Yes, I did notice the unity=uniformity mind-bent of the organization. It was one of the things that started bothering me through the years because of the pharaisaical superficialty of it all. There were times when circumstances got in the way of meeting attendence. During those time I not only made it my habit to read the Bible (and I mean really read it) and to study various christian qualities without the direction of the Org.. This helped to realize that what Jesus taught is really at odds with what the Org. would have us believe God wants of us.
Jesus wanted real, internal changes, much like what anthropologists call a "mazeway realignment." He condemned the rule-driven lifestyle that is so much the norm for any good Dub. As I grew in my understanding, I was repulsed by the increasing devotion of oneself to the Org. before everything else being preached from the podium. I was shocked by the constant aggrandization of the "FDS" and the continued emphasis on rules, rules. Such worship is cold-h4earted and self-serving, and it is easy for me to see why so many here are now agnostics and even atheists. Who wouldn't be if that really represents what God is? I am glad that I, myself, and others have come to very different conclusions after reading Jesus' potrayal of his loving father.
Jesus called us to freedom, not slavery to an uncaring corperation. To me that is a liberating thought. Genuine Christian worship is about who we are inside, not about how we appear on the outside. If there is one thing that the experience of the Israelites with the law should teach us, it is that none of us can become worthy of fellowship with God by following dozens of rules and regulations. By our very fallen nature that is an impossibility. Fellowship with God is a gift. And it can't be obtained by anyother means than God giving it to us. Any other path is doomed to failure!
