Today’s story touches on so many topics we like around here: conspiracy theories, Monty Python, weird history, and wacky Christians. But most of all, it speaks to a need so many people have: the desire to feel special.
If the Aquarium were real, then wouldn’t this Aviary be the perfect smokescreen distraction from it? … Gosh, what to do, what to believe??
I do not recognize my experiences in this belligerent fundagelical’s listicle. But that’s kind of the point, in a way.
Testimonies, in Christianity, are short anecdotes about how Christians came to believe the various claims made by their flavor of the religion. They’ve been on my mind lately because not long ago, a Christian told me that he thought Christian testimonies constituted valid and very real evidence for Christians’ claims. Read more…
Studies have repeatedly shown that when we have an emotional feeling about a claim, we tend to react to it way differently than if it’s neutral for us. In particular, if the claim challenges our worldview or makes us feel criticized or less-than, we tend to reject it out of hand no matter how much evidence it has to support itself. It’s really hard for us to engage with an idea that makes us feel that way, and even harder for us to change our mind about it.