Does religion encourage black & white thinking?

Question

Having spent time helping to develop cdrom based depression therapy programs, I have learnt that one of the big stumbling blocks helping people with a wide range of personality disorders is to break them out of black & white thinking.

It seems many of the answers put forward here by fundamentalist christians fall squarely into that catergory.

" It is only through Jesus that you can find salvation"

"Atheists don't have morals as morals come from God"

"Atheists are being fooled by Satan"

These are just a few examples that come up regularly.

One of the problems with black & white thinking, is it prevents meaningful discussion and the development of understanding another person's viewpoint, thus making empathy an impossibility.

Is it black & white thinking that makes religion so dangerous?

Is that why history is littered with so many wars fought in the name of religion?

Answer 1

At its worst it can, but it doesn't always. Unfortunately I see a lot of black and white thinking among my fellow atheists as well. For some theists and some atheists it's a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down sort of world.

For too many, their religion says that life is good or bad, people are evil or good, and any act is easily characterized as either right or wrong. There are no shades of grey, no mixtures of positive and negative, no situations which make any such judgment relative. And yet there are many others who are religious and yet do recognize that life is far more complex. A lot of good thought about moral ambiguity has been done by reliigious people and there have been scholars of various religions whose thought it quite complex.

Sadly, although atheists should, in an ideal world, free themselves from such black and white categorization, too many of us fall for the same thought patterns as the fundamentalists. You see this when atheists insist that in order to be a "true christian" you have to take the Bible literally and reject science. These atheists mirror the fundamentalist/literalist arguments, missing out on all the variations that the rest of us can easily recognize and acknowledge.

Answer 2

As you can see by many of the answers you recieved, YES.

Religion encourages black and white thinking to the point where there is no room for questions, doubts, concerns, discussion, humor, banter, ideas, innovation, rational thought, natural process....in otherwords a normal human exchange of thought (either within ones self or with others).

I find RELIGION to generally be a limiting, confining, controlling institution that shuns individual thought and human experience. Wars, deaths, torture, suicides, hatred, bigotry, obstinancy,...just some of the things religion seems to endorse. So yeah, in the wrong hands, religion can be a VERY dangerous tool.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not metion that some people get a lot of good things out of it. Being raised Catholic, I feel that it gave me a good moral code to build upon. It made me think and reflect upon God. It instilled shame in me for things I did that were truly bad (lying, stealing, etc.) It helped me learn to believe in something out there greater than myself. HOWEVER, as one grows up one starts to realize things...like how the Catholics have so much power and money (and the horrible ways they got it)...like how the Southern Baptists are so arrogant and self righteous....like how the Jehova's Witnesses shove their religion down other's throats...like how the Evangelicals are extremely bigoted and hate just about everyone but themselves...and you get a little jaded. And a little more wise. You get a better idea of what religion becomes as you get older...

It's no longer about God. It's about POLITICS. Which religion is "right". Which religion is the "only way" a person should think or believe. Which religion has the most power. Which religion has the most public sway. Which religion should "rule the world". Which congregation is the richest. And to me, that stuff is total BS.

I believe in God. Religion is a whole 'nother ballgame. I'll let the preachers, reverends, pastors, and priests worry about their poltical game they call religion. Myself, I'm interested in God.

Answer 3

The Bible encourages the pursuit of truth. The law of non-contradiction states that two statement which oppose each other cannot both be true. Would you argue with that?

" It is only through Jesus that you can find salvation"

That's a true statement that Jesus said himself.

"Atheists don't have morals as morals come from God"

The Bible teaches that God gave people consciences and just because God is the absolute arbiter of what constitutes morality does not mean that a person has to believe in God in order to make moral decisions.

"Atheists are being fooled by Satan"

The Bible does teach in one passage that Satan or "the god of this world" blinds the minds of unbelievers to the truth of the gospel message. That doesn't mean that atheists cannot consider for themselves whether or not God exists and believe that He doesn't all on their own.

Answer 4

It would be more accurate if you asked why some black people follow the religion of 'some' white people. Many of us whities, gringoes or honkys do not follow religion and, you may find this difficult to believe, are not in favour of slavery; although I can see the advantages to myself. Slavery, BTW, existed in Africa among Africans before the white man got there. And although white people did insensitively and disgustingly enslave, rape and murder black people, it was not all white people and it was not other black people that liberated them - it was angry white people - if not for other white people you might still be enslaved today.

Answer 5

I assume your talking about christianity, I believe some religions embrace the gray; wicca for instance.

Christianity does tend to think in black and white. You're either with us or against us. You're either going to heaven or hell. It's either a sin, or it's not. A starving man that steals bread, is still a thief, and you're still a liar if you tell your wife she doesn't look fat in that dress. Therefore you are a sinner, and need god to forgive you.

When I gave up all that nonsense, I became so much more free. I quit trying to live a perfect life, and decided to just live. I'm much happier now.

Answer 6

Apparently so... the Bible contains no actual evidence of a literal burning Hell, but whenever I tell people that such doesn't exist, they ask how there can be a Heaven w/o a Hell.

In 9th grade I tried to explain something about conditions before the earth was created (or @ least b4 Satan's rebellion, who truly knows which came 1st) and he said that it was inconceivable for good to exist w/o evil.

Answer 7

Only a few things are absoulte truths in life. Everything else is grey.

I find that most people (sheeple) like to be herded. Black and white rules are easier that dealing with messy questions about life.

Also every club needs rules, humans like to belong to a club.

Answer 8

God is too big and complex to be boxed in. He is wider than HImself, deeper than Himself, than we could ever imaging. Our minds are so small and finite, that's why all is black and white. So many wars in the name of God because everyone wants to think that God loves them more than others. Not true. He loves the Muslim, the Christian, the Jew. I'm convinced that salvation as offered by Jesus Christ is deeper than we can know. It's not about church attendance every Sunday, but about our personal relationship with Jesus.

Answer 9

I have to disagree wholeheartedly. Belief in moral absolutes, as outlined in the bible, have nothing to do with personality disorders which clearly have organic, pathological, and potentially demonic origins. Biblical moral absolutes clearly state the divine consequences for immoral behavior, by advocating divinely inspired boundaries and standards that we may live by to live a holy, godly life. Pathological absolutes do not match any societal moral behavior that advocates clear physical nor emotional boundary formation; instead they promote perverted, deviant social behavior that violates all and any moral emotional and physical boundaries (ie. parent-child emotional incest, inappropriate friendships outside of marriage, etc). The borderline/narcissist who demonstrates abnormal black/white thinking and interactional patterns have been prewired as such by damaged, abusive parents or guardians who quite possibly had the same pathology/mental illness themselves. Most likely, bible-based childhood experiences do not result in adulthood borderline/narcissistic personality disorders. Rather, children raised in a family living for God will ultimately pass the legacy of moral absolutes to future generations. There is nothing wrong with this, is there?

Just my thoughts. Have a blessed day!

Answer 10

How can someone make what everyone has the right to read themselves be black and white. The Bible says all it needs to say about how we need to live. The only thing I don't do is alter it and present it the way I wish I want life to be!