Group Think

Confirmation Bias

Valerie Cullers 11 Comments

“Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek, interpret and favor information that confirms or supports one’s preexisting beliefs or values. This cognitive shortcut leads people to overlook or dismiss information that contradicts their views, reinforcing what they already believe to be true.” Google

We all have a tendency to listen to information that confirms what we believe. If you don’t think so, think about the news station you watch. Does it have newscasters that support the political views you already hold? Whether you are on the left or the right, it is easy to find a news source that will reinforce your own particular bias.

While confirmation bias keeps us from opening our minds to information that doesn’t match our political views, my biggest concern is for those who are in the church who hold rigid views on upcoming prophetic events. Many of us have our favorite teachers who expound on the subject…I do too. But if we only listen to those who believe the way we do, we may end up disappointed or worse, losing our faith if future events don’t play out the way we are expecting them to.

The subject that concerns me the most is that of the rapture. So many people in the church believe in a pretribulation rapture. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you know that many legitimate scholars hold different views. In other words, some very learned men (and women) in the church believe in a mid-trib or pre-wrath rapture. Still others favor the view that Christ will only come one time for his church and that will happen at the end of the tribulation.

You see, no one really knows for sure how prophetic events will play out. We all hope that the church will be raptured (taken to heaven to be with Christ) before the seven-year tribulation occurs, but what if it doesn’t? Are you one who is so entrenched in your view that you won’t consider another alternative? If you are, how will you react if the rapture doesn’t happen when you think it should? Will you be in shock, dismayed, and disillusioned? Will you fall away from the faith because events didn’t happen the way you believed they would?

We need to ask ourselves serious questions and be prepared for prophetic events however they play out. Remember, the religious scholars of the day couldn’t accept Jesus because he didn’t come in a way they believed he would. They were so sure He would look a certain way that they missed Him when he was standing right in front of them.

We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” We must remember that he is faithful and will be with us. He will help us navigate whatever circumstances we find ourselves in the future. What is important is that we live in a way that prepares us to be ready to meet him whenever he comes.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Discount

Valerie Cullers 7 Comments

“Discount – (verb) to decide that something or someone is not worth considering or giving attention to.” Cambridge Dictionary

If we were fortunate as children, we lived in a family where we were taught to not discount people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, or financial situation. We learned that people are not less valuable because of any of their inborn characteristics or outward circumstances.

For the past several years, people have also been discounting others because of their political beliefs. Our children in the university system have been taught to discount those who do not conform to the current norms at their institutions. On campus, they live in an echo chamber where only the accepted opinions are given any real credence or value.

This past Thanksgiving, a psychiatric intern at one university shared online that people might want to skip getting together with their families if their relatives voted for candidates they didn’t agree with. The “Northeastern Global News” stated that about one quarter of people were considering skipping the family get-together this year.

I come from a family where one of my brothers is on the far right and the other is on the far left. Would I ever consider not having dinner with them because of their political views? Absolutely not. Family is too important, and life is too short. Political candidates and opinions change like the ocean tides. To be so locked into our views that we must live in an ideological bubble where those with different views are discounted seems absurd.

Believe it or not, we can always learn from those who have different opinions than our own. We can learn why they believe what they do. We can learn to be tolerant of those who see life differently. We can learn to care about people who think differently than we do because they add to our understanding of the world around us. We can also learn to have a little humility because believe it or not, we are not always right in our opinions and we do not always see the whole picture.

Let’s learn to love those who have different political views this holiday season. Let’s not discount them as the world would have us do.

Image by Okan Caliskan. Courtesy of Pixabay

The Narrative

Valerie Cullers 39 Comments

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THE NARRATIVE

For those of you who don’t know, there is a “Narrative” that is affecting how we receive our news. Depending on your choice of news outlet, you will read stories and opinions that support “The Narrative” that outlet is espousing. If you only get your news from one source, you are probably missing a lot of what is going on in the world today. Your source may not print many stories intentionally because the stories do not support their “Narrative.”

For instance, did you see the column on Forbes.com by Michael Shellenberger? He is a noted environmentalist who has recanted a lot of the views he held in the past. He wrote his column in response to the recent Climate Alarmism that is being put forth by several members of Congress. You didn’t see it? Probably because it was only up for a short time on their site. You have to ask yourself, why didn’t it stay up? The short answer is that it probably didn’t fit their “Narrative,” so it was taken down.

Did you hear about Kathleen Lowrey, an anthropology professor at the University of Alberta? She is an acclaimed gender-critical feminist who believes that gender is real and relevant. She was dismissed for her views because some students felt “unsafe” with her opinions. She probably wasn’t worth mentioning in most news sources because anyone who makes the mistake of holding the belief that gender is binary does not fit the current politically correct “Narrative” in our society.  

However, if you lived in Somerville, Massachusetts, you probably did hear about the city council approving Polyamory. In case you don’t know what it is, “it is the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships at the same time.” In other words, if several people want to live together in a “collective domestic partnership,” they have the blessing of the city council of Somerville. These partnerships have been given the right to provide health insurance and other rights that are given to “families,” such as the right to hospital visits, etc. This story definitely does fit a particular “Narrative,” and received so much attention that many lawyers are contacting them because they are interested in writing ordinances similar to this one on a state and federal level.

Surprised at what you don’t know and haven’t seen on the news? I recommend getting your news from multiple sources so that you have a better idea of what is happening in the world. If you only read or hear your news from one side of the political or social spectrum, you are being fed whatever “Narrative” that source is espousing. Remember, it’s not about the stories that are being reported; it is about the stories that are being censored because they don’t fit “The Narrative” of that particular news source.

Image by Gerd Altman, Courtesty of Pixabay. Snippets of stories taken from LifesiteNews.com, July 3, 2020. Definition of Polyamory taken from Google.com.

The Covington Students Broke the Commandments

Valerie Cullers 25 Comments

This week the Covington Students were excoriated in the media. They broke the commandments. We better know them and be careful or we will be next. What are they?commandment-1431061_640 image by aitoff, courtesy of Pixabay

1. Thou shalt not be white:

It doesn’t matter where your relatives came from, or whether they held slaves or not. Or perhaps your relatives fought and died to set the slaves free. The facts are not important.  If you are white, you will be judged by the color of your skin and will be forced to carry the collective guilt of others of your race.

2. Thou shalt not be male:

Masculinity itself is a crime; it is now toxic in some circles. Never mind the fact that no one would exist without a male figure in their lives, or that the influence of a father can be very beneficial.  Being born a male is now something to be discriminated against.

3. Thou shalt not believe in God:

Any belief in a personal God is tantamount to heresy. The secular humanists will portray you as stupid and brainless if you believe in a higher being.

4. Thou shalt not support the current president:

Anyone caught supporting the current president must be punished, period. No exceptions.

5. Thou shalt not go to a private school:

As flawed as the public school system is, you must be punished if you choose an alternative. You will be targeted and condemned as “privileged” if you go to one, especially if it is a religious institution. Never mind the fact that many who go to these places of learning have scholarships because they cannot afford them.

6. Thou shalt not be pro-life:

Anyone not supporting abortion is to be punished. You must support abortion on demand up to and including nine months.

7. Thou shalt not be from a state that has a high poverty level and lower educational scores:

If so, you will be judged as ignorant and bigoted.

8. Thou shalt not be a teenager:

If so, your behavior will be held to a higher standard than the behavior of the adults in whatever situation you are in.

Are these all of the commandments? I don’t know. We must all be careful because if we are ever placed in the limelight and we do not fit the current orthodoxy or line up with whatever the “group think” is at the time, we will be punished on social media.

Ask yourself, are you breaking any of these commandments?