Life Changing Mindset

Is False dichotomy mindset of Christianity responsible for many overly simplistic views of complex problems?

Christianity trains people to have a mindset of Good and Evil. Right and Wrong. Black and White.
So in US courts, we have 'defendent vs plantiff', two party politics. etc.

I wonder if Christian type of mindset of false dichotomies, over simplifying problems, results in many societal ills?

Public Comments

1. In many cases, that is one of the problems with their arguments.

2. no

its a result of fallen human nature

3. There's only one problem with your argument.

It's not just christianity, it's entire humanity.

4. That is all a result of a dualistic universe and has nothing to do with any religion or philosophy. There is nothing in the physical world that is not dualistic.

5. Quite the contrary. It is this "right versus wrong" understanding that has given stability to the nation over the years, it is the break down that is causing all the mess that we see now.

6. Are loaded questions the only domain of atheists?

So your infinite intellect seems to infer and use assumption to a fault.

Hi pot meet kettle!

7. Lots of society's ills come from people who decide to ignore Biblical principles -- they want to do their own thing but with no negative results. Doesn't work that way.

8. How is 'defendent vs plantiff' a false dichotomy??

9. Christianity definitely promotes a "black and white" mentality that ignores the fact that we live in a world that is many shades of gray. That mentality produces plenty of irrationality -- and irrationality is at the root of many of our problems.

10. I affirm you my fellow warrior for christ.

let us grow in christ together.

11. Sin results in societal ills. The first recorded murder wasn't committed by a Christian, you know. It was committed by someone who gave in to the temptation to sin.

12. It's actually uncommon for people to picture contrasting subjects in terms other than a dichotomy. Our psychology seems to have evolved that way. It allows us to make decisions faster which is a good survival trait regardless of the results of our decisions. I would say that this particular trait of Christianity is actually the result of a simplistic mindset rather than the cause of the mindset itself.

13. Too bad that not all Christians view our actions as just good and evil. While true we hold that certain things are fundamentally good and others are fundamentally evil, we also look at just how good or just how evil something may be, or perhaps cases where something that is fundamentally evil can be somewhat good and vice versa.

But sometimes you have to understand, simple can be better. Oftentimes arguments can get lost in the details and if it wasn't for the "what if" mindset of humans in general we wouldn't face the necessity for specifying everything.

Now admittedly some Protestant Christian faiths may have boiled down Christianity to the Black and White perspective. But they are not the only ones. Anybody has the compacity to have simplistic views because we all have the capacity to be idiots, it's not solely a Christian thing. Thus, you blame some Christians for contributing to the problem, but people from all parts of society may be to blame there is no single culprit.

14. Delusion is the greatest tool of the mind and it relates itself to not just religion but many avenues of life itself. Christian doctrines over-simplify reality and the need to deal "with" it, where as psychology teaches that no problem will ever disappear or be resolved unless you deal with it. It is what makes religions "popular." The "euphoria" people get by not having to think about their problems is filled with the cup of delusional ecstasy. Much the way an alcoholic who reaches for the bottle, or the addict reaches for the needle, the same mind set is within the person who seeks release from the problems of reality. As for leading to societies "ills" as you put it, look all around you. Many of the most intelligent minds KNOW the ANSWERS to life itself but do not tackle them for if they DID, they would not have the ignorant to lead around by the "nose." People like control over the complexities of life and religions give people that "control" even if it is pure "delusion." Just as in the opposite, those who see all this, like the control they have over those who will never understand or "accept" that THEY could be in control of reality itself if only they made the "efforts" instead of laying all of it upon some supernatural entity. It is why the world as a whole does not change, and many will not accept the need for change because they wait and wait upon someone or ""something" else to do it for them. Christianity isn't the only religion out there feeding people endless hope or the need to be dependants. Most religions have many wrapped around their fingers so tight that the blood to their brains no longer runs there, for many do not even bother to think for themselves. The solution? Quit selling knowledge to the world and let it become FREE so the ignorant will no longer have an escape into the world of delusions and hopefully all ignorance will become "extinct."

15. the idea of "american blind justice" was in fact an attempt to get away from superstition, and prevent people from using emotional state, religious belief, etc., as an excuse for immoral action (immoral being an action that causes harm to others while gratifying self). what the founding fathers didnt account for was how easily people can accept the idea that "because it is law, it must be right", and how quickly people can get stirred up about something and pass a law, simply because it offends their beliefs. the founding fathers where critical thinkers, they wanted to found a nation based on critical thought with the goal being to protect peoples rights to live life the way they see fit. for that reason most of the founding fathers where anti-religion (although christians seem to think the opposite, in spite of the numerous quotes of the founding fathers that clearly show a distaste for religion). what happened is the people who fallowed abused and corrupted the system, and where able to do so because the system was not as thoroughly defined as it should be, and people where able to make interpretations. after that, the 19th century christian society was able to craft things in their own image, filling the court system with the ideals that they held to.

so in a way, your right, but i think its more complicated than "christians black and white thinking screwed everything up", even though it did.