Religion and Nuerolinguistics

Nuerolinguistics can be termed the way your brain interprets what you hear, as well as what you say. It is the impact language has on your brain.
Even reading certain words will trigger these responses.

Certain words, phrases, terms, expressions can trigger chemicals, and result in Patriotic fervor, Romance, anger, disgust, etc. It is a very powerfull tool, one that magicians, politicians, public speakers, and religious leaders use judiciously.

If over time, religious leaders found that certain phrases, words and expressions would elicit responses they looked for, that the masses would blindly follow, accept, and subjugate themselves over their own common sense....Would it make sense that this literature, and the spoken form as in a Sermon, be passed down to maintain this leverage ?

I am trying to figure out how religious leaders seem to rouse their masses into giving up their money, their trust and blindly follow them into whatever direction they take them, including mass suicides...

On a less sinister (maybe) scale, it would be the incredible power amassed by organized churches and religious organizations. If there is more to sermons and religious literature than simply trying to attract another person to a belief system, but a highly disciplined and honed tool to overcome peoples natural skeptical nature.

Social pressure towards conformity and learning as a child that you will burn painfully in hell for all eternity as a non-believer could be the icing on the cake for the impressionables as well.

It is also just the acceptance of "the way things are". I mean, if people around you are referring to god etc. on a daily basis and you as a young, naive, innocent and impressionable child just accept it. Religion seems to root itself the deepest at times when people are at their most vunerable.

It's a good topic, but I'm weary of the sheep analogy (not that you made it, but it's bound to come up).

Yes, people respond emotionally to communication. They in fact seek out the most inspiring, arousing and outrageous oratory they can find.

Oration is a highly disciplined and honed tool as you assert, with no shyness for exploitation of the psyche (we test these matters now in focus groups), but I think it's less about overcoming peoples natural skeptical nature, than giving the people what they want.

In fact, I'm not sure man's nature is skeptical. That's a rather advanced discipline and critical thinking skill most willingly vomit from consideration in favor of partisan affiliations.

But that's again not to say man is stupid or a sheep (unless an evil genius sheep). Merely naturally unreflective of his desires.

Paul Weyrich, the prominent figure behind Dominionist Theory (the merger of fundamentalism and right wing politics) has had his philosophies in matters of oration critically summarized as follows:

1) Falsehoods are not only acceptable, they are a necessity. The corollary is: The masses will accept any lie if it is spoken with vigor, energy and dedication.

2) It is necessary to be cast under the cloak of "goodness" whereas all opponents and their ideas must be cast as "evil."

3) Complete destruction of every opponent must be accomplished through unrelenting personal attacks.

4) The creation of the appearance of overwhelming power and brutality is necessary in order to destroy the will of opponents to launch opposition of any kind.

Ultimately this philosophy gave way to Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority and the intentional training of thousands of Fundamental Preachers in the 1980's in just these matters of oration, issue framing, code words and emotional hot buttons towards the end of energizing a political movement for the right out of Christianity.

But again people aren't sheep. Or if they are, they are self herding. Congregations shifted and changed. People left, others came... many more came in fact. For in the vaccum created by the demise of heavy metal, one had only the Canadian angst of Alanis Morissette or right wing fundamentalism to turn to for fulfillment of emotion producing oration. Okay, I'm being a bit glib with the example, but the premise is true.

But whatever flavor is sought, it is sought based on predisposition, and not the product of brainwashing, unless one takes a rather dim view of the faculties of all men but himself (admittedly an appealing proposition).

So in that line of thinking, I do not pity the "sheep" that actively seek out lies, anger, falsely dichotomous oration, the complete destruction of other belief systems, and the power and brutality of self affirming nuerolinguistics.

What's sinister is every man has the capacity to know better. Most just choose not to do so.

But hey, if it feels good? Do it.

The Republican party has key words they avoid, and key words that they emphasize.

Google: GOP Key Words

These searches and other searches should validate why their "neurolinguistics," approach, if you could call it that, has hot buttoned issues and allowed a least some of their candidates to actually win elections without Diebold vote cheating.

Originally posted by toolmaker

Nuerolinguistics can be termed the way your brain interprets what you hear, as well as what you say. It is the impact language has on your brain.
Even reading certain words will trigger these responses.

Certain words, phrases, terms, expressions can trigger chemicals, and result in Patriotic fervor, Romance, anger, disgust, etc. It is a very powerfull tool, one that magicians, politicians, public speakers, and religious leaders use judiciously.

If over time, religious leaders found that certain phrases, words and expressions would elicit responses they looked for, that the masses would blindly follow, accept, and subjugate themselves over their own common sense....Would it make sense that this literature, and the spoken form as in a Sermon, be passed down to maintain this leverage ?

I am trying to figure out how religious leaders seem to rouse their masses into giving up their money, their trust and blindly follow them into whatever direction they take them, including mass suicides...

On a less sinister (maybe) scale, it would be the incredible power amassed by organized churches and religious organizations. If there is more to sermons and religious literature than simply trying to attract another person to a belief system, but a highly disciplined and honed tool to overcome peoples natural skeptical nature.

My friend you have stumbled upon something that is very significant...
The bible and other manuscripts are psycological maps... so-to-speak ..
it's quiet the tool and can be used for both good and bad.

I'd be interested in a copy of the sermon this End Times preacher was giving when the congregation member first angered and walked out.

He came back to kill everyone of course.

But it could be as simple as the repeated message. The end is near. The end is near. And it will be glorious!

But like I said, the crazies are predisposed to flock to that. He was no sheep.

Although it is not directly connected with what you are talking about, Muslim and Jewish priests have this thing about reciting their holy books. They sit down infront of the book, say what is written in a loud "reciting" voice, swaying back and forth. I have seen this myself, and they seem to get into quite a religious fervour. Almost a "religious high"
I was told the reason they did this was because they find it something great to be reciting the exact words of their God, spoken in their language.