| Author | Message | ||
| Lindylou Registered user Username: Lindylou Post Number: 164 Registered: 1-2005  |
Hi all, Long time no post.... Today I picked up a book and thought of you! The title is: "Mistakes Were Made (but not by me!)" by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Here's the preface of the book that caught my eye: "Renowned social psychologists...... take a compelling look at how the brain is wired for self justification. When we make mistakes, we must calm the cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right - a belief that often keeps us on a course that is dumb, immoral and wrong." In the first chapter, the authors relate an incident that happened half a century ago, in which a young social psychologist, Leon Festinger and two of his associates infiltrated a group of people who believed the world would end on December 21. "They wanted to know what would happen to the group when the prophecy failed." The group's woman leader promised her followers that they would be picked up by a flying saucer and elevated to safety on a certain date. "Many of her followers quit their jobs, gave away their homes, and dispersed their savings, waiting for the end. Others waited in fear or resignation in their homes." When the prophecy failed to come true by midnight of the predicted date, "the group felt a little nervous. By 2 a.m. they were getting seriously worried. At 4:45 a.m., their leader had a new vision: The world had been spared, she said, because of the impressive faith of her little band. 'And mighty is the word of God,' she told her followers, 'and by his word have ye been saved, for from the mouth of death have ye been delivered and at no time has there been such a force loosed upon the Earth. Not since the beginning of time upon this Earth has there been such a force of Good and light as now floods this room.'" The story continues... "The group's mood shifted from despair to exhilaration. Many of the members who had not felt the need to proselytize before Dec. 21, began calling the press to report the miracle and soon they were out on the streets, buttonholing passerby, trying to convert them." I found that excerpt from the book so fascinating I had to buy it! It is very pertinent to understanding why people choose to stay in a belief system despite coming up against evidence of error. Anyway.. just thought I would share... thought some of you would want to pick up the book.  | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5858 Registered: 12-2003  |
Oh, my goodness, Linda...talk about de ja vue! What an interesting insight about the brain being wired to self-justify to avoid cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is what causes us to face our lives and discover how we have been wrong or deceived. It's something we need to look at in order to grow and become grounded in truth, whether the issue is religion or family or personal secrets/memories, etc. When Jesus brings us to life, He proceeds to bring us into awareness of the truth about our lives in all areas as He knows we are ready to deal with things. This whole process of becoming aware and whole is a miracle of God. Colleen | ||
| Randyg Registered user Username: Randyg Post Number: 393 Registered: 12-2004 |
Lindylou, It has been a long time. The book you are reading sounds quite interesting, however I am curious as to whether you are still blogging. I enjoyed reading your prose and thoughts. In a monent of negligience, I failed to bookmark your blog. So if you are still blogging....and are willing to share again, I promise to bookmark it. Peace and blessings to you, Randy | ||
| Lindylou Registered user Username: Lindylou Post Number: 165 Registered: 1-2005 |
Hi Randy, Thanks for your kind words. I haven't blogged in a long while and I don't think that I can even locate my own blog! I've been through a period of void in my life... as far as feeling as if I have any kind of voice. However, I sense it coming back.... so we'll see. Blessings to you. | ||
| Lindylou Registered user Username: Lindylou Post Number: 166 Registered: 1-2005 |
Here's another interesting quote from the book above: " So powerful is the need for consonance that when people are forced to look at disconfirming evidence, they will find a way to criticize, distort or dismiss it so that they can maintain or even strengthen their existing belief." This tendancy in people has always fascinated me. I wonder what the trigger is that lets someone really be open to new ideas? I know that we all do this... work hard to avoid dissonance.... but what is the key? The book seems to suggest that the first step to breaking the cycle of self-justification is to have a richer understanding of how and why our minds work as they do. It takes "time, self-reflection and willingness." It is "willingness" that is the puzzle to me..... why is one person willing and another not? | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5879 Registered: 12-2003 |
Linda, I've wondered this same thing. I've come to the conclusion that God is somehow at work. He is in charge of giving us new hearts, and while this doesn't answer all my questions about it, I do believe there is some sovereign mystery at work. For example, why did He wait until I was well into my forties to bring me to an awareness of the gospel? Whey does He call others out of [Adventism] or other isms early in life? I don't know. I don't know why some are closed. But on this side of knowing Jesus, I do know that somehow He was in charge of the timing and of calling me out. I know this doesn't answer your question...but I believe God's choosing underlies the process. I can't explain it adquately, but I'm more and more content with knowing He is not willing that any should perish, and He is also in charge of awakening us to Him. It's a mystery, but I love that God is at the center of it, not humanity! Collen | ||
| Randyg Registered user Username: Randyg Post Number: 394 Registered: 12-2004 |
Very interesting quote Linda. I am not really sure what triggered my need to question, however I think it was a sense that I was in a spiritually dead space in my life. When my mid-life challenges required a serious re-evaluation, I did not find help in the faith I had been brought up in. My mid-course correction(to borrow a phrase from Gordon MacDonald)(and still ongoing I might add) began with figuring out why I could not find the Grace of the Bible in Adventism. As I searched, and laid aside the facades that I had grown accustom to, and saw the sincerity and joy in the lives, and worship of other Christians, I realized that I had to let go of what I knew, to learn anew what Christianity was all about. Like Colleen, I wonder why now in my mid forties? Why now when my spouse is so challenged by my changes? Why now as my children are old enough that my influence seems diminished. Although I must say that it has given my children the freedom to evaluate for themselves openly, where as before they never felt that freedom. I think for most it just hits them one day that all the parts of Adventism just don't add up and make sense as a whole package. We spent a lifetime trying to fudge the rules and understandings we had. Everything was predicated on how well we achieved being good, meeting that unattainable standard. Once you realize that is not what scripture asks of us, the perfectionism of the Adventist mindset just fell away. My salvation was not determined by how well I kept the rules. My salvation was determined on my simple acceptance of Christ's sacifice for my sins, and then me living the life in Christ that can be lived with that knowledge. The willingness you spoke of comes once you realize that we can not do it of ourselves, and we accept that it is only Jesus, and not US that saves us. For many it is hard to grasp that simple concept, as we have been brought up believing that WE, and our behaviour determine our salvation. I think for me, my mindset changed when I started to approach Adventism rationally and questioned it in the same analytical way I do everything else in my life. No longer could I accept blindly without studying for myself. That has made all the difference. | ||
| Raven Registered user Username: Raven Post Number: 759 Registered: 7-2004  |
Lindylou, I've also enjoyed reading your blog. In fact, I have it bookmarked. | ||
| Reb Registered user Username: Reb Post Number: 44 Registered: 5-2007 |
Randyg, I can so relate to what you posted. I am about the same age as you are and my wife has been quite challenged by my changes. At first she was quite angry and thought I was rebelling against God. Now not so much. I have given my son the freedom to question and he himself is questioning Adventism. When I approched Adventism rationally and analytically I was able to really see it for what it is and that it is false. |
