Saturday, January 2, 2010

Am I Brainwashed?

A comment on another LDS-related blog the other day suggested that church members are brainwashed. I chuckled and shook my head as I often do when I read such things. And I wondered why we use such absolute language when we speak of the things that are so important to us.

I suppose the fact that those things are so important is one reason. We feel the stakes are exceptionally high, so our rhetoric tends toward the absolute – Black and White, Right and Wrong, Left or Right, Up or Down. We assume that there are two ways: mine and the highway.

I think it’s a dangerous thing to be so absolute. In so saying, I’m not suggesting a lack of faith, or a lack of certitude about spiritual truths. I’m just suggesting a softening of the rhetoric around them. My father was a great example of this idea: he rarely spoke in absolutes, though his life demonstrated his own strong conviction without his having to announce it.

The scriptures contain catalogs of spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians, for instance, we learn “to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge…to another faith” (1 Corinthians 12:8-9). In modern scripture it’s even more clearly stated: “not all have every gift given unto them…to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know…to others it is given to believe” (D&C 46:11,13-14).

Knowing as we do that not all enjoy the same spiritual “knowledge”, it seems to make sense to soften our rhetoric to invite others to share understanding rather than assuming we (whoever “we” are) sit at the top of the mountain of knowledge so we can cast stones at the unknowing masses below.

My question in the title is whether I’m brainwashed. I certainly don’t think so. I’ve had my own deeply personal and deeply moving experiences with the scriptures and the teachings of Christ that have led me to my own convictions. I don’t expect others to take my word for it, but rather to seek your own experiences. Your experiences are likely to differ from mine, since we all have different gifts, but it seems if we’re all listening to the same divine influence, we ought to find some common ground, even if that effort takes some time.

- Paul

9 comments:

  1. Thank you; I enthusiastically second your suggestion to tone down the dialogue. Too many words like "never," "always" et cetera. Our being is seldom in a black and white pattern, but rather quite a lot of things need explanations and qualifications. "Because I say so" carries only so far with kids...

    But I think I may have brainwashed myself. Thing is, if you read Alma 32, you get counsel like "awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe." Notice the word "desire"?

    I have no problem if some agnostic reasons from that, that I have brainwashed myself; that I have wanted so badly to believe that it has become true. I am happy. And I believe I have some important answers to some questions I have about life.

    It's really not that complicated.

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  2. Thanks for the comment.

    As for Alma, 32, I think desire is the first step to faith, but it is only a step. As I reflect on my most spiritual experiences, they have generally not come from my wishing them into existence, but often come as a welcome surprise when I'm least expecting it.

    I'll write more on this subject another day.

    Paul

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  3. Can you link the page where you saw this "brainwashed" idea?

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  4. Oh, Paul, don't be a spoilsport!

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  5. Redd,

    Sorry it's taken me some time to respond; I had to go back and find the link. It was an anonymous comment to a post at Mormanity (www.mormanity.blogspot.com) about the Book of Mormon as evidence of the church's being true. The original post is here. The comment is from Dec 31, as if fairly far down in the list.

    My point was not to draw attention to the comment, but rather to note that there are some who view Mormons or even all believing people as brainwashed, and to consider that subject.

    Thanks for reading.

    Paul

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  6. Sorry for the typos in my comment above, especially for botching your name, Reed. Typing too fast...

    P

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  7. All's well, I'm not offended ;)

    Also, I was aware that that was not the purpose of this post, I was just curious, and thought I'd ask.

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  8. I agree with all you've said here. I think we ought not to confuse 'teaching' with 'brainwashing'. Just because my parents have taught me about God from a young age doesn't mean I've been forcibly indoctrinated against my will. I could leave or decide to change my mind at any time and many do. I have been taught about mathematics almost as long as I have been taught about God, and I don't consider that brainwashing, either. As you say, the rhetoric here is a little bit ridiculous.

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  9. Great comment, Dallin. I like what you say about teaching vs. brainwashing.

    I'll talk about teaching a little in my next post.

    BTW, I checked out your blog. Interesting stuff.

    P

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