I would like to point out that whenever a large group of people get
together, such as in a church or a scientific community, some sort of
orthodoxy emerges. Human nature dictates that we be suspicious or scared
of things that are new or different, so it is only natural that this
orthodoxy stifles some ideas or people.
This is why I hesitate to affiliate myself with any acknowledged group
of people, such as a church or organization. There is always going to be
some aspect of the organizations beliefs that is different from my own,
and unless the organization is tolerant of this it will cause friction.
Some people become so caught up in the *group* aspect of what they are
doing that they lose sight of the true goal, which causes more friction.
-- John Aten jwa@inx.net