Is The Order A Cult?

So got banned because she said her mom was mother nature and she didnt know how to put the address she has in an application?

How long before I'm banned for my ideas that are different?

Cult? I wonder...

To a dark place this conversation is going . Fear , fear of having ones account deleted for thinking differently than the rest . Fear leads to anger , anger leads to hate , and hate leads to the dark side . The dark side is emotional imbalance , having dark thoughts and emotions . We must keep ourselves balanced not only emotionally and physically but spiritually . A sound mind leads to a sound body and a sound soul .

Suppose that the order is a cult. Does that change the things you learn here through the IP, library, and the conversations you have had? Are they suddenly less true or false because they were learned in a cult? I don't see any real malice in TOTJO's activity. Haven't encouraged people to abandon their families or anything like that. If it is a cult and is not malicious, is there anything wrong with that?

Seems like a slippery surface situation.

After not too long of someone with controversial claims being around, one portion of the temple will have complained about "letting people like that run amok around the temple" and starting drama toward them, potentially setting them off in one way or another.

On the other hand, turning them away would set off other people who only see the narrative of scandal to fill in/replacing missing or misunderstood information.

These situations are pretty difficult to navigate, and someone in a critical position tends to have to choose a (hopefully) lesser of two evils. I don't envy you Br John. And I hope more of our community can begin approaching these situations more objectively to consider all sides and options.

Fyxe wrote: So

Warning: Spoiler!

dakini

got banned because she said her mom was mother nature and she didnt know how to put the address she has in an application?

How long before I'm banned for my ideas that are different?

Cult? I wonder...

How Dare You!

I did not quote all her spew of lunatic posts. I did not tell every single detail of the situation. I'm protecting someone's privacy. I paraphrased it into a couple of sentences. You put your goddammed ass on the line when somebody gets fucked up as a result of being here, you make the hard decisions, then we can judge you. She could have put her address into the comment section or PM'd it or whatever. She could have emailed it. She could have asked to speak to me on the phone. I do that. She refused every reasonable request and doubled down with the batshit bullshit. We had no way to verify her identity and that she was not a mentally ill fifteen-year-old. I still do not know who she is.

Go through this forum. It goes back to 2007. People have cursed me, ridiculed me, vilified me, and yes, some have even criticized me. They're still here. You're still here

Malicious wrote: To a dark place this conversation is going . Fear , fear of having ones account deleted for thinking differently than the rest . Fear leads to anger , anger leads to hate , and hate leads to the dark side . The dark side is emotional imbalance , having dark thoughts and emotions . We must keep ourselves balanced not only emotionally and physically but spiritually . A sound mind leads to a sound body and a sound soul .

Kindly do not put words in my mouth or ascribe motives to my actions. I try to limit myself to one good cussin' a day and what's his name just got one so ... when are you going to explain why a wall across the border of my state, Texas, and Mexico is such a good idea?

B. Kliban

To be fair, I think we generally ascribe a bit more importance to what a councilor says than a newcomer.

If any of what they said had any merits, I think those points ought to be discussed (I don't they they hold water btw). Ignoring some people crying wolf looks better than reacting to them.

I don't envy your position Br John. Have fun having everyone who's likely invested less in this than you (myself included) critiquing you.

christianity was a cult. it was controversial.
as to that whole concept - jedi as a cult, why? because we are a "temple?"
pretty weird to me, no money is asked - though you retain the right to give if you can and desire to do so. you cant even ask to be a member for 7 days, never mind the actual jedi training.
i actually blasted the whole hero thing as my first initiate post, which nobody can affect, so as to preserve my freedom to choose.
this is hardly anywhere near a cult.
in the interest of not being negative, i will refuse to say more on this silly topic.

How long before I'm banned for my ideas that are different?

You're assuming the reasons for your ban will have anything to do with your ideas, or at least trying to paint that connection in the mind of the audience.

I have no doubt that many people see themselves as martyrs. The thing about being a martyr is, it stops being relevant the moment you are no longer around to praise yourself if there is no one else around to keep your name day holy.

I, for one, as this water-cooler chat of inane speculation unfolds, wonder why Br. John started this thread to begin with?

I don't wonder very hard, mind you, as cleaning my toenails probably has a more functional outcome than any of TotJO's jaunts into internal politicking.....