Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
I see people every day in the news who believe lies with apparently all of their heart. Their entire belief system about many subjects has no foundation in any actual facts, but that doesn't bother them a bit. They dutifully believe what they are told. They get paid well to believe what they are told, and then repeat it to others. They have mental filters constantly in place to allow in new info to support those lies and filters to prevent any truth from interferring.
Same with those like Minoru who lived thru the New Way storm. WL told them what to believe, he provided them with the narrative. None of that was true, factual, or accurate. So what? The MOTA told them so! When he spoke, they were all ears. They allowed WL to interpret for them everything that happened. Once that story was cemented in their psyche, a stronghold was erected to fortify what WL told them. All contrary info must henceforth be silenced. The ostrich must bury its head in the sand, as Francis Ball told us.
We once had a poster here with the tag line, "a man hears what he wants, and discards the rest." Sounds odd, but it is true. Perhaps much of it is a survival mechanism because the truth can be quite scary at times. It is just God's mercy that our own minds have cracked open occasionally to let some light and truth in. Some go their whole lives closed up. Christians can close up too.
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I was always impressed by that line in the old S&G song (bolded above)! It's so true. And just because we know that (at least on some level) it doesn't mean we are able to protect ourselves very well from what is not true! We are all weak in the flesh and all prone to hypocrisy. Without a Savior we are all doomed to this, no matter how hard we try. As Jesus said, if it were possible even the elect would be deceived! (Matt 24:24)
I see it all the time in politics. Those who are conservative will swallow almost anything bad about the left, and visa versa. It's sad and frustrating to watch (OK, maybe a little amusing too). And if you point out one side's own hypocrisy to them, the retort often is, "Well maybe, but we're not as bad as those folks on the other side - not by a long shot!"
It's like a close brother, Tom, once told me. He conveyed an argument with another brother and it went like this: "The other brother said, 'Might you be deceived?' To which Tom replied, 'Well of course, that's the nature of deception! However, I don't think so . . .'" (I still get a smile when telling that one!)
So what's to do? Same answer - WE NEED THE SAVIOR! Look to Jesus (The Brass Serpent)!