Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance

     Before sin, there were no genetic mutations or medical issues. Everything was perfect, but sin brought disease and death (Gen 1-3, Rom 5, 1Cor 15:20-22). Even in this fallen state marred by sin, the human eye is a marvel of God’s creation. However, because sin entered the world, there can be various visual imperfections. The same is true of our spiritual eyes. Sin not only disconnects us from God (Is 59:1-2), it deceives us (Rom 7:11). It distorts our spiritual vision so we don’t see things clearly and truly as God does (Deut 29:4, Is 6:10 (Mt 13:15, Jn 12:40, Acts 28:27), Is 44:18). Our physical eyes can work well while our spiritual eyes see things distorted. We can be spiritually blind (Eze 12:2, Rom 11:25, Eph 4:18, 1Jn 2:11). 2Peter 2:9 uses the Greek word for myopia or near-sightedness. As the saying goes, we can’t see the forest for the trees. What seems right in our own eyes is often not what is right in God’s eyes (Deut 12:8, Jud 17:6, Jud 21:25, Prov 3:7, Prov 12:15, Prov 16:2 & 25, Prov 21:2, Prov 30:12, Is 5:21). That is the lie that the serpent used on Eve – that we can figure our right and wrong on our own without God (Gen 3:5). We cannot trust our own hearts without God (Jer 17:9-10). Our judgment is not necessarily God’s (Prov 17:15, Prov 18:5 & 13). We should be very careful not to jump to conclusions without having all the facts. It is dangerous to justify those in the wrong and to condemn those in the right.

     Prescription lenses are designed for making the right corrections. Anyone who has ever put on someone else’s glasses or put on lenses when their vision is 20/20 can tell immediately because they’re making their vision worse instead of better. Everyone needs spiritual corrective lenses to see things truly, as God sees them. The corrective prescription God offers us is His written word – the Bible. We can also help our spiritual vision with prayer, getting godly counsel, hearing sound preaching and teaching, and being part of a community of Christians. Sadly, some who have had their eyes opened to the truth choose to take their glasses off and revert to trying to guide themselves on their own. They no longer see the light of God and walk in darkness. He who walks in darkness cannot see the right way and cannot see the hazards ahead (Jn 8, Jn 9, Jn 12). God offers true vision, but it up to us to choose to receive it and walk in it.

     One type of error in our vision is called confirmation bias. Here are a few definitions of it:

     1. The tendency to favor information that supports one's beliefs or values (Wikipedia)

     2. Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for information that supports, rather than rejects,

         one’s preconceptions, typically by interpreting evidence to confirm existing beliefs while

         rejecting or ignoring any conflicting data (American Psychological Association).

     3. Biased Interpretation - This type of bias explains that people interpret evidence concerning

         their existing beliefs by evaluating confirming evidence differently than evidence that

         challenges their preconceptions.

This issue explains the debate between young earth creationism and evolution with millions of years. We all have the same evidence, but we put on worldview glasses through which we interpret it. Our worldview, or our core set of beliefs through we view the world, is only helpful in seeing truth if it is based on the word of God. “With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury (2Sam 22:27).” This verse is cited in Titus 1:15: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” Our beliefs dictate our actions and how we see God, the world, and ourselves. God gave us free will to choose, and although He will be diligent in giving us the opportunity to choose His truth, He will not override our choices if we clearly demonstrate to Him that we refuse His efforts. We will have no excuse when we stand before Him if we fail to respond to Him.

     One classic example of this is the Egyptian Pharoah who refused to listen to the voice of God through Moses (Ex 5-14). God sent ten plagues on Egypt until Pharoah finally let Israel go. Then he changed his mind again and pursued them to the Red Sea where his army was destroyed. Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart – God or him? The answer is yes. Pharaoh hardened his heart (Ex 8:15 & 32, Ex 9:34), but also God hardened his heart (Ex 7:13, Ex 9:12, Ex 10:1 & 20 & 27, Ex 11:10, Ex 14:8). This is not a contradiction. To correctly interpret scripture, we should use scripture to interpret scripture. This is not circular reasoning because the Bible is the word of God and there is no equal or higher authority to compare it with (Heb 6:16-18). God does not need the validation of man, but man does need God to know truth. The context of a passage, the book, and the whole of scripture all work together to help us understand it correctly. God told Pharoah through Moses, “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth (Ex 9:16, Rom 9:17 & all of Rom 9). God saw the hardness of Pharoah’s heart and incorporated it into His plan.

     Confirmation bias not only affects how we see God, it affects how we see other people. “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked (Prov 29:27).” We can easily fall victim to judging people based on preconceived criteria rather than the truth. Sometimes people accuse others of things they are guilty of. This is a symptom of hypocrisy.

     God gives everyone faith (Rom 12:3). They choose where to place it. They can either place it in God where it belongs, or they can choose to err and place it somewhere else, like themselves or other people. Faith makes the invisible visible (Ps 27:4, Mt 5:8, Jn 8:12, Jn 9:39-41, Eph 1:18-19). “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear… But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb 11:1-3 & 6).” The currency of God’s spiritual economy is faith. God does not require what some call blind faith. There is abundant evidence to support Biblical faith. One example is the most important part of the gospel we need to believe – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He appeared at least 12 times afterward for 40 days giving evidence of it (Mt 28, Mk 16, Lk 24, Jn 20-21, Acts 1:1-3). On one occasion, He appeared to over 500 at once (1Cor 15:1-8).

     Another kind of error to our spiritual vision is called cognitive dissonance. Here are some definitions of it:

     1. In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as a mental

         phenomenon in which people unknowingly or subconsciously hold fundamentally

         conflicting cognitions. Being confronted by situations that create this dissonance or

         highlight these inconsistencies motivates change in their cognitions or actions to reduce

         this dissonance, maybe by changing a belief, by explaining something away, or by taking

         actions that reduce perceived inconsistency.

         According to this theory, when an action or idea is psychologically inconsistent with the    

         other, people automatically try to resolve the conflict, usually by reframing a side to make   

         the combination congruent. Discomfort is triggered by beliefs clashing with new

         information or by having to conceptually resolve a matter that involves conflicting sides,

         whereby the individual tries to find a way to reconcile contradictions to reduce their

         discomfort (Wikipedia).

      2. Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds two

          conflicting beliefs or when their actions don’t align with their beliefs. To reduce this

          uncomfortable feeling, people often change their thoughts or justify their behavior to make

          everything feel more consistent (Simply Psychology).

This game of mental gymnastics is at the heart of hypocrisy, which literally means acting under a feigned part (Strong’s Concordance), or to act as a stage player (Thayer’s Lexicon). Jesus rebuked this in the most serious terms (Mt 6:1-16, Mt 15:7-9, Mt 23).

     There are 3 basic laws of logic:

     1. Identity – you can only be one thing at a time

     2. Non-contradiction – a statement is either true or false

     3. Excluded middle – statements are either true or false and there is no third option

Romans 1:18-32 describes cognitive dissonance in the most fearful way. It describes people who know there is a God but reject His truth. Their spiritual spiraling downward continues until they are completely given over to immorality, spiritual blindness, and reprobation. God shows them the truth so clearly that they have no excuse. They know what the truth is but utterly reject it to their own demise. They change the truth of God into a lie and worship the creation instead of the Creator. They know the judgment of God, but plunge into the darkness anyway. You can see too many examples of this today. They clearly manifest their loathing of God, and since they are His creation, in doing this they loathe themselves.

     There is a big difference between stupidity and ignorance. The word stupidity is not just an insult. It describes one’s inability to learn and understand. A far worse condition is ignorance. It is having the ability to learn and understand but consciously choosing to ignore what can be clearly seen. Romans 10:3 says they are ignorant of God's righteousness and go about to establish their own righteousness. They purposefully ignore God’s value system in a vain effort to set up their own. 2Peter 3:5 says they are willingly ignorant. It is a fully conscious decision, which is why it is so dangerous. Revelation 13:16-18 speaks of the mark of the beast, and Revelation 14:9-11 makes it clear that all who take this mark will be cast into eternal torment. This mark is so damning because it is not just about access to utilize the financial system of this world. It is about denying God as the Creator and our identity as His and choosing instead to identify with the antichrist and therefore the devil. We become like what we worship and tie our identity and destiny to it (Ps 115, Ps 135).

     We can choose to worship God and embrace our identity in Him, or we can foolishly attempt to justify ourselves. Even Job needed to be delivered from this error (Job 32:2). As stated above, this causes distortion in how we see God, others, and ourselves. “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD (Prov 17:15).” The manifestation of this can be obvious, but it can also be more subtle. When the Lord gave the famous story of the good Samaritan, the man Jesus told the story to attempted to justify himself by qualifying the application of its meaning (Lk 10:25-37). He wanted the Lord to give a legalistic, specific definition of who a neighbor is so he could excuse himself from being obliged to its meaning. The Lord answered in so many words that your neighbor is whoever is near at hand that needs your help. He purposefully made the man in the story who did help a Samaritan, and those who didn’t Jewish religious leaders. He was addressing the Jewish attempt at self-justification by comparing themselves to others who in their sight were lesser. Later, He spoke to those religious leaders by saying, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God (Lk 16:15)”.

     The relationship between Saul and David is another Biblical example of this (1Sam 8-30). Saul was the first king of Israel. He started out humble, but he soon fell more in love with his position than with God. When David defeated Goliath because Saul was too afraid to do his job, the people honored him. From that day forward, Saul saw David as a threat to his position and his honor before men. The Holy Spirit was taken from Saul and an evil spirit troubled him. Although David was intensely loyal to Saul and even became his son-in-law, Saul attempted at least 20 times to kill him. We can submit ourselves to God’s value system and strive to seek His justification, or we can beat at the air trying to justify ourselves.