Christianity’s Possible Misinterpretations, Misleading and Indoctrination

By Riaan Jacobs

Christianity's Possible Misinterpretations, Misleading and Indoctrination

Riaan Jacobs

 

From the perspective of a psychologist, Riaan Jacobs explains why and how different religious misinterpretations, attitudes and beliefs have developed and provides information to turn various traditional religious assumptions on their head.

Jesus was not the expected, liberating king/messiah.

There will not be a second coming of Jesus.

A fiery hell does not exist.

The events concerning Saul/Paul's conversion were not supernatural.  

Not everything in the Bible should be interpreted literally.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riaan Jacobs
• Release date: May 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781776363988

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Copyright © 2023 Riaan Jacobs

Published by Riaan Jacobs at Smashwords

First edition 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

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Short Synopsis (Riaan Jacobs)

CHRISTIANITY’S POSSIBLE MISINTERPRETATIONS, MISLEADING AND INDOCTRINATION

Chapter 1 – UNREALISTIC CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

In this chapter, religious misinterpretations and misconceptions are brought to the fore by explaining how they developed and became acceptable to people. For example, that actual events, as well as fictional stories, were used to teach important lessons to people in the Old Testament; that there was nothing supernatural about the conversion of the apostle Paul; that the idea about the second coming of Jesus was a mistake; and that there are several ideas about what happens in the afterlife. This means that the Bible should not be interpreted literally.

Chapter 2 – DIVERGENT MINDSETS REGARDING RELIGION

The development of three divergent attitudes towards religion is explained by presenting three imaginary people whose experiences of basic trust varied due to the different styles of their upbringing. Thus, due to the fact that basic trust contributes to the development of certain values, the functioning of a person’s value system is explained as well.

Chapter 3 – EVOLUTION AND THE FORMING OF WHOLES

There seems to be a connection between the theory of Holism (the forming of wholes in nature) and scientific insights concerning the way particles combine to form new structures at increasing levels of complexity within the universe. A trial-and-error selection process, whereby newly-formed objects may or may not be incorporated into their surroundings, is probably an important contributing factor in this regard.

This naturalistic trial-and-error selection process, which also guides biological evolution on Earth, merely resembles the execution of a programme for the development of the universe. It doesn’t imply perfect planning by a creator.

Chapter 4 – FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE A MENTAL IMAGE OF GOD

Not everyone possesses the same mental image of God. Several reasons are provided, such as the influence of natural phenomena, the belief in spirits, monotheism, and the idea that a human being resembles God.

Contrary to the notion of a human-like creator, only a mechanistic, naturalistic explanation provides verifiable evidence for the forming and development of the universe.

Without any scientific proof for their view, the only option left to biblical literalists is to try to discredit any scientific evidence which seems to contradict the Bible’s account of creation. For this reason, the truth about six deceitful attempts to discredit scientific evidence is presented.

Chapter 5 – PERHAPS EVERYTHING MAKE SENSE IF GOD IS EVERYTHING

It is possible to find similarities between what is known (scientifically) about the universe and the description of God given by prophets in the Old Testament. For this reason, the similarities are discussed, as well as the possibility that the universe eventually evolved to function as a conscious, self-aware Being.

Introduction

Due to people’s different interpretations of God, how he functions and what he expects from people, one finds a variety of monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahá’i. For this reason, it is fair to say that some of the personal preferences and interpretations of religious leaders form part of the teachings of every religion, sect and cult.

The arguments and insights in this book developed after the influence of about six decades of Christian indoctrination, personal Bible study, academic training, interest in science, as well as 26 years of experience as a psychologist. The focus is on Christianity simply because it is the dominant faith in the Western Hemisphere. The aim is not to address everything disputable in the Christian Bible. It just does not make sense to repeat the staggering number of misinterpretations and inconsistencies which other people have already identified. For example, was it Abraham or Isaac who told Abimelech that his wife was his sister? (Compare Genesis 20:1-18 with Genesis 26:6-13. ) ¹

Although the majority of people hate it when they are deceived, the tendency to want to mislead others seems to be an inherent human trait. This is why it is necessary to be aware that deception may also be present in the Bible. However, no one can deny that churches play a positive role in the lives of many people, so the purpose of this book is not to stop Christians from going to church but to help them to separate facts from fiction.

Exposure to verifiable facts, logical arguments and realistic expectations may set a person free from being a victim of ignorance and deception. By embracing science, one will also be able to think realistically about religion in general, as well as the possible existence of a Supreme Being.

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¹¹ Unless a specific version of the Bible is mentioned, all the citations and references in this book were obtained from the following version: Good News Bible. Today’s English Version. Third South African edition, 1993. National Book Printers, Goodwood, Cape.

Chapter 1

Unrealistic Christian Beliefs

It is not difficult to be sceptical about the ideas, beliefs, and practices of other religions, because it is always easier to criticise others than it is to admit that something may be wrong with one’s own religious beliefs. This chapter addresses religious issues that most people are unaware of, or that most sceptics of religion probably overlook.

Confusion Regarding Jesus and the Expected Liberating Messiah

From a psychological point of view, it is not a good idea to predict something which satisfies a need or a wish. It is unwise because people usually find it easier to accept and believe something positive, which they hope will happen than to accept a prediction about something negative in the future. This is what caused people to confuse Jesus with an imagined conquering king or messiah.

Ever since the Assyrian invasion and exile of thousands of people from ancient Israel during 740 – 722 BCE, recognised prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, probably tried to generate hope by predicting that a new king would arise from the descendants of King David (Isaiah 11:1-16; Jeremiah 30:9-11) [¹⁷]. This king would honour God, bring back the exiled Israelites, create a united kingdom of Israel and Juda, conquer all the enemies, and rule fairly.

The word messiah refers to the inauguration of this king that the Israelites hoped for. The original Hebrew word is mashiyach, which means The one who is anointed. Traditionally, new kings and priests were ceremonially rubbed with oil before they took office and started their work.

The hope-creating predictions about a future David-like kingdom of a united Israel were more acceptable to the Israelites than the prophet Daniel’s somewhat gloomy prophecy about the future of his people.

It is possible that Jesus had a lot