Where do we even start with this? 2x2ism has essentially a doctrinal corpus of zero – aside from some notes perhaps taken at a convention by a member or an oblique letter from a minister, there are no official or semi-official documents dealing with not only doctrine but frankly with anything about 2x2ism. It is a group that can both affirm or deny at the same time or at a different time any claim one makes about it. They will say that their doctrine is ‘the Bible’, but when asked, “Very good, but which parts of the Bible specifically or what summary of the Bible generally?’, they respond ‘the entire Bible’. Of course, the entire Bible cannot be their doctrine since the Bible itself is composed of 66 books, each written by different (sometime multiple) authors for vastly different audiences about vastly different concerns at very different points in time. There are two creation myths in the book of Genesis, for example – you cannot accept both at the same time. In any case, the summary in this post about 2x2 theology will approach the situation from a slightly different angle than what you may have seen elsewhere. The goal here is to understand the metalevel, not the particular intricacies of a peculiar quasi-doctrinal component – there are many other websites and books which deal with that.
Even at the most basic level, 2x2ism does not even take a firm position on something such as the nature of the divinity of Jesus. Some 2x2 members believe that Jesus is God; others believe Jesus is a god but not God; others believe Jesus was born a man and was made divine by God; others believe Jesus was born a man, lived a perfect life, and was rewarded with immediate entrance into heaven; and finally others believe all of these scenarios at the same time or on different days. 2x2 ministers will neither deny nor confirm any of these beliefs on a consistent basis. However, if one asks a 2x2 minister if the group ascribes to the doctrine of the Trinity (which is the first of scenarios in the above list), the minister will state that the group “does not believe in the Trinity because that is a Catholic thing made up later and is not part of the Bible”. It never dawns on the 2x2 that the doctrine of the Trinity is what almost every Christian group believes (except JWs and Mormons), and has believed since 325AD because there is a lot of evidence for it in the Bible. This sort of lack of consistency on any component of what for every other religious group is very firm about (their doctrine), makes it clear that 2x2s have both a doctrine of nothing and a doctrine of everything at the same time – which is of course an extremely cult-like characteristic. It’s unheard of among Christians. The 2x2s do have a few things which they are adamant about, things which to Christians would not be classified as doctrinal, but for 2x2s is the closest to doctrinal that it comes. The first is that the 2x2 ministers must not own a permanent home of their own – they must either rent a home with money given to them by members, or they must be guests in the homes of members. The latter is the case in the Anglosphere, the former is the case in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It seems strange to insist that ownership is the key issue, but this is related to the second component that 2x2 ministers are not to have any serious accumulation of assets – be they material or financial. So, generally things such as a computer are fine to own, but a car would be considered too much. Though, a motorcycle might be ok. 2x2 members are forbidden to meet for their worship services in buildings which are owned by the 2x2s as communal property (what is normally considered a church). This means 2x2s can meet in homes of the members (the most common method), in buildings (including churches) rented from other organizations, or in buildings owned by a member or small group of members although purposefully built for 2x2 events (generally this is for their annual conventions). The reason given for this by the 2x2s is that apparently this is what Christians did in the ancient world before 325 AD, and thus therefore it must be what Jesus insisted his followers do. Of course this interpretation of history is more than a bit off, it’s forcing a conclusion from very ill-fitting evidence. Yes, there were no official Christian communally owned buildings before 325AD, because for the most part Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire – or at least not to be promoted on the same religious level as traditional Roman/Greek religion. The state was the only entity with the resources to build religious buildings at the time, and it certainly wasn’t going to be constructing buildings for a religious sect which was opposed to the state religion. This line of 2x2 reasoning is the equivalent of stating that 2x2s should be restricted to only performing their worship services in Aramaic, Greek, or Latin since that is what early Christians did, so it must be what Jesus instructed his followers to do. Interestingly, early Christians did some of their meetings in basilicas – large enclosed open air public (or privately owned) buildings who’s built purpose was as a court. Early Christians did meet in homes, but this was out of necessity not choice, and the reason for the necessity also included that Roman Law forbid private meetings of large numbers of people, as the Roman authorities believed this would be used to plan or instigate insurrections – it was considered treason. Once Christianity was accepted as no longer a problem for the state, then basilicas were converted or built new to function as permanent communal areas of worship for Christians. The third point of quasi-doctrine of the 2x2s is that they insist that 2x2 ministers must operate in same-sex celibate pairs. What this has to do with the actual content of the religious instruction the 2x2s are spreading, or the function of their worship services, seems to matter not. It’s form over function that matters to the 2x2s. There are many things to unpack here that are clearly not congruent with early Christianity. Even the 12 apostles of Jesus did not travel in same-sex pairs the majority of the time, in fact many of them were married (not celibate). Paul of Tarsus was not only alone about 80% of the time mentioned in the New Testament, but it is not clear he was celibate (he may have married prior to his conversion). Peter, he who denied that he knew Jesus three times, was married and spent almost all of his ministerial life living with his wife and family in Palestine. The other odd thing is that 2x2s allow female ministers, which is clearly not obviously supported in the New Testament nor in early Christian tradition, and furthermore there is no way that female celibate pairs were traveling around doing ministry in the ancient world, simply because of the danger they would encounter as females. For many decades, almost the entirety of the existence of the 2x2s, there has been strictly enforced restrictions on the activities, dress, and social interactions of the 2x2 members. Dancing of any kind was strictly prohibited. Alcohol of any form was prohibited in large parts, though not all, of the 2x2 world. Smoking of tobacco was also prohibited. Much of the 2x2 world prohibited the use of any device which could emit recorded music (radios, etc) or moving pictures (cinema, television, etc). Slightly less strictly enforced was a prohibition on being a spectator of any entertainment event not organized by the 2x2s themselves (spectator sports, spectator theatre, circuses, etc). Prohibitions were strictly enforced on the apparel and physical appearance of both sexes, though significantly more strict controls for women than men. Males were mandated to be clean-shaven, to have closely cropped haircuts, and wear no jewelry other than a wedding ring. Women were mandated to not cut their hair; not wear their hair ‘down’ but rather up in a ‘bun’ style on their heads; to never wear trousers but only dresses/skirts; to never wear jewelry other than a wedding ring or a small broach; never dye their hair; never color their nails; never wear makeup of any form; never wear clothing that exposed skin above the elbow or above the ankle; never wear clothing which conformed to the contours of their body (ability to ‘see’ the form of the body); and other similar restrictions. Social interactions were a major component of mandated restrictions, including: minimal fraternization and certainly no friendships with non-members, no participation in political activities, no participation in non-member sports, no participation in non-member social events (other than funerals), restrictions on type of occupation (with nurse or teacher being generally the only accepted form of outside-the-home work for females, etc. Of course there were restrictions on reading material – educational and otherwise – especially with a strict prohibition on any Christian theological, apologetics, historical, or otherwise materials. In general, acceptable reading material was limited to technical, history, and general interest. Philosophy was strictly prohibited. And last, but most important, attendance at 2x2 worship meetings was mandatory – between 2 to 4 one-hour meetings a week, a full day special meeting per year, and a four day convention per year. Attendance at multiple special meetings and/or conventions was highly encouraged. Then there was the mandatory opening of one’s home to provide lodging and food for the 2x2 ministers in one’s home when they asked it of you – which could range from 4 days per quarter to 4 days per month or more – depending on the number of 2x2 members the 2x2 ministers had access to in given region. Conversely, financial donations by the members to the ministers was not explicitly mandatory, but was heavily subtly suggested and expected. So that’s about it, that’s the entirety of what 2x2 quasi-doctrine is. In summary, it is extremely light to non-existent on content, but very heavy on the form of the 2x2 experience. In other words, being a 2x2 is about conforming to a set of activities, it is not about the actual content of one’s ethics (or even the existence of ethics). There are no works of charity done by members, and there is no expectation of doing charity. There is no attention to improvement of one’s character, other than to be more obedient to the 2x2 system. There is no focus on any of the virtues, not even the Seven Virtues of Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Courage, Faith, Hope, and Love (Charity). There is no effort to having any positive impact on the local community, there is no effort to engage with other churches in any social programing or dialogue, there is no engagement with the local education system, etc. The 2x2 bargain is essentially: perform the 2x2 experience, and you will be rewarded (unlike everyone else) with eternal life. Conversely, failure to conform to the 2x2 experience in even the slightest way, will result in your expulsion, ostracization, shunning, and damnation to an eternity in hell. It is not obvious to 2x2s that their system is not actually Christian, that they are not Christian, that they are in fact the exact opposite of what Jesus’ ministry was all about. Christianity is an ethics-based system, meaning that participants are expected to use their free-will to make decisions regarding if a particular activity, behavior, apparel, etc. is congruent with Jesus’ Two Commandments (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'). There are zero hard-rules for a Christian, it is not a system based on rules (or laws), it is a system based on free-will and determination. This is why the Seven Virtues are important for Christians, because they are habits which when cultivated and trained in one’s behavior, makes one better able to exercise one’s free-will in accordance with Jesus’s Two Commandments. As Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” – this means that Jesus has created a new era in which people are no longer bound by adherence to the letter of the law, but instead are required to use their mental capabilities to understand the meaning of the spirit of the law and fashion their decisions to that end. This is a MUCH more difficult expectation than to simply conform to a set of laws, this means one has to think deeply about the entirety of a set of circumstances before acting. 2x2ism on the other hand, does not require anything more than conformity to its set of quasi-doctrine restrictions. Let’s take a few examples of the differences between the 2x2 system and a Christian system. 2x2ism prohibits the consumption of alcohol, whereas Christians can drink alcohol but are expected to use their judgment to consume alcohol in a temperate fashion (to never get inebriated). 2x2ism categorically prohibits dancing, while Christians can dance but are expected to use their judgment to participate in dancing only so far as it does not lead to outcomes that hurt oneself or others (notably sexualized dancing). 2x2ism expressly prohibits all television and cinema, while Christians can use these media forms but are expected to use their judgement to avoid content which is spiritually harmful (hedonism, sexual impropriety, loss of emotional control, etc). 2x2ism places many restrictions on the apparel and personal appearance of its members, while Christians are expected to choose apparel and appearance which is spiritually healthy (modest not vain, not sexually suggestive, not slothful, not gluttonous, etc). In many ways, a legalistic system like 2x2ism is what is used for children before they have the ability to cultivate the virtues of prudence and temperance – a system of rules, not a system which expects adult responsibility. This is not to say that 2x2s don't obey the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, because they do for the most part. Yet the 2x2 observance of the Ten Commandments is in line with the Judaic understanding that observance is to the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law - contrasted with what would be expected of Christians. For example, a 2x2 will certainly state that she obeys the 6th Commandment 'Thou Shall not Murder', but she will take this to mean not physically murder someone (even someone trying to kill her) - an extremely literal interpretation of the law. For a Christian, the 6th Commandment is interpreted much more broadly to prohibit physical murder, even of the unborn, except in cases of self-defense, but also to prohibit non-physical murder such as the murdering of an other's reputation by slander. Gossiping, for a Christian, is considered a violation of the 6th Commandment. Yet, for 2x2s gossiping is not only exempt but actively encouraged. So if 2x2ism is clearly not a Christian system, then what type of system is it. Well, it’s a legalistic system, and it fits perfectly as a copy of the legalistic system which proceeded Christianity, which is Judaism. All of Jesus’ conflicts with the Judaic religious leaders were about the legalism versus ethics debate, with Jesus on the side of the ethics-based mode of living while the Judaic religious leaders on the side of the legalistic system. The Judaic system was/is comprised of an elaborate set of laws one must adhere to - it's not just the Ten Commandments, there are 613 laws in the Old Testament. Judaics were forbidden from intermixing with non-Judaics, even with their Samaritan cousins. There are multiple dietary restrictions, restrictions on types of employment (only certain families could be priests), mandatory sacrifices made at the Temple (and only the Jerusalem Temple, the Samaritan Temple was forbidden), etc, etc. To this day the problem of letter of the law versus spirit of the law remains with Judaics, just as with 2x2s, manifesting in things as foolish as the kosher light switch and Manhattan's Invisible Jewish Wire. Interestingly, just as the 2x2 system promises eternal bliss for conformity to its legalistic system, the Judaic system promised material well-being in the present for conformity to its legalistic system. 2x2ism isn’t even promising that things will go well in the present if you conform to its system, it’s expecting you to engage in a bargain for which there is no way of knowing that this bargain has any probability of being true, and worse if it turns out to be a lie, then there is no refund. Thus, 2x2ism is a Judaic system that is even worse than Judaism itself in terms of legalistic control of the members. At least someone in Judaism could evaluate in the present if abiding by the rules was improving their life, and if not, then stop obeying the rules. 2x2s have no way of knowing if the rule-abiding pays off or not. For a 2x2, there is constant indoctrination that they and only they will be rewarded in the afterlife for their rule abiding in the present, such fierce indoctrination that it is analogous to the gaslighting of an abusive spouse - see this letter routinely given to 2x2 ministers. When a Judaic stops participating in the rules of Judaism, becomes a secular atheist for example, she is still considered a Judaic by her old Judaic group. It is believed that she has 'lost her way', but there is hope she will return to the fold. However, if a Judaic not only leaves the group, but becomes a Christian or a Muslim, then she is considered dead to the group - there is a ceremony called 'sitting shiva' which is essentially a 'funeral' for this person who is now considered dead and all ties are cut with them. While 2x2s don't have a formal 'sitting shiva'-type ceremony, all of the mentioned is very similar to how former 2x2 members are treated. To become a Roman Catholic is arguably the single worst thing a former 2x2 can do - as seen from the perspective of the 2x2s. Interestingly 2x2ism is a ‘restorative’ religious movement, meaning that it seeks to return to the essence of early Christianity, as it claims that in particular the Roman Catholic Church corrupted Christianity from its original set of beliefs. Yet in 2x2ism’s case, it has not recaptured early Christianity, but instead has recaptured the essence of Judaism. In other words, 2x2ism has reverted back human progress by more than two millennia! Furthermore, 2x2ism has restored many of the early Christian heresies about the nature of Jesus. This is so far from mainstream Christianity, let alone early Christianity, that it is a cruel joke. In the most recent decade or so, due primarily to the loss of large numbers of its members, 2x2ism has become less restrictive on its many quasi-doctrinal rules. The restrictions on female apparel and personal appearance has lessened to essentially no restrictions except when attending 2x2 meetings. The restrictions on activities and entertainment has essentially been lifted as a don’t ask, don’t tell situation. In many ways, 2x2s nowadays behave identical to any secular person, but that doesn’t mean 2x2ism has become Christian – far from it. The mandatory attendance at meetings remains, but more importantly there remains zero focus on the core message of Christian ethics. In fact, without the legalism in place 2x2s are morally adrift unable to discern what a morally healthy life should look like. This has created an explosion of all sorts of deviant behavior among the 2x2 youth – from reams of promiscuity, to binge drinking, to maximal hedonism, to gluttony, etc, etc. It’s a Rumspringa-type situation, without the ‘safe-space’ to return to. If it’s any consolation to the 2x2s, the exact same sort of thing happened to millions of Jews who left the legalism of their religion without embracing Christianity. The solution for the young 2x2s is to actually learn what Christianity is, and to incorporate it into their lives before they drive their lives into the ditch. It would be cruel to leave the reader (probably a questioning or ex2x2), without any 'next steps'. So I am going to put a short list here of things which should be helpful to understand Christianity better.
1 Comment
Seeking Victim Information in 2x2 Investigation
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA servant of God ArchivesCategories |