“Now let’s think about how thought-stopping devices are being used in the Church. Christians have a Holy Book that should make this whole thing a lot easier. It’s called The Bible. When anyone teaches anything in the church it must be rigorously tested against God’s Word. While this sounds pretty straightforward, it gets smothered over by thought-stopping devices that obscure the truth of God’s Word.”
(Steven Kozar – Messed Up Church) This cluster of ideas only makes sense to the person who willingly surrenders to them. Here’s the difficult part for cult members to hear: if they refuse to do the hard work necessary to test their ideas, they are to blame for their membership in the cult. Yes, cult leaders are terrible….
Yes, they shouldn’t do what they’re doing. But they probably won’t stop their devious behavior, and even if they do stop, another cult leader will soon take their place.
You are responsible for your own beliefs and resulting actions.
Thought-stopping devices are assumptions and generalizations that shut down critical thinking and reinforce the cult’s dogmas.
To get started, let’s look at some “Black Lives Matter” memes/quotes that use thought-stopping devices:
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