None Dare Call It Brainwashing

I have high hopes that one day I should retire in full from this field of open and public controversy.  I should like to apply the appellation of “Farewell Address” to this article.  Indeed, it will be followed by a period of self-imposed exile from the discussion of these rather important matters.  I say “important” because, in spite of NTCC’s gross distortion of its own significance in the world, I count it as a victory to help to enlighten and therefore rescue even one soul that is deceived thereby. I have chosen not to engage in the many forms of running debate available on the subject of NTCC, preferring to insist upon a few primary principles rather than to escalate range-of-the-moment arguments that only serve to direct attention away from essential truths.  And make no mistake, the light of truth-or, to be more specifically accurate, the inconvenience of unwanted attention directed at it’s doctrines and customs–is a radiation under which this cult-like organization must whither. This explains the irrational, almost agonized, reaction of its loyalists to any and all criticism.  A dangerous group whose power is maintained in part through secrecy and revisionism cannot, by definition, withstand (nor will it tolerate) exposure.  The source of  the light must be destroyed.  Thus, the smear campaign against us. A good deal of misunderstanding arises over terminology.  NTCC defenders actually enjoy being on the receiving end of the “brainwash” accusation.  It affords them a useful straw dog–one they can easily kick over while claiming to have defeated the accuser. This is due to the elastic meaning of the term, and more especially to its frequent misuse.  Few words conjure more frighteningly praetor natural images, or are more easily deflected as absurdity by those who are actively engaged in the sinister use of the process described by the word. The cultural backdrop of one’s life establishes the texture of the canvas upon which the pigment of personal experience is applied.  Many of us learned of Brainwashing through the agency of science fiction and/or Gothic horror.  The word seems to imply the cleansing of the thoughts, memories, and personalities of the individual to make way for some wicked mechanism of control by an outside force or some other party with evil designs.  Surely this would never take place in a church!   Surely it does. The term specifically conjures for many of us an image of the laboratory slab; the horizontal victim, the complex equipment, the skullcap from which race various non-descript wires and, most importantly, coils of tubing intended to carry {chemicals?} to liquefy the cells of the brain for easy transport to “the machine” for the purpose of {storage?}, making room for liquid “thoughts” to be introduced by way of still more tubing…the cries of protest, the victim strapped down and immobilized, the skullcap on the head, the whirr of inexplicable gears and belts…soon followed by pre-programmed actions and perfect quiescence to the mad scientists’ demands.  It could never happen in a church! Impossible! Not…”Brainwashing!”   Happens everyday, if you must know. I can vividly recall the strange apparatus that stood, rusting and neglected, along the wood line behind the football field next to Greentown Elementary School. It was, in retrospect, what is known as a “blocking sled”; consisting of a flat bottom like the hull of a rowboat, and two upright steel plates to which heavy pads were laced to provide simulated “defensive linemen” for blocking drills.  As small children, we thought of this contraption as a torture device.  A group of boys would single out a timid victim, position him between the two plates, and imitate the sounds of the mad scientist’s laboratory. After several minutes of this, the victim was to obey all commands with pretended mindless detachment.  Just like in the movies.   The device was called  “The Brainwasher”.  Surely, a collection of saintly souls would never gang up on an unsuspecting creature for such purposes!  Surely they would, not because they are evil, but because they are themselves convinced of the need to push you into their mold. I should like to examine some of the methods employed by NTCC to this end.  Many have already been addressed in the articles on this site, yet certain individual points (and objections raised by loyalists) must at this time be dealt with.  Why do we refer to NTCC as a “cult”?  Upon what are its claims based?  Are their actions and practices defensible?  What is behind the accusations leveled by this church at its critics? I find it fascinating that, in the mind of the NTCC defender, criticism of the organization is defined in reflexive fashion, without sufficient reason, as an act  of devilish wickedness, without a trace of rational or credible evidence for support.  Surely, these partisan individuals are not responding as a brainwashed herd!  Surely they are. This article is the first in a series of articles entitled “Farewell Address“.