In a comment on a previous post, Lola opined "The whole thing has more in common with the selling of Indulgences and the Mediaeval Catholic church than anything else.", which got me thinking and I realised, Warmenism is a religion.
We have a need to believe in stuff, hence the enduring popularity of religion. Now that so many people no longer believe in God/s there is a niche waiting to be filled by a belief system. Any candidate must have (Christianity in brackets):
1. Good guys (angels) and bad guys (devils)
2. A process whereby you, too can contribute, however small and powerless you may be (prayer)
3. A canon of righteous texts (the bible)
4. A cadre of the wise to whose authority you can appeal and whose pronouncements you can rely on (priests)
5. Special terms of obbrobrium for non-believers (heathen, heretics)
6. A sense that we few know the truth and are bound to convert those who think otherwise (preaching the Gospel)
7. A sense that the truth is of vital importance to mankind (the promise of eternal life).
8. The threat of uncomfortable things to come if you don't believe and act rightly (Hell and damnation)
I think that is 8/8 for Warmenism. Good thing they haven't yet got to No 9, the duty to kill all those who insist on trying to persuade people that the belief is wrong.
It may yet come to that....
Debate Magazine
