Leaderboard

No, people didn't become legalistic overnight. Fear was instilled from early on in fellowships, sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly, depending on who was in charge at any given time. It came from the top - from the beginning. Probably based how VPW was raised, in a more formal environment nearly a century ago; and with perhaps an even stricter German adherence to how things ought to be; and then, when the money started to flow in, an increasing desire to retain control. So you take your wannabe leaders (Corps), convince them that being hard on people is "tough love" and is really showing the love of God; instill deeper fear into them because they've already given up a lot to enter the Corps program; bully and intimidate those that you can do this to (and throw out those you can't intimidate enough); make a few scapegoats where you can, using quite petty examples of rule-infraction (those that you throw out are good for this purpose); and then when you've rebuilt your victims, these remaining bullied people, in your own image, you can use them to transmit this "tough love" approach to intimidate those lower down the pecking order. It is exactly how abusers "condition" their victims. It's known as "coercive control." And those victims that managed to survive oftentimes become "twice the child of hell" (Mt 23:15) as their teachers, and meantime the teachers can appear lily-white and say that wasn't what happened at all, and they, the teachers, did everything for the good of the victim. Just like abusers all do. Other bullied people might themselves have had a bullying and/or manipulative nature, and they used this as a strength to help them rise in power, prestige, whatever. T-Bone says that Corps training was like sprinkling Miracle-Gro on our faults. I certainly think he has a good point there.

Of course you don't engage in name calling. You're a highly trained psychiatrist, right? Isn't that why you diagnosed mental illness in someone you claim to have never met? Shift this also said: "right on ! speak nicely ! dont call people names or put them down."

Twinky, what spat are you talking about?? Shift and I are politely disagreeing with each other; I think your comment about VPW was way off.