Ha! That one caught your attention, didn’t it.
Something I’ve observed for a while and after seeing some more examples of it, I figured I’d get your take on it. We know that perhaps the best known demographic to become victimized due to “ignorance” (and by the use of that word, I mean lack of knowledge and discernment) are senior citizens. You read the stories often about them being taken by scams over the silliest of things. You wonder how could anyone be so gullible. It is as though in spite of constant warnings and attempts to get them to learn, they simply refuse to learn and continue to fall prey. Ok, another group, but a different subject, teens who continue to fall for the dangerous drugs in spite of large numbers of deaths as a result of those drugs. Like I said, another subject.
Seniors often seem to relish the persecuted (taken advantage of) mentality. “How come they like to pick on us poor seniors so much?” The answer: “You let them pick on you.” That’s it. Plain and simple. A total refusal to learn. Perhaps it’s a lack of understanding of human nature in these times. Perhaps it’s a mistaken idea that if you let them (the scammers) know your status, they’ll leave you alone. Leave you alone? Why? Some sort of sense of pity or sense of honor on the part of the scammers? Is it a higher sense of trust than the world deserves today? Perhaps a sense that “if I treat all people with kindness, they will return the favor.” I heard someone some years ago respond to a phone solicitor with, “I can’t do that, I’m on a fixed income.” That person just said the magic words. “Fixed income.” Immediately the person on the other end of the phone thinks, “Bingo! Got a live one. Senior citizen who is quick to tell me all about themselves.”
Ok, off of seniors for now and on to Christians. Somehow I am getting the strong impression that many Christians fall into the same mentality. Perhaps it is for some of the same reasons. I get the impression that Christians as a large group contain a high percentage (I think disproportionate to the population) of those who are downright gullible and even ignorant. I suspect that if given a population sample of say (this is a totally unscientific statement) ten thousand people from the general populace, that a certain percent of them would be chronically gullible and ignorant. Let’s say it is 20%. I have no idea what a real number might be, but I’m using it for comparison. Now, let’s take a sample of ten thousand Christians. I would not be surprised if the number was at least 30 or 40% or perhaps even higher.
The critics of Christianity would say that is because Christianity as a religion happens to appeal to that group of people more so naturally the number of ignorant and gullible will be higher. I discount that totally. It is not because Christianity attracts (or appeals to) the weak, the gullible, and the stupid. I don’t believe that at all. I believe instead that there is something in the application of Christianity that makes many Christians misunderstand doctrine and even theology and thus they take on the mindset of the persecuted.
I think much of it is due to lack of good understanding of the Word. That’s at the focus of it. I believe that a part of it may be selective application. “We’ll apply these teachings to the way we conduct our lives.” Ok, but what about THESE teachings? You adhere to the statements “…. the foolish things” and “….I determined to know nothing among you….” or “…have revealed these things to the weak and little children and not to the wise and learned” and so they’ve adapted the mindset of being weak of mind and intellect. But as is typical of the selective application problem, such statements as “study to show yourself a workman approved, rightly dividing…..” and “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” are totally overlooked and ignored.
Perhaps it is also a matter of over placed trust. Knowing the World is evil, but hardly believing that individuals can do such evil things. Ever hear some Christian say, “I read that and I was just shocked that any such thing could happen…” Why were you shocked? You find it unbelievable? Why? Hello! Wake up! Have you read nothing in the Bible? Perhaps these are the ones who have only read, “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit…” and “blessed are the peacemakers for…..” and on and on. They’ve not read of the stoning of Stephen or Paul’ beatings. “Ohhh, that makes me cringe, I can’t read that” and I shut my eyes in horror and go find another nice inspirational Psalm to read.
Or perhaps it is a displaced association. “I think only of Godly things” (that one is said in a deep Charlton Hesston voice) and thus they are oblivious to the physical realities surrounding them. After all, we are not citizens of this World, so why should we pay much attention to what goes on in the world?
I also think (more strongly now) that many Christians love a good persecution. Makes ‘em feel spiritual knowing the devil is on their heels all the time. Hey, the Word does talk about that. “Blessed are you when men persecute you….” So if problems are happening to me, that is good because that shows that I am in a right place with God and the old devil (I like that term, LOL) is trying to get me, but praise God, I am not defeated. Hoooo boy!
I ran across a praise report in another forum recently. Yes, that’s right, in the Praise Report forum on that board. “I am under attack.” You would have thought it would be in the Prayer Request forum. Nope. It’s a badge of honor, apparently.
So what was the nature of this attack? The guy had been receiving in his email mailbox a number of emails from scammers (you know the usual things) and porn related messages and all sorts of filthy stuff. The guy was honestly believing that those were messages aimed directly at him and intended by the senders to interrupt his spiritual life. He had a particular email address which he used for ministry purposes and that address was receiving a lot of bad stuff. He was convinced that it was an attack of the enemy on him. Apparently he was totally oblivious to the fact that such mass mailings have been a problem for years and everyone receives them. It honestly sounded like he thought they were all coming directly to him, and were coming at him because of his work for God. But praise God, I am being persecuted for the Kingdom’s sake and the old devil will not get the best of me!
I wanted to say, (but did not), “you idiot! How can you relish in your ignorance?” If you drive through an abandoned parking lot littered with scraps of old metal and nails, are you not going to get a flat tire? When you do get a flat tire are you going to praise God for the opportunity to suffer for the cause of Christ? You see it seems that some people cannot believe that old, run down and no longer used parking lots can be collection places for junk hazardous to your tires.
Is it because people are so focused on a very narrow path right before their eyes that they cannot see to the right or to the left? I honestly don’t know. You’d swear that some people (and this includes a lot of the Christians and seniors) are like geese. Wake up to a new world every day. Go into the same barnyard as yesterday and be amazed at the newness of all they see. Take it all in and gain familiarity and the next morning start all over again. Hey, you walk down a dark alley at night and you’re going to get mugged. “Oh really? That’s terrible. I didn’t know that.”
So now other people have made comments in the forum regarding the dangers of some email and have tried to put him straight to the fact that he has not been singled out for attack by these scammers for they don’t have a clue as to who he is and have no idea (nor would they care) that one of his email addresses is ministry related. They just have a list of email addresses and that list is huge and they’re sending their junk to hundreds of thousands of addresses at the same time.
But, ignorance doesn’t go away easily. His last response was, “I’m glad that they’re sending them to me, for perhaps it will save…. Here, here are his own words. “However, I am glad that I do get them. I figure that the time and effort spent sending me this garbage may prevent them from sending it to one or two other people who may be taken in and respond to them hoping to get rich when all they are going to do is loose what money they do have. “
I give up.
Dan W. Dooley
