What sentiment are people trying to communicated when they called the church 'the so called church' (TSCC)? Is that what people call it when they've moved on to another possibly less cultish church, or is it just a shortened acronym with no special intent?

It seems to be used negatively, as though the people who use it still have a high opinion of proper churches they just don't count the LDS church among them. The way I see it, the word church connotes sufficient pejorative sentiment on its own.

I make the distinction explicitly. I'm no fan of churches, generally. But I do recognize that this fraudulent, money-sucking scheme, more in line with a get-rich-quick MLM scheme that rips off common people, aka, suckers, is an example of what Christopher Hitchens called religious-entrepreneurialism. Using religion to make leaders rich. It's a for-profit fraud that confounds members with immoral, self-serving doctrine, and functions as cult, harming people.

^^ This ^^

This phrase came about way back...some dozen or more yrs ago, courtesy of a poster named Nepa. (if recollection serves me right).

He was well-known here for deconverting some missionaries and trying to help them out on their way out of the church. Haven't seen him post here regularly for a long time, but he did do a drive by once not too long ago.

I'm not a long-timer with the history, but your description above is along the lines of my interpretation.

Because it's a business pretending to be a church.

Because when I was a Mormon I used to refer to my religion as The Church with a capital C and I would like to disassociate myself from that title. Nicknaming TSCC, in my mind, scales itself down from the pedestal it used to occupy in my life.

I've always thought it was a reference to the "so-called intellectuals" that they talk about.

Who are in fact intellectuals, while the church is in fact really a corporation.

The reason for me is: I don't consider all churches cults, this one I do.

I use TSCC because so many people around me refer to it as "The Church" and I do not believe it to be a church.

Because it's not a church, it's a corporation.

http://puremormonism.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-corporatism-has-undermined-and.html

Very long...but interesting.

I call it "The Corporation" myself. I adopted that name after I worked for them.

I'm with Xyandro on this. The liberal use of the phrase 'so-called intellectuals' when refering to the scientific community or anyone with degrees or knowledge is the Morg's way of downplaying any material that doesn't support their cause.

I can say that I use "TSCC" all the time. I use if for two reason's:

1. Abbreviation
2. Negative reference

To me the concept of TBM's referring to their religion as "the church" is arrogant and grandiose. Catholics use the term "the church" but let's remember, there are a billion Catholics on the earth and it's been around for 2,000 years. They own it.

This is why I use TSCC to describe the LDS church, and it's leaders–especially the BIG 15.

I believe it's a reference to a talk Packer gave in the past, calling opponents of the lds church "so-called intellectuals".

I didn't know this and now I can add a number 3...

3. As a slam to Boyd K. Packer. What a zealot.

Boyd K packer once referred to the intellectuals in a talk he gave, as "those so called intellectuals".


Since then the the exmo's have referred to the mormon church as TSCC, or The so called church.

It's NOT a church and Joseph Smith made up the Book of Mormon.

That's the whole sordid story in a nutshell.

Mormon missionaries recruit idiots who are willing to be breeders and/or pay 10% of their gross annual income for the rest of their lives.

The End.

Of course it is a church. It is also a business, no doubt, but many churches in history have also had the goal of making money. For a lot of people have the tendency to use a term pejoratively so that they can take a shot at an entity that hurt them quite a bit. I think this is a justifiable position, but it isn't how I tend to do things.

I guess I am different than a lot of folks. I am interested in precision when I use terms and words. That is important to me. Using a term incorrectly so that I can jab Mormonism isn't my style.

TSCC is not a "term" or a "word" it is an ACRONYM.

Online communication, specifically on a board like this, is not that concerned with "precision.

Write a white paper.

Because it is a giant ponzi scheme, run like a corporation, with a church as a storefront.