Here I was strolling on the internet when I meet with this post and I got really interested.
While I laud her proposals, they don’t go far enough. It is not enough to just question ones faith but all god claims. Parents must as a matter of course not indoctrinate their children in their beliefs but to create an environment where children can know of different beliefs observed by others around them and to question the validity of any of them or all of them.
The type of group she discusses matches millennium cults that were prevalent in Europe between the 7th and 16th centuries of the current era. And while education was at play, the biggest drive was economic and they were based on loose interpretations of apocalyptic literature such as book of Revelations and Daniel. Instead of dismissing the followers as blind and uneducated, it is far more productive to us who don’t believe to investigate the motivations behind such groupings. Who says they are not political?
And while at it, she should be fair to her readers and start with a definition of a cult.
For me, the difference between a cult and a mainstream church is in real estate. Others I know have added a farther qualifier that in a cult the founder is still in many cases alive while in a religion the founder is long dead.
Finally I agree with her concluding remarks. She writes
However, it is imperative that we all use our brains for what they are meant for – to think! [Emphasis by me]
Random thoughts 
As always, my Kenyan brother and friend, you are right on point. Good to see your post. Naked hugs!
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Thanks buddy.
Naked hugs. Hope the weather is good for you
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As long as the air is breathe-able, the new fool in the White House probably wants to curb “illegal” air! LOL!
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From what I have heard, he wants to pull back laws for clean air. The regulations are making it difficult to do business
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He’s making it difficult for anyone to survive! LOL!
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Think? I believe too many of us have ceased doing that for ourselves in this increasingly dystopian 21st century.
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I concur.
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William James wrote that a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudice. And maybe it is not just a problem of the present age
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An excellent quote that’s certainly true about people in general. My cynicism of the 21st century is targeted more towards the demise of critical thinking in our social institutions which in turn decreases the expectations upon ordinary citizens to think critically for themselves. America today provides good examples. Its political institutions, its news media, and its education systems, in particular, are all widely seen as egregiously degraded and dysfunctional – with serious consequential effects.
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I think the mistake we make, Bob, is to assume the general population in some age were critical. I don’t think so. The masses have always been dumb and lazy, sometimes little educated but general dumb
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A little education and leadership go a long way. Our perspectives differ on this because we have such different life experiences. You are young and African, I’m old and American. In my formative years, critical thinking was the expected social norm. Our education system was the envy of the world. Our news media held itself to the highest possible standard (i.e. the Fourth Estate). Even our political institutions were respected and trusted far more than today. All this had a positive effect on the general population. Did everyone think critically for themselves? No, but most felt the social expectation to do so; and, that made a huge difference.
The social progress achieved during the second half of the 20th century, led by America, is being systematically reversed in the 21st century. That’s why I called the latter “dystopian.” I know the difference because I have experienced both eras first-hand.
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I will not argue with that.
The Decline of the US of A would make for a great book title
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Thinking….hmmmmm……what a concept!
My thinking about what I was told as a kid, & not matching up with what I saw around me, is what started me into disbelief, I’m sure.
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There are not many people who do that
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Hello Mak. When it comes to thinking most tend to take the easiest way out. Either we follow or listen to someone we think has all our answers so we don’t have to come up with them. It is easier to watch a movie than watch the news. If we do watch a news station , we want the news that comes with being told how to interpret it, how to respond to situations, how to group issues and people. I wonder how many people go to blogs they don’t agree with just to develop critical thinking skills? Today does anyone comparatively shop for price along with function? Yes I think we as a people try to take the easy route. Hugs
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Of course we will go for the easier route. Life is short, we are bombarded with so much info it takes time to shift through it.
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Jehova Wanyonyi sounds like the real deal!
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I thought so too.
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