Do any other atheists here ever get frightened thinking about the depth of brainwashing in Christianity?

Question

It frightens me to think that an otherwise intelligent person can be under such mind control.

I’m not referring to “brainwashing” as Christians who act out in socially unacceptable ways here. It’s the belief in an illogical fairy tale without any basis in reality whatsoever that makes one brainwashed.

And I’m not here to have a discussion with Christians. My question is directed to fellow atheists. Thanks.

Answer 1

It terrifies me. I see it happening in my own family. My nieces are being raised to believe that everything in the Bible is the literal truth. They believe that dinosaurs and man roamed the Earth together and that talking snakes and donkeys really existed. I fear for their future, and for ours.

Answer 2

First, I'm shocked at the Christians that chyme in to say how rude this question is. This question was for atheists, it's spelled out in the heading. So here they are again throwing stones and posting scriptures. Sheeeeezz!! Yes, I'm an atheist. And yes, I get frightened at times when children are found floating in bath tubs because they were inhabited by the devil..LOL And yes, I'm frightened by the thinking of a few Islamic extremist, and Jehovah's Witnesses that will not allow children to celebrate a birthday. And I also celebrate Christmas in the spirit of giving and not religion. I do see "some" as pushing the envelope in brainwashing, and some "Christians" take offense of my ramblings about Televangelist. Yes, they are the bottom feeders that hide behind the "Great Book Talking Fish and Donkeys." Here's a great thought(and I'm not a Beatles fan..lol) IMAGINE THERE IS NO RELIGION.....I wonder how many people could have lived a warm and long life without fear of neighbors and countries and army's.Hmmmm...then again, maybe it's just me.

Answer 3

Well, yes in some ways.

I do know that sometimes that bashing of others, such as gays, other religions, and holier than thou attitudes are caused by weekly and life long brainwashings. And most seem to be susceptible.

I used to watch this fanatic on TV preaching to people that dinosaurs and man co-existed at the same time. People will ignore the science of 99 percent of all the real scientist in this area, but listen to some obvious nut who does not know what he is talking about, and make the belief a part of themselves.

People who would normally not believe some of the bizarre stories that you hear of in the Bible, readily accept them if they have been indoctrinated with them. Proof or scientific reasoning is not needed.

This is OK, as long as they do not intrude on the rights of others, and doesn't result in them persecuting other people, groups, etc. And we have seen how religious brainwashing can even result in the death of hundreds of people, for example in the Jim Jones case.

Now, this brainwashing is not just found in the Christian religion, but pretty much all of the religions, because the beliefs in hardly any of them are based on fact.

But yes, it can be frightening.

Answer 4

Depends what forum I am in.
Here in R&S answers it seems quite indoctrinated (excuse the pun) but I try to reassure myself by thinking maybe the participants are just bolder because they are on the faceless Internet.
On the other hand there are some really far out answers which seem to only be possible if coming from an answerer who truly believes it.
In ordinary life it doesn't seem that bad, however I live in Australia and some of the news stories coming out of America are a bit frightening. The scariest part is cases such as Christians who fail to see that shooting an abortion doctor is just the same as an Islamic nut blowing himself up, in the name of god?
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Peace
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Answer 5

Yes, because I know of the pain involved in becoming free of it, something that has been hammered into one's being. Being free of Christianity doesn't necessarily end with atheism, in my experience. Though, it's perfectly ok if it does.

Though I am not an atheist, I must say that I respect atheistic views much more than I do those of religious fanatics.

It is intellectually dishonest to claim that a religion is fact. It's a choice. Once that's accepted, it should assume it's proper place in a person's life, and should not spill over to control others or to be legislated into societal norms.

Answer 6

Yup, I do. I don't think they really notice that, and the sad part is that in many cases, at least here in Italy, it's the parents themselves who brainwash their kids while they grow up. I have to say, though, that it's a practice that I think you can find in every organized religion - that's why I don't like them. Just one of the reasons, actually. In Christianity's defence, I think that the kind of brainwash that they do is not that harmful - they are not going to make human bombs of themselves, for example.

Answer 7

Only the brainwashed ones. I have a quite a few contacts on here that are pretty cool. They actually stop and think before answering and have progressive outlooks with out compromising their basic beliefs.
BUT I live in the Bible Belt. I see the utmost brainwashing in some churches down here. It does happen and yes that does scare me.

Answer 8

Just the fundamentalists. The true believers. They frighten me with their absence of logic and reason coupled with their absolute belief that everything anyone needs to know is in this old book written by a bunch of men.

The ones who believe simply because they are afraid not to believe do not bother much, because they are not the ones running around trying to make the world live according to the bible.

Answer 9

No more so than the depth of brainwashing in other areas of society and religion. Ultimately the majority of humanity is a swarm of lemmings willing to give up their free will to follow anyone they may perceive as a leader. Here in America we have at least three major sources of brainwashing, Christianity, Liberalism and Conservatism, and countless lesser sources. It does not frighten me, it saddens me to see so many give up their freedom to a few shiftless, charismatic con men so willingly.

Answer 10

Music has power over ppl too...just look at all the trampling incidents that have occurred. Tv has power over ppl. The media has the ability to sway ones thinking...alot of things CAN have power over ppl IF they let that particular thing have power over them. But does it mean all these things are wrong? Like with everything, you have to make intelligent choices. The only scary thing to me as an intelligent believer is the level of hate ppl have for one another. I dont feel that its my job to "convert" anyone; although I am always happy to share my story when asked..why I believe. You have the same free choice to make as I did. I do believe that the choices we make do have consequences, so I try to make wise choices. It does get offensive to always have otheriwse intelligent ppl assuming that Christians are too weak-brained to think for themselves, and falsely assume we are brainwashed. I can assure you that I have studied enough to find what I believe to be true...and there are still many issues that I havent come to a conclusion on yet..Im still searching, studying, looking for the truth. Are you?

Answer 11

No, as a psychologist I have witnessed time and time again the so called 'crisis point'. This is a point where the individual has been convinced, or, convinced themselves, to the extent that all their concepts of life are shattered by a major event. Ardent believers call this a test of faith, but it will happen and happen again until they become disillusioned and have to find a more lateral path.