Belief bias
JOHN 8:44 There is no truth in Satan. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Either one worldview is true, and the other, opposed to it, is a lie. Or vice-versa. Either God(s) do exist or do not exist. As God, I mean the Christian God. In a broader sense, an ultimate, eternal, necessary, conscious, intelligent creator being, upon which everything external to him depends.
In science, we elaborate a hypothesis, make predictions, and test it to its destruction. In other words, a scientist tries out everything in his power to falsify the hypothesis. If it resists, then, it is true, until proven otherwise. Until, eventually, new evidence emerges, and either falsify or improves/modifies that hypothesis, that can, eventually, become a theory.
But we, being not only rational but also emotional, usually do not operate this way. Being rational, we want to make sense of our world, and find satisfying answers in regards to fundamental questions, like where we came from, where we go, what the meaning of our lives is, the quest of God, etc. Many different factors influence our views. But once we have established which worldview is true, once we have passed that threshold, rather than seeking to falsify it, we try to consolidate it, and seek evidence, that conforms to that view. If a conclusion supports our existing beliefs, we rationalize anything that supports it. We avoid setting aside our existing beliefs to consider in an unbiased way if other explanations have more merit. In practice, this means that we resist objections that criticize our dear beliefs, and set our mental energies to reject and deny the objections and to reinforce what we want to be true. The metaphysical realm can never be discovered to be empirically 'true or false' since we cannot see beyond the physical universe. All we can do is apply bayesian thinking or probability. We can eventually logically conclude that an ontological state of affairs is true, but not empirically.
In our age, we are privileged to have a wealth of knowledge that comes from theology, philosophy, and science. But when we are bound in our hearts and minds to a naturalistic commitment, there is no intellectual road to find and acknowledge, and surrender to God. Once we have convinced ourselves that living without God, and a materialistic worldview, provides us more benefit, it's hard to give it up. We don't want to. Not only are we our enemy to ourselves, but the world battles for us, to gain our minds for worldly values. Every day, we are bombarded with a wealth of information from all sides. Materialism, hedonism, Darwinism, secularism, relativism, communism, atheism, agnosticism. All of the different -isms are mental strongholds that people in rebellion that suppress the truth set up against the knowledge of God. There are various inner motivations that can hold us distant from acknowledging God. Some are afraid to give up what they believed to be true during a lifetime. There are many sentiments. Fear, guilt, resentment, insecurity. The Bible talks about a troubled mind (2 Kings 6:11), a depraved mind (1 Timothy 6:5)
a sinful mind (Romans 8:7 NIV), a dull mind (2 Corinthians 3:14 NIV), a blinded mind (2 Corinthians 4:4), a corrupt mind (2 Timothy 3) Our minds are broken by sin. This means we cannot trust ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We have an amazing ability to lie to ourselves. We do it all the time. How many times do we do something that we know is wrong, and then forgive ourselves, and tell us that what we did, was not so harmful?
The road to God is not intellectual. Sin has corrupted our minds, so we actually think in a distorted way about all things even when we try to be honest to ourselves, we think wrong. We constantly ask ourselves: How does X benefit ME?! We are ego-centered. Only the spirit of God can remove our mental blinkers and permit us to see the light, and the truth. We depend on God's mercy that can open our minds and our eyes.
2 Corinthians 4:6 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 53:6-8 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers are silent,so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
We are not going to find the small path of truth, that leads us to heaven by going up on an intellectual journey of vain philosophy and worldly intellectual constructs.
All we need is to be: RECONCILED TO GOD THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Christ offers His salvation as a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23), that can only be received by faith, apart from any works or merit on our part (Ephesians 2:8–9). As the apostle Paul tells us, the gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). The same inspired author tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “In your heart”
Once we do so, our intellect will find peace. The cognitive dissonance, and insecurity, that plagues those that disbelieve, are gone. God gives peace into our hearts, by revealing us the truth. The truth of his existence. Of his truthfulness. Of his love. Of his justice. Of his grace and mercy. Of his being all good and his righteousness. Of the fact that he is light and no darkness is in HIM. That we can TRUST him, and that his word and his promises will occur at the time, set by HIM. Do you trust HIM? If not, what are you waiting for? Waiting to lose more of your precious time?
Cognitive bias
https://i.redd.it/kt19bqvtlcb31.png
Logical fallacies
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/
JOHN 8:44 There is no truth in Satan. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Either one worldview is true, and the other, opposed to it, is a lie. Or vice-versa. Either God(s) do exist or do not exist. As God, I mean the Christian God. In a broader sense, an ultimate, eternal, necessary, conscious, intelligent creator being, upon which everything external to him depends.
In science, we elaborate a hypothesis, make predictions, and test it to its destruction. In other words, a scientist tries out everything in his power to falsify the hypothesis. If it resists, then, it is true, until proven otherwise. Until, eventually, new evidence emerges, and either falsify or improves/modifies that hypothesis, that can, eventually, become a theory.
But we, being not only rational but also emotional, usually do not operate this way. Being rational, we want to make sense of our world, and find satisfying answers in regards to fundamental questions, like where we came from, where we go, what the meaning of our lives is, the quest of God, etc. Many different factors influence our views. But once we have established which worldview is true, once we have passed that threshold, rather than seeking to falsify it, we try to consolidate it, and seek evidence, that conforms to that view. If a conclusion supports our existing beliefs, we rationalize anything that supports it. We avoid setting aside our existing beliefs to consider in an unbiased way if other explanations have more merit. In practice, this means that we resist objections that criticize our dear beliefs, and set our mental energies to reject and deny the objections and to reinforce what we want to be true. The metaphysical realm can never be discovered to be empirically 'true or false' since we cannot see beyond the physical universe. All we can do is apply bayesian thinking or probability. We can eventually logically conclude that an ontological state of affairs is true, but not empirically.
In our age, we are privileged to have a wealth of knowledge that comes from theology, philosophy, and science. But when we are bound in our hearts and minds to a naturalistic commitment, there is no intellectual road to find and acknowledge, and surrender to God. Once we have convinced ourselves that living without God, and a materialistic worldview, provides us more benefit, it's hard to give it up. We don't want to. Not only are we our enemy to ourselves, but the world battles for us, to gain our minds for worldly values. Every day, we are bombarded with a wealth of information from all sides. Materialism, hedonism, Darwinism, secularism, relativism, communism, atheism, agnosticism. All of the different -isms are mental strongholds that people in rebellion that suppress the truth set up against the knowledge of God. There are various inner motivations that can hold us distant from acknowledging God. Some are afraid to give up what they believed to be true during a lifetime. There are many sentiments. Fear, guilt, resentment, insecurity. The Bible talks about a troubled mind (2 Kings 6:11), a depraved mind (1 Timothy 6:5)
a sinful mind (Romans 8:7 NIV), a dull mind (2 Corinthians 3:14 NIV), a blinded mind (2 Corinthians 4:4), a corrupt mind (2 Timothy 3) Our minds are broken by sin. This means we cannot trust ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We have an amazing ability to lie to ourselves. We do it all the time. How many times do we do something that we know is wrong, and then forgive ourselves, and tell us that what we did, was not so harmful?
The road to God is not intellectual. Sin has corrupted our minds, so we actually think in a distorted way about all things even when we try to be honest to ourselves, we think wrong. We constantly ask ourselves: How does X benefit ME?! We are ego-centered. Only the spirit of God can remove our mental blinkers and permit us to see the light, and the truth. We depend on God's mercy that can open our minds and our eyes.
2 Corinthians 4:6 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 53:6-8 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers are silent,so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
We are not going to find the small path of truth, that leads us to heaven by going up on an intellectual journey of vain philosophy and worldly intellectual constructs.
All we need is to be: RECONCILED TO GOD THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Christ offers His salvation as a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23), that can only be received by faith, apart from any works or merit on our part (Ephesians 2:8–9). As the apostle Paul tells us, the gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). The same inspired author tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “In your heart”
Once we do so, our intellect will find peace. The cognitive dissonance, and insecurity, that plagues those that disbelieve, are gone. God gives peace into our hearts, by revealing us the truth. The truth of his existence. Of his truthfulness. Of his love. Of his justice. Of his grace and mercy. Of his being all good and his righteousness. Of the fact that he is light and no darkness is in HIM. That we can TRUST him, and that his word and his promises will occur at the time, set by HIM. Do you trust HIM? If not, what are you waiting for? Waiting to lose more of your precious time?
Cognitive bias
https://i.redd.it/kt19bqvtlcb31.png
Logical fallacies
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/
