I was in the Royal Navy for many years.
At sea a religious service was always conducted by the Captain on Sunday mornings.
ALL the officers that were not working attended including friends of mine who did not believe..
Very few of the lower ranks attended.
It was well recognised amongst the lower ranks that officer promotion depended on compliance with certain traditions which included church attendance.
Is this Christianity, hypocrisy, intimidation or what?
2007-08-04 11:58:59 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Lakely
You have no idea what you are talking about.
You are incorrect.
2007-08-04 12:18:17 · update #1
Cable guy
You are partly correct
2007-08-04 12:19:17 · update #2
I would imagine that there was a certain amount of intimidation on the captains part,however i would also imagine that there could be officers who are good christians.Did the lower ranking crew not attend due to the fact that they didn`t want to appear to be sucking up in front of there crew mates though?
2007-08-04 12:05:12 · answer #1 · answered by delete 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes. I think what you describe qualifies as hypocritical.
You should stand proud for having served in the Royal Navy and even for generating 27 answers to a question on R&S. Very few get that response. ...and you did not even bring up the old quote about the only traditions of the Royal Navy being "rum, sodomy and the lash." If you ever lead off with that, you may get 40 responses, but almost all will not be worth reading
2007-08-05 10:20:23 · answer #2 · answered by Ward 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You answered your OWN question--
It was well recognised amongst the lower ranks that officer promotion depended on compliance with certain traditions which included church attendance.
This was a tradition set forth from the Royal Navy--unless the Royal Navy is claiming to be "christian" then I do not know how you could possibly judge anyone who attended as hypocritical--did they personally set the standards for officer promotion? IF not, how can they be hypocrites?
2007-08-04 12:06:53 · answer #3 · answered by steinbeck11 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The armed forces are at least a hundred years behind the rest of society, in dress, language and customs. The distinction between Officers and Other Ranks today mimics the distinction between the gentry and the peasantry during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The term 'bullshit' was coined to describe the mechanics of this relationship: obsequiousness, over-zealous attention to appearances, and a complete refusal to acknowledge the reality of any situation.
2007-08-04 12:25:05 · answer #4 · answered by Dolly Dewdrop 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
all 3
2007-08-04 12:17:52 · answer #5 · answered by doobie 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That's not Christianity. That's British Naval Tradition. And British Naval Tradition is famous for intimidation. At least back in the days of sail. I guess some things never change.
2007-08-04 12:07:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is "going along to get along" and "when in Rome..."
If one actually reads Christian scriptures one will immediately realize that there are no Christians in the world today, at least not in any western culture.
Too many generations have passed between the
time of the founders of any of the worlds three major monotheistic religions and the present for any member of the same to have any meaningful connection and understanding of the same.
Professor George Mendenhall spoke of the same in his work, "The Tenth Generation". He was applying it to governments but it hold true for religions as well.
2007-08-04 12:08:21 · answer #7 · answered by Big Bill 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It absolutely is all you said. It is what it has always been. They know otherwise they're not gonna get you so they need to lure and sway you so they can be proud of having one more idiot among them. Tradition my ***, all they are doing is projecting their own insecurity in that by having to resort to such resources. But, hey, that's the way they've always worked. Anyway, if you're up to that, then do it if it'll get you a promotion. You're free in your mind and nobody can rob you of that.
2007-08-04 16:53:34 · answer #8 · answered by Der weiße Hexenmeister 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Definitely intimidation if they forcing people who don't want to go to choose between going and not receiving promotions. But it is not Christianity, which involves an appeal to a free will.
2007-08-05 03:30:45 · answer #9 · answered by Deof Movestofca 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi,
It seems very much so. But, to someone who doesn't believe their is a God, attending a service is just a small white lie to further their career. I couldn't be so hypocritical, but i can't hold it against anyone.
In my villiage, there are 2 primary schools. One is Church of England. Both are good schools but I'd never choose the COE one, even if it was better, cos it goes against my beliefs of there being no God.
2007-08-04 12:03:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋