11,141
edits
Cognitive Dissonance: Difference between revisions
→Specific examples in "message believers"
No edit summary |
|||
| (6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Top of Page}} | {{Top of Page}} | ||
[[Image:Cognitive-dissonance.jpg|right|thumb|370px|A simple example of '''''cognitive dissonance''''']] | |||
What is cognitive dissonance? Does it affect the followers of William Branham and, if so, what are its effects? | What is cognitive dissonance? Does it affect the followers of William Branham and, if so, what are its effects? | ||
=Definition= | =Definition= | ||
In 1956, Dr. Leon Festinger wrote a book entitled, "When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World". Here is a quote from that book that describes perfectly what happens when a message follower is confronted with evidence that William Branham's visions failed: | |||
:''A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. | :''A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. | ||
| Line 25: | Line 27: | ||
=Cause and Effects= | =Cause and Effects= | ||
Dissonance is created when your brain attempts to process information that is inconsistent with other information that it holds to be true. '''This can be as simple as the example of the color chart on the right''' or the much more difficult dissonance that results when information is received that is opposed to a person's fundamental beliefs. | Dissonance is created when your brain attempts to process information that is inconsistent with other information that it holds to be true. '''This can be as simple as the example of the color chart on the right''' or the much more difficult dissonance that results when information is received that is opposed to a person's fundamental beliefs. | ||
| Line 115: | Line 114: | ||
Examples include: | Examples include: | ||
#[[The Municipal Bridge Vision]] | #[[The Municipal Bridge Vision]] | ||
# | ##The fact that this vision took place when William Branham was a child is grounds for it being ignored, as he could have made a mistake. This ignores the fact that he said that it was fulfilled, and it is the fulfillment that creates the problem, i.e. it never happened. | ||
##This happened a long time ago and therefore it is likely that the deaths of the workers simply went unreported. This ignores the fact that the wives, parents and children of a group of 16 men that perished in a construction accident would not permit their memory to be forgotten. For that reason, the deaths in the construction of the Big Four Bridge are still remembered. A death of one person might be forgotten but not 16 men. | |||
#[[The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa|African Vision]] - To avoid this issue, people will say that William Branham was referring to India, not Africa, even though he specifically mentions Durban, South Africa in the vision. Or another method of avoiding the implication of this failed vision is to state that well over 300,000 people have heard the tapes in South Africa thereby fulfilling the vision, although this again is an irrelevant rationalization. | #[[The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa|African Vision]] - To avoid this issue, people will say that William Branham was referring to India, not Africa, even though he specifically mentions Durban, South Africa in the vision. Or another method of avoiding the implication of this failed vision is to state that well over 300,000 people have heard the tapes in South Africa thereby fulfilling the vision, although this again is an irrelevant rationalization. | ||
#[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] - To deal with this failed prophecy, followers of William Branham search out explanations that are rooted in conspiracy theory. | #[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] - To deal with this failed prophecy, followers of William Branham search out explanations that are rooted in conspiracy theory. | ||
=Prediction= | |||
Because of the mass of evidence that has been produced by [[List of Issues with the Message|this website]] and [[Research Sources for William Branham and His Message|others like it]], fervency on the part of message believers will increase and the message will generally become more cult-like. This will cause those in the message who are Christians to leave the message which will, in turn, cause the message to become even more cultish. Please note that this is a prediction and not a prophecy. This prediction was made on December 10, 2012. | |||
{{Bottom of Page}} | {{Bottom of Page}} | ||
[[Category:Critical analysis of William Branham]] | |||
[[Category:The Message]] | |||
[[Category:Leaving the message]] | |||