Does radical christianity prime the brain for conspiracy?

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aghogday
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05 Mar 2022, 12:06 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
So your saying that...

religion has gone from prophets...to losses?




Yep, Basically

Loss of Nature;
Inherent, Born on Date;
Naked, Enough, Whole, Complete;

Some Folks Master The Tool (Words And Such)
Others Become Mastered By 'The Tool' or Even
Worse, in Form, Become The Tool Almost Completely Lost

From Their
Inherited
Freer
Nature Within...

Basically, Living
With Less Than Half
of Human Potentials
That Bring Real Satisfaction With Life...

Or Have You Been to the 'Deep South' and
Seen The Frowns, Stilted Movement, And Talk,
Without Free Dance And Song, Actually Frigging Breathing...

True, 'African American Churches,' Seem to Capture more of the
'Essence of Breath in Meditating Flow;'

Even Some
Gospel
Singing
Group
Southern
Baptist Experiences;

in my Various
Participant
Anthropology
Observer 'Real
Life' Experiences; as
i surely Haven't Been
Everywhere Yet, Hehe,
Yet i Do get Around as 'the Record Book Shows'..;)



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DW_a_mom
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05 Mar 2022, 7:55 pm

Jason Thayer wrote:
My man St. Paul warned us about this: For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
(2 Tim 4:3 NIV)


Which is basically the passage believers in deep conspiracy theories use to throw out all the rational argument and facts the rest of us present, and allow themselves to believe they are the only ones who can see the truth.

I've had that one come back to me more times than I can count, which I find quite ironic. And sad. Very sad.


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cyberdad
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05 Mar 2022, 9:46 pm

I have posted many times before that the early christian sects (Arians, Gnostics) sought to understand the bible from the perspective of the deeper meaning of the writing.

It was their belief that following the literal meaning of scriptures is pointless, one had to understand the hidden/deeper meaning that was meant to take the initiate/convert on a spiritual journey (not a physical one). This is the same as buddhist and Hindu philosophy where initiates understood the scriptures/mantras/prayers they learned helped them prepare for their spiritual journey from the physical to the metaphysical realm.

In this sense the early christians were not afraid of dying for their beliefs. They understood that their physical death was only a temporary setback.

The Romans and subsequently catholic church happily obliged and eradicated these sects (murdering their adherents) and made christians follow the literal word of the bible which is nonsensical. They forced followers to obey or die over ideas and beliefs that have nothing to do with spiritualism and everything to do with elitist self-interest. That same strain of cult like christianity remains in the bible belt of America where multiple generations follow a flawed christian doctrine which focuses on the here and now and the physical world. This is wrong, Religion is supposed to be about not forming attachments to the physical realm or the physical body and about contemplating the metaphysical.



blueroses
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05 Mar 2022, 10:37 pm

Not sure what the OP means by "radical Christianity," but American Evangelicalism often places emphasis on the study and interpretation of The Book of Revelation. I could see how spending time in that (or other pieces of apocalyptic literature), which is so full of symbolism, combined with the admonitions in Matthew to watch and pray could maybe lead someone to a mindset where they may be more susceptible to conspiracy theories, even if Christ taught no one can know the hour or the time.



cyberdad
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06 Mar 2022, 12:53 am

blueroses wrote:
Not sure what the OP means by "radical Christianity," but American Evangelicalism often places emphasis on the study and interpretation of The Book of Revelation. I could see how spending time in that (or other pieces of apocalyptic literature), which is so full of symbolism, combined with the admonitions in Matthew to watch and pray could maybe lead someone to a mindset where they may be more susceptible to conspiracy theories, even if Christ taught no one can know the hour or the time.


Yes the evangelicals. I also accept the bible belt/belters are a broad church. Some like Billy Graham were enlightened (for his time) but among the current batch, most are hopeless buying into Trump/QAnon inspired conspiracies.



Jason Thayer
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14 Mar 2022, 5:33 am

Don't paint us all with the same brush. We're all different. Some of us, like me, saw through that BS. I voted third party the last time because I didn't like Hillary Clinton either. The second time, I wanted him GONE, so I voted for Biden. If he runs in 2024, I've learned my lesson. I'm voting Democrat for every election from now on. TBH, I despise both parties, but third party candidates rarely win, so what's the point?


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