A Metaphor?

(2)

Today (and also MSNBC) had an interesting piece in their 'Mysterious Faiths' series last week about 'The Tridentine Cult.' This unlovely little group follows a leader who pretends to be the 'true pope.' As I watched the piece it hit me that this cult was not too far removed from the real thing, that it was only a wild exaggeration in some respects. For example, this group scares children with 'devils,' in this particular case people dressed up like 'devils.' The idea behind this 'devil business' is to induce fear of 'disobedience.' And 'disobedience' includes 'critical thinking.'

It's an old story. Fear of devils and hell is fundamental to Christianity and probably to Judaism and Mohammedism as well. The Jews and Muslims go further: they not only scare their children with these stories, they mutilate them sexually, marking them for life as members of a birth sect. The Tridentine cult is a kind of metaphor for all of 'Western Religion.'