Is Religion A Form Of Mind Control...?

Is religion a form of mind control?

Right now I think of how people can set up religious ways and ideas, so then they can criticize ones who are not like they are. So, their own egotistical and unloving religion can control them . . . brainwashing them so they do not love, first, but first they compare and judge.
 
"They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them." (Galatians 4:17)

So, people or social club churches and cults and institutionalized groups can come after you with a lot of attention and showing enthusiasm > "zealously" > and this can make you feel so important and noticed, so you feel like they think you are somebody. And then you can think this means they are such great people, and so you join them. But then they can have you under their power, and use their "acceptance" to control you, as you try to conform in order to keep on getting their attention and acceptance.

And so they can "exclude you" from Jesus, so you are mainly connecting with humans.

And, of course, ones doing this are going after how you will become "zealous for them" . . . thinking they are so great, even above question.

So, it can help to see if people are humble and also not trying to make a big deal out of you. After all, we need to be humbled with God.

And . . . we can do this kind of a thing in courting and romance, ourselves, though this is not about religion.

The same "technique" can be used . . . to treat someone like he or she is so great so that one will make a big deal out of me, so I can get that person alone with me for what I want to use the person to get, have control of the person, have the person's "commitment" . . . instead of first submitting to God for all He wants.
 
we start to become aware of some other force or power at the age of 7 or 8. (even if their parents are atheist) Most humans will start to believe that there is something spiritual around us. Our soul can just feel it.
 
Hi there. In the end it's good to rely on what the Bible reveals about ourselves and above all about God, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and His sin-atoning work at the Cross. I don't think our feelings by themselves are a reliable guide.
 
Yes, we need how God uses the Bible to show us about Himself and about us, and it says "we first trusted in Christ," in Ephesians 2:12. Then we became new creatures with more and more totally different and new ways of thinking and feeling and loving.

Before "we first trusted in Christ" (in Ephesians 2:12), yes we could have an idea and feeling about God; however my own character had a lot to do with what I was able to feel and what I was able to conclude about whatever I thought I was discovering. But, with Jesus, my character has been changing to be gentle and humble and caring and softly and tenderly and sensitively loving and relating. And I see the Bible very differently as I grow in this.

But we do have that "God is love" (in 1 John 4:8&16). And love does have feelings! :) But love has emotions and motives with actions, also.

Love can create destiny > if you love money, for example, it is your "destiny" to seek money and then suffer and not have really loving companionship and true enjoyment. And God in His love so appreciates and adores His Son, Jesus; therefore, it is destiny that our Father will make us all become "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). The character of His love brings His love's destiny! and this shared with us :)

So, yes we have feelings in God's love, but we need how God changes us in our character so we more and more get into all that is in the destiny of His love, of all our Father and Jesus will share with us in Their love.

Bringing this into line with our discussion about if religion can brainwash people, then > in religion, people still have their own character which can be their dictator. If we in selfish character love a thing or a person, we can automatically brainwash our own selves to think and feel whatsoever fits with getting what we want with that thing or person. For example, perhaps you have seen how a gambler can get a check, and right away just start talking how he or she is sure to win, this time. And if someone falls in love with someone else's charm and smooth voice and cute looks and smart talking . . . you can not talk sense to the person, though you know the charmer is a psychopath and can prove it from court records, even . . . in a number of cases. Ones can in worldly character be do-it-yourself brainwashers, here in America where we say we would never put up with our government brainwashing people > we can do it ourselves, THANK YOU!! Independence, here . . . do it your own self!!

It is so important, then, how Jesus says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (in Luke 9:23) We so have needed to deny self with its character so dictatorial and not good for us, and become new creatures in Jesus and His "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).

And then we have the "washing of water by the word" (in Ephesians 5:26).

And we still need this, more and more. We can so easily point our finger at "religion" and say oh we're not like that. However, we still are not perfect in our character being like Christ; so we can still fool ourselves, and not notice this because of how we are decoyed into pointing at "religion" and obviously wrong people.

But we have our Father to correct us; He can see us better than we can > so we need to actively and deliberately seek You, LORD our Father to correct us > "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?" (Hebrews 12:9) There are "respectable" people who have brainwashed into supposing that how their parents brought them up is all they need.

But Jesus says, "learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:29) We need more learning of how to be and live in His love with His light so we see things the way His love has us seeing.
 
comfy said:
"They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them." (Galatians 4:17)

So, people or social club churches and cults and institutionalized groups can come after you with a lot of attention and showing enthusiasm > "zealously" > and this can make you feel so important and noticed, so you feel like they think you are somebody. And then you can think this means they are such great people, and so you join them. But then they can have you under their power, and use their "acceptance" to control you, as you try to conform in order to keep on getting their attention and acceptance.

And so they can "exclude you" from Jesus, so you are mainly connecting with humans.

And, of course, ones doing this are going after how you will become "zealous for them" . . . thinking they are so great, even above question.

So, it can help to see if people are humble and also not trying to make a big deal out of you. After all, we need to be humbled with God.

And . . . we can do this kind of a thing in courting and romance, ourselves, though this is not about religion.

The same "technique" can be used . . . to treat someone like he or she is so great so that one will make a big deal out of me, so I can get that person alone with me for what I want to use the person to get, have control of the person, have the person's "commitment" . . . instead of first submitting to God for all He wants.
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Then, in summary, you agree that religion is or at least can be mind control? And, then, you agree with me and others that Christianity, in the pure form is not a religion but is God, reaching out to man to reconcile sinful man to Himself.

Not trying to be mean but you seem to run around the answer you wish to express.
 
comfy said:
Love can create destiny > if you love money, for example, it is your "destiny" to seek money and then suffer and not have really loving companionship and true enjoyment. And God in His love so appreciates and adores His Son, Jesus; therefore, it is destiny that our Father will make us all become "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). The character of His love brings His love's destiny! and this shared with us :)
Click to expand...
Romans 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

I hope you just failed to think this through because what you have said, when wrapped in the certain wrapper sounds correct but when put into it's context fails your use of it. Love does not "create" anything, that is the purview of God. And when I was an Atheist, I was once hit with you line about "loving companionship and true enjoyment" and I made the man want to cry momma and he did run off. if you are going to use an argument like this one you must, first, define the limits of your usage of the terms. i don't want to seem petty but this string is going to be read by every lost man or woman that sees it and we must be careful to not appear to be idiots in the lost person's eyes.

Please speak to the points I've expressed here.

God bless.
 
I can't remember where I first heard this analogy, but religion is neutral -- like a hammer is neutral. A hammer can be used for handy work or it can be used to abuse someone.

If done the way Christ has instructed us, then it is not only a good thing, but also necessary (James 2:24-26; Matthew 5:17).
 
When I read the thread title, I thought about it for a moment, and then said to myself, "Yes, religion is a form of mind control". Many people use religion to try to control their own minds and sinful urges, but it doesn't work.

... If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.​
- Colossians 2:16-23​
 
Fadingman said:
Many people use religion to try to control their own minds and sinful urges, but it doesn't work.
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When I decided to straighten out and do what I needed to do to go to Heaven, I copy-catted whatever I thought my religious group was telling me to do. If the religion was wrong . . . I was able to go along with it, because of how wrong I was. It was not their fault, then, really! (c:

So, yes I was trying to control my own self to get myself to Heaven. And this could not work . . . because of my own character making me dishonest and fooling my own self without even knowing it!

But now I can see that I was not the only one with a problem. And it turns out that the religion's group has had problems with being able to fool themselves into thinking deeply sick-with-evil people have been qualified to be their pastors. Whole churches have been unable, it seems, to tell the difference. Yet, you read and hear nothing about how they were wrong if they could not hear Jesus' voice guiding them to ordain pastors whom Jesus trusts > John 10:1-30.

But, as I say, I was an everyday member of the religion; I, too, could so fool myself into blindly assuming a leader must be trusted, with no testing to make sure with God > "Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) A man must be tested before trusted > as we see through 1 Timothy 3:1-10.

I remember how I could automatically argue and deny, or be in denial, when I was confronted about how I was wrong. My own character, not the religion or its evil people, made me so deeply dishonest with my own self.

And as I have gotten to know some number of people in different self-favoritistic groups (2 Corinthians 10:12, Galatians 4:17), I'm discovering that I'm not the only one, nor my past group, who can fool our own selves really because of our own dishonesty and assuming without making sure with God.

This can happen in marriage, too, how ones try to manage someone else in order to get what they want to use someone to get. And of course they won't make sure with God, because they are after what they themselves want . . . and dictate and expect and demand. Our own motives make us blind so we can not see who we are trusting. In my group, we were told our religion was better than all the rest; I would say I had the motive of wanting to suppose I was superior to others, so I would piggy-back on the "best" religion in order to feel superior! "That was not the religion's fault!!"

I remember how I cared mostly about just getting my own self to Heaven . . . hardly caring about anyone else as myself . . . not loving and caring about any and all others as much as I cared about myself. So, I was anti-love, then, in my own nature. No religion or other person made me like that.
 
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