Penelope
weak force testosterone
shawn said:
(Shawn split off from TealLeaf's thread Designing a New Religion and began his own, for the reason's above.
He created the So what's the story to be? thread, within which I have commented.
Trying to leave a lengthy, carefully thought-out reply, last week, something misfired and my post never appeared.
I realized, in the intervening week, that my remarks suggest a new thread)...
Faith as an emotionally powerful fantasy = visual mind-pictures which touch a person's inner core?Trying to leave a lengthy, carefully thought-out reply, last week, something misfired and my post never appeared.
I realized, in the intervening week, that my remarks suggest a new thread)...
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Shawn,
How does one get people working together?
How did Christianity do it?
How did Islam do it?
How did Buddhism do it?
Religious cults pop up all the time throughout history. Then disappear.
Most cults do not outlive the death of their charismatic leader by more than a few years.
Were the great religions just statistical anomalies? Which survived by the luck of the draw?
I suppose a case could be made supporting this proposition. But I think some other force is at work.
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During my last couple years of college, many books made a major impression on me. But one of those still resonates, today, 20-some years later.
The author was Ernest G. Bormann (University of Minnesota, USA).
Bormann is a leading theorist in Communication Theory. His principal claim to fame is "Symbolic Convergence Theory" (SCT).
Bormann's book in question analyzes how the movement against slavery in early 19th century America - the Abolitionist movement - became such an effective political and moral force during its day. (And how its legacy continues to ply its force, influencing the American conscience). Sure, much of the reason for this anti-slavery movement's success comes down to grassroots political organizing, fund-raising, etc. But Bormann argues that the principal reason for this particular movement's success was how the Abolitionists talk.
The title of the book is:
The Force of Fantasy: Restoring the American Dream (1985).
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Whether one participates in a social movement or religious movement, it is crucial to get everyone ... onto the same page. Working off the same playbook.
How did the Abolitionists do it?
It came down to how they talked about the issue of slavery. Both how they talked in-house - amongst fellow members of the movement - and, also, how they verbally interacted with outsiders whom they were trying to bring into the ranks of their cause, the greater public.
What was the key to their ultimate success?
It comes down to the nature of Abolitionist rhetoric.
This rhetoric involved an elegant mixture of content and style.
RHETORICAL CONTENT
The content of the rhetoric was rich in visual imagery. The sources for the imagery ranged from the mind-pictures 19th century Americans collectively had in their heads of earlier American history, to those mind-pictures of religious and political events in world history which were common knowledge in that era, to those day-to-day images people see down at their own town square or commercial hub - the local harbor or river-landing.
In-house, this imagery helped reinforce fellow Abolitionist resolve. And it provided members a quick-sketch short-hand language for how to characterize the pertinent issues of the day.
Due to the easy familiarity of the imagery, the outsider could - with great ease - picture what the Abolitionists were talking about. The Abolitionists surrounded this listener within a familiar world, however a world calculated to bend the listener to the Abolition way of thinking.
RHETORICAL STYLE
The style of the rhetoric had some innovations of its own ...
But it keyed itself away from traditional American oration-styles - as practiced by political men like Daniel Webster - and drew more from Protestant preaching styles originating in pre-Revolution America.
The roots of this pulpit-thumping dates from the earliest Puritan days in America. And while some of this involved "fire and brimstone," the richer side of this style of preaching involved speaking directly to each individual in the pews.
Every individual was encouraged to work on themselves, to work on their inner-life, to seek personal self-improvement. The more self-aware the person becomes, the more humane this person typically becomes-toward-others.
A style of rhetoric is sought-out by these preachers and, later, by the Abolitionists that would touch a person to their inner core.
These 'visual mind-pictures' which 'touch a person's inner core' targeted listener emotions.
...
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(Due to length restrictions, I continue this line of argument upon the first Reply post.)
? But assuming it is the mysogyny, I sort of agree with you about that. But isn't most of the entire Bible mysogonystic ? Does that mean that you have similar gripes with the entire Bible ? 
