The assassination of reason

So, after my post ages ago, I thought I better follow up on what I was going to write about. Namely, the assassination of reason. It's part of what I refer to as the christian suppression of dissent, where christian culture and theology are (unconsciously or consciously) geared towards discouraging questioning the movement of christianity. The assassination of reason is where the mind is targeted, to prevent people from even considering alternatives, and to allow discount any non-christian arguments. Note that I'm describing a pattern, so will make a few generalizations. Not all christians will hold all the specific beliefs, but I mention them to build up a big picture of what mainstream christianity is about.

[You be wondering, 'what is with all these big words he's coming up with?' - I guess I want to explain concepts that I've come up with, and I want to avoid using terms I'm already familiar with, so that I can start with a blank slate?]

Reason is assassinated when christians consider non-christian beliefs as an act of rebellion.

Christianity is a religion based on divine revelation. Many believe that God has revealed his way to the world, and that those who believe in him, and trust in Jesus will be saved. Some christians think that God actively causes those who are saved to believe, while others think that those who believe are saved, either way it doesn't matter; those who believe are saved, and those who don't believe are unsaved, and are going to hell.

And why do people not believe? It is not because non-christians weigh up the evidence, consider the balance of probabilities, and conclude that the most likely explanation for the world is Christianity. No. That would mean God is sending rational, well-intentioned people to hell. And God is just! So many christians believe that the real reason non-christians do not believe is because they don't want to. If non-christians really admitted to themselves that christianity is true, they would have to change their lives! They don't want to, so as their only act of rebellion, they deny the message. And so rational, prudent decisions become rebellious acts - if the outcome is disbelieving the main message of christianity.

This creates a policeman in the mind of every christian. When approaching a question, the christian, rather than asking 'what is the right thing in this situation?' or, 'is my thinking correct here?', is asking themselves 'am I submitting to what God has said?'. In theory these questions should be the same, but the thinking becomes biased, because if the christian is differing from what is "God's word", it is rebellion, and something to be repented of. And so, a christian can become ashamed for questioning, and attempt to repress such questions.

And of course, this creates a most effective ad hominem argument against non-christians - their arguments are not valid arguments, they are excuses. If a non-christian is showing some promise, but still questioning, they are merely 'coming to terms with the truth', and these can be gently dealt with. But athiests, muslims and heretics? They are hiding, rebelling from the truth. Their arguments need not be taken seriously, (except if you're talking, you might want to listen to some of their arguments in order to better convince them of christianity).

So there you have it. That's how christian assassinate their capacity to reason. In this post I feel like I have cast many stones, I have made many judgments, and it doesn't sit quite right. So I want to stress that not all christians are like this, and that most christians, even the ones like this, are amazing people. The post may not be entirely accurate on some points, as I may have overstated the point to get the message across. Nonetheless, I believe the point I have made is important, and deserves consideration; christians can assassinate reasons, part of this results in the suppression of dissent with christianity.