The Tools of Integrated Apologetics Course 1.7.1
Analysis Of Mind Manipulation
Introduction To The Methods Which The World Uses To Fight Truth
Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh Cherian [Revised by Joe Giuffrida]
Chapter - 1
The Race To Control Minds
Mind-control and manipulation are nothing new. It began when Satan induced one third of the angelic host to rebel against a benevolent God. With the superhuman wisdom, understanding and power that the angels have, only an extraordinary blinding of their intelligence could have achieved this feat. Satan did that successfully. With one success in hand, it was a minor job for Satan to control and manipulate human minds that are no match for angelic intelligence. Yet the checks and balances created by God are so powerful that in spite of six millennia of Satanic distortion, persuasion and inducement, the humans are not yet fully on his side.
At the same time, the switch of allegiance from God to Satan assumed alarming proportions in the twentieth century. Not only unbelievers, but even children of God began to follow this master-strategist in the twentieth century. Satan has been aided in this task by modern technological breakthroughs, especially the ones dealing with communication and medicine. So far his inability to be in many places simultaneously has been a hindrance to the execution of his plans, but with modern mass-media communication technology it has now become possible for him to influence large masses in spite of his physical limitations. Thus it is time for concerned Christians to take action.
The subject of Mind Manipulation has a special interest for those who are in the field of apologetics and polemics. This is because today many arguments are won by influencing and controlling the MINDS directly instead of allowing a process of reasoning and sorting out the truth. Reasoning alone does not work directly in such situations, and apologists will have to use additional tools to unmask error and defend truth.
Mind Control And The Bible
Most Christians have heard only about mind-control methods used in Communist countries and other similar dictatorships. Thus they consider it only as a subject of political interest. The intimate connection of this subject with the spiritual life is unknown to many of them, yet Mind Control has a deep connection with spiritual life. When fathers choose a spiritually and morally corrupt but academically excellent school for their children instead of one that has excellent spiritual atmosphere, but which is not the top school in the country, they are exhibiting their naïveté about the power of mind control. They do not realise that soon they will have their son or daughter back with high honours, but totally decadent in mind. Once minds have been captured, and once degenerate passions have been instilled, they will begin practicing it all as soon as they gain their independence. Thus, the human mind is a critical component in the spiritual life of every person. The human mind is such an important factor in spiritual life that mind-related words are used hundreds of times in the Bible. Here is a sample list of some of these words:
Mind/Minds 111 Times
Thought/Thoughts 139 Times
Think/Thinks 82 Times
Heart/Hearts 963 Times
There are many more mind-related words, but these statistics are sufficient to alert every thinking person about the importance of this subject. There are many topics in the Bible which are not mentioned even one tenth this many times, but to which we give great importance. Thus, this subject must also be given the importance due to it.
Some might feel that in spite of the data above, questions still arise as to whether the human mind has such an intimate relationship with spiritual life. Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:3 says, "I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your MINDS should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (NASB). Obviously the mind has a direct relationship with one’s spiritual choices, and this is why Paul is greatly concerned about their minds.
The same idea is affirmed in Ephesians 4:17-19 which in NASB says, "This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the gentiles also walk, in the futility of their MIND, being darkened in their UNDERSTANDING, excluded from the life of God, because of the IGNORANCE that is in them, because of the hardness of their HEART; And they, having become CALLOUS, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness". This passage also makes it clear that once the minds are controlled or influenced, people get into ALL kinds of impurity with GREED. To those who have been observing society in the light of the Scripture for some time, this does not come as a surprise.
Human Mind And Spirituality
All Christians these days are worried about the coldness and degeneration seen in the spiritual world. However, very few of them are able to perceive that part of the reason is our inability to guard our hearts. We seek the best education, job, housing and society for ourselves and our children. Many of us prefer to watch the best TV programmes, even if we have to spend money and get a cable connection. Most of us also look for the best church for fellowship. However, in all these the criteria are not how they feed and conserve our minds but rather how good these are according to earthly standards. Instead we ought to give priority to how they contribute to a healthy and spiritual mind.
In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle says that we should "set apart Christ as Lord in our HEARTS". If our obedience has to show in life, it has to originate in our mind. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your HEART with all diligence; for it is the source of all life". The communists have known this and have been recorded as saying that if they can have the first few years to influence a child, they can ensure that the child will always remain loyal to communist ideology. Consequently, all degenerate movements and bizarre cults aim directly at human minds. The rest follows automatically. This blinding and controlling of human minds is mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4 when he says, "In whose case the god of this world has BLINDED the MINDS of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ…". About believers losing their spiritual balance, the Scripture says even this begins in the mind. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2 he says, "That ye be not soon shaken in MIND, or be troubled …".
The whole of Psalm 119 is a description of how Scripture takes control of the human mind to produce a holy life. The same insight is repeated in Proverbs, which also reminds us that humans’ character is dictated by what they are in their minds. "As a man thinks, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7). Much is at stake in this battle for our minds, and no Christian should remain ignorant of it. Christian apologists have much more to worry about in this realm because in many cases its subtle tactics defy common rules of logic and reason. Only an insight into the workings of deceptive mind-manipulation techniques will help apologists to win the war to capture minds. To understand the ways in which mind manipulators can capture people’s thinking, it is helpful to look at one aspect of the human mind first.
Analysis Of Mind Manipulation
comments
Leave a Reply
Powered by FireStats