just minishorts.

I read this in a Massage Therapy forum, the opinion of a lady. In her post she talks about how it is always so pointless to argue opinions with religious fundamentalists who go by their way only. Snippets galore:

people involved with high-control groups often don't have any morals of their own. What they have are rules. When they break the rules, they feel defeated, they think they are weak, bad and condemned. Most importantly, they feel "influenced." "The Devil made me do it," is not just the punchline to a stand-up comedy routine, they really believe they have been influenced by evil forces. They believe this so entirely, that the idea does not even seem strange to them.

On the other hand, when anything goes well in their lives, they can't take credit for that either. It must be a "blessing" from God, rather than their own hard work, ability or serendipity.

They often feel isolated. They are the "only ones" serving God, they are the "only ones" who understand. At the same time, they revel in their isolation, they wear it as a badge of honor. They see their difference as evidence of being on the right path, criticism is viewed as "persecution"–further evidence of truth and right.

What all of this means, is that people who have all of their rules set for them, may never develop their own moral compass.

The ideas of persecution, being under attack, being influenced by evil, being the only ones, having the absolute truth, having a mainline to God… sound so totally irrational to most people, but are completely logical to this type of Christian.

Taken to its extreme, this difference in thinking creates not only extremists, but even more frightening in its implications, it creates people who are unable to formulate their own boundaries. Without rules, they are lost, adrift.

I'll openly say this here: I'm terrified of rules not because of the rules themselves, because when I read the rules I know they're good for me. Yet I'm terrified because I cannot trust the people who enforce the rules.

And we all know that there are A LOT OF PEOPLE just eager to 'enforce' rules in this place.

So kacau-lah. Will discuss the context in a bit. Wait for that one.

I've seen marriages breakdown far too many times because of the other woman. I don't know about you, but it sometimes beats me why a man is capable of inflicting so much hurt on another person, especially when that person is someone who has sacrificed at least 20 odd years to build a marriage. You know? Have kids and all, stayed with him through thick and thin, helped build a strong family while he built his careers.

I've known far too many women who started off having fantastic careers, and then somewhere along their marriages, decided it would be best to give it up for the family, and after that when the man's career goes steadily up the ladder, so does the marriage come spiralling down.

20 years, 3 children and a dog later, he walks into the house, out of the blue, and announces it, 'I've met someone else. I want to go with her. I'm divorcing you.'

Well, most women emerge strong enough to rebuild their lifes, and look back on what happened with a definite spat of bitterness. But I wonder, I wonder, why on earth do we get so stupid?

Why is it that a 25 year old girl, with plenty of things to run for in life, would settle down with a man who's old enough to be her father?

Is it the money? The promise of a shortcut to branded stuff? That Rolex on your hand? The range of LaMer facial products you get to sport on your table? The Chanel bag you probably would never get to own ever had you chosen to try to make it on your own?

And so you find it PERFECTLY all right to barge in, and take over the place of another woman? Just for the heck of materialistic needs like this?

Why did you get so stupid? Where's the dignity in being such a bitch?