It looks like you will all be treated to a chapter-by-chapter book review of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges. Chapter 3, to say the least, was highly disturbing!! It details one method of converting non-believers into mindless believers.
In fact, if the words surrounding the Christian belief system are removed, it doesn't sound all that different than the kind of mass brainwashing that went on in Germany in the 1930s and brought the world the horrors of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Hedges took part in a 5-day seminar, Evangelism Explosion, run by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy. The program sounded far more like a sales pitch for used cars or time-share opportunities than trying to win souls for Jesus. Hedges details each step along the way, from identifying vulnerable victims in crisis all the way up to selling them eternal hope coupled with the fear of damnation. He shows how effective evangelical proselytizers learn to become adept at feigning sincerity and friendship in order to reel in their unsuspecting prey!
Of course, once they become ensnared in the web of the evangelical community, they soon discover that independent thinking is frowned upon. All authority rests with the church and the men who run the organization. In essence, they cede most of the control of their lives to others.
In fact, if the words surrounding the Christian belief system are removed, it doesn't sound all that different than the kind of mass brainwashing that went on in Germany in the 1930s and brought the world the horrors of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Hedges took part in a 5-day seminar, Evangelism Explosion, run by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy. The program sounded far more like a sales pitch for used cars or time-share opportunities than trying to win souls for Jesus. Hedges details each step along the way, from identifying vulnerable victims in crisis all the way up to selling them eternal hope coupled with the fear of damnation. He shows how effective evangelical proselytizers learn to become adept at feigning sincerity and friendship in order to reel in their unsuspecting prey!
Of course, once they become ensnared in the web of the evangelical community, they soon discover that independent thinking is frowned upon. All authority rests with the church and the men who run the organization. In essence, they cede most of the control of their lives to others.
This control, while destructive to personal initiative and independence, does keep believers from wandering back into the messy situations they fled. The new ideology gives the believer a cause, a sense of purpose, meaning, feelings of superiority, and a way to justify and sanctify their hatreds. For many, the rewards of cleaning up their lives, repairing their damaged self-esteem, and joining an elite and blessed group are worth the cost of submission. They know how to define and identify themselves. They do not have to make moral choices. They are made for them.I don't know about you, but I'm suspicious of ANY belief system that has to develop elaborate strategies to win people to the cause. The way I look at it, if you can't simply model the things you believe in and must instead develop methods of haranguing people, what does that say about your religion or philosophy in the first place?
I agree that any system that has to force people to a single mode of thinking (or should I say not thinking) is very dangerous on so many levels.
ReplyDelete