Dexter Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I’ve always considered myself to be fairly aware of my own cognitive patterns and biases but I am really deeply disturbed by a sudden paradigm shift that I did not see coming. Just today during lunch I hear the Tower of Babel story ready from the Bible and it kind of made sense to me. Then I hear someone recount it in plain English and it was utter lunacy! I read it again from the Bible and it sounded plausible again. Then I spoke the story aloud in my own words and I couldn’t even finish it because it made no goddamn sense! It’s like, hearing it aloud and outside the prose of Scripture... holy shit. I need to think on this some more. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted November 2, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted November 2, 2018 Brainwashing takes its toll. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 I just realized, when I first tried speaking the story aloud to myself I said that god confused their language for the disobedience of gathering in one place and not expanding into the rest of the world. But that’s not what it says. That’s not the reason it gives. That’s why I couldn’t finish the story aloud. “The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6 NASB God was threatened by them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOHO Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Hey @Dexter, That's an interesting observation. Perhaps even a topic worthy of exploration by professionals and academics. When I used to attend the Sunday Funday Fest with Mrs. MOHO the dude up-front would put the scripture into his own words and I would look around and think to myself "OK. You just heard it in a context that should pretty much make it obvious that this is B.S., weird, screwey, unbelievable...etc." Crickets. How many were thinking the same as me and how many were not. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruthSeeker0 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 7 hours ago, Dexter said: I just realized, when I first tried speaking the story aloud to myself I said that god confused their language for the disobedience of gathering in one place and not expanding into the rest of the world. But that’s not what it says. That’s not the reason it gives. That’s why I couldn’t finish the story aloud. Yup, it's the brainwashing. You've been programmed into thinking the bible somehow makes sense, and so your brain approaches it with that aspect. Probably also a lot of unconscious "this is the holy book, must not criticize" thoughts going on when you read the actual bible text. But it's different when you try put it in your own words. 7 hours ago, Dexter said: “The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6 NASB God was threatened by them. So he's an insecure prick as well. One more trait to add to my expanding list. For real though, it's not too hard to figure out that the bible was written to control people, in a large measure. What better way to do that then tell them there's an almighty omniscient god that sees every hair that falls from your head, and nothing you do will escape him? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insightful Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 I agree with MOHO - it's a really interesting thought. The familiar phrasing and word structures give subconscious credence to the ideas... How could anything that starts with "truly, I say unto you..." be false?! Even "lean not on your own understanding" sounds like truth because of the familiar words and structure - and how I felt when I first learned it. It *feels* right.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 I am a writer so I recognize prose and sentence structure. When I write, I choose my words very deliberately. The Bible, regardless of its translation, has a distinct prose, a manner of sentence structure and phrasing that is unmistakable. Even The Message has some stilted, very decidedly “Biblical” phrasing. I have been experimenting with this some more and I am finding that this prose is a trigger for me. That when read, it bypasses a lot of my adult cognitive functions. It’s like my brain was hacked. It’s an unsettling revelation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruthSeeker0 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I've guess I'm lucky, none of it has any influence when I hear it or read it. My immediate reaction is largely disgust regardless of the message. Some people may be able to read it simply because they're interested in it as a peice of literature but I don't think I'll get there any day soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 3 hours ago, TruthSeeker0 said: I've guess I'm lucky, none of it has any influence when I hear it or read it. My immediate reaction is largely disgust regardless of the message. Some people may be able to read it simply because they're interested in it as a peice of literature but I don't think I'll get there any day soon. I can’t claim this reflects anyone else’s experience but I got heavy exposure to the Bible as a child. Not just hearing stories but I was in Bible Bowl. It’s basically quiz bowl only for churches and, well, the bible (link below). I could quote large swaths of it before I was out of high school. I can still recite some genealogies even to this day. https://home.biblebowl.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 On 11/2/2018 at 1:36 PM, Dexter said: God was threatened by them. Isn't it a tad bit funny how God was supposedly threatened by primitive people building an upward structure, but that same God is somehow not the least bit threatened now by enormous skyscrapers as well as airplanes or even spaceships? Hmmmm..... 51 minutes ago, Dexter said: I can’t claim this reflects anyone else’s experience but I got heavy exposure to the Bible as a child. Not just hearing stories but I was in Bible Bowl. It’s basically quiz bowl only for churches and, well, the bible (link below). I could quote large swaths of it before I was out of high school. I can still recite some genealogies even to this day. Much the same here. Though I wasn't in a quiz bowl, I was heavily indoctrinated as a child and also memorized large swaths of the Bible. I've been out for more than 15 years now, though, so I can no longer recite very much of what I once could, but I do recognize it when I hear it and have even been able to pick out misquotations. It's amazing how much different the Bible looks to me now that I'm out than it looked to me when I was fully brainwashed. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffodil Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 On 11/4/2018 at 1:31 PM, Citsonga said: Isn't it a tad bit funny how God was supposedly threatened by primitive people building an upward structure, but that same God is somehow not the least bit threatened now by enormous skyscrapers as well as airplanes or even spaceships? Hmmmm Yup, now it’s just what people do together when they're naked that gets him all bent out of shape! 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 15 hours ago, Daffodil said: Yup, now it’s just what people do together when they're naked that gets him all bent out of shape! Ah, I see. Now he's preoccupied with other, uh, towers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 On 11/2/2018 at 12:36 PM, Dexter said: I just realized, when I first tried speaking the story aloud to myself I said that god confused their language for the disobedience of gathering in one place and not expanding into the rest of the world. But that’s not what it says. That’s not the reason it gives. That’s why I couldn’t finish the story aloud. “The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6 NASB God was threatened by them. Sometimes that stuff hits you when you're reading it. Once, my wife and I were in the car on a several-hour trip and she was reading her Bible. She happened to be reading the story of the flood and she suddenly asked "why does it say everything twice?" In my whole life as a Christian I had never noticed that, yet one of the first things I found out after deconverting and doing a deep dive into the Bible was that the story of the flood was two versions of a more ancient story merged together. The compiler didn't bother to pick a version -- he just merged them, contradictions and all, so everything repeats! Anyway, she was reading it credulously, yet she suddenly noticed the weirdness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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