Some Solutions to Control & Being Controlled

The article below is an excerpt I edited written by Gayle Hoone.

I recommend the book on the right by Larry Deason (d.), because it helped me to recognize the freedom that Christ gives to those who obey Him directly and not through other men (Gal. 5:1).

Deason gives a list in the back of the book of the "free" versus the "not-yet-free" that I found to be very true about interpreting Christianity through legalism.

Here is a link to a free .pdf copy:

http://www.tanglewoodcofc.org/wordpress/wp-content/pdf/Set%20Free%20Stay%20Free.pdf

CONTROLLING OTHERS

Gayle Hoone writes:

"Control is akin to being in bondage: oppressed and burdened to that which controls. The person or thing that controls attempts to dominate thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and actions of others."

"Control tells us what, when, where, and how, but not why. The why of control is 'Because, I said so!'... Control gives a false sense of power, but there is never enough power. So, when false power wears off control mandates more..."

"Control in this article is non-abusive. It’s mental and emotional, such as: mind games and manipulation, ridicule and embarrassment, intimidation and subtle pressures. It can develop into withholding affection from a loved one, becoming distant and aloof."

"The word control means: to curb, moderate, contain, to govern, regulate, order, limit, to handle or manipulate or bait; to ride, nag, tantalize, taunt, tease, command, dominate, and master something or someone."

"If we are controlling we try to diminish another’s thoughts, and restrict their feelings. Covertly, we will lead and override the other person’s behaviors. The objective is to regulate and limit those around us, so we will not feel out-of-control inside."

Understanding Our Worldviews and Why They Are Difficult to Change

NASA Photo: Earthrise From the Moon

"I had believed a lie!"

"I had blindly promoted the 'company line' for so long."

"Why?"

"Why hadn’t I searched out the truth for myself?"

"Why had I closed my ears to the arguments I’d heard?"

These words were written by the former director of a Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic, Abby Johnson, after she witnessed an abortion of a 13 week old baby through an ultrasound device she was holding for the doctor.

Her full article "The Ultrasound That Changed My Life" is found here.

That was her moment when she realized that the way she saw life, or her worldview that she had been taught, was not true--but only upon examination of it for herself.

Abby's words ring true for anyone who has come to realize that what they have been taught is not true. Not everyone, however, responds as maturely when their worldview is challenged or shaken, and some never even consider that their worldview may be limited.

As individual maturity and independence increase in life, dependency and comforting security decrease in certain respects. Some, upon being challenged by additional facts, begin to blame messengers as a cloak for their own insecurities, lack of effort, or unbelief. Many simply never develop a strong enough desire to examine their own beliefs.

Understanding Your Worldview: An Excerpt from Myths America Lives By

Richard Hughes writes,

"Contrary to colloquial usage, a myth is not a story that is patently untrue. A myth is a story that speaks of meaning and purpose, and for that reason it speaks truth to those who take it seriously. An American myth, therefore, is a story that conveys commonly shared convictions on the purposes and meaning of the nation."

"Our national myths, then, are the stories that explain why we love our country and why we have faith in the nation's purposes. Put another way, our national myths are the means by which we affirm the meaning of the United States."

"There are five myths. Each is rooted in a religious understanding of reality, and each has emerged in a particular period of American history. If we understand these myths, we will understand much about the historic periods that produced them. At the same time, all these myths flourish to varying degrees today, and often in combination with one another."

"Most of these myths hold great potential for good. Yet Americans have often absolutized these myths in ways that undermine the virtues that otherwise stood at their respective cores. This is the irony of American history. The ironic tendency of virtues to turn into vices when too complacently relied upon. Moreover, it is precisely when powerful people absolutize their virtues that the interest of the poor and marginalized are most at risk."

An American Myth That Hinders Bible Study and Christian Growth

 "The Bible says..." God's Word," etc.

Tautology is "using different words to say the same thing even if the repetition does not provide clarity."

Tautology also means "a series of self-reinforcing statements that cannot be disproved because the statements depend on the assumption that they are already correct."

Even for those who claim to "use the Bible to interpret the Bible" tautology is involved because the "other verses" that are used are assumed to have a "self-evident" meaning, too.

Why is this important for Americans to understand?

In an excerpt well worth your time found here, Richard Hughes exposes five myths America lives by. One of the five myths is the myth of "Nature's Nation." I have included a quote from Hughes below as an illustration that I apply to how a part of our particular worldview influences our interpretation of the Bible.

I believe that the myth of Nature's Nation hinders insightful and edifying Bible study, and therefore, it hinders commanded Christian maturity (2 Pet. 3:18).

There Are 5 Major Myths

Hughes writes:

"The myth of Nature’s Nation is rooted squarely in the principles of the American Creed. The creed proclaims that among all the truths one might encounter in a lifetime, there are certain truths that are simply “self-evident,” and require no formal proof...."

"Those truths are “self-evident,” the creed contends, because they are rooted in “Nature and Nature’s God” and therefore reflect the way things are meant to be.... the notion of Nature’s Nation has often annulled America’s debt to history, tradition, and culture and led Americans to believe that the contours of American civilization—the way things actually are—simply reflect “the way things are meant to be..." 

We're The Only Ones Going to Heaven!

"In other words, the sort of government America had erected was the very kind of government God had ordained from the foundations of the world, and the kind of government God would create if He were here in person. Here one finds no debt whatsoever to history, culture, or tradition... Americans as children of nature were innocents who did not act in the world of historical conflict..."

"Their responsibility was to keep pure and undefiled this New World Garden of Eden. In this context, America’s colonizing efforts simply reflect “self-evident truth,” grounded in “natural law.” From this perspective it is completely logical to subjugate other nations under America’s “superior way of life.” Because the principles they were bound to find were the very ones with which they began, Americans fold into the myth of Nature’s Nation virtually all significant contents of their culture."

—Richard T. Hughes, edited