This episode is a kind of overview of the podcast, as it’s been a couple of years since I was posting regularly.
In the podcast we discuss self-deception, a huge psychological principle that has immense implications, yet is basically unknown to mainstream psychology. Self-deception happens whenever we act contrary to the truth/light that ultimately comes from God, which tells us right from wrong for all situations at all times. If we do so (whether we know it consciously or not) we are forced to justify ourselves by adopting an understanding (or keeping it) that is false, about the world. We make other people evil or dumb or anything other than equals to us, deserving of our love and respect, whether they’re wrong or right. We make ourselves undeserving of love and respect. We make even God either non-existent or to have a nature that is something other than a loving, merciful, all-knowing, all-powerful father. We make His servants into incompetent, corrupt fools, not called of God. We make the laws to which we are subject faulty and irrelevant to us, so that they become non-binding. We tell ourselves whatever we have to think to justify our acting against the truth and the law that binds us.
Self-deception obviously has implications for religious belief. It also has implications for common psychology, not just with interpersonal interactions, but with how we treat and think about ourselves. Depression is a good example, and we talk about that in the podcast (not so much in this episode).
Glad you’re here and hope you enjoy and/or find benefit from the podcast!