Famous Quotes

REPLY:

Perhaps you have heard of the bishop Carlton Pearson, who once had a very lucrative TBN ministry and preached to a 6,000 member congregation. But one day, after doing some soul searching, he received a revelation that hell was not true, and that God would save all men. And one Sunday morning, after making his new views known to his congregation, all but a couple hundred walked out on him. And during the ensuing days, the fundamental Christian coalition, including Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others, denounced him as a dangerous heretic. So why do you suppose the strong reaction on their part?

The bottom line is that (generally speaking) the human mind is not able to process new information, especially when it comes to traditional beliefs. From a very early age, most all of us are taught (brainwashed) what to believe and how to believe it. This is why Christian missionaries make very few proselytes overseas. The Hindu, the Muslim, and the Buddhist are all set in their beliefs, and apart from an act of God, are not very likely to change. The same holds true for the Christian. We are all taught from a very early age that hell is a real, dreadful place, one that only we Christians (and those "chosen" Jews, of course) will escape. And when anyone comes along and challenges these beliefs, whether it be me, Mr. Pearson, or anyone else, people will most always react badly. And this is precisely the point that Carl Sagan was making. Here is the complete quote:

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. it is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous. (So the old bamboozles tend to persist as the new bamboozles rise.) Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us -- and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along." [Carl Sagan, The Fine Art of Baloney Detection]

I often use quotes like these in order to drive home a point. And the point is that most people simply do not have the courage, like Mr. Sagan said, to think outside the box. People do not want to believe, nor will they ever admit, that they have been misled their entire lives. They are comfortable with what they believe and do not want to change, for change terrifies people. And this is why I like this quote so much - because, regardless of context, it is absolutely true. But the simple fact that Mr. Sagan was a professing atheist (or agnostic at best) does leave him open to attack, because Christians will often use these types of excuses to discredit him. The religious scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day were no different, attacking the character of both Jesus and John the Baptist in order to try and discredit them as well:

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." (Matt. 11:18,19)

I hope this helps to answer your question. Feel free to write any time.

Gary