Theos-Talk Archives (March 2004 Message tt00191)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "stevestubbs" <stevestubbs@y...> 
wrote:

Something else that mystifies me is why 
> theosophists invariable resort to ad hominem attacks apparently to 
> cover up their ignorance whenever they dislike something, and yet 
> this is not true on any other list or with any other group except 
> theosophists.

One could not know that without reviewing every other list and every 
other group. One can refute it with a single example, though. I'll 
offer two from personal experience: Eckists and Baha'is. Don't know 
if they are any meaner in general than Theosophists on theos-talk, 
but they're more flamboyant about it. Check the google group 
talk.religion.bahai for a taste.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between explicit 
confidence in one's belief system and implicit insecurity. Why 
would differences of opinion arouse such fury if people were secure 
in their beliefs? Believers of various stripes might *say* that 
they are 100% confident of their beliefs, but the very fact of their 
saying so shows that they are *acting* as if they feel very insecure.