From Chapter 24—Why I Wrote This Book. © 2020 by Emory Lynn.
Recall that clinical psychologist John F. Schumaker (The Corruption of Reality) says the first step in the corruption of reality is dissociation—the process of preparing the mind for the distortion of reality by disengaging critical thinking. Religions flourish when critical thinking is disengaged. I once heard well-known evangelist John Hagee say that having faith is like entering a temple. “In the Temple of Faith you must put aside all critical thinking. It is sinful to think critically in the Temple of Faith.”
I long wondered how pervasive the problem of uncritical thinking is in the overall lives of humans and how much damage is done when faith-based thinking takes precedence over evidence-based thinking. Humans simply can’t be as uncritical about everything else as they are about their religion. A devout follower of one religion will critically consider a sacred belief of another religion and think, “If they believe that they’ll believe anything.” Humans can’t be gullible about most things; otherwise, our species probably would not have survived as well as it has. Critical thinking must at times be employed. So, under what conditions do humans engage their critical thinking, and under what conditions do humans disengage their critical thinking?
The answer lies in one of the most important aspects of human nature. It comes down to a question of value. People value what is important to them, what they find personally meaningful, what they believe makes their life worth living. Learn what a person values and you will know what she or he believes to be true in their heart of hearts. Our values determine how we deal with evidence and facts, but sadly, we often don’t value evidence or facts nearly as much as we should. In such a case, if our values are significant, we unconsciously disengage our critical thinking and create a personal reality that is at odds with actual reality. Like most endeavors in life the corruption of reality “improves” with practice. The most effective practice an otherwise normal person can get at corrupting reality is through religious apologetics.
A striking example of the corruption of reality based on deeply held values is the denial of human evolution. From many converging branches of science we know beyond any reasonable doubt that humans evolved from primates. Nevertheless, Americans in huge numbers put great value on being the special creation of a supreme being. Scientific evidence for human evolution reached the level of overkill during the past three decades or so, yet survey after survey shows that most Americans continue to deny the fact of human evolution at percentages that have been flatlined for decades. “My values trump your evidence; thank you very much and have a nice day.”
Placing personal values above reason and overwhelming evidence leads to the denial of two of the most pressing problems our species has ever faced. Religion and other personal-value-driven beliefs are making these two problems even more difficult to overcome. It is no exaggeration to say that our status as a healthy and viable species is in jeopardy. (Those problems are explained in the following two sections of the book.)
