One of the first chain of thoughts I had when I deconverted was seeing all the doctrine I knew but from a new angle. I could finally see how many things in the Bible cut both ways, and depending on how deep my faith was, I would believe even more the conclusion that conveniently explained God was behind it all. An example of this (although it's not doctrine, but still illustrates my point) is when Justin Martyr explained away the similarities of older religions to Christianity by saying Satan planned those other religions as a form of deception. Can you see that the more faith you have, the more you will make yourself see why that is such a "logical" explanation, as opposed to the simpler explanation that Christianity copied them? Well, I believe there are certain "mechanisms" in place throughout orthodox scripture that will keep the believer firmly grounded and forever seeing everything upside-down through things that seem "logical" when one has faith. Here they are:
Divine Inspiration
All scripture is given by inspiration of God. - 2 Timothy 3:16
The most fundamental thing that needs to be in place is the argument that all scripture is inspired. Obviously if this isn't the case then the topic about religion is rather trivial. This argument also gives scripture all the more authority and therefore control over the person's logical processes. This translates to them most likely overriding any conflicting thought they might have about a given verse with a thought about them lacking faith/trust in God. Clearly, this is one of the driving forces to successfully achieve a brainwashed state.
Faith > Evidence
...as it is written, "the righteous shall live by faith." - Romans 1:16
Faith is essential. With it, the believer is capable of short-circuiting the brain and skipping the step of asking if something is sensible in the face of no evidence being present. Even when the contrary is proposed with evidence behind it (e.g. that sicknesses aren't caused by demons), the believer arguably has the justification as to why they will hold on to their belief (in this case that Jesus really did heal the sick by casting out demons). It is commanded that they live by faith, which in turn removes the need to question anything before it is wired into the believer's brain.
This aspect of faith goes hand in hand with the next mechanism:
Wordly Knowledge Comes Second
The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. - 1 Corinthians 3:19
This is the easy way out of having to explain (or rationally justify) why scripture is true. The ways of thinking of this world will detract from understanding and believing the knowledge contained in the Bible. So effectively the believer is made to "believe it to see it" instead of "see it to believe it". This is simply another way to override the person's logical processes and allow doctrine to flow in unquestioned. Of course, the believer will get a pat on the back from the man himself for complying; Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. - John 20:29.
Protecting the Mechanism via Redirecting "Warning Signs"
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake... - Mark 13:12
Essentially this is the collection of mechanisms telling the believer that the mechanism is in no way faulty, but instead reassures the believer that they hold onto the truth. So every time their beliefs are criticized, it will further reassure them they are correct. The multiplier related to how much reassurance is gained depends on the level of faith of course. And for more reassurance, this particular verse finishes with "but the one who endures to the end will be saved" i.e. prepare to reject perfectly good reasoning for why your beliefs are ridiculous until you have won your prize.
P.s. I have thought about this for a while, but I have used a website to aid in me in synthesising the ideas. I've somewhat paraphrased some bits and added my own thoughts as well. If you're interested in reading further, here's the source (which happens to be from a Deist website): http://www.deism.com/christianhype.htm
Divine Inspiration
All scripture is given by inspiration of God. - 2 Timothy 3:16
The most fundamental thing that needs to be in place is the argument that all scripture is inspired. Obviously if this isn't the case then the topic about religion is rather trivial. This argument also gives scripture all the more authority and therefore control over the person's logical processes. This translates to them most likely overriding any conflicting thought they might have about a given verse with a thought about them lacking faith/trust in God. Clearly, this is one of the driving forces to successfully achieve a brainwashed state.
Faith > Evidence
...as it is written, "the righteous shall live by faith." - Romans 1:16
Faith is essential. With it, the believer is capable of short-circuiting the brain and skipping the step of asking if something is sensible in the face of no evidence being present. Even when the contrary is proposed with evidence behind it (e.g. that sicknesses aren't caused by demons), the believer arguably has the justification as to why they will hold on to their belief (in this case that Jesus really did heal the sick by casting out demons). It is commanded that they live by faith, which in turn removes the need to question anything before it is wired into the believer's brain.
This aspect of faith goes hand in hand with the next mechanism:
Wordly Knowledge Comes Second
The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. - 1 Corinthians 3:19
This is the easy way out of having to explain (or rationally justify) why scripture is true. The ways of thinking of this world will detract from understanding and believing the knowledge contained in the Bible. So effectively the believer is made to "believe it to see it" instead of "see it to believe it". This is simply another way to override the person's logical processes and allow doctrine to flow in unquestioned. Of course, the believer will get a pat on the back from the man himself for complying; Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. - John 20:29.
Protecting the Mechanism via Redirecting "Warning Signs"
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake... - Mark 13:12
Essentially this is the collection of mechanisms telling the believer that the mechanism is in no way faulty, but instead reassures the believer that they hold onto the truth. So every time their beliefs are criticized, it will further reassure them they are correct. The multiplier related to how much reassurance is gained depends on the level of faith of course. And for more reassurance, this particular verse finishes with "but the one who endures to the end will be saved" i.e. prepare to reject perfectly good reasoning for why your beliefs are ridiculous until you have won your prize.
P.s. I have thought about this for a while, but I have used a website to aid in me in synthesising the ideas. I've somewhat paraphrased some bits and added my own thoughts as well. If you're interested in reading further, here's the source (which happens to be from a Deist website): http://www.deism.com/christianhype.htm
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
