From: sdoe@nmsu.edu (Stephen Doe)
Subject: THE MIND OF THE BIBLE BELIEVER
Summary: Part 3--The Evangelical Mind Control System
Keywords: Bible--psychology--fundamentalism
Organization: New Mexico State University
Distribution: world,public
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 08:56:29 GMT



	Our method of explaining why people hold certain religious
	views can easily degenerate into argumentum ad hominem if used
	improperly.
	The most impressive Christian apologetic argument for
	believing things that cannot be verified as propositions in
	other fields is that Christianity's long history of attracting
	and holding the loyalty of people of good will must reflect
	that its truth and beneficiality was manifest to those people,
	even if it cannot be explained, or appreciated within the
	narrow breadth of the individual's perspective.  That
	argument, and the history behind it, is the crucial datum for
	which social scientists studying religion have never
	accounted.  Our purpose, which has never been undertaken
	before, is the explanation of the psychological attraction
	that has given Christianity such a tenacious hold upon people,
	despite the unverifiability or wrongness of its ideas.  In so
	doing, we make no statement about Christians more derogatory
	than that they possess normal human psychological
	vulnerabilites.  It is perfectly consistent with our approach
	to concede that nearly all Christians are sincere and bona
	fide, and that many of them are intelligent.
	The key to distinguishing ad hominem from fair criticism of
	psychological bias in holding any given view, is to keep track
	of who should have the burden of proof.  The proponent of a
	position that is neither self-evident nor supported by
	intelligible argument, or the one attacking a point that has
	been made and supported by some proof, must draw on substance,
	or else we are entitled to suppose that it is only subjective
	motives and desires that account for the views expressed.  If
	a Christian comes at me, saying that my failure to believe as
	he does indicates my lack of the Holy Spirit, or my having
	received a spirit of blindness, it is up to him to prove it.
	If he believes for no articulate reason, then it is fair for
	me to try to explain away his belief psychologically.  Behind
	his biblical pseudopsychological analysis of me necessarily
	lies an indirect attack on my character.  If my psychological
	analysis fails to make sense and fit the facts, then it is no
	better.  The end result hopefully will be observables brought
	together and made intelligible by my analyses.  The
	Christian, unable to make fact and his doctrine cooperate,
	will finally be heard to say that his view is right because it
	follows biblical teaching, and the Bible is right because it
	says it is.----Cohen, The Mind of the Bible Believer, p. 140.




	We are now prepared to discuss the seven psychological devices
embodied in the Bible.  These devices reinforce each other, so that
their effect when working together is much more powerful than one
would suspect.  Some of the devices outlined would be too blatant to
work on their own; others are so subtle that without other devices to
reinforce them, their effects would quickly subside.  The devices are
arranged from the more obvious to the more hidden, from the more
important in the experience of the newcomer to the more important in
the deeply involved and indoctrinated believer.
	

	Device 1:  The Benign, Attractive Persona of the Bible                
            

	One way of understanding the kindly, mellow, non-judgmental
and charitable liberal and mainline churches is to recognize that they
have taken the lovely surface impressions of Jesus in the Gospels and
built a whole new religion out of them alone.  In essence, a few
well-chosen fragments were taken to stand for the whole.  This
corresponds roughly to the "Arminian" viewpoint that we discussed in
the first post--ie, that one could choose to be saved, and that doing
good works went a long ways towards ensuring salvation.
	As we shall see later though, the more deeply indoctrinated
believer must gradually be weaned away from the Arminian notions of
doing good in this world, and gradually introduced to the notion that
only preaching the salvation message is important.  The newcomer is
gradually made to understand that the teachings mean something
different than what appears on the surface--and that it is oriented to
the next life, not this one.  The only promise kept is that a
tranquilized state of mind will be attained, but with a net
detrimental effect on mental health.
	These misleading surface impressions are crucial.  Without
them, recruitment of new members would be impossible.  Once in the
fold though, the old "bait-and-switch" sales pitch is what takes
place!


	Device 2:  Discrediting "The World"


	In my first post I covered some biblical teachings that
require believers to distrust reliance on their own minds for
knowledge.  Only through the biblical teachings does any knowledge
come.  In essence reliance on any of the four Jungian functions is shunned.
Since this state of mind is elusive, discrediting of people other than
believers and of the environment is added.  
	The Bible defines three sorts of people for the believer, as
well as modes of conduct towards each.  There are: 1) believers; 2)
ordinary unbelievers and 3) missionaries of "false" gospels.  The
Bible doesn't prescribe depth of contact between believers and
ordinary unbelievers; unbelievers are often referred to as "crops" to
be "harvested," or "fish" to be "netted."  Abundant numbers of
contacts are being mandated.  When the believer is in the presence of
an unbeliever, it is to preach and "witness," not to listen.  When we
look at some indirect references to unnatural self restraint and
apparent freedom from negative emotions in the face of provocation,
(Luke 6:29-31, 1 Pet. 2:23) a pattern of conduct emerges.  Believers
in the presence of unbelievers are put in a frame of mind that closes
them off to anything unbelievers might have to say.  The unbeliever
also sees in the believer a very odd state of euphoric calm, which the
unbeliever mis-interprets as a spriritually higher, happier state.
Actually, as we shall see in the later Devices, what actually occurs
in the believer is artificially induced inner turmoil, masked by the
dulled, divided state the believer is in.  The believer develops a
knack for being aloof and oblivious to what the unbeliever has to say;
this is often mistaken for tolerance on the believer's part.
	Within the churchly life, protected by outside influences,
believers can open up to each other--to a limited degree.  (Col.
3:1-17, Phil 2:1-11)  Complete immersion in the Bible is prescribed;
other human priorities are devalued, and any investment of psychic
energy in them is withdrawn.  Intolerance for individuality is at the
core; believers see each other as organs in the "body of Christ."
While differences in gifts are praised as having their purpose,
individuality of personality is not.  (1 Cor. 12:12-31, Eph. 4:1-16)  
	We also see that while other supernaturalistic premises are
presented as being extremely hazardous (indeed, proponents of "false"
gospels are the only ones to receive even harsher punishment in hell),
devaluation of anything that passes for learning is implied.  Paul
often equates whatever is not in the Biblical program with
homosexuality (eg Rom. 1:18-27)  Consider the following:

	For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
	that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver
	and an anti-christ.  Look to yourselves, that we lose not
	those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full
	reward.  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not with the
	doctrine of Christ, hath not God. . . If there come any unto
	you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
	house, neither bid him God speed[ie, give him no greeting]:
	For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
	deeds.[2 John 7-11]

	The implication of this teaching for our times is that
"secular humanists", educators, mental health practitioners and
liberal politicians, as well as proponents of other religious beliefs,
all fall within the definition of "false prophets," preaching false
gospels.  The believer is not to heed any of them.  The believer is
effectively insulated from other doctrines.
	Also, looking for confirmation of biblical beliefs in the
outside world is effectively discouraged.  Although the believer
constantly prays, he is not to tempt God by praying for a sign.  If
the thing prayed for didn't happen, it just means God said no.  When
bad things happen to good people, and good things to the wicked, it
just proves how far beyond our sin-cursed, wicked minds God's wisdom,
justice and foresight are.  Thus no pattern of events fail to take on
an aura of purpose for the believer.  No matter what happens, the fact
that it did, proves it is God's will.


	Device 3:  Logocide


	In the Appendix of 1984, Orwell describes the purpose of
Newspeak, which was to provide a mode of expression for the mental
habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc (English Socialism), *and*
also to make other modes of thought impossible.  This was done by
overburdening some words, and eliminating others.  We can see a
similar technique in key biblical terms.  Dr. Cohen coins the term
"logocide" for the technique of so overburdening words with ponderous,
contrived, dissonant meanings that they are effectively put out of
commission.  Key terms (life, death, truth, wisdom, righteousness,
justice, liberty, bondage, love, hate, will, grace, witness and word)
are given this treatment in the Bible.  In our discussion, biblical
distortion of these terms will be denoted by a '; that is, "life" will
refer to the usual connotations of the word, and "life'" will refer to
the biblical meaning.
	Life and death are two such terms.  Superficially, the Bible
promises eternal life to those who heed its message.  Naturally, most
of us are interested in anything that promises to circumvent death.
Yet if we look into life and death a little more deeply, a double
layer of meaning is evident:

	Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after
	me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
	me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
	whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.[Matt.
	16:24-25]        
 
 	And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the
	righteous into life eternal.[Matt. 25:46]

	But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury
	their dead.[Matt. 8:22]

	God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.[Matt.
	22:32]
 
 	. . . [T]he dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
	they that hear shall live.[John 5:25]

	Clearly the Bible promises continuity of existence to all,
saved and unsaved.  But instead of solving a problem, a new one is
added:  now we have to worry about eternal damnation.  Death' means
not the end of biological existence, but lack of salvation.  Life'
means attaining salvation, not continuity of existence, which the
Bible promises to everybody.  The confusion between the two serves the
Device 1 purpose of recruitment as well.  Paul added a key ingredient
of confusion masquerading as profundity:

	For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is eternal
	life through Jesus Christ. . .[Rom. 6:23]

	. . . [R]eckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but
	alive unto God through Jesus Christ. . .[Rom. 6:11]    

	. . .[T]o me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.[Phil.
	1:21]

	To be alive', then, is simply to be a believer.
	Another important thing to recognize is that truth, wisdom,
righteousness, and justice, which we all recognize as terms ascribing
value to their referents, are completely arbitrary in the Bible.  The
commandments depend on the notion that God, as Creator, has the right
to do as he will with his creations.

	. . .O man, who art thou that repliest against God?  Shall the
	thing formed say to him that formed it, Why has thou made me
	thus?  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same
	lump to make one vessel unto honour[ie, dignity, economic
	value], and another unto dishonour?  What if God, willing to
	shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much
	longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:  And
	that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
	vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even
	us, whom he hath called. . .?[Rom. 9:20-24]

	The question of God's righteousness is a thorny issue with
believers, given the record of the many acts of God that would be
wicked, had they been committed by anyone other than God.  The answer
to the question "Is God unrighteous?" becomes a deep mystery for the
believer.  Yet there is no mystery here, but simply a sterile
tautology.  God is *defined* as righteous; whatever God does is by
definition "good", "wise," "just" and "righteous," no matter how
repugnant those actions are to man.  All these words are redefined in
terms of Him.  
	Wisdom' and wise', righteous' and righteousness', simply
become code words for believers.  Truth' refers not to the factual
content of a statement, but to its accordance with doctrine:

	Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
	He is antichrist, who denieth the Father and the Son. . .But
	the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you,
	and ye need not that any man teach you:  but as the same
	anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no
	lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.[1
	John 2:22, 27]

	One term that in particular suffers from inflation is "grace."
Since the Reformation, this has been regarded as a Christian mystery.
But when we look at the ancient-language texts, we find grace' to be
pretty much an artifact of translation.  The words translated as
"grace" could just as well be translated as "favor" or "preference."
Only the context determines when "grace" is to be inserted into the
text.  If not for the inflation of grace', the relevant verses would
more clearly illustrate the arbitrariness of the bestowal of eternal
life':

	For by. . . [preference] ye are saved through faith; and that
	not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest
	any man should boast.[Eph. 2:8-9]

	Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father,
	which loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and
	good hope through. . .[preference].[2 Thess. 2:16]

	Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the . . . [favoritism]
	that is in Christ Jesus.[2 Tim. 2:1] 

	The last term I wish to discuss is love'.  Again we see
inflation of this term, when we consider some biblical definitions of
it:

	. . .[L]ove is the fulfilling of the law.[Rom. 13:10]

	And this is love, that we walk after his commandments.[2 John
	6]

	Could it be that this new kind of love, said to be so much
superior to our own inclinations, is nothing but a very strict and
obsessive type of self discipline?  It seems so.  We can harmonize all
the Bible has to say about love' by saying that love' is "Holy
Spirit-aided self-discipline in internalizing Christian doctrine and
performing the devotional program."  Too bad for the new believer;
he's getting love' when he expected love.
	There are also indications that the believer's love' for God
consists not of love, but of the outpouring of energy:

	And Jesus answered him, the first of all commandments is,
	Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt
	love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
	soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this
	is the first commandment.[Mark 12:29-30]

	In psychodynamic terms, God is a complex, siphoning libido
from ego-personality, disrupting the balance between progressive and
regressive flow of libido.  This harmonizes with the biblically
mandated alienation from the world and other people.
	The last topic of discussion pertaining to Device 3 is that of
contradiction.  There are some examples of factual contradictions in
the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament.  Such errors can be
explained away as scribal errors or testing devices to lead the
unfaithful astray.  Atheists tend to focus on these contradictions;
and so fall into the trap of considering these contradictions to be
the ones of consequence.  The inconsistencies we should be concerned
with are all camouflaged.  They consist not of contradictions so much
as dissonance between biblical statements.  Camouflaged
inconsistencies can be best highlighted by a method Dr. Cohen calls
triadic anti-apologetics--bringing together three passages that
highlight inconsistency.  Through the interaction of these statements,
inconsistencies calculated to stick in one's unconscious are impressed
upon the believer.  Consider the following:

	. . .[E]very creature of god is good, and nothing to be
	refused, if it be received with thanksgiving. . .[1 Tim. 4:4]

	Let love be without dissimulation.  Abhor that which is evil;
	cleave to that which is good.[Rom. 12:9]

	Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
	If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
	him.[1 John 2:15]   

Also consider how we are exhorted to obey god and secular authorities
simultaneously:

	. . .[W]e have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,
	and we gave them reverence:  shall we not rather be in
	subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they
	verily chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our
	profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.[Heb.
	12:9-10]
    
	No servant can serve two masters:  for either he will hate the
	one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
	despise the other.[Luke 16:13]

	Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything. . .[Col.
	3:22]
 
	Since "the whole world lieth in wickedness," then submitting
oneself to unsaved earthly authorities makes one a partaker in that
wickedness.  But that is just what is being commanded.  One is
required to serve two masters, and to serve each totally and
exclusively--a logical impossibility.
	Consider also an antiapologetic triad on love:

	As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:  continue ye
	in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my
	love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide
	in his love. . . This is my commandment, That ye love one
	another, as I have loved you.[John 15:9-10,12]

	He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of
	me:  and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not
	worthy of me.[Matt. 10:37]

	If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
	and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
	his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.[Luke 14:26]

	The ambiguity here serves a purpose; to make affections for
others equal, (so that they lose their distinctiveness) and
unimportant compared to the God-complex.  Coupled with instructions
stressing obedience, discipline and prohibition of emotional
spontaneity, libido is siphoned away from people and concerns of this
world and cathected towards the God-complex.  
	We see here a consistent pattern of words that have
significant connotations for us being devalued, becoming code words
for an obsessive program that, if it were expressed in plain terms,
would lose all power to enthrall.  This also reinforces Device 1, as
the newcomer naturally uses these terms with their ordinary
connotations.  Deeply indoctrinated believers use the biblical
connotations, though they usually have trouble articulating these new
connotations.  Believers and unbelievers are not just speaking about
different concepts, but in different languages.

	Devices 4-7 will be covered in future articles.

SD