Someone wrote on another thread of members being "mouthpieces for the Morg." It's an idea that's come up before; it's even in the idea of the Morg--robotic, hive-beings who only exist to serve the whole.

The figure of the Zombie gives a certain twist: Not only is this a religion of the dead reanimated, resurrected, but the organization, as the real God the members worship--if unknowingly--exists through its smiling members who are trained and indoctrinated in the arts of sacrifice, duty, and obedience pretty much to the exclusion of anything else. They are unknowing agents of the larger organization and their actions are shaped by the church to pretty much just serve the church. Well, maybe one could say they are trained some of them also in the exercise of power once they have proven themselves loyal enough. The church does make ample space for the exercise of power and authority for those members who crave or otherwise are willing to enact it.

The members are so trained in the practice of being unselfish, that any thought for oneself is closely scrutinized by the cult programming (in one's own head!) for How much it might conflict with the overall goals of the cult. (I remember that the thought that I might look after my own interests, that I might do something that could be considered "SELFISH," filled me with anxiety and dread when I was a TBM.) Of course, the most selfish thing one could do would be to question the church.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2011 11:05AM by derrida.

So how do you see the zombie metaphor working as a way to describe what the church does to its members?

LDS zombies are the people that are so worn out and overwhelmed by raising large families, employment commitments, going to church, church callings, church activities, Family home evening, etc. that they are no longer able to think critically and just go from one obligation to the next mindlessly, without thinking. Sometimes you can see a glazed look in their eyes.

MJ, this I think is the very process of deadening that finally got me out of the Morg. I had a friend die at 41 of an awful cancer, and that got me on the road to maybe a mid-life crisis, but also just thinking what many folks do at that time in their lives: Is this it? Is my life over? Am I really living the way I want to live my remaining days on this Earth? Etc.

My intuition was that living the way the church wanted me to was just going through the motions. I had some "spiritual" moments, some pleasure in reading scripture, pondering mysteries, enjoying the peace of the Temple, but, you know, a person doesn't need the church and all of its chores to enjoy those things.

Jesus is the ultimate zombie - except he doesn't want to eat our brains, he wants us to eat his meat and drink his blood.

Jesus sounds a lot like bacchus, who was another of the myriad dying reviving gods humans have created throughout history. Bacchus also wanted his followers to eat his meat and drink his blood.