Theos-Talk Archives (January 1997 Message tl00530)

On Wed, 15 Jan 97, Titus Roth  wrote:

>Should one not even attempt to make rules? If the rules are well thought >out, I think we should make the attempt. Periodically we may have to revise >them or scrap them, but they serve a vital purpose. Here is an example of >how they serve well. Let's say you are trying to teach tennis to young man >or woman who has never played. You can't very well say, "Develop your own >style." They don't have access to that yet. So you say, "Hold the racket like >this." "Swing like this." "Approach the net like this." They really appreciate >you saying something definite and not wishy-washy. Eventually, by following >the rules, they discover the Rules (capitalized). Then they can follow the >Rules but sometimes break the rules (lower case).

This is analogous to why I have the exact opposite opinion of why the TS is
in decline from those who think it has suppressed the truth too much.  Up
to a certain level of development, fixed rules are better than an
open-minded intuitive approach, just as, for an individual with a broken
leg, crutches are better than trying to walk without them.  Without going
through the dogmatic stage, the intuitive stage could not be reached.  The
TS should be more like a cult.  In arriving at the optimal balance,
destructive extremes must be moved toward.  I remember when the 1994 Crime
Bill was passed.  I was listening to the Art Bell show, and Art was ranting
and raving about how "Benedict Gingrich had sold our 2nd Amendment rights
down the river" by voting for, and leading approximately 40 other
Republicans to vote for, the bill, which outlawed many semi-automatic
weapons.  Believing that such an movement towards outlawing all guns was
not the same thing as an indication of the intention to eventually outlaw
all guns, I called in and said so, for the first time ever.  Seeking a
balance between legalizing all weapons and outlawing all weapons was not
the same thing as this ominous threat to our freedoms that he was
portraying it to be.  In the same way, there must be some authority in any
society, and it is always possible for even the society that most advocates
open-mindedness to have too little authority and to have to move towards
being a cult in order to have the optimal amount.  I wonder how many fewer
members the Catholic Church would have if it emulated the lack of central
leadership that the TS has.  I do not consider it to be a coincidence that
the peak membership of the TS was immediately before Annie Besant's death.
We need strong leaders like her.