Latest / Clear Path Christianity / Psychology of Control || CPC Podcast Ep. 7
Transcript
- Cole Crone: of the things that's interesting, at least to me and to many others, is this ⁓ idea that otherwise well-adjusted, successful people part of these very fringe, radical groups with very out of ordinary religious Tom Cruise is a great example. nobody could argue that Tom Cruise is not like the most successful actor maybe who has ever lived, And we totally ignore the fact that he's part of this very kooky, very crazy, very fringe kind of religious organization where the president of that group has a wife that hasn't been seen by anyone for like 15 years, this group has... ⁓ literally let one of their high profile people disappear. And the rest of us are like, yeah, but Mission Impossible is a great movie. ⁓ why is How is it that people ⁓ who have successful careers, long marriages, are raising decent children, contributing members of society, these sorts of things. How can these people? have this second life where they're a part of these crazy religious organizations. And so that's one of the things that we're going to look at in this episode is what I'm calling the psychology of control and how high demand religious enslave both ⁓ as well as souls. So let's get into this. The first question is ⁓ psychology matters? Why does psychology matter specifically for spiritual discernment? And how do we decide why psychology matters psychology replacing theology? So what does the Bible actually say? Well, it seems to me that as I read assumes psychological vulnerability. Let's take Romans 12, 2 as an example. The apostle Paul says this, or take 2 Corinthians 4 verses 3 and 4. whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Or let's look at Ephesians 4, 14. The Apostle Paul again says that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. scripture denying ⁓ psychology but presupposing So, psychology is one of the ways that we can describe how deception works. We ⁓ need ⁓ to recognize that theology on one hand teaches us is and psychology on the other hand helps explain why people believe and stay. so we're gonna look at a few, this is gonna get a little bit technical. I'm gonna try to disseminate just the basics of this. Defining demand or high control ⁓ type religious groups. There's common features that are identified in the sociological literature. You things like authoritarian leadership. You have behavior conformity. You have suppression of dissent. You have identity fusion into the group. You have punitive discipline. what I'm not saying is that every structure the church is abusive or that authority itself is evil. I'm just looking at this on, on the sociological level and saying that it seems to me to be the case that unchecked authority is dangerous in a lot of cases. And let's look at one biblical into this from Matthew 20 verses 25 through 28. Jesus called them to and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." So Jesus differentiating on the one hand, Gentile style authority, and on the other hand, Christ-like leadership. so having set those two categories, let's look a few core mechanisms of psychological control. First, we're going to look at something that is called authoritarian charismatic leadership. A German sociologist by the name of Max Weber. it looks like Weber to us, but he's German. So it's, it's Weber. He introduced ⁓ several different concepts within organizational leadership. And he noticed that people followed certain types of individuals, okay? You have people who hold certain governmental positions and that governmental position gives them a place of authority. Or they hold a certain type of position within a familial structure, be it a patriarchy, or a matriarchy, right? So people who hold that kind of authority. And then Weber tells us that there are the types of people who have authority because of their charisma, Weber says that a lot of religious fall into this category. So we have this idea of charismatic leadership. Now if we take that idea and we integrate it with another thinker, American psychologist Stanley Milgram, if you've heard of them, if you've done any research in psychology or you know anything about, you've watched anything on YouTube about psychology, you've probably heard about the famous Milgram experiment. Now, it's controversial because the entire experiment has been unethical. ⁓ look into the Milgram experiment for yourself ⁓ let me know what you think. But he came to the conclusion that ordinary people will commit acts that they wouldn't ordinarily do because of the pressures coming from a person from authoritative position. The key insight here is that people obey authority figures even if the actions of that leader or the actions that that leader expects of his followers violates the conscience of either the group or of the individuals within the group. Now we have a few, a few biblical warnings. You can look at, Jesus in Matthew 23, 8 through 10 says, not be called rabbi for one is your teacher, that is Christ. You are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth father for one is your father, he who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers for one is your teacher, the Christ. So what Jesus is is saying here is that we have an ultimate authority and don't let anybody take that place because now you have an imbalance that you might not be able to rectify. Peter 5, 2 and 3 says, ⁓ is calling elders to shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly. nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." So we have, oftentimes this authoritarian, ⁓ charismatic in these cultic or fringe religious groups, but a real Christian church is not supposed to look like this. The second thing I want to look at is information control. An American... ⁓ psychologist by the name of Robert J. Lifton provided us with a term called milieu control. Now milieu is just a French word which just means medium or middle as far as I can tell. Now in psychology and in the social sciences this word milieu is just referring to a social environment basically. Lifton's theory concerns the control of one's social environment. So there's a few pieces. You have selective exposure. So, so the, the group is going to only expose you to literature, media, things of that nature that are favorable to the group. And they're going to try to limit, just, just think of, think of China. They have this very limited access to information. They discourage the use of outside sources. this is a big one where I came from. And ⁓ something that I noticed in lot of different groups as I study them is that they reframe criticism as persecution, So anybody who comes against my group, If they're critical in any way, shape or form, I'm interpreting that as persecution. And that persecution is confirmation that I'm in the right place. So again, this is just a fancy way of talking about brainwashing, mind control tactics, these sorts of things. Now, we have a few, again, we have a few biblical warnings against this kind of thing that we need to have in our minds. A favorite of mine is Proverbs 18, 17, which says, the first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. In other words, if you're not looking at all sides of a situation, there's no chance to actually assess it, Because you're only seeing one side. Acts 17, 11, The Bereans in contrast to those of Thessalonica, are examining the scriptures constantly to make sure that what Paul is saying is actually true. they're commended ⁓ for that, rather than controlling information, we're actually supposed to be looking into it for ourselves. And then thirdly, we have ⁓ this quote from John 832, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Because again, one of the things that I say over and over and over again on this podcast is that truth invites examination and control restricts it. So if you have the truth, or if you're seeking the truth, you're welcoming that truth to be examined. If you don't believe that you have the truth, then you're trying to control information. You're trying to restrict what is accessible. Okay, the third thing I want to look at is called thought-stopping and loaded language. So another American psychologist, a colleague of Robert Lifton's whose theory we looked at before, a lady by the name of Margaret Singer, not Margaret Sanger, the eugenicist. No. Margaret Singer. She's an American psychologist. And she gave us a few categories that she placed in this in under the heading of thought-stopping and or loaded language. let me let me define those terms for you. Thought-stopping is a method to block ⁓ out ⁓ doubts. This can be like or singing ⁓ or meditation and those sorts of it's activity that prevents the cultist from questioning the group. it ends up being a ⁓ type of reinforcement against sort of intrusive thoughts that question the group. that's thought stopping. ⁓ Examples of loaded language are things cliches, buzzwords, those sorts of things that restrict critical thinking. It could be slogans, it's that type of thing. Again, we have some biblical warnings. From 2 Corinthians 10, four and five. For weapons of our warfare are not carnal ⁓ but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity, to the obedience of Christ. So ⁓ capture is founded on truth. This idea ⁓ keeping our thoughts captive to obedience to Christ, That is founded on truth, not manipulation. Let's look at another passage. Colossians 2, 4, and 5. Now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith. We're not seeking to use coercion. We're to ⁓ be steadfast in faith, founded on the solid that is Christ. Next, we have fear conditioning. Classical conditioning in psychology ⁓ is a learning process that pairs two You have a neutral stimulus and you have a potent stimulus. If you've watched The Office, Jim actually performs this experiment on Dwight by giving him an Altoid every time he resets his computer. And you know, you hear the Windows reboot. If you've watched The Office, Jim actually performs this experiment on Dwight giving him an Altoid every time he resets his computer. And you know, you hear the Windows reboot. it to the point where every time Jim reboots his computer, Dwight starts to realize he's salivating, he's because he needs, you he wants the his mouth is like just instinctively craving the altoid. That's classical conditioning. Ivan Pavlov did this with dogs. He he taught them to salivate whenever they heard the ringing of a bell. it to the point where every time Jim reboots his computer, Dwight starts to realize he's salivating, he's because he needs, you he wants the his mouth is like just instinctively craving the altoid. That's classical conditioning. Ivan Pavlov did this with dogs. He he taught them to salivate whenever they heard the ringing of a bell. And cults do this a And cults do this a They pair a neutral stimulus or what should be a neutral stimulus with a negative feeling or thought or ⁓ kind of negative ⁓ action being inflicted upon them, Cults are using this to shape compliance, more or less. here are some common fears that are leveraged. Loss of salvation, divine punishment, social exile, and spiritual deception. ⁓ are the sorts of things ⁓ that are paired with otherwise neutral behaviors to keep people in line. As with the others, we have some biblical contrasts that I want to look at. 8, 1. is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 Timothy 1, 7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. we go back to the mind, right? We're talking psychology. And third, 1 John 4, 18 and 19. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. So this fear-based obedience is not biblical obedience. there's American author and counselor by the name of Patrick Carnes ⁓ who wrote what he calls trauma bonding, which is defined as ⁓ cycles abuse and then positive reinforcement. Alternating affection with punishment, alternating affirmation with shame. And the result of both ⁓ is an emotional dependence on the group. This constant building up and tearing down and this cyclical thing makes it so that you're always looking for affirmation from the abusive group. we have biblical warnings. This one from Ezekiel 13, 22 and 23. Because with lies, So where groups create this fear and this sorrow, and this desperation the Lord comes and saves. 4, 8 and 9. The Apostle Paul says, but then indeed when you did not know God you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage? words, Paul's saying, you be free. You can be free. You don't need to be enslaved. Next, we have fusion. there are social psychologists, and gonna butcher last name of the first gentleman, his name is Henry Tajfel, maybe that's what it is. The second guy's name is John Turner, which is nice and easy. But together they developed social identity theory, And then within that social identity theory, a ⁓ part of a theory or idea, ⁓ this idea of identity fusion. Now it's exactly what's on the 10, It's identity fusion, meaning that the group becomes the self, Such that you, you have a hard time distinguishing where the group begins and where you end or where you end and the group begins, right? It's almost impossible to see those boundaries. result here is that leaving the feels like losing your identity. And that's the purpose. The purpose is to get you to fear this loss of identity. And so many otherwise intelligent, successful sorts of people stay in these groups because their very identities is with the group. And again, we have biblical correction. Think of the Apostle Paul's metaphor of the body of Christ, There ⁓ ⁓ identity, that we all share, but we are all individual members of that singular identity, Or as Paul says in Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." So notice that there is a crucifixion of me, of my old self, and my new identity is in Christ, but it's still me. He still me and gave himself for me. So there's still a me, but it's a ⁓ new me. And then again, we have apostle Paul, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3.3. Our identity is not with a group, but in the one that gives us life, gives us identity, gives us purpose and meaning and things of that nature, we have the next piece here, it's this us versus them style polarization. This was huge where, where I came from, where you have this in group out group bias. You have these moral superiority narratives for us growing up. It was like, our group does this particular practice, which is here in scripture. because we're reading the scriptures incorrectly. else does because everyone is reading the scriptures correctly, And so you start thinking of these moral superiority narratives because you have this us versus them polarization. And again, we have biblical warnings. Luke 18 verses nine through 14. I'm just gonna skin this. We have this, we have a few things here in this passage. He spoke a parable to them and that two men went up to the temple to pray, one of them a Pharisee, one of them a tax collector. And the whole entire parable is about how the Pharisee is looking down on the tax collector and thanking God that he's not this poor sinner, Meanwhile, the tax collector can't even raise his eyes ⁓ God because he's in such humble submission. He recognizes his lowly state and is still bringing himself humbly before his Heavenly Father with what he has. And the moral that Jesus says is that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. Again, that's Luke 18, 9-14. Romans 12-16. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. In other words, is key, particularly when we're talking about some kind of moral superiority. We have to all remember that we were once dead in our trespasses and sins and have been made alive in Christ, And so can any other sinner. And then finally we have 1 Corinthians 1, 12 and 13. Now I say this, that each of you says, am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Paul asks the rhetorical question, is Christ divided? Was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He goes on to say, by no means. Absolutely not. Emphatically no. A thousand times no, There is not room for elitism. The Corinthians were using the person who baptized them as leverage to put people on pedestals and knock others down. And this was causing all kinds of disunity. True Christianity produces humility, not any kind of elitism. And then finally we have suppression of conscience, which takes a different forms. ⁓ It might be ⁓ moral disengagement. might be gradual erosion of internal moral compass, But some kind of way of slowly, incrementally on a long enough timeline these groups get you to do things that you wouldn't otherwise do, very first that the followers of Charles Manson did was not go out and commit mass murders, That wasn't step number one, That was the end of a very long timeline of disengagement and disintegration, And again, we have biblical warnings. This being so, myself always strive to have a conscience without offense towards God and man. ⁓ Acts 24 Romans 14 23, but he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith. for whatever is not from faith is sin. 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2. the Spirit expressly says in latter times, some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Any group that teaches you to distrust conscience is training you for abuse. so those are some of the core mechanisms of psychological control. Why do intelligent people stay? Intelligent people stay for a number of reasons. Social costs, fear, ⁓ identity collapse, cognitive dissonance, ⁓ spiritualized shame. Notice not on this list. not stupidity. Tom Cruise is not a stupid person, His career is evidence of that, People that successful are not stupid, I'm not the bulb on the tree, but I'm far from a stupid person. And I know a lot of people who came from where I come from and come out of other such groups who are not stupid people. This is a human vulnerability. We want desperately to belong to something outside of ourselves and these groups offer just that. when they get you in, they make it very difficult to get out. And this is the ⁓ Bible presents an alternative. And that in the person of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 42.3, speaking. ⁓ prophetically of Jesus says, a bruised reed he will not break and a smoking flax he will not quench. He will bring forth justice for truth. Matthew 9, 36, but when he, Jesus, saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary ⁓ and like sheep having no shepherd. And finally, Jude calls the church to have a similar posture Jude verses 22 and 23. And on some have compassion making a distinction. but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." In other words, Judas trying to say, it's gonna take different things for different people, but some people just need compassion and others need, you're going after someone that's in a burning building. so briefly let's look at the biblical model of godly authority. Healthy spiritual leadership, invites testing. Acts 17, 11. Godly spiritual leadership serves without domineering, Mark 10, 42 through 45. Healthy spiritual leadership, shepherds willingly, 1 Peter 5, 2 and 3, and healthy spiritual leadership produces freedom in the followers, in people following the leadership. They should feel free. That's from 2 Corinthians 3, 17. All of us need to at all times be asking the following questions to discern whether or not we might be in a problematic group. Can I disagree without fear? Can I leave without losing salvation? Can leaders be questioned? ⁓ Is scripture ⁓ at least as of the highest authorities. And what I'm trying to prevent there is just ⁓ with a Bible claiming to know what it says and like ⁓ else says it says that, And then is Christ sufficient? if you're in a Christian group that's ⁓ claiming ⁓ the name of Christ claiming follow Christ, and the work of Jesus isn't enough. Big red flag. these are diagnostic, not rebellious questions. You be shamed when you're these sorts of questions. So this matters for a few reasons. ⁓ One, control thrives in the darkness, The Bible is very clear about that, That sin corruption and these things love the dark places. What they can't stand is the light. Christ brings light, the truth of that light. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, ⁓ there will freedom, ⁓ not fear.