Why Sin Makes People Stupid
August 19, 2013
WE live in a society that encourages sin, to the point of denying that sin even exists. We also live in a world of enveloping stupidity. How are these two phenomena related? Read Kristor’s brilliant explanation of how sin makes people stupid at The Orthosphere. Proceeding from the assertion that all sin entails lying, or a denial of reality, Kristor writes:
The maintenance of a small lie sooner or later entails the introduction of another, supporting lie, and this procedure replicates. It’s like a Ponzi scheme. Sooner or later the whole edifice falls over, for lack of support from the real world. Until it does, until the collapse arrives, the cost of doing business goes up and up with the cost of compensating and masking for more and more noise introduced by more and more lies.
The worst state of affairs, however, is not systemic collapse. Systemic collapse is bad, but at least it necessarily prompts a radical reorganization of the system in terms of a more accurate recognition of reality – also known as honesty, truth, righteousness. That can be a most salutary process. But there is always a danger that a sufficiently intelligent, complex and ramified system will evolve around the persistent problem at C so as to hobble along in spite of it. In that case, H will perform less efficiently than it might if there had never been a lie, but because C’s signal is obscured, H will have the impression that everything is just fine.
Of course, many intelligent people are outrageous sinners. Sooner or later, however, sin restricts the functioning of the mind. All of us have experienced this phenomenon.
— Comments —
Stephanie Murgas writes:
It amazes me how the Internet has the seeming ability to make connections between like minds, stupid and intelligent alike. I have been thinking along the same lines as the Kristor’s post this weekend, and about the phenomenon of replication. Yes, sin is most definitely falsehood that is manifested by action, but I believe the opposite is also true, being that truth is likewise characterized by action. I am closing in on my 30th birthday, and as a Christian I have had to confront, subdue and reorganize my life so that I may truly live what I “preach” as a follower of Jesus. I don’t remember how it started but in the tiniest action based on faith, I feel as though I found my way into a room of mirrors, not grotesque or frightening in any way, but so that I can see accurately in almost any direction from within. I believe this is infinitely more powerful than falsehood, and makes it easy to drive out the disorganized spirits of sin, who ultimately are torn down in their own reflection by the righteous. I think this will be very evident in the future.
Thank you for the time you spend blessing us, I have been following your blog for around five years now.
Laura writes:
You’re welcome.
That is well said.
Anonymous writes:
I think of such stupidity as spiritual blindness that is essentially man putting himself and his reasoning ahead of a relationship with, and guidance from, God.
*”The wages of sin (is) death…” — spiritually and physically.
Sometime ago a man who did lie detector tests wrote that those who lied showed damaging physiological changes to their bodies and that it worked towards physical death.
*Romans 6:23
Jeff W. writes:
In response to Kristor’s excellent essay about sin, I’ll offer two Bible verses and three quotes from the 17th-century English theologian John Owen.
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22). (The phrase “thinking became futile” can be interpreted as meaning “became incapable of thinking clearly in their own self-interest.”)
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13, New International Version).
In the King James version, Romans 8:13 is: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
John Owen wrote: “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
And: “All other ways of mortification are vain, all helps leave us helpless, it must be done by the Spirit.” “The vigor and power and comfort of our spiritual life depends on our mortification of deeds of the flesh.”
