the unconvinced to freely take up your faith and freely continue to carry it. Cult tactics are useful in controlling people, not always specific people, into being unable to leave a group or practice.
I am, perhaps, expressing some optimism, here, that I my target audience is composed of those who genuinely wish to "win souls for Christ" and are in a culture that often times loses sight of other things in the search for that win. If that's your goal, you want to avoid cult tactics. They don't make for believers, they make for the controlled. There is a difference.
Additionally, while all human beings can be manipulated with cult tactics, an old phrase (often miss-attributed to Abraham Lincoln) does apply. You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Those cult tactics might "win" you one controlled person who will certainly go out of way to make sure you continue to believe that they'r a true believer (that will become more important than actual belief, because cult tactics encourage the Orwellian). But, they'll be noticed by others.
The old standby line of "if it saves even one person..." well, that too should be another tip.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/39359.html
