3 Essential Tools to Own Your Knowledge for Deception Prevention (And Why Doubting Is Not a Sin)

Car in snow. Public Domain. Click for credit.

The air was cold and crisp as I started driving home. The roads were clear so I zoned out. About the same instant as I noticed white flakes in the air and the white fluffy stuff on the road, was when I started losing control. Going down an incline, I started to veer. Yes, in one instant the road changed from clean to slick. My speed was just too fast and the car started to spin out of control. While providence may have been the ultimate cause of stabilization, I also feel that experience on ice may have helped.

Back on the road, I was grateful for previous experiences, not during the time of emergency, but rather safely on open slick parking lots. I want to stress this point; I had experience, experience during a time of safety and low stress situations for practice.

This point is essential for the prevention of deception. You need to interact with truth and wisdom in low level situations and practice your knowledge. Here I want to talk about asking questions to address your doubts, and help you affirm your understanding by writing and speaking. This way you own your beliefs.

Doubting is not sin

Garrett Hardin, click for credit.

Late Garrett Hardin, a scientists who was an agnostic, told a story of his teenage years, it is so depressing to me. He was out hunting with his father and there was small talk. Garrett asked who made God. Sadly his dad, with fervor, told him he must never ask that question. This experience was a major step towards Garrett’s agnosticism. However, this conversation did not just effect him, but many others because of his influence! How much better it would have been if his dad would have allowed Garrett space to ask questions and try to give a response or be willing to research the answer if he did not know it.

The Brainwashing

Are you being brainwashed? In a post by Stella Morabito (see source below, it is worth the read), she tells the story of Patricia Hearst, who within two months was brainwashed into a totally different person. There were a number of things that she went through but here are some of the techniques her kidnappers ("Symbionese Liberation Army") used:

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst.

• Formed a cycle of "...isolation, threats, and humiliation, punctuated by a little peace (reward) for compliance [this] broke down Hearst’s sense of self." She lost freewill.
• "stimulated in her an overwhelming sense of dependency"

Marabito goes on and notes what Singer, a psychiatrists who eventually became involved with Patricia's recovery, says on how people are brainwashed:

• "Keep the person unaware that there is an agenda to control or change the person and their thoughts"
• "Control time and physical environment"
• "Create a sense of powerlessness, fear, and dependency"
• "Suppress old behavior and attitudes"
• "Instill new behavior and attitudes"
• "Put forth a closed system of logic"

The following are things that people use to brainwash groups of people. These are used by governments, social group leaders, some religious leaders and many charismatic leaders. Sadly these work, usually for devious outcomes.

• "The atmosphere of coercion is reinforced by peer-modeled behavior." This is the good old peer pressure technique. Go into any group gathering or school and you will see this in practice.
• "...you are exposed to a slogan often enough, you will repeat it, even if you don’t understand what it means." I'm convinced that this point alone is very dangerous. There are many slogans that may have some good and some truth, however, many that are used are used for devious purposes and used to shut people up and stop questions from being asked.
• "...a climate in which the agenda is seen as an elitist movement for those who are enlightened. Those who oppose the agenda are labeled as lesser beings." Usually this is not stated outright, but a culture of ignoring one or placing one at a lower level with a derogatory label is often used.
• “collective belief formation –describing how implausible opinions can be manufactured through a system of social/reputational punishments and rewards." Even illogical conclusions are twisted to sound logical. If one dissents, one is punished.

So what are the best ways to protect yourself? Again, Marabito gives some tips to prepare yourself and help guard against mass brainwashing:

• "techniques 'should be studied and revealed so that citizens can be taught countermeasures in order to avoid being exploited by such groups.'" In other words, know the techniques.
• "Education, information and vigilance are constantly needed if we are to keep us, and our minds, free.” The more you know the truth, stronger you will be.
• Expand your "one-on-one personal relationships and conversations. This is where our power lies..." Form connections. You will find you are not alone in your defence. 
• "...remaining silent about our beliefs when we are being abused is that we actually dig our own hole deeper. Every dissenter feels alone, perhaps even in a roomful of dissenters. Every fence sitter resigns himself to signing on with the perceived 'majority.'" In other words, speak!
• "When unanimity is punctured, the group’s power is greatly reduced." The power here lies in the fact that when there is an outcry, the brainwasher's loses some of the control.

In your life watch out for others pressuring you to keep quiet, telling you not talk to others about topics, discouraging you from asking questions, the use catch phrases used without definitions given and "norms" that you are expected to hold to even if they make no sense. Be concerned if your pursuit of knowledge and information is discouraged against. Use the tools given here to prepare yourself for the war on your mind. Know the truth, gain knowledge, ask questions, talk to others and understand the techniques people use to brainwash others. Last but not least, pray for wisdom and discernment!



All quotes came from the following source: http://thefederalist.com/2014/04/15/cults-in-our-midst-patty-hearst-and-the-brainwashing-of-america/

Don't Trust, Written by Man

A friend tells you, "you shouldn't take the Bible too seriously since it was only written by men, and men make mistakes.” What do you say? Many things could be said, the more you know, the more prepared you will be for this type of encounter. Believe me this is a real argument that people use against the Bible. However, even if you are uncomfortable with why one should trust the Bible, even though there are good reasons, you can be still quite effective.

The power of questions

You already learned about questions (here and here) so let's use questions in this real life example. All you have to do is think about the statement. Are their pit falls in his or her thinking? Why yes. Lets try to point them out in a kind way - with questions.

1. Do you have any books at home? 
2. Did humans write them? 
3. Is truth found in any of them? 
4. Do you have any reason you think the Bible is less truthful or reliable than other books you own? 
5. Are there always mistakes in what people write? 
6. Don't you think God would be able to use humans to write down exactly what he wants? 
7. If not, why not?

These seven questions, or questions like them, will help you as you interact with others. If nothing else these will help you get the other thinking by "putting a stone in their shoe."

Why Respect?

I already talked about one very important question "what do you mean by that?" This question is powerful because it can clear up misunderstandings fast, decreasing conflict.

Danger

Many don't know what they mean when they make claims, they just repeat the talking points. This means that this question, along with others, are powerful but also can be dangerous. One looks like a fool when one doesn't even know what one means, this can cause great hurt. Consider a knife, it can do great good, such as a surgeon's scalpel. Much damage also can be accomplished with this tool, such as murder. With a good question comes responsibility.

That responsibility is respect. We need to ask questions, but they need to be respectfully. If not asked respectfully, another can be made to look stupid, which is not what we want to accomplish. We need mercy. Respect is hard to give some times when outlandish reasonless assertions are made. Even so, respect is needed.

The next two questions can be even more effective, but also just as dangerous. In other words, mercy is needed along with these questions.

The second main question 

This next question should be used when another makes a claim. It's not my job to prove a radical assertion wrong, the one who makes the claim rightfully needs to supply the evidence for the truth of the claim. When this happens, I ask something like this "How did you come to that conclusion?" A gentler way to say this is "Why do you feel that way?" Again it clarifies the reasons for a person's ideas. Please watch out, again most can't provide evidence, they just make empty claims. You can make one look like a fool unintentionally.

The last big question

The last question is used to exploit a flaw when you are in communication. This question is great when reasons don't support the claims or the claim is weak. The question is "Can you clear this up for me?" Now of all the questions, this is the most assertive and direct, so it needs to be used with mercy and grace. When one's reasoning is fallacious, it can be quite embarrassing.

Conclusion

As a recap: use mercy and respect with the following types of questions 1)"What do you mean by that?" 2) "How did you come to that conclusion?" 3) "Can you clear this up for me?" Put these type of questions into your communication tool box. These will help you learn, stay in control and gently help the others think about what they are saying.

What do you mean by that?

In a previous post, I talked about fifteen things that I am trying to focus on more. The last five were under the title of "culture of inquiry". I am trying to ask more questions for a number of reasons. Also, I talked about questions in my post on how to talk to those who are unbelievers or nominal Christians. One of the most important questions you can ask is "What do you mean by that?"

Questions

Just because I ask a question does not mean I don't know the answer, nor does it mean that I am unsure on my reasoning. Asking questions have other ramifications besides just pure learning, it may be that I just want to hear other peoples views on the topic. Many times I use them in controversial settings, or maybe to get the other person thinking about something. Once an evolutionary materialist said that observable evidences is all it takes for science. So I asked him "are you saying that observable evidences is all you need?" He said yes. I then asked him some other questions to help guide him that this was not true.

Equivocation

Questions also helps prevent equivocation. Examples could be like one saying "this is doctrinal", "evolution is true", "that is heresy" or "that is sin", I do't quite know how to take those comments. I would want to know what they mean by "doctrinal", "evolution", "heresy" or "sin" before stating my opinion. Each of these words can mean different things to different people.

Merciful

We need to get in the habit to ask clarification questions before giving a comment, agreeing, or making a rebuttal to another's views.

The first question that should come to mind is:

"What do you mean by that?"

Or any variation of that question will work.

Why?

You should try to help the other person define his or her terms by a question like this. This question alone may clear up an issue and help you understand the other better and prevent disagreement. In other words, if you and the other person have different meanings for a word, your conversation will consist of the same word being used but in very different meanings.

Confidence In Conversation

Should I talk to Non Believers?

Are you afraid to talk to atheists, agnostics, people from other religions and nominal Christians? If there is a God and the Bible is true, then its message compels us to talk to others while living a godly life. We can avoid pitfalls in interaction through learning. This is one aspect of being a disciple of Christ's, learning how to interact. One bad experience can cause some to give up. This is wrong, we can and should be talking and living as Christ commanded. With proper knowledge and wisdom, we can overcome four types of pitfalls.

Losing focus.

Stay focused. 1) Some focus on wining the discussion. Maybe because of pride, lack of understanding or lack of training. Rather, present the truth for the other's benefit, giving them something to think about with love and gentleness. 2) Getting side tracked on "rabbit trails" should be avoided. Keep returning to the central simple issue at hand. 3) Some seem to focus on peripheral Christian topics. Rather, build the foundation first and keep the "in house" topics of Christianity "in house". Focus on the foundation such as the fundamentals of biblical teaching and core world view issues.

Not knowing what you believe and why.

Know what you believe and why. Being well read gives you the knowledge and helps you learn from other's mistakes and knowledge. When one has the truth, one need not be ashamed. This knowledge gives you confidence and it helps you spot error. Knowing what you believe and why may take some work. This may be necessary before getting to the central issues. Having a grasp of what "non-believers" believe helps you with confidence as well.

Not knowing how to interact.

Baseless ascertains, wrong tactics and catch phrases are all dangerous. Sarcastic and antagonistic attitudes  aimed to those on the other side never helps, respect does wonders. Shun Christian lingo, people need clarity, not "foreign language." Never get angry, you are not here to win, you are here to help show the way - eventually to Christ and his kingdom. Follow the example of Christ, Paul and Apollos. Your character and behavior matters from both God's and other's perspective!

Not understanding

You will never know everything so ask questions to learn. Ask clarification questions so you don't misrepresent another. When another makes a claim, allow the other to provide evidence for that claim by asking for it. Only after that should you give your commentary. A Knowledgeable person can many times spot weakness in reasoning when one holds to a world view other then biblical. Allow questions to point out these weakness if possible. Jesus did this. Questions are powerful.

I have noticed that some are used to making unsubstantiated assertions. When asked clarification questions or for evidence, these people may not like it because they are taken off guard. This makes them think, which is good. Also, it means that questions are a powerful tools, so be careful, they can be dangerous if not done with grace, mercy and love.

Big Thoughts on Christianity

These "big thoughts on Christianity" have been rattling around in my head. These are areas in my life that I have been trying to work on. Hope you can also put these principles to use!

Focus on Scriptural Integrity.

1) Reading passages/verses in context reduces error and poor exegesis.
2) Coming to the Scriptures to understand a concept, not to prove a preconceived concept/practice.
3) Understand the difference between biblical descriptions and prescriptions, where it describes versus commands.
4) Proper definitions of 400 year words (if the KJV is used).
5) Use and understand the Bible in the way that it was intended.

Encourage Biblical Focus.

1) Have truth, mercy, forgiveness, justice and mercy, and obey the two greatest commands.
2) Receive other followers of Christ as brothers and sisters.
3) Visit the widows, orphans, and prisoners.
4) Tell others the way of Christ with our words and character.
5) Biblical commands take precedence over culture and opinions, nor should culture and opinions be elevated to the level of scripture in word, thought or action.

Culture of Inquiry.

1) Understand others more and vigilant to ask questions so I don’t misrepresent another.
2) Understand why, if possible, so I can give reasons for the faith of Christ.
3) Understand biblical reasons and commands and encourage others to use them for their arguments.
4) Understand and be confident in truth so I'm not immediately threatened by error and deception.
5) Understand discernment with wise and knowledgeable ethics built upon biblical morality.