Re: Believer Beware- Turf War

>> I think it might be more productive to examine the differing
>> perceptions of the thing attacked. My guess is that Jerry sees the
>> Baha'i Faith as a monolithic entity - in which case an attack on one
>> part of it can easily be perceived as an attack on the whole.
>
>Steve, a community is monolithic by definition since it describes all of 
>the people within a group.   For example, the scientific community 
>comprises a monolithic group of people, but they still have wildly 
>different ideas, methods and beliefs.

Here's the definition from the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
I'll leave others to comment on whether I've used the right word. In
particular, check out definition no. 4:


monolithic /mQn<schwa>"lITIk/ a.E19. [f. (as) prec. + -IC.]

1 Formed of a single (large) block of stone; of the nature of a
monolith. E19. 

2 Of, pertaining to, or characterized by monoliths. M19.

3 Archit. Made of a solid unbroken mass (of concrete). L19.

4 transf. & fig. Like a monolith; massive; immovable, unwavering,
unemotional; solidly uniform; (of an organization) large and
autocratic or monopolistic. E20.

5 Electronics. Of a solid-state circuit: composed of active and
passive components formed in a single chip. M20.

4 A. L. ROWSE The Fourth Symphony of Sibelius, the most monolithic of
them all.

Nature Would not the merging of the research councils create too
monolithic a central sponsor?

CLIVE JAMES For all its monolithic sense of purpose, the Soviet Union
seems hopelessly barren.

monolithically adv. E20.