While this is not about Armstrongism, it has similar parallels. Catholics are always the first to talk about Catholic "guilt." They know what it is like to have ingrained in you over the years all the rules and regulations that revolve around Catholicism. Then when you leave it, even though you know it is not important anymore or you may not even believe it any more, you have guilt pangs when you do something you think you shouldn't
The same can apply to Armstrongism. We have our own version that could be called "Church of God Guilt", or "Armstrongism Guilt." When you leave the cultic mentality and move on, every once in a while you stop and think, "...what if it was all true...", "what if eating bacon really is wrong," "what if we were supposed to keep the holy days," etc.
If my perusal of COGlet web sites and groups I run into that every once in a while with my self. When you start reading the writings of adamant people you get wrapped back up in the subtleties of what they are saying and then you begin to doubt things that you know are blatantly wrong. That question of "What if..." pops into your head. Because of that it is easy to see why so many still remain entrenched in the unholy mess of Armstrongism when they realize much of it is not true. That "What If..." has enslaved them
Hat tip to Van Robison for this.
The serious consequences of childhood religious indoctrination
The concept of “Catholic guilt” has become a cliche, a joke, a truism. But it’s real. For many of us who experienced Catholic childhood religious indoctrination, Catholic guilt is a pernicious and inescapable burden with serious lifelong repercussions. It clings to us, a dark spectre of our pasts, a cruel and vicious voice whispering to us, reminding us of the lessons of our childhood: that we are unworthy, that we cannot do anything right, that we do not deserve to be happy, that we are dirty tainted sinners who must constantly punish ourselves and atone for our sins, and that we are nothing. Nothing.
Read the rest of her entry here.
