Where do you atheist get we Christians are brainwashed? Why?

Question

I am a christian, I , as with all other Christians have free will. I came to Christ on my own. I was raised in church yes, but it wasn't until I was older that I was fully aware of Christ and what he did for me (everyone) and I returned to him on my own. How does one become brainwashed anyway? I know about the Jim Jones cult, now that was brain washing.

OK< you think we've been tought or trained to believe in something we cannot rationally prove or see.

I haven't been tought or trained anything like that.

I simply heard a story, picked up a book and started reading, thats all, no training no teaching.

Don H>

What book was it?

Ten speed<
I do not take fiction literaly, infact i don't read fiction at all.
I don't recite prayers, I'm not Catholic, I do say prayers before bed every night though.
And the only thing I do repeatedly (weekly or other wise) is ride my horse.

Head Nurse<
You know nothing. You are obviously NOT a Christian so who are you to say anything about Jesus, or how I came to him?

Just becaise you don't believe, you don't have to, but you don't have to be a biatch to those who do.

You know what, Head Nurse? Some one did lead me to Religion, to God, He did himself.

Answer 1

What is wrong with being brainwashed. The bible writes to wash in the Word of God. Renew your mind studying God's Word. This washes our minds from lies & filth & hurts.

Jim Jones cult is a different definition of brain washing. I would call it brain mudding. This is the lies & filth & hurt that is in a victims' mind from cult training. The Truth of God will wash our minds from these lies, filth & hurt.

Answer 2

Yes, you do have free will, free will to ignore whatever violates what you want to believe, to ignore what your mind and your senses tell you about the world around you. You can call non-believers brainwashed also, if you consider trusting your five senses instead of "mystery" brainwashed. You don't dismiss reason and common sense in the secular non-religious mundane aspects of the world. It's interesting, though, as an example, how meteorology, which is normally a science that no one questions, goes from science to superstition when there are hurricanes and tsunamis and there are "evil" people to condemn. Many of you start to make claims that this is the work of a loving God, visiting his righteous wrath upon those evil folks, even if many of the victims are his own believers. Suddenly, it's not scientific any more, but instead "proves" God's existance and power. When it comes to the greatest mysteries of all, the mysteries of life and the entire universe, mysteries that cause awe in the greatest of scientific minds, common sense is out the window in favor of ancient myths, rationality about cause and effect, claims for which there is no proof. The things that can and have been verified as truth in the Bible, such as people, places and events, still cannot prove the divinity of it all. You are brainwashed because you don't even realize that you are doing this. Science with such blind unwavering faith in the unprovable would have collapsed on its face and we would still be in the dark ages when religion reigned supreme.Those were great times, weren't they? Science has advanced since then, at religion's protest all the way, but the religion is still pretty much the same as it was then. To answer your question as it was asked, whether you agree with what I have written or not (I wouldn't expect that you would), I think that this is why atheists feel that Christians AND followers of other religions are brainwashed.

Answer 3

One of the side effects of effective brainwash is the belief that the thought system implanted is your own. This gives a delusional idea that your beliefs are based on reason and may be questioned freely by you. The injunction to faith and the demand that doubts be regarded as the devil are common techniques that turn the brainwash victim into there own monitor and enforcer. Unless the victim can be removed from the group and deprogrammed there is little hope for spontaneous remission to occur. Fears are a common tool and the promise of security the most used way of maintaining the effect of the brainwash, as well as immersion in the culture of the Cult. The Christian cult is extremely well entrenched in the Western World with its major rival, Islam controlling much of Asia. I wish I had time to spend explaining about brainwash methods and cultism. I highly recommend Moonbeams which was written by a victim (Josh Freed) of the Moonies as an intro. You are not likely able to recognize the indoctrination techniques applied to you as a child, or the effectiveness of them years later when faced with the uncertainties and responsibility of an adult life. Consider the effect of any supported religion on a child who is able to believe in Santa, the tooth fairy or ther Easter Bunny when subjected to churches and sunday schools with no remission. The Atheists are here to try to save you. They are trying to bring you out of delusion.
edit:
Just a guy conveniently forgets about the crusades including the childrens crusade that saw children gathered up and sold as slaves by the bishops, or the Spanish Inquisition when they enforced belief by torture.

Answer 4

Sometimes it is hard for people of differing beliefs to believe that anyone could see things in a differing way. A concept seems so *obvious* to you, but the other person just doesn't get it.

I don't think all Christians are brainwashed. I don't think all *anyones* are brainwashed. I think there are an unfortunate few people in *every* belief system who follow without question, and believe everything they are told without examination. Those are the ones ripe for cults. It doesn't matter whether you are Christian, atheist, Jewish or snake handler -- follow your beliefs based on what *you* have found to be true, not the blind acceptance of what someone has told you.

Answer 5

I think the problem is that we all think differently. We all have different experiences that prove or disprove certain things to us. So we naturally cannot rationally think through another person's decision to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Pagan or whatnot. From the outside looking in, people who aren't of Christian faith might have had bad experiences with Christians or Christianity, or see raising children within a certain faith to be brainwashing even though the people within the Christian faith do not see it that way. There are people who were raised Christian who left because they felt they were being brainwashed by being forced to go to church or bible study. So what it comes down to is individual perception based on the individual thought process and experience. What we often forget is that one man's religion is often another man's fairy tale and vice versa. That could be said for all of us, Christian, Other, or Atheist. If it helps, I don't think Christians are brainwashed. I don't agree with them, but I respect their choice to be Christians because obviously it works for them and is their truth. The problem at that point becomes that there are always those people out there who take their personal truth too far and try to impose it on others who have a different truth. That's where the fighting begins.

Answer 6

I'm not an atheist, but for a long time I was confused about God because all I had ever heard was that God would Judge us and would allow some of us to go to a place called hell.

I never occurred to me that this was simply a lie that I had been told about God. I found it odd and contradictory that This unconditionally loving God that I had been told about could allow such an unloving thing to happen. The ten commandments seemed like conditions to me.

I finally found a book that explained the truth to me. It made me understand that God was not the judgmental punishing jerk that religion had made him out to be.

I finally understood that religion was just a lie that i had been told about God. I finally realized that I had been brainwashed into thinking these things by religion.

I am closer to God now than I ever was before.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 7

Christians are no more brainwashed than any other religious person, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Sardojees. You believe in something you cannot prove, but feel is real and true, and feel the Bible is the book of God. There is nothing wrong or silly about that. I totally respect anyone who uses religion for love, understanding of life, and a model for their behavior. God bless you.

Answer 8

you must be brainwashed into believing christ has to be worshiped.

How do you know he was the son of god? I could say im the daughter of god and make a huge fuss over it but who would believe that? Just simple minded gullible people would believe that crap! The bible so full of rubbish that you just couldnt believe it unless you were a five year old! No offence intended but that is what i believe and you did ask. What is so is so and that is yet to be found out after i die if there is a christ or not. I believe there is a god force or a universal mind but christ i doub was the son of god. God is not a person its a force and so cannot have intercourse with a living person to produce a child. No such thing as virgin birth.

Answer 9

everyone is brainwashed to believe or value something. Look at the differences between cultures and among different time periods. those who say they are not brainwashed in some way have not had the opportunity to really challenge their beliefs. Try talking and actually LISTENING to people who are different than yourself. Listening is the hard part. Most people listen just long enough to come up with a good comeback. Try to see the world through the other person's perspective. Your life will become more interesting.

Answer 10

It's more of an indoctrination than brainwashing, but that's splitting hairs. If you want a good dose of reality, read Richard Dawkin's book, "The God Delusion". He answers most of the popular arguments for the existence of a god.

If you look at any major religion, you'll see that most of the tactics they use involve emotional manipulation of human insecurities. This is as true of Jim Jone's cult as it is for Christianity. Christians (and other religions) tend to use a stick and carrot approach to gaining converts. On one hand, they threaten with "God's wrath" and "Hell". One the other hand, they lure with claims of "God's love" and rewards of "Heaven".

Emotional tactics are effective because humans have been emotional animals for far longer than rational ones.

Answer 11

"Brainwashed" depends on the situation and mindset of someone. Honestly, IMO, if a person can not think for themselves, then maybe they are. That "Jesus Camp" video...very much brainwashing for children as they are out right trying to insure to make them believe only one certain way and not decide for themselves if it's right for them or not. The woman in the video basically admitted that they have to get to them young.