We hardly consider ourselves well educated after reading one book. Yet millions read an ancient anthology written by scribes who disagree about what God is, where God is, and what God does. Further complicating matters, their moral values often not only conflict with each other; some conflict with our own sense of decency, fairness and humanity. Yet, because someone said the entire book is one voice—and all true—we believe it is.
This kind of belief is what George Orwell termed “doublethink” in his 1949 novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Doublethink is defined by Wikipedia as “a process of indoctrination whereby the subject is expected to accept as true that which is clearly false, or to simultaneously accept two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in contravention to one’s own memories or sense of reality.”
For example, we cannot believe that God is Love and believe God does things Love would not do, such as inhumanely planning and committing genocide by flood. We cannot believe that God is good all the time and believe God is judgmental, violent, and full of wrath. We cannot believe a book is credible if it commands us not to kill, then subsequently orders us to commit murder more than four dozen times.
That same book would characterize that as being “double-minded”. James, who some believe was Jesus’s brother, wrote:
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. [James 1:8]
“Unstable” sounds dramatic, maybe hyperbolic; but I believe James’ assessment is accurate. Can we believe two conflicting set of beliefs and be mentally balanced? For example, can we believe on one hand that God is Love, is good all the time, is forgiving, grants grace, fulfills all our needs, and answers all our prayers—and believe God has committed genocide, has caused horrendous pain to a faithful servant in a bet with the devil, and plans to brutalize us throughout eternity if we don’t believe Jesus was sadistically tortured to death instead of us?
Doublethink is your arch nemesis
Does Love intentionally inflict cruel and unusual pain upon the beloved? Is genocide by flood or other methods “good”? These are common sense questions. More than that, our beliefs heavily influence our behaviors, it is wise to understand what we believe, what our beliefs mean and what they imply about the god we worship.
If you believe God does things Love would never do, acknowledge that to yourself, and give yourself permission to believe whatever you want. Releasing one of your contradictory benefits your own mental stability. Claiming God is mercurial, if not bipolar, does not make you appear to be more balanced.
In your defense, I realize you found this Divine God/Demonic God in the same book. But what explains why these confusing characterizations did not prompt you to ask questions or inspire you to read additional books?
There are hundreds of books about that anthology of contradictory works. They could familiarize you with the scribes who wrote the texts, when they were compiled, why they were compiled, the political climate during those times, the humanity of the people of that day, the motivation behind their writings and in some cases, their manipulative intent.
I constantly remind DQW players that we consciously choose our beliefs, and our beliefs heavily influence our behaviors. It is important to understand what we believe because, like all our choices, we will be held accountable for them.
If we are going to return Home from Earth’s stage victorious, we must leverage the brains we were given; we must exercise common sense. That is why I encourage DQW players to be inquisitive: Question everything and everyone—even me. We must think before believing. We must stay attuned to inconsistencies and be wary of your nemesis: Doublethink or Doublemindedness. We must rip it from our scripts if this is to be a successful visit.
To be clear: I am not suggesting which god you should worship or how you should worship. I am merely advising against worshiping a two-headed monster who loves you dearly and plans to brutalize you forever and ever, amen. Who needs the stress of not knowing whether that god is going to love you up or slap you down?
My advice: Pick one god and embrace it fully, so you do not lose your balance and become “unstable in all your ways”: Go all in with the god of Darkness and be a disciple of the AntiChrist, or follow the path of the Christ and be a Being of Light, or worship the golden calf of Materialism and Prosperity, or anyone/anything else you choose. There is value in every path. We learn from the karmic outcomes of those on other paths. So choose one; you cannot travel far by straddling diverging paths.
To be clear: DQWs are not a new spiritual path. Frankly, you do not need another path to add to the confusion. Whether your goal is to become an archangel or a demon who cannot survive in daylight, you need to be singularly focused, serving one god, reading, and listening to your inner voice so you can fulfill your soul’s purpose for this appearance on Earth’s chaotic theater—a place some compare with hell.
Read yourself wiser
As Aristotle famously said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” DQWs will help you entertain several thoughts without accepting them all. You will learn how to delete doublethink from your script, and improve your act, your outcomes, and your stability. They will help you put both feet onto one path.
DQW players dare to read themselves wiser, rather than sitting passively while others read selected parts of one book to them. As Shakespeare aptly phrased it, “Even the devil can cite scripture for his own purposes.” If you have read it yourself, you know he spoke the truth.
So, how are you reading yourself wiser? What books have formed the basis of your beliefs? Over the years, I have built a hefty collection of books that explore a variety of philosophies. Some I embrace. Others I don’t. My goal is merely to stay open, maintain a learning posture, be discerning, ask questions and leverage my common sense. In the process, I have amassed a diverse collection of books and invite you to explore the DQW suggested reading list to see if any titles intrigue you.
If, like me, you are a lifelong learner who is not satisfied with religion’s answers. and is open to thinking differently, and you are ready to thoughtfully find your own truth and choose your own beliefs, Drama Queen Workshops are ready for you!