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advice on this technique:
"But let me warn you against the folly of undertaking to surmount temptation by the effort of supplanting one desire by another and supposedly superior desire through the mere force of the human will. If you would be truly triumphant over the temptations of the lesser and lower nature, you must come to that place of spiritual advantage where you have really and truly developed an actual interest in, and love for, those higher and more idealistic forms of conduct which your mind is desirous of substituting for these lower and less idealistic habits of behavior that you recognize as temptation. You will in this way be delivered through spiritual transformation rather than be increasingly overburdened with the deceptive suppression of mortal desires. The old and the inferior will be forgotten in the love for the new and the superior. Beauty is always triumphant over ugliness in the hearts of all who are illuminated by the love of truth. There is mighty power in the expulsive energy of a new and sincere spiritual affection. And again I say to you, be not overcome by evil but rather overcome evil with good." (1738)
Behavior becomes Value
"Religious habits of thinking and acting are contributory to the economy of spiritual growth. One can develop religious predispositions toward favorable reaction to spiritual stimuli, a sort of conditioned spiritual reflex. Habits which favor religious growth embrace cultivated sensitivity to divine values, recognition of religious living in others, reflective meditation on cosmic meanings, worshipful problem solving, sharing one's spiritual life with one's fellows, avoidance of selfishness, refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God. The factors of religious growth may be intentional, but the growth itself is unvaryingly unconscious."(1095)
Long before psychologists were invented, the Catholic Church utilized cognitive dissonance to convert those who were not "believers". The Church knew that, even if a person did not have faith at the outset, if they behaved as if they did, eventually faith would follow. Hence, the Church set up a conflict between a person's belief system and their behavior, and more often than not behavior won out, with the result that the person became a practising Catholic.
This technique has not been lost on other religious organizations which also practice cognitive dissonance to win converts.
Cognitive Dissonance and Jesus
Let's face it there is not going to be any growth without pain. Have a look at Jesus's life. Boy did he know pain!
"Throughout this and the two following years Jesus suffered great mental distress as the result of his constant effort to adjust his personal views of religious practices and social amenities to the established beliefs of his parents. He was distraught by the conflict between the urge to be loyal to his own convictions and the conscientious admonition of dutiful submission to his parents; his supreme conflict was between two great commands which were uppermost in his youthful mind. The one was: 'Be loyal to the dictates of your highest convictions of truth and righteousness.' The other was: 'Honor your father and mother, for they have given you life and the nurture thereof.' However, he never shirked the responsibility of making the necessary daily adjustments between these realms of loyalty to one's personal convictions and duty toward one's family, and he achieved the satisfaction of effecting an increasingly harmonious blending of personal convictions and family obligations into a masterful concept of group solidarity based upon loyalty, fairness, tolerance, and love." (1372)
Look at the price he paid for his beliefs and values! And above all, look at the price he paid for adhering to a firm belief in the giving of the utmost of respect for the free will of every person he knew, including the members of his family. He knew that, in his love for them, and theirs for him, he had a chance of persuading them; of swaying their opinion a little more in the direction of reality. He desisted. He awaited their making up their own minds. And he suffered.
Jesus personally knew all about conflict:
"Forewarn all believers regarding the fringe of conflict which must be traversed by all who pass from the life as it is lived in the flesh to the higher life as it is lived in the spirit. To those who live quite wholly within either realm, there is little conflict or confusion, but all are doomed to experience more or less uncertainty during the times of transition between the two levels of living. In entering the kingdom, you cannot escape its responsibilities or avoid its obligations, but remember: The gospel yoke is easy and the burden of truth is light." (1766)
Cognitive Dissonance is Natural
Despite the fact that, "All conflict is evil in that it inhibits the creative function of the inner life--it is a species of civil war in the personality" (1220), and that it causes lots of difficulty for our seraphim, "Much of my difficulty was due to the unending conflict between the two
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