Category: Level: Intermediate

conspiracy theory

16 Reasons Why Conspiracy Theories Are Popular

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A public conspiracy theory is the idea that there is a group of people acting clandestinely to deceive the public and inflict harm on the general public. (We are not addressing conspiracy theories where there is not an attempt to persuade the public of a false affirmation. For example, most criminal conspiracies are not public.)  Usually, the conspirators have acquired substantial influence so that they are able to influence or harm large numbers of people, often in the millions. Examples of popular public conspiracy theories include: claims of widespread election fraud; the idea that masks don’t protect from COVID 19 or even that COVID-19 is way overblown or planned; QAnon and the idea that the Democratic Party operates a human trafficking and child porn ring; the idea that the Holocaust never happened; or the idea that Bill Gates is using 5G to harm the population. But conspiracy theories can be Continue Reading →

shame and self-rejection

How Shame & Self-Rejection Sabotage Our Lives

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It is inevitable that we will do or experience things that contradict what we believe to be good or valuable, whether these beliefs come from our conscience or somewhere else. When this happens we have a sense of guilt, although this sense can be dim or even completely buried. This guilt – from the contradiction or violation – then produces an inner sense of dishonor, disgrace or inadequacy. This is shame. In a sense, most shame is a sense of sinfulness, since it is awareness of a lack of what is good. We all have shame because we all have standards that we violate. We also commonly violate the standards of those whom our specific culture respects as people of character. We also have shame thrust upon us by people who harm us in degrading ways; corruption is inflicted on us. Much of our shame is left over from childhood. Continue Reading →

possible faith

Try The Possible Faith Exercise

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God is always challenging us to deeper faith. One way to expand our faith is by a fairly simple exercise I call the “possible faith” exercise. It is simple but surprisingly effective. In addition to binding us closer to God in Christ, this exercise should help reduce anxiety and other distresses. Possible Faith Exercise Recall something in your life that is distressing or causing anxiety or fear. If you can’t think of anything then you can just focus on the general state of your soul, or consider unbelief, pride, finances, relationships, loneliness, occupation, disappointments, personal tragedy, health, perfectionism, bad attitudes, bad habits, etc. Recall any promises from Scripture that might relate to your situation. These can be general or specific passages. Imagine having unqualified faith in God, especially full faith in his Scripture. Ask yourself “How would I feel, how would I think and what would I do if I Continue Reading →

spiritual hedonism

Are You Tempted By Spiritual Hedonism?

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One of the deepest unhealthy attachments for maturing disciples of Jesus is spiritual hedonism. It has many variations and its veins reach deep down to the core of our being. It is best to assume that it will be a threat to your maturity for the rest of your life. No matter how much we grow spiritual hedonism will invent new ways to infiltrate our soul. Spiritual hedonism is the disordered attachment to pleasure (we use the words “sweetness” and “consolation” interchangeably with “pleasure”) from God or from following God. Our old self naturally desires to fall in love with the pleasure we receive through God instead of God himself. This is deeply ingrained in us because God made us for pleasure but our desire for pleasure was corrupted in the fall of Adam. Now our desire for pleasure creates distortions in our spiritual growth. In the next age, God Continue Reading →

attachments

Overcoming Distractions And Attachments

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As we love God and choose to focus on Christ we will notice times when other things take our focus off of him. Our affections drift off to something else. It might be projects, or food, or sports, or shows, or drugs, or status, or people, or career, or a particular self-image, or sensual pleasure, or money or a thousand other things, but it is surprisingly easy for us to transfer our focus and affections to other things. This is the same dynamic that affects those who initially hear Jesus’ message: “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced” (Mark 4:18-19, NLT). The distractions of life can be very frustrating because our new Adam desires Continue Reading →