Christians are brainwashed.
This is a common comment I’ve been hearing in discussions with atheists and agnostics lately. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been working to learn more about other people’s beliefs and faiths so that I can increase my own understanding and the cultivation of peace.
Christians are conditioned to believe what they believe. They are trained from childhood. They repeat the same things over and over until it becomes ingrained in their minds. That’s what I’ve heard. So I had to examine myself and my beliefs. Is there any truth to those statements? Am I a blind follower?
I grew up in a small town where Christianity was the norm and there wasn’t a lot of diversity. When I was growing up my parents took me to church often, and I knew that Christianity was important to my mom. My friends went to a variety of churches and some friends didn’t go to any church. We didn’t really talk about what we believed; faith was pretty far down the priority list of topics to discuss.
I got the sense that Christianity was a huge set of rules that you had to follow to go to heaven. I don’t remember ever learning about the life-changing love and grace of Jesus. What I learned didn’t always make sense, and there never seemed to be a forum in which I could get answers - real answers, not the rote “You just have to believe.” I began to feel like I had to turn off my brain when I went to church. I also felt that I had already screwed up enough that I was never getting into heaven, so I might as well live any way I chose. God and I were quits.
For many years I lived life my own way, and sort of forgot about God or religion. There were a few people who planted seeds in me - my Uncle John, a born-again Christian who patiently answered many questions about his faith, several co-workers, and students from an evangelical university. In each of these people I saw something shining, transcendent, and peaceful.
Eventually I married, had kids, divorced. I was living an okay life, but there wasn’t any sense of eternal significance or transcendence. I was a voracious reader and so I read about different faiths, but I kept remembering how there was something different about those people who were truly on fire for God. After trying a couple of different denominations, I settled in at a church that felt comfortable and friendly.
Then I started heavily studying the bible. I found out I hadn’t paid much attention in Sunday School, because stories like Noah and the Flood were all mixed up with fairy tales in my mind. I joined discussion groups, religious debates, and bible classes, and read innumerable commentaries, devotions, histories, and bible studies. I also took college classes in comparative religions and the philosophy of religion. I don’t always agree with what my pastor, other believers, or the church in general believes, but God gave me my mind to think critically about issues and make my decisions on his guidance, not human thought.
From all this study, I have learned that although Jesus’s message of grace and salvation is a simple one, our God and our world is complex. It takes study and thought to truly understand Christianity and how we are to behave as followers of Christ; people can study the bible all their lives and still keep learning new things. That’s why the faith is so misunderstood by many people.
I also learned that doubts and confusion are sometimes a part of my faith. Though I won’t ever fully understand God while I’m here on earth, I can either give in to my doubts and toss out my entire belief system, or I can let those doubts push me to a deeper understanding. And if my faith was all in my head, from the book-learnin’ and study, it would make a lot of sense to give it up when I discover pieces that don’t fit my belief system. It would be easier to conclude that my beliefs are to blame.
But I can’t do that, because along with all I’ve learned over the years, there are also my personal experiences with God. Now, I know that no one can ever prove or disprove to someone else that personal spiritual experiences have occurred or that they are proof of God’s existence. But I don’t need to convince anyone else. The times where I’ve heard God speak to me, the times I’ve felt his physical presence, the times I have seen his work before my very eyes, these are all proof for me. The fact is, since I became a devout Christian, my life has changed for the better. I’m a better person than I used to be. And I see with such an expanded vision, knowing that God has an overall plan for everything and everybody, and the things we do have eternal significance.
For these reasons, I feel assured that my faith is far from the product of brainwashing.
How about you? What has your experience been with religion, faith, and beliefs? How did you come to believe what you believe now?
Published by angelawd on April 7th, 2008 tagged Daily Christianity
April 7th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
[…] Don Emmerich […]
April 7th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I am very impressed with how you have developed your Christian faith! Many people do blindly follow without the study and critical thinking that it takes to be a true beliver in any system or faith, or in no faith at all.
I too am a Christian and grew up with parents that just expected me to go to church. Over the years I did develop my own beliefs and occassionally lived my life with what I held as those beliefs of having a savior named Jesus. It wasn’t until about 11 years ago did I have personal experiences that greatly impacted my belief in God and really feel the love of Jesus in my heart. I always struggled with what to do with the guilt of my sin or bad behavior. I had heard that God forgives sin, but I had never felt that forgiveness before and didn’t really think God could do that for me. Then I met a teacher that for the first time helped my understand that there IS nothing I can do about my guilt unless I turn it over to a loving God. When that happened my heart opened up to receive forgiveness and grace, a grace I definitely do not deserve. I also finally felt the desire to truly help others. In other words I had a desire to care for others and not just help myself. This is when my life moved from ‘me-centered’ to ‘we-centered’ which resulted in a peace in my life I had never felt before. This was a personal experience not brainwashing or rote religion, but a real experience I had with God. Since then I am more concerned with loving God and loving others than I am about making myself ‘happy.’ In this I have found find real joy and peace in my life. I had to come to this on my own, there was no amount of repetition of liturgy or singing of hymns or even sermons that could ever make me feel this way. During the first 39 years of my life I had never been able to feel that peace by my own power - through being nice, having fun, partying, serving the community, being respectful, and being a good person; I have come to the conclusion that peace has come to me through Jesus.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us angelawd!
April 7th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Wow, you really raised some good ideas in your response! I think for me, too, one of the most beautiful things that has developed is the “we-centered” life. When I was centered on myself I made myself a god. Now, I can’t say I’m always we-centered now, because I’m a flawed human being, but my overall focus has changed for the better.
Just like you, there was no amount of liturgy, tradition, or singing that brought me closer to God.
I’m glad that your faith brings you peace and happiness.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I appreciate your thinking approach to Christianity. You make a wonderful apologist. I agree that our we place our faith in the relatively simple truth of what God has done for us in Christ. But our maturity takes hard work and effort as we seek to grow into right thinking(orthodoxy) and right behavior (orthopraxy).
My faith journey has covered about 30 years, and I still have a lonnnng way to go. But as Paul says “I press on…”
Blessings,
e-Mom @ Chrysalis
April 7th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Thanks, e-mom! I love the way you expressed the progress of simple faith leading to spiritual maturity. It is a long road. I’m thankful we have our whole lives to work on it!
Keep pressing on!
April 7th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Your journey is similar to mine. I grew up in a Christian family where it was mandatory to go to church and Sunday school, but found myself in pretty shallow water when things got tricky in college. I found myself far away from God, pregnant and alone. . .or so I thought.
Through many many hard times, again and again I have seen God’s living presence in my life. Groceries from friends JUST in time, checks from loving people of God JUST in time, visits from family members JUST in time, and the exact words of scripture that I need JUST in time.
Sure, those brainwashing sessions helped me find the right path, but when you see truth and love staring you in the face, meeting real needs in your life, it seems smart to accept those things as loving gifts from a loving creator. Also, as I continue to study the Bible and God’s actions, the perfect continuity and truth that is there is also so very real.
If I have been brainwashed, it is because after looking far and wide, no other religion or belief system is as loving, true, and consistant as this.
Thanks for the fantastic post.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Annette, thanks for sharing your experiences. I’ve been there too! I like your point that even if you had God-knowledge poured into you, it was your choice to accept God’s gifts for what they are.
And I appreciate you sharing your perspective as someone who’s studied other paths but found your right path.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I have always believed in God and not just because my mother and grandmother told me. Although I was raised Catholic, I never felt Catholic. Then as I got older my grandmother converted and became a Jehovah’s Witness and I tried that, too. Again, something did not feel right and so as I made my way through college, I read about Buddhism, Zen, meditation, astrology, atheism and so on. After awhile, I started to believe in everything and in nothing. Thank God, I snapped out of it eventually and found God again. In fact, I know he never left me.
My family and I now attend a Christian church. This place feels perfect. We study the word of God, praise Jesus and sing.
Tonight my husband is at a bible study group just for men. It is remarkable to see how his life has transformed since he discovered Jesus.
We do not consider ourselves Jesus freaks or extremists. We have friends and acquiantances from all over the world who have different beliefs and traditions. We respect them all.
I must admit that had it not been for my faith, I do not know if I could have overcome much of the obstacles and heartaches I have endured in recent years. I believe my faith has allowed me to remain untouched by bitterness and cynicism. I thank the Lord for that.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:12 am
What a wonderful way to describe your faith! I think our faith is stronger by having explored other possibilities and then making a decision to follow what we believe.
I think most young adults go through a phase where they reject many things from the way they were brought up. It’s up to each of us to decide what to keep and what to give up.
I am so glad to hear of the transformation that you see in your husband. It is amazing how God works in our families.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Angela, I sure did enjoy this post..and it’s got me thinking. For myself, my faith walk has been an evolution and I long to have that “bam!” hit-you-between-your-eyes experience I hear so much about. I haven’t and I’m not sure I will…which I’ve come to beleive is simply because He doesn’t believe that’s the right thing for me. I’ve definitely had experiences in my life that can only be of God, and I’m grateful for them. It’s a work in progress for me, and I have to be deliberate in what I allow into my life. I’m the type who would allow myself to slip and turn to things of this world if I weren’t deliberate. I’m the idiot in the middle of the room filled with believers praying ‘the salvation prayer’ over and over and over just in case it didn’t take because I didn’t get a BAM. Pathetic, I know. Okay, now I’m going to close my eyes and hit send before I chicken out!
April 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Stacey, there sure are a variety of spiritual journeys. Maybe you’re right - God knows you don’t NEED the BAM! experience, but he’s given you other experiences to point you to him.
Thanks for reminding me to be careful what I put in my life and my mind. I slip into bad habits of putting worldly junk in my mind, and then junk comes out.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
this is a very interesting, thought provoking blog.
April 9th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
[…] Williams Duea presents Christians are brainwashed. posted at angelawd. The suggestion that as a believer, I was brainwashed in my faith, made me look […]
April 9th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
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