This makes ordinary group Bible studies and Sunday school classes excruciating for me. I cannot accept what any teacher says as "gospel" truth. In my heart, I know that easy answers are usually wrong. Simplistic thinking might draw crowds or sell books, but it won't bring me to the fullness of truth.
Of course, if one were to be honest, most people aren't actually interested in truth. They want just enough information to get by, and they want that information to agree with their world view. No matter how unrealistic or convoluted their world view might seem to others, people tend to accept what agrees with their beliefs and reject what is different.
Why are we so resistant to listening to "the other side of the argument"? It turns out that our brains are hard-wired that way: we automatically tune out and quickly forget what doesn't fit. Apparently, we also have a natural tendency to adapt our beliefs to conform to our circumstances and our actions.
Thus our "intellectual discussions" are apt to turn into heated arguments, our actions are apt to be labeled as "hypocritical," and all of us are bound to appear foolish at least once in a while. And hence, no doubt, the excellent advice from James, the brother of Christ:
...everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20, NASB).
Cognitive Dissonance, Behavior and Belief
- "Learning and Teaching; Cognitive Dissonance and Learning" from www.learningandteaching.info
- Wired for Hypocrisy - an article from Newsweek on how cognitive dissonance causes people to change their beliefs
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