From: stephen@mont.cs.missouri.edu (Stephen Montgomery-Smith) Subject: Re: Latest on Branch Davidians Organization: University of Missouri Lines: 63 In aaron@binah.cc.brandeis.edu (Scott Aaron) writes: >In article , >conditt@tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Paul Conditt) wrote: >> >> >> I think it's really sad that so many people put their faith in a mere >> man, even if he did claim to be the son of God, and/or a prophet. >I'll pose a question here that's got me thinking: what distinguishes >"true" religion from cults (I'm speaking generally here, not specifially >about Christianity)? Jerry Falwell was on Good Morning America on >Tuesday ostensibly to answer this question. Basically, he said that >true religion follows a message whereas a cult follows a person. >But, then, Christianity is a cult because the message of Christianity >IS the person of Jesus. So what distinguishes, for example, the >Branch Davidian "cult" from the Presbyterian "church"? Doctrinal >differences don't answer the question, IMHO, so don't use them as >an answer. As far as I can see, one of the big differences between Davidians and Christians is in who they follow. I have sometimes tried to put myself in the feet of one of Jesus's disciples. Basically, they gave up a lot --- career, possibly family, and well, a whole bunch, to follow Jesus. So what is the difference? It is quite plain. Jesus was good and David Koresh was not. The problem is, I think, is that we try to legislate what is good and what is bad in terms of principles. For instance, there are thousands of laws in the U.S. governing what is legal and what is not. Often, it is hard to bring people to justice, because it is not possible to find a legal way to do it. If only we could trust judges to be just, then we could tell them to administer justice fairly, and justice would be followed. But since judges don't always get it right, we have a complicated system involving precedent and bunches of other stuff which attempt to make the imperfect (the justice of man) into something perfect. But what I hear about the justice system in the U.S. tells me that quite the opposite is true. There is also a problem that we tend to judge the presentation more than the material being presented. So we might consider a ranting Christian to be bad, but an eloquent person from another religion to be good. This goes along with the American desire to protect the Constitution at all costs, even if it allows people to do bad things. I think that it is the message that is important. If a man is presenting a false message, even if he is ever ever so mild mannered, then that man is performing a tremendous disservice. I know that I am rambling here. I guess that what I am trying to say is that we shouldn't be looking for principles that tell us why the Davidians got it wrong. It is not wrong to follow and worship a person. But it is important to choose the right person. It is simple. Choose Jesus, and you got it right. Choose anyone else, and you got it wrong. Why? Because Jesus is the begotten son of God, and nobody else is. Jesus was without sin, and nobody else was. Stephen