tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52912413020249030.post2935018642669414964..comments2024-03-12T11:58:24.510+13:00Comments on Otagosh: Checklist for LegalistsGavin Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17965552923012880262noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52912413020249030.post-59213388347836452492015-05-29T08:30:56.894+12:002015-05-29T08:30:56.894+12:00When I was in the WCG, most of the people I knew w...When I was in the WCG, most of the people I knew would score more than 20 on this kind of test. They either talked about these things or their behavior displayed these principles. A friend once wrote me and said that Christianity was inherently legalistic because it involved laws, therefore how could I single out the WCG as being legalistic. But I think the scope of the term is different from that for most of us:<br /><br />1. Legalism refers to the idea that keeping the law is a factor in the equation of salvation at parity with faith. Works of the law act synergistically with faith to produce salvation. This is an heresy. This error forms the foundation of Jesus Plus Cults, of which the WCG was one. In their simplest form, these cults deny the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice. Recall how the WCG was preoccupied with the laws and statutes, the Old Testament, Moses and God the Father. Christ got mentioned mostly around Passover and his message of grace greatly suppressed (Look in HWAs book The Mystery of the Ages and you will find one tiny anemic reference to a limited form of grace yet grace is the principle that most sharply separates Christianity form other religions.)<br /><br />2. For Christian churches that have the faith and works issue properly sorted out, there is still a form of legalism. They may pay lip-service to the idea of grace but their focus is on performance. They have committed to Christianity as a competitive sport and have let faith atrophy. <br /><br />Both of these forms of legalism are great for people with OCD. They have everything: laws, commandments, ceremonies, accumulation of merits, judging others, guilt and fear. But Smith left out some of the big ones for the WCG: minutes of prayer, frequency of fasting, minutes of meditation and minutes of Bible Study. I remember when I was still an Armstrongite, if I were not up on daily prayer, I would become practically incapacitated. Prayer was the WCG talisman that one could not be without. (I recall back in the early Seventies at Big Sandy one afternoon, David Havir went into a prayer closet in one of the men's dorms and shouted and moaned and beat on the walls. He was giving us an droll example of what some students did as a badge of merit.)<br /><br />-- NeoAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487906691943831671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52912413020249030.post-91440830554436071062015-05-29T02:12:13.178+12:002015-05-29T02:12:13.178+12:001 yes, and a couple of 'maybe's1 yes, and a couple of 'maybe'slarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11207263922457941293noreply@blogger.com