Quote Originally Posted by trini_gsr
note that i said SOME religions. not all but SOME. the very nature of how religions are set up tend to create a dependency between the leader of the religion and his followers. basically you go to church every week to receive instruction from the same leadership about spirituality. i've been to churches where the pastor spoke for over an hr without even opening his Bible or mentioning scripture to verify or validate what he was saying. that's ridiculous. this is a situation that can be very easily abused, and we see it happen all the time.

and you're right...herd mentality can be associated with almost any organization with centralized leadership. hell, look at how many ppl on IA or honda-tech are quick to call any teg or civic that doesn't have a clean OEM look or has wheels bigger than 16s RICE. lol. ppl get lazy and if the leadership doesn't encourage the members to think for themselves...they'd rather kick back and let the leader tell them what to do. we have the same problem with government but that's a different discussion lol.
It doesn't have to be centralized leadership at all. Let me illustrate. If you hang out with rich people and do what rich people do, it is likely that you'll become rich. If you hang out with poor people and do what poor people do, it is likely you'll be poor. If you hang out with friends who enjoys basketball and car enthusiasm, it is likely that you'll enjoy basketball and car enthusiasm. There are no clear leaders (but yourself) but you adopt the mentality, thinking, trends and behaviors as your peers. That is the very definition of herd mentality.

As for the pastor, it could have been that he already knew the passage in which he was talking about (most pastors can cite multiple passages right off their heads). It also could have been that the passage was already "known" among the congregation (though you may have missed the "topic" they were covering from several weeks prior)... lots of variables involved BUT I do understand and see your point.

the DIFFERENCE with religion though is that the stakes are much higher. it's not fads or trends...it's ppls lives we're dealing with.
If you think about, it is no different from anything else. Life, at its core, is what we know and do everyday. You do car enthusiasm because it's what fulfills your life, you play sports because that's what fulfills your life, you get married because that's what fulfills your life, you have children, you get a house, you get old and grey.... that's life. Your religion, your belief (in whatever it is) is as much a part of life as anything else you involve yourself in.

So no, the stakes are the same. Life IS on the line, no matter how you decide to live it.