Tag: Ideologically Driven Processes

Ideological Swamp

Society has many conflicting currents; division and acrimony seem to be everywhere. How can we make sense of the ideological swamp surrounding us? The driving force of many individuals and institutions is materialism and greed. For a large number of our sisters and brothers the primary goal is basically selfishness, seeking to enhance personal wellbeing at the expense of others. There are certainly bright places in this swamp, but they are too few. The goal of this posting is to develop a dialog involving those with whom we may not agree and who are mired in an unhealthy ideology; this dialog is aimed at increasing an overall awareness of brotherhood, sisterhood, and inclusion. Let us proceed.

Current Events

The term ideological swamp refers to the several conflicting ideologies interacting in our daily lives; among these are liberalism, conservatism, materialism, greed, white supremacy, loving service, lust for power, the true teachings of Jesus, conservative people of faith, deliberate evil, selfishness, and a desire to do the will of our Heavenly Father. There are undoubtedly many more contradicting value systems we could include.

This ideological swamp persists because most of us have no firm moral foundation upon which to build our lives and our potentially eternal future. We feel we are alone in the cosmos but this is not the case; God is within each of us. Knowing about His presence and having a strong desire to do His will we cannot fail to enter eternity and actually stand in the presence of our Heavenly Father at the center of all creation on Paradise. We cannot fail.

This ideological swamp persists because most of us are adrift in this swamp without any way to measure the value of anything. Rather than measure value based on the presence of God within each individual mortal, we measure value against our temporary perceptions, we measure it against our preconceived notions, against shifting sands. The only way to counteract this system, the only way to drain this ideological swamp is to fundamentally recognize our Heavenly Father as primal, as being the fundamental reality of all creation. God is the fundamental reality for each individual creature in all creation.

Christian Nationalism is one of the elements in this swamp; I have previously written about this portion of Christianity. Believers in Christian Nationalism are afraid of change; they want to keep anybody who is different in any way out of our country and out of our government. Like many other threads in our ideological swamp, Christian Nationalists are so fixated in their ideology they cannot accept any information that does not coincide with their belief system. Each component of our ideological swamp is convinced they have the ultimate answer to all our problems.

One of the most profound elements of our ideological swamp is the deep divide between opposing political beliefs. Each party in this political contest has their own set of core beliefs and goals; each has a unique vision for the future. The problem is not these differing political views, rather it is the acrimony of interacting discourse. Each side has an absolute viewpoint that will not allow anything else to enter in; therefore we have an ideological swamp and we are mired in a conflicting discourse.

It becomes particularly difficult when someone we love becomes trapped in one of these extreme ideologies. One person in such a situation position wrote: “With no overlap between our filters of reality, I was at a loss for any facts that would actually stick.”[1] Individuals in such ideologies view reality through a particular filter, what they see as “reality” may be radically different from our viewpoint.

If we cannot agree on what is reality, perhaps we can use probing questions to appraise ways of reaching some common ground; ways of finding a way to move toward a harmonious resolution. The objective is to find a common value system that can be agreed upon, then find ways to work toward these values. Properly formulated questions can make us think about what our goals are, what values we embrace in our efforts to work toward a better life for everyone. If the viewpoints of ideologues are not helpful to humanity, proper questions might disclose the problems and guide the discussion in a productive direction.

Golden Rule

We propose a series of questions as a way to communicate with an ideologue; this gives us a way to exchange ideas while minimizing conflicts based on varying opinions of reality. In these days of instantaneous social media misinformation, “truth” wears many different costumes. What is truth for one person might be insane to another; these firmly held beliefs cannot be easily reconciled without much rancor.

Instead of a heated debate on what the facts are, we propose probing questions. In this question based dialog we try to move away from objective discussions and toward a value based discourse. Our first question should be: Do you believe in the Golden Rule?

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”[2] This is the Biblical statement of the Golden Rule; it is a starting place where we determine what their value system might be. If their basic value system is violence against individuals holding a different world view, there may be no way to connect with them; perhaps it would be best to wish them peace, love and joy; then leave it at that.

This Golden Rule does not condone violence, aggression, or hatred; if an individual claims extreme hate filled views they cannot also claim to believe in this rule of brotherhood and sisterhood.

This rule of decency is recognized by many religions. A chart has been developed depicting statements similar to the Golden Rule in 13 different religions from Baha’i Faith through Zoroastrianism.[3] One example is the statement from Jainism: “One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated.”[4]

“Today we are living in a global village. Accordingly, we are all global citizens in addition to belonging to particular groups, races, cultures, religions, and nations. Being a global citizen brings both privileges and responsibilities. The Golden Rule may be the best guide we have for bringing all people to live together in peace.”[5]

Believing in and practicing the Golden Rule would be a good way to increase harmony on our native sphere while lessening hatred against individuals deemed to be different.

Further Questions

Once the Golden Rule has been accepted and affirmed, other questions might be useful, such as:

Do you know each of us has the spirit of God within?[6] Our Heavenly Father is literally within each mortal, because of this we all have value and we each have a chance of attaining a close relationship with Him.

Do you know God respects everyone, that He is no respecter of persons?[7] We all stand equal before our Heavenly Father; no exceptions. When any person has been discriminated against or disenfranchised, a child of God has been mistreated; a member of the Heavenly Family has been excluded.

How did Jesus treat outsiders? He had a long conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob.[8] In those days Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.[9] This would be the same as having a long conversation with a member of any minority group today. Jesus was all about inclusion.

A careful consideration of these questions brings out an increased awareness of the value of each mortal. The teachings of Jesus are an excellent model to follow in our lives, they do not allow ill feelings toward anyone, the teachings of Jesus proclaim love, brotherhood, and joy; they do not embrace fear.

Who would Jesus hate?

A large segment of our society does not attend church but many still ascribe to these values. If our lives have no values, no moral foundation, there is no meaning to our existence. Our lives gain value when we recognize a worthy goal, such as affirming our Heavenly Father, seeking to become more like Him, and trying to do His will at all times.

Current religion is sometimes nothing more than a meeting on Sunday morning having little relationship with daily events. Religion has become compartmentalized, isolated from daily activities and awareness; it should be the key motivator of our existence. Our faith must be our primary driving force, our reason for being, and the foundation of each decision we make in our daily lives.

Our Goal

The goal of these questions is to emphasize spiritual values so much so that falsehoods are crowded out; with some ideologues this might be difficult. As we permit spiritual values to grow within us, there is less awareness of unspiritual components. As we increasingly permit spiritual teachings to fill our awareness we let unspiritual emotions slip away.

Above all, it will help us in our interactions with difficult people to consider how Jesus would handle the situation.

  1. Albert Samaha, “My Mom Believes In QAnon. I’ve Been Trying To Get Her Out.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsamaha/qanon-parents-millennial-children  Retrieved 3/14/21 ↑

  2. Bible: Matthew 7:12 ↑

  3. “The Golden Rule,” © 2000, by Paul McKenna, available from Canadian Multifaith Federation, 3570 Victoria Park Ave., Suite 207, North York, On, M2H 3S2, Canada, www.cmfsrc.ca ↑

  4. Ibid ↑

  5. Ibid ↑

  6. Bible, I Corinthians 3:16 ↑

  7. Bible: Acts 10:34 ↑

  8. Bible, John Chapter 4 ↑

  9. Bible, John 4:9 ↑

Christian Nationalism

The riot at the United States Capital Building on January 6, 2021 is a violent stain on our republic. Our capital was desecrated, windows shattered and blood spilt. These rioters were threatening even worse atrocities, shooting or hanging those they disagreed with. How can we understand these actions? How can we begin to heal the deep divide plaguing our nation? Why did Bible believing Christians participate in these events? We have a lot of ground to cover.

Christians Amongst the Rioters

We have all seen the riots on TV; there is no need to elaborate. We have also seen videos showing those holding high political office encouraging citizens to march angrily to the capital. These were triggers for the violence but the tension had been building for several months, even years. There are photographs of a man carrying a Bible and others carrying religious banners in the riot. “The name of God was everywhere during” the insurrection.[1] There was a significant Christian participation. “The responsibility of yesterday’s violence must be in part laid at the feet of those evangelical leaders who ushered in and applauded Trump’s presidency. It can also sadly be laid at the feet of the white American church more broadly.”[2] Some of the rioters believed they were marching under the banner of Jesus to keep the defeated president in office.[3]

A prominent Southern Baptist leader said he saw a “Jesus Saves” banner near a gallows built by rioters. “I was enraged to a degree that I haven’t been enraged in memory. This is not only dangerous and unpatriotic but also blasphemous; presenting a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ that isn’t the gospel and is instead its exact reverse.”[4]

Robert Jones, CEO of the independent nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute and author of two books on Christianity, said “The fact that we saw QAnon, white supremacy and white Christianity all carried together in a violent attack on the Capitol means that particularly white Christians have got some real soul-searching to do.”[5]

Christian Nationalism

Christian Nationalism, as observed in the Capital riots and other right-wing events, is not based on the teachings of Jesus; it is certainly not based on the Golden Rule which he taught. Christianity is a set of beliefs based on teachings in the Bible, especially the New Testament. “Christian nationalism is a political ideology about American identity. It is a set of policy prescriptions for what the nationalists believe the American government should do. It’s not drawn from the Bible.”[6]

Christian Nationalism blends nominal Christianity with nationalism. They use this blending to proclaim what must be done to maintain and build our identity as a Christian nation into the future.[7] Anyone other than white American Christians have to be excluded, marginalized or violently repressed.

Paul Miller is a professor at Georgetown University and a research fellow with the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He has stated: “I think that any kind of nationalism in its purest form is religion. It is idolatry. That’s true of Christian nationalism. It takes Christian symbols, rhetoric, and concepts and weaves it into a political ideology that in its ideal form is idolatrous.”[8] The ideology of Christian Nationalism is based on politics, not on the teachings of Jesus, and not on the truth that God is literally present in every thinking mortal on Earth; no exceptions.

Christian Nationalism is an excellent example of an ideologically driven process. This refers to the doctrines, opinions, and ways of thinking upon which a plan of action is based. For individuals in such a process driven by ideology, their main focus is upon furthering this ideology. Instead of having as a firm moral foundation the truth that God is within each one of us, they base their foundation on a particular political concept. This is exactly what Marxism, Communism, and Fascism do. This is also why each of them has failed and will continue to fail. This is why governments and civilizations fail. For any personal or group venture to succeed, there has to be a firm moral foundation: the truth of God Within.

Misinformation and lies

Those who are part of an ideologically driven process feel their goal is so vital to the welfare of humanity that literally anything is justified in their pursuit of this goal. This goal, based on their firm foundation on some ideology other than God, is their foremost motivation and driving force; it consumes them. Anything is acceptable as long as it helps to attain their goal.

They become fixated on that goal, so they tend to retreat into a group of like-minds for acceptance and confirmation. They feel threatened by people other than white American Christians. This distorts their belief system therefore interfering with their goal; they drift into an (almost) all-white, unbridled society with no apparent rules or values. They certainly have little necessity to honor life – any life, this results in their violence against fellow humans. That is NOT of God.

Interactions with individuals who are not part of their group become irritating and inflammatory. Their presentations are filled with angry passion which may intimidate those who might otherwise speak out against them. “Too many evangelicals have accepted or turned a blind eye to a movement fueled by misinformation and lies.”[9]

David French, senior editor of a conservative website, has written “Only the Church Can Truly Defeat a Christian Insurrection: It’s time to combat the right’s enabling lies.” and “When you’re in your partisan bubble, the enabling lie is seductive. I’ve fallen for it. In years past, I even spread it.”[10]

These enabling lies become reality for them; they base their thoughts and actions upon them. Once started down this path of lies and innuendo it becomes increasingly difficult to exit. Misinformation and lies become their way of life.

Why do Evangelicals Accept Christian Nationalism?

One reason evangelicals accept and embrace Christian Nationalism is fear; this fear is almost primal; they are overwhelmed to the extent they embrace activities that run contrary to the teachings of Jesus. This fear is based on unwanted change; it is a fear of things that are different. This fear has been building up over several decades, particularly in rural areas in the south and mid-west. They lash out at those who appear different because of their own insecurity.[11]

There is also a distinctly racial element to Christian Nationalism, partly because the fervent evangelicals who comprise the pool from which these individuals are drawn are mainly white. “Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation.”[12]

“In the last 40 years, Christian nationalists tend to believe that Christians are under attack and are being persecuted.”[13] This arises because of immigrants bringing fresh blood into our country, bringing in new ideas, religions, and ways of life. These Christian Nationalists feel threatened by all the change they experience.

They felt powerless, unable to make any impact on the situation they were in. Then along came Donald Trump who claimed he would “champion Christian power. That’s why he struck such a deep chord among many white evangelicals. That was their political program for decades, Christian power. It turns out to matter more than Christian principles.”[14] Once they felt they had real access to political power, they totally fell for the message and were trapped within it.

The Way Forward

In any situation we must absolutely be constantly aware of our moral foundation. No action can succeed in the long run unless it has a firm foundation. This might be constructing a building, a government, a career, or personal leisure activities. A strong awareness of the presence of God, as a distinct part of our being, must be a part of each decision we make. We can still have fun, do exciting things, and love, but these activities must not bring harm or difficulty to any of our sisters and brothers.

Once we have such a foundation we can still pursue idealistic goals, but now we have a way to evaluate any proposed action. At each decision point we must ask ourself: “Will this action bring me closer to God or take me farther away from Him?” Once we have made this determination and acted upon it, we will have a clear path ahead of us. This may not be an easy decision but it will be the righteous one. We do not make these decisions alone; if we have made a sincere personal covenant with God to do His will, we will be assisted every step along the way. At this point any ideological process we adhere to will be Divinely directed by our God within.

Having such a moral foundation is not only important for our personal decisions, but it is vital in making an evaluation about those we interact with in our daily lives. Will my children be safe? Is our car mechanic going to make wild claims only to drive up the bill? Is the candidate we voted for going to make a good effort to fulfill promises made during the campaign for office? We are constantly faced with situations where some evaluation must be made, where we must make some judgment about the moral quality of those we interact with.

This is especially true with political candidates; when we vote for a particular person we are asking that individual to represent is by carrying out their duties of office according to our wishes. In the first place that means we need to be diligent in learning what the candidate stands for, what they want to accomplish, and what are their qualifications for office. Only then can we cast an intelligent vote. Secondly we expect the elected official to accurately manifest our wishes while carrying out the duties of their office. We expect them to have a moral foundation.

How many times have we learned what some elected official has done and then shout “I did not vote for that!”

We can begin our efforts to address issues presented in this posting by becoming comfortable within ourselves, trusting God in our daily activities. Once this has been done we need to be comfortable with change, things will always be changing, accept it. When this has been done we can reach out and seek to understand those who are different from us. The more we accept change and the diversity of humanity the more joy and satisfaction we experience. We embrace change and diversity.

When you totally recognize we are all sisters and brothers, when you honestly follow the Golden Rule as taught by Jesus by desiring to do onto others as you would have them do onto you, then the commonplace dictates of justice, honesty, and fairness will guide you in the just and impartial settlement of every recurring problem of economic rewards and social justice. (The Urantia Book, 1464.4)

We conclude with a word for those standing in the way of progress. Can you not advance in your concept of God’s dealing with man to that level where you recognize that the watchword of the universe is progress? (The Urantia Book, 54.5) We realize progress must be balanced so it can be properly assimilated, but the overall trend is toward progress.

  1. “A Christian Insurrection,” Emma Green, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/evangelicals-catholics-jericho-march-capitol/617591/, retrieved 1/28/21 ↑

  2. “Christian Nationalism Is Worse Than You Think,” Morgan Lee, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/january-web-only/christian-nationalism-capitol-riots-trump-podcast.html, retrieved 1/13/21 ↑

  3. Green ↑

  4. “Christianity on display at U.S. Capitol riot sparks concerning questions,” Elana Schor, https://globalnews.ca/news/7607091/us-capitol-riot-christianity-questions/, retrieved 2/1/21 ↑

  5. Schor ↑

  6. Lee ↑

  7. Lee ↑

  8. Lee ↑

  9. “Evangelicals must denounce the Christian nationalism in Capital riots,” Jamie Aten and Kent Annan, https://religionnews.com/2021/01/07/evangelicals-must-denounce-the-christian-nationalism-in-capitol-riots/, retrieved 1/7/21 ↑

  10. “Christian Nationalism is not Biblical Christianity,” Cassy Benefield, https://spokanefavs.com/christian-nationalism-is-not-biblical-christianity/, retrieved 1/27/20 ↑

  11. Aten and Annan ↑

  12. Benefield ↑

  13. Lee ↑

  14. Lee ↑

Religious Authoritarianism

A True Leader

A dangerous element in our society, which has been operating for many years, has the potential to destroy our democracy and plunge our society into a dark, oppressive state. The danger is similar to that in Iran when the Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979. In our country there is a well-organized conservative movement that could possibly seek a similar outcome; Religious Authoritarianism. We will discuss a conservative religious leader who bravely took a contrary stand and was swiftly denounced. We also discuss the movement, present day consequences, and briefly mention a scary possibility.

Joel Hunter

Joel Hunter is a pro-life pastor who formerly led an Orlando megachurch; before the recent election he announced his support for Joe Biden.[1] He remains conservative and pro-life but is concerned that concentrating on only one issue is too narrow. The group he founded, Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden, states “Poverty, lack of accessible health care services, smoking, racism and climate change are all pro-life issues.”[2] Whenever anybody views any issue with a confined mindset, there is no way a balanced understanding could be reached; that is like living our life with one eye closed, gaining a proper perspective would be impossible. Such an approach lacks biblical balance, “a biblically shaped commitment to the sanctity of human life compels us to a consistent ethic of life that affirms the sanctity of human life from beginning to end.”[3]

Promoting the sanctity of human life is a noble goal, but when considering only the abortion issue, all other aspects of human life are ignored. Poverty certainly affects human life; those trapped in the downward spiral of poverty have no hope for a meaningful existence until they are liberated from such a demeaning place. Many of our citizens cannot afford necessary medical procedures and medication, which leads to either more poverty or serious health problems. Smoking is certainly a health issue and a quality of life issue. Racism devalues our sisters and brothers who are disenfranchised and degraded because of some arbitrary superficial characteristic. Climate change has a profound impact on every mortal on our planet; for example this year was a record breaker for hurricanes.[4] Each one of these issues has a profound impact on our quality and quantity of life; how can they be ignored?

This list ignores lives impacted by and lost to Covid-19; the severity of which has been ignored by our government. We discuss this below.

Religious Authoritarianism

Those who follow religious authoritarianism identify “with Christian nationalism: the idea that the United States is and ought to be a Christian nation governed under a reactionary understanding of Christian values.”[5] This is quite similar to Muslims who overthrew the Shah of Iran; they followed an equally narrow and conservative type of Islam.

“The 2020 election is proof that religious authoritarianism is here to stay, and the early signs now indicate that the movement seems determined to reinterpret defeat at the top of the ticket as evidence of persecution and of its own righteousness. With or without Mr. Trump, they will remain committed to the illiberal politics that the president has so ably embodied.”[6]

Those involved in this movement are well organized and fiercely committed to their cause. The focus of their existence is reaching their goals; gaining full control of government. Their command structure “is profoundly hostile to democracy and pluralism, and a certain political style that seeks to provoke moral panic, rewards the paranoid and views every partisan conflict as a conflagration, the end of the world. Partisan politics is the lifeblood of their movement.”[7]

Three underlying realities in our society contribute to their power. The first is economic inequality, which the movement seeks to enhance rather than diminish. Those who financially support them are mainly ultra-rich conservatives seeking tax breaks and minimal regulation. The second is that those in this movement get their information from an isolated segment of news. “The fact that Mr. Trump was able to hold on to a high percentage of the vote in the face of such overwhelming evidence of malfeasance is proof enough that the religious-nationalist end of the right-wing information bubble has gotten more, not less, resistant over time.”[8] The third and final aspect is that our political system gives more power to a well-organized and active minority.

Covid-19

Most people reading this blog are well aware of the dangers resulting from this virus; exceptions will be noted presently. I was particularly struck by a headline in the Mississippi Free Press: “After Big Thanksgiving Dinners, Plan Small Christmas Funerals, Health Experts Warn.”[9] That not so subtle title is scary.

This paragraph is based on a blog posting by Dave Pell on NEXTDRAFT.[10] Jodi Doering is an ER nurse in South Dakota.[11] She had a night off and was spending it on the couch with her dog Cliff and Oreo ice cream. She could not get out of her mind experiences at the hospital. She is dedicated to her work and loves South Dakota; however her memories are filled with patients who are sick with the virus while denying it is real. “They tell you there must be another reason they are sick. They call you names and ask why you have to wear all that ‘stuff’ because they don’t have COViD because it’s not real. Yes. This really happens. And I can’t stop thinking about it. These people really think this isn’t going to happen to them.”[12] Dave Pell’s comment is (we call him Cool Guy): “It’s really impossible to overstate how dangerous this level of misinformation is, especially during a pandemic; when the actions of a deluded few can lead to the deaths of an enlightened many.”[13]

Denying facts inconsistent with one’s core beliefs is a certain path toward destruction. Only when we consider facts with relation to our beliefs and adjust accordingly can we achieve true progress. This brings us to the connection between the experience of health workers like Jodi Doering and religious authoritarianism. Those following conservative ideology, especially our current president, ignore science, rationality, and anything not conforming to their expectations; to them anything outside their fundamental ideological beliefs cannot exist. The consequence is countless sick individuals who have bought into a science-denying mind set and are therefore left alone in sterile hospital rooms.

Actually they are also denying God because He has created the facts of science, the beauty of natural surroundings, and the wisdom of profound thought. God, the creator of all things and beings, cannot be confined in a single issue, cannot be restricted to any one viewpoint, and cannot be distracted by difficulty.

Anti-Christ?

The success of our current president should be a wakeup call to everyone. Imagine if someone with charisma, intelligence, political savvy, administrative skills, and speech making ability took control of one of our political movements while holding Religious Authoritarianism views. The result would be like having the Ayatollah Khomeini as our President.

  1. Mark I. Pinsky “Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden signers face a Fiery Blowback,” https://religionnews.com/2020/10/23/pro-life-evangelicals-for-biden-face-a-fiery-blowback/ Retrieved 11/1/2020 ↑

  2. Ibid ↑

  3. Ibid ↑

  4. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/2020-atlantic-hurricane-season/ Retrieved 11/18/20. ↑

  5. Katherine Stewart, “Trump or No Trump, Religious Authoritarianism Is Here to Stay” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/trump-religion-authoritarianism.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=website, Retrieved 11/16/2020 ↑

  6. Ibid ↑

  7. Ibid ↑

  8. Ibid ↑

  9. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/7014/after-big-thanksgiving-dinners-plan-small-christmas-funerals-health-experts-warn/ ↑

  10. https://nextdraft.com/current/ ↑

  11. https://nextdraft.com/archives/n20201116/ ↑

  12. Ibid ↑

  13. Ibid ↑

Ideology vs Morals

These postings are generally a commentary on a particular topic with respect to my book “Light of Truth – Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness” and the corresponding website UBLightofTruth.com. My book is based on teachings in The Urantia Book, a revelation of truth published in 1955. Strong undercurrents in global society relate directly to my book; Ideologically Driven Processes are actions strongly motivated by a particular ideology. Morality is not even contemplated, only the ideological goal and ways to attain it are considered.

One glaring example is Communism; its founders desired a “worker’s paradise” where labor would receive proper compensation for their work. This is certainly a noble idealistic goal, but when its precepts were implemented, a dark repressive society emerged. Something went wrong between ideological conception and actions supposedly leading to the goal. Communism became a government with no recognition of the worth of laborers to whom it was supposed to bring equality. It resulted in a government whose primary goal became staying in power, while their “worker’s paradise” was put off into a far distant future.

Ideology

In this context, ideology means a set of ideals strongly motivating a group of citizens. Secondary considerations fall by the wayside because the idealistic goals are deemed to be urgently needed; they become the focus of existence for followers of the ideology. This goal is of such supreme worth, any action not contributing to it is shunned. This ideology becomes the primary motivation for the group.

There are countless such motivating threads in our society; in no particular order there are: Conservative Christianity, seeking to promote a narrow interpretation of Biblical teachings; White Nationalism, promoting a white only society; Conservative Politics, promoting the desires of big business at the expense of working people and removing their health care during a pandemic; wild conspiracy movements; anti-abortion groups; radical and violent members of all political ideologies; agents secretly promoting interests of other nations in our social media and society. No doubt there are many more.

There are segments of society where goals do not rise to such a level of fanaticism; some individuals recognize the importance of morality in realizing their goals. These elements are beginning to realize the value of every citizen, they realize the worth of every human, and they are beginning to become conscious of the presence of God in the life of each thinking mortal. For them the end can never justify the means because therein lies a Godless anarchy.

Proponents of a particular ideology may follow leaders with whom they do not fully agree; they do this so they can have access to power and advance their own goals. The leader obtains a larger following while the ideologues gain recognition and access. Leaders with dictatorial aspirations eagerly accept such fiercely dedicated ideologues because they tend to ignore issues not related to their goal.

Ideologues firmly committed to their beliefs will claim their goal is so important it must be pursued with utmost vigor; it rises above conventional morality. They rationalize their actions with “absolutes” as a basis for their actions; they might claim “The Bible says…” therefore they are justified taking any action. Any time we seek to avoid moral responsibility by employing such ideological processes we are going against the will of God who is within every thinking mortal, not just the ideologues.

Moral Foundation

One way to understand the problem with ideological processes is to examine the importance of having a moral foundation. Any undertaking needs to have a firm foundation if it is to succeed. It is a Biblical truism that a house cannot be built on shifting sands, but neither can an individual life, or even a civilization. All civilizations of the past have eventually failed because they had no moral foundation. Many an individual has failed because they lost their moral footing. Moral foundations are vital.

How does one construct an enduring foundation? The only truly lasting moral foundation consists in realizing every thinking mortal on Earth has within them an actual spark of God; our Heavenly Father is within every person and we all stand equal before Him. Knowing by faith and experience that God is within becomes our moral foundation.

How does this foundation work? We can still have noble idealistic goals, but now before we act we must consider any proposed action relative to our moral foundation; determine if it is consistent with our moral base. If the proposed action includes immoral shortcuts, if it means marginalizing anybody at the expense of others, causing physical harm to others, or if it takes unfair advantage of the poor, then the proposed action is inconsistent with our moral foundation and has to be rejected. If it passes these tests, it may be acceptable. Every proposed action must be carefully evaluated relative to our moral foundation. This naturally means it might take longer to reach our idealistic goal but it would also make reaching it more realistic. The Communist Revolution took place about a hundred years ago and today there is no indication its initial goals can ever be reached. Every action requires a firm moral foundation.

Interactions

These various ideological threads have polarized society so much there is an excessive amount of anger, fear, and hatred. Each group is so fixated on their own goals there can be very little dialog between these ideological groups. Many of these groups follow leaders who are, or want to become, demagogues; they follow with the hope their own goals will be advanced. In their rush to realize their goals they ignore moral deficiencies in the leader they have chosen. Exchanges between competing groups become heated and compromise is nearly impossible; there appears to be no effort to understand holding different beliefs. Misinformation fills social media and influences many who are ill informed; those in political power frequently contribute to this flood of lies.

These ideological interactions sweep across society on many levels, having a logical dialog becomes more difficult every moment. Until more individuals become aware of the powerful truth that our Heavenly Father literally dwells within each human being, these interactions will continue to be difficult. Frequently these exchanges are heated because the ideologues are so firmly convinced of the rightness of their beliefs; they have left conventional morality behind.

Consequences

The result of these conflicting ideologies is our society has become highly polarized; compromise, even governing, has become nearly impossible. When a collection of these ideological processes takes control in a nation such as ours, there is no obvious way to carry out important governmental activities, such as implementing a timely and effective response to our Coronavirus disaster.

It goes even deeper than that. Many people have become indifferent to the needs of other human beings. They are being pulled in so many directions at once there appears to be no way of reconciling these various processes. There certainly are people who deeply care, but the overall tenor of society is divisiveness.

At the core of these activities are individuals who, for whatever reason, are purposefully deceptive. Perhaps they feel their goals are too important to totally depend on conventional morality; they are above such mundane pursuits. The consequence of this flood of ideas is that whenever we receive information we must evaluate it with respect to its truthfulness. Some news sources may generally be trusted, but never social media where there is little fact checking.

We realize our society has a problem; it is time to move forward and seek solutions.

Solutions

When having a discussion with an ideologically driven individual no solution can be found if the dialog is heated, if the participants cannot have a calm, reasonable discussion. A shouting match only makes everyone even angrier. The number one priority is to cool down the rhetoric. Often there appears to be no way to accomplish this, but a way to begin is to find why they are angry. If this cannot be done there can be no dialog. If they respond saying “I am angry because…” the reason can be discussed and perhaps progress can be made toward having a reasonable discussion.

Next we need find a way through the ideology so exchange of ideas is possible. Frequently ideologues use code words that encompass a wide range of ideas, sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly what the code words are and what is meant by them. We need to understand what they want, only then can we progress to the next step.

Finally we must seek common ground. Finding this common ground is the only way society can continue; it is vital to our survival.

When each one of us realizes every human being has within them an actual spark of God, realizes we are all sisters and brothers, we can begin to work toward building a more inclusive society, one where the worth of each mortal is recognized.

Sisters and brothers of planet Earth: unite for the Triumph of Righteousness!

Agnotology

This posting is a condensed version of a new entry on the Talking Points page. The subject is Agnotology, the study of ignorance. We certainly have an abundance of ignorance and outright lying these days!

The study of ignorance, its origin and nature has been termed agnotology,[1] which was crafted from the same Greek word as agnostic. One way to study ignorance is to divide it into three basic types. The first of these is native state; these are things we have not yet discovered. The second is called lost realm, which are things we previously knew but have forgotten. The final type is the one we are interested in: strategic ploy, deliberately constructed ignorance by a group promoting a certain agenda.[2] “Ignorance can be an actively engineered part of a deliberate plan.”[3]

The deliberate spreading of falsehood is one of the tactics used by the followers of our fallen planetary prince; this activity is deliberate and they know exactly what they are doing. This deliberate spreading of lies is the way they operate. What they disseminate is misinformation, and they know it is false. Furthermore they actively promote and spread these statements they know to be lies; their motto might be: “we rule you if we can fool you.”[4]

This type of agnotology is spread by special interest groups having an ideology not generally accepted; they fully believe in their agenda, so much so they will do anything to bring it into a wider acceptance. Since they have such a firm belief in their tenets they feel justified in spreading lies to attain their goals. Indeed there is no limit to the techniques they will use to further their plans; for them the end does justify the means, there is no cultural or moral restraint to their activity.

In our society the spreading of deliberate lies has become simple due to our internet technology and social media; for these outlets there is little checking of facts, everything put out there is assumed to be absolute truth. There are even students of The Urantia Book who believe outrageous lies published on these media. Each of us needs to be critical of information we receive; we need to think for ourselves.

Truth is diluted by an avalanche of lies in this process; the forces opposing truth can put out a blizzard of lies obscuring all truth and leading many astray. Thinking persons must be careful and attempt to discover where truth resides; we must consider the source of any information we receive before we make up our mind.

One of the most glaring examples of agnotology is the tobacco industry denying their product causes cancer; an executive of that industry “stated doubt is our product.”[5] The tobacco industry utilized countless agnotology schemes to create doubt concerning the scientific evidence about the cancer causing effect of tobacco. Among these are: advertising, funding questionable research, set up organizations acting as a mouthpiece for the industry, press releases containing falsehoods, compiling friendly research for publication in poplar outlets and many other such projects. They also had a vast amount of money to fund these efforts.[6] At every turn the industry denied, spread falsehoods and did everything to obfuscate reality, even though there was good scientific research linking tobacco with cancer.[7]

Willful dissemination of falsehood has become so commonplace it is hardly noticed, and this is a sad commentary on our society. It seems we cannot trust anyone to tell the truth; this is not a modern phenomenon; lie telling has been with us for a very long time indeed.

Deliberately spreading lies was one of the main techniques used by Hitler and the Nazis in their rise to power. There is a well-known quote by their propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to this effect: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” And: “the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.”[8] The methods and results of the Nazis are well known.

The political arena is fertile ground for lie telling. It is too easy to make up a wild story defaming one’s opponent and publish it without any basis in fact whatsoever. Another tactic frequently used is cherry picking voting records; they pick a few votes bolstering the position they want to promote against their opponent while ignoring the vast number that do not. Lie telling has become prevalent in our society; a consequence of not having a strong moral foundation.

This prevalence of lie telling is what happens when any society ignores spiritual reality. Certainly if we ignore future eternity, if we ignore God, if we ignore true values, then we are free to do whatever we might want. Where will you be in a thousand years? What will be the spiritual harvest of your actions? The quality of our decisions during life in the flesh determines the nature of our service and adventure opportunities in eternity. We can ignore truth only so long; eventually it rises up and asserts itself. When reality rises up and bites you on the buttocks will you be on God’s side or on the side of those who cannot face spiritual reality?

We recognize a serious problem, what can each of us do about it? First is stick to the truth, not in any circumstances stoop to the level of truth deniers, because when we fall to their level we become one of them. It is imperative we stick to truth and emphasize reality. The moment we fall to their level we may be lost. Those working against truth have much experience; they absolutely know what they are doing. Therefore we must be patient, follow the internal guidance each of us has, and fearlessly confront the truth deniers.

They can be defeated by reason, patience and determination; we must not be caught up in the emotional displays they use to obscure their falsehoods. When we consistently stick to truth, we weaken their position. They have no real facts to bolster their position, they can only bring up half-truths or harangue about nothing until those upholding reality give up. As long as we, truth tellers, stick to our positions, and if we are strong, we will be able to withstand the sophistry of evil.

We must counteract lie tellers point by point, dealing with each false issue they concoct. One problem lie tellers have is keeping all their lies consistent; we who stick to truth have only one story making it easier for us. We must not be dismayed when liars publish wild and untrue stories about us, and we must be steadfast declaring truth even though nobody may believe it. Eventually truth will come out.

Tags: Agnotology, Ideologically Driven Processes, Moral Foundation

  1. “Agnotology: The making and Unmaking of Ignorance” Edited by Robert N. Proctor and Londa Schiebinger, Stanford University Press, Stanford California, 2008, p. vii ↑

  2. Proctor p.3 ↑

  3. Ibid p. 9 ↑

  4. Ibid p. 11 ↑

  5. Proctor p. 1 ↑

  6. Ibid p. 17 ↑

  7. During the first half of the twentieth century the author’s uncle, Dr. Leonell C. Strong, was one of these researchers and he remembers visiting Dr. Strong’s lab when young. Among other research Dr. Strong painted tobacco tars on mice and observed the tumors formed. A biography of Dr. Strong can be found at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3322/canjclin.29.1.54 ↑

  8. Thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html, retrieved 4/13/2020 ↑