The problem with “you need to repent!”

If you’re lost and you know it, you’re halfway there. The problem is the other half. And here is where you run into a snare: the blind guides.

Every doctrine of individual salvation boils down to “repentance,” which is renunciation of some personal, individual attachment (idolatry.) And every notion of repentance that they peddle is broken. It’s broken because they don’t understand how sin works.

Observe these people at length, and it will become clear that the guides are blind. They do not see their own sin. How can they diagnose yours? (This cuts both ways, so don’t bother calling them out.)

You can’t easily renounce something that’s well integrated into your personality. Stoic effort of will fails here. Generalized faith works better. Better still is to replace your treacherous idol with something that works. But only if you know what to replace it with.

Here’s where the salvation hucksters come in. They offer you substitute idols of their own choice. In the name of righteousness, they offer you their own pet sins – wrapped in the sin of blind trust in authority. Distrust any one-size-fits-all formula. Each of us has his own idol. There’s no need to borrow someone else’s.

Every church is rotten because it is full of idolatry, excused by a non-individual and vague notion of righteousness. When they speak in specifics, it’s only to divert attention from their idolatry. Watch for the specific sins that they DON’T preach against. Read the parts of Scripture that they DON’T reference. That’s where you’ll find the awful truth about them.

Ask the self-righteous pain virgin: what did you give up to follow Jesus? Insist on specifics. Those who made no painful sacrifice may not even be saved.

Distrust any legalistic notion of righteousness. We cannot be perfectly righteous. It is necessary and sufficient to repent of what we wrongly love most in the world.

I’m talking about irrational, emotional attachment here. Not love based on merit. Anything based on merit is just fine. But most people, most of the time, don’t love or hate on the basis on merit. If there is a root of all sin, it is spiritual irrationality.

Ask yourself: what is it in the world that you yourself can’t let go of? And why can’t you? And does the reason make any sense? (This is what Epictetus pretended to advocate. Never mind what he said right after that – that part is garbage.)

Catholicism has the Seven Deadly Sins. Buddhism has five hindrances and three poisons. Seven or eight is too few to cover all cases. I doubt it can even cover most cases. This is the problem with doctrine: it dumbs down everything it touches. And what it touches is holy. Never dumb down what is holy.

You need to figure out your own sin and your own repentance. Others can give you clues, perhaps. Or they may prove to be blind guides. But only you can find the answer. Your answer, to your question. Do your own homework.

Figure out for yourself what your false idol is. Figure out for yourself what your true calling is. Having done so, ditch the idol and embrace the calling.

No church authority. No discipling. No guru. No personal trainer. They’re all blind guides. No one is coming to enlighten you. It’s all on you.

And having done so, resist the temptation to “guide” others. Instead:
The best advice is vague advice