KrisK10

Those interested in the Cognitive Dissonance theory of Christian origins may find this article of interest (with the disclaimer that I wrote the article).

Kris Komarnitsky

ApostateAbe

The article is well written, and the theory does very well to explain the myth of the resurrection. Either they believe in the resurrection or they face the reality that the cult was a huge sham. I take wishful thinking to be a fundamental facet of human nature, nobody is immune to it, and it is central to the best explanations for the largest religions. I think you have done very well to call greater focus on it.

Roger Pearse

"Cognitive dissonance reduction refers to the human tendency to rationalize a discontinuity between reality and one's current beliefs in such a way that current beliefs are modified or added to instead of being rejected."

Stripped of its polysyllables, I don't see how the argument is greatly different from "anyone who disagrees with us is insane. That's why they disagree with us."

Now I would have thought that it was rather more rational to demonstrate logically and reasonably that one's opponent is mistaken (and oneself correct), than to presume it, and then speculate at length on the reasons why he came to be so silly, and end up presuming mental illness or the next thing to it. That would seem to be what is going on here.

In addition, those of us who remember the old Soviet Union, and its abuse of pyschiatry on precisely this pretext, can only shiver when we read such statements. Soviet atheists imprisoned believers in mental hospitals with just such language as the justification, and tortured them using the tools of psychiatry to try to get them to recant. This must not be.

Of course it is doubtless the case that those foolish enough to disagree with me are mentally defective in some way, and undoubtedly are morally and intellectually much my inferior (not to mention lacking in the charm, wit, wealth, superior birth, and irresistable sex-appeal with which I am endowed, not to mention the copious humility and modesty which it would be remiss of me not to mention). But a gentleman would hardly dwell on their inferiority and mental limitations. Not if he wanted a hearing, rather than a ribald remark, anyway.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Yellum Notnef

Facts and reality are ungentlemanly and make Christians feel bad. Got it.

Roger Pearse

And they also have great difficulties with irony.

Yellum Notnef

All I know is there's not enough spots of tea or polite words or top hats and monocles in the world to make the resurrection real. You keep on trying though.

ApostateAbe

Christian apologists sometime propose that nothing can explain Christian belief in the resurrection except the actual historical resurrection. Mr. Komarnitsky proposed a seemingly-better alternative explanation. Maybe it is offensive, and maybe it really does hark back to the Soviet scientists or whatever, but I think reasonable arguments should not be impeded by the desire to be inoffensive, though of course they often are so impeded. The way I see it, wishful thinking is an universal quality of human thought, and I don't think Mr. Komarnitsky ever implied otherwise. It is certainly not a mental illness, nor is it in any way unique to Christians or to religious people. It is simply a fact of life, and it does very well to explain all sorts of beliefs in the improbable.

DCHindley

Whaaat? Dissonance theory has nothing to do with your final paragraph! And what was that crap about Russkys (do you mean Mr. Komarnitsky?) throwing dissenters into mental hospitals? You've just reduced the dissonance in your mind, caused by the theory itself, by willfully misrepresenting it.

DCH

DCHindley

Not too bad, Kris. "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder ..." I thought you had a pretty good grasp of Dissonance theory, although I didn't see any citation of the technical literature.

For the naysayers (not you Kris), the effort put into dissonance reduction strategies is directly proportional to the strength of the dissonance itself. So, the bigger a deal someone makes of an opposing position/hypothesis, the more that person feels threatened by it.

DCH

Roger Pearse

Have a look at the article, and the paragraph I quoted.

I have no idea who Mr. Komarnitsky might be, I'm afraid. The abuses of psychiatry as a tool to persecute religion -- by 'curing' them of belief -- in the Soviet era were copiously documented by Keston College.

All the best,

Roger Pearse