Every Christian Should Read This!!!
Do the Bible and modern psychology agree or disagree about the source of behavioral changes? In Romans 12:2 we read very clearly that we are to be “transformed by the renewing of the mind …” It also tells us in John 8:32 that “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” It is from the Bible that we know that knowledge of the truth is the foundation of our character and behaviors. Does modern psychology agree or disagree with that?
We are posting a number of e-letters Make Sure Ministries has received from David Henke, founder of Watchman Fellowship, Inc., an apologetics ministry, on a variety of subjects. They will post on Tuesdays into the foreseeable future. As always, we appreciate your comments. Please consider clicking on the link following this blog to learn more about Watchman Fellowship and what they have to offer. E-letters have been slightly edited for clarity.
Cognitive dissonance theory has a long and esteemed history in social psychology. As originally formulated (Festinger, 1957), cognitive dissonance is induced when a person holds two contradictory beliefs, or when a belief is incongruent with an action that the person had chosen freely to perform. Because this situation produces feelings of discomfort, the individual strives to change one of the beliefs or behaviors in order to avoid being inconsistent. Hypocrisy is a special case of cognitive dissonance, produced when a person freely chooses to promote a behavior that they do not themselves practice.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory by Joel Cooper, p. 377
Leon Festinger outlined three elements involved in dissonance theory: behavior, thoughts, and emotions. Later Steven Hassan, a counter-cult researcher and counselor, added the element of information. Hassan knew from his own experience in a cult that information presented to him shaped his decision-making about involvement with the cult. The four elements then are behavior, information, thoughts and emotions. These four elements can be remembered by the acronym BITE.
These four elements can be further summarized into two categories. Information and Thoughts are the rational side of human personality and Behaviors and Emotions are the affective side of personality.
Information and thoughts are two sides of the same thing. Any thought must necessarily involve information. Both biblically and psychologically, our thoughts are the central element of our being.
Scripture agrees with this when it says:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Many other scriptures focus on our thoughts and mind as foundational to our behaviors and emotions:
Proverbs 1:29, “Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD.”
Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinks within himself so he is …”
Matthew 13:22, ”And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns; this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Ephesians 4:23, ”… and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Ephesians 4:24, ”… and put on the new self, which is the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Ephesians 5:17, ”So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord’s is.”
Colossians 1:9, ”For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Colossians 3:10, ”… and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”
1 Peter 1:14, ”As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance.”
One of the most important elements of control in a cultic environment is control of information. Just look at the current handling of information in our media and political groups. If the cult says you can’t understand the Bible without the cult’s teachings, flee. Your eternal life is at stake.
Behaviors and emotions are shaped primarily by our thoughts and the information we take in to inform our thoughts. Solomon said, “For as he things within himself so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Our thinking guides our behaviors. How we interpret the world we live in guides the way we relate to it. Our thoughts are the locomotive pulling the train of our behaviors and emotions. If we move away from the information source that informs our thoughts then we will inevitably change our emotions and behaviors to agree with that new worldview.
Thoughts and information are primary, but they can be seriously affected by conflict involving behaviors or emotions. Though our thoughts are the locomotive of our being they can be swayed away from the foundational worldview. Any of the four BITE elements can become the element that draws the other three into cognitive dissonance. For instance, many Christians have left their faith because of an emotional struggle that caused them to question God. A common question is “Where was God when I needed Him?” That emotional struggle can introduce the cognitive dissonance that wedges the mind away from God and the Bible.
Such a disillusioning experience challenges a person’s sense of well-being and hope. It also impacts one’s ability to trust that the future will be better than the present. During such an emotional low point a cult can gain audience because they offer hope and perspective on the traumatic experience. A sense of well-being, trust and hope are the currency of daily living.
Once that dissonance begins, there is an internal struggle to resolve it. Confusion, doubt, questioning, and a serious search for solutions will characterize such a struggle. If the primary resources of thoughts/information are not sufficient to resolve the conflict then the behaviors and emotions will drag thoughts and information over to them by some rationalizing so as to resolve the conflict. When the dissonance is removed the person will regain that sense of well-being, trust and hope. Whether that hope is based on truth is another question.
The scenario above describes how cults gain converts. The two main elements of cult recruitment are information (Bible, doctrine, history, prophecy), and the sense of community within the cult. It is no accident that one of the cult recruitment techniques is called “love bombing.” The cult provides the two elements, information and emotions, necessary to move the person away from the beliefs and into the cult worldview.
When a cult recruits a new member there will frequently be a period of time when the recruit is excited about his new community and his new knowledge. However, when that recruit many years later finds that he was deceived, removing himself from the cult can be very traumatic. Relationships are broken which are very painful, especially when it involves family. Emotional struggles such as this have even led some to seek counseling, to be hospitalized for psychological treatment, or even to commit suicide.
I once had a chance to meet with a young lady who was studying with a cult. She was studying with them not to learn the Bible because she knew they were wrong. But she just enjoyed Bible study and the cultists came for free. I asked her some doctrinal questions and her answers revealed that she was indeed ingesting their false doctrine. When I pointed that out to her, she was alarmed. She soon broke off the study. She was being drawn toward the cult because she was not able to discern that the information she was receiving was false. The tool for recruitment was information that began to shape her thoughts. If that process had not been arrested, she would later have brought her behaviors and emotions in line with that information, i.e., she would have joined the cult.
A disillusioning experience challenges a person’s sense of well-being and hope. It also impacts one’s ability to trust that the future will be better than the present. During such an emotional low point, a cult can gain audience because they offer hope and perspective on the traumatic experience.
The process of creating cognitive dissonance that draws someone into a non-Christian worldview will be the same process of freeing them from that non-Christian worldview. But in a reverse direction, undoing the arguments that created the dissonance. The Bible talks a lot about discerning true prophets from the false prophets. That discernment is based upon information.
How we interpret the world we live in is crucial to spiritual and emotional health. Our basis for knowledge must be something that has survived the test of time with good results. All the world’s religions have their prescriptions for life, but they can’t compare to the results of a biblical worldview. The Bible gives us a very realistic description of man and the world we live in. It presents us a model in Jesus Christ that cannot be matched in any other religion. The good results of character, deeds, influence, and reputation can be traced back to that Biblical foundation.
The Apostle John said,
As for you, the anointing (the Holy Spirit) which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
1 John 2:27
G.K. Chesterton and George MacDonald were two of the most influential writers to effect C.S. Lewis’ conversion. He writes in his autobiography, Surprised By Joy:
“In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for… A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.”
Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis
February 18, 2022 E-Letter
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