Feb. 20, 2025

Bonhoeffer’s Thesis on Stupidity

Bonhoeffer’s Thesis on Stupidity

A discussion about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thesis on stupidity.

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A discussion about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thesis on stupidity.

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central Good evening everyone.

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It is Wednesday, February the nineteenth, twenty twenty five. It

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is currently five fifty seven pm Central Time, and I

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am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio

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located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I had no plan.

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I had no intention to be live on the air

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right now. I had none. What I was doing is

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I was sitting here watching a live webcast on the

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sermon's two point oh app right. I was looking at

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all the live webcasts. There's like forty eight fifty two

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right now, fifty four fifty six. I mean, over the

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next about hour there's probably going to be one hundred

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two hundred live webcast going on. So I was I

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was watching one. There was no sound. There was someone

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standing behind the pulpit talking to a woman sitting in

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the front pew. She had her Bible open. She was

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obviously asking questions to the person standing behind the pulpit,

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who was trying to respond to her. They were kind

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of going back and forth. There was no sound. I

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don't know if the webcast hadn't begun yet I don't

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know what was going on. So I was just sitting

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here just kind of watching that, going okay, well, sure

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would like to hear the conversation shere, would like to

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hear these questions. It could be interesting. But since nothing

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is going on, let me go to another webcast. So

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I clicked on another webcast. I turned on the other webcast,

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and I'm gonna be honest with you, I almost turned

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it off because I started getting irritated, right because man alive.

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Sometimes when I listen to churches, I'm just like, I

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don't even know what this is. So it was a

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church giving their announcements. They're doing a chili cookoff, and

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if you win first place, you get one hundred dollars

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gift card. If you win second place, you get a

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seventy five. If you win third place you get a

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fifty dollars, So get your best chili recipes. We're having

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a chili cookoff, and I'm like, when did church is

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supposed to start having chili cookoffs? Then they're having a fellowship,

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then they're having this, then they're having this, and then

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and it was activity activity activity, activity, activity, and I'm like,

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that's what churches are today, they're an activity center, the

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a community center. None of these see and again we

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could get into regulative normative. But I was just like, man,

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this is why me and the church will never get along.

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I'm like, I don't even know what that is, but okay,

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all right, But I'm like, all right, I'm going to

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keep it listening because once the announcements are over, I'm

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assuming we're going to get the sermons. So the announcements

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were over, and then the pastor stood up and he

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told everyone he wanted to read one verse of scripture.

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And that verse of scripture was Judges chapter twenty one

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versus twenty one five Judges Chapter twenty one, verse twenty five,

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and I will read it. In those days there was

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no king in Israel. Every man did that which was

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right in his own eyes. There was no king in Israel,

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and everyone did that which was right in their own eyes.

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And he said that we are currently undergoing a cultural revolution.

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Things are changing now. He's very happy with at least

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part of what's going on in culture, especially from the

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top down. So I'm assuming he seems extremely happy with

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the things Trump is doing. He seems I mean, I

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don't know from the top down. I don't know where

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else you could who else he could be referring to

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than Trump, Right, So I guess he loves that Trump

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is blaming Ukraine for Russia invading them. I gotta love that.

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I guess he's fine with Trump saying, Hey, the Palestinians

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get moved out of Gaza and we take over. I

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guess he's happy with that. I guess he's happy with

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Trump making the implication that hey, if you're quote unquote

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saving the country, then you can basically do whatever you

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want and the law doesn't apply. You're not breaking any law.

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If some of the things that are being said lately

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are just absolutely insane to me. So already I'm like, okay,

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So the church is a community center, and it sounds

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like that if I go to this church, I guess

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I'm supposed to be happy with what Trump is doing

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and I'm not. So I'm already like, Okay, what is

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going on? What is going on? So he says that

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there's a cultural revolution happening and that we need to

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understand this cultural revolution and then we need to understand

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like how to fix it. I guess so I don't know,

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like if he's happy with what's happening top down, then

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I don't know what we need to fix. It's the

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cultural revolution. I was a little confused in listening to it.

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Is a cultural revolution something good happening? Or is the

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cultural revolution that's happening from the top down trying to

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fight all the bad stuff? And if it's from the

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top down, are you seeing the cultural revolution is either

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led by politicians or fixed by politicians? And is this

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being said behind a pulpit. I don't know. I was

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all confused about it, But at some point when it's uploaded,

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we will definitely be reviewing it because I think there

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is a cultural revolution going on. I completely agree. I

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just think we would not agree on what that cultural

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revolution is, Okay. I think I had a probably an

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hour long conversation with my daughter today talking about what's

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going on in the culture. And I have my own thesis.

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I have my own thesis of what's happening in the culture.

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And trust me, the people I will tick off when

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I describe what's going on in the culture will be Christians.

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I will be at odds with the Church. I think

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the Church is in the midst of a cultural revolution,

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and they don't even see what is happening. Well, I'll

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just make it simple. The Church is absolutely sacrificing its

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very soul on the altar of political power, political influence,

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and it hopes to shape the culture into a political ideology.

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They're gonna claim it's for Christianity. They're gonna claim they

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are selling their soul to political power, not to the Gospel,

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and the Church doesn't realize it. And that's okay. I

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will stand opposed to the entire church on this issue.

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I don't care if I'm in the minority of the minority.

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You are selling your soul for politics. You can't see it.

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Your political leader has become your God, and you won't

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see what's happening. But that's okay. That's okay. Your your

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entire way of thinking is being shaped by a political party.

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And it's insane to watch it happen. And it's being

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and Christianity is literally being hijacked for political expediency. The

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whole thing is a mess. So I have my own thesis.

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So I'm gonna obviously review his sermon whenever it's uploaded.

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I'm definitely looking forward to it because whether I agree

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or whether I disagree, I want to hear his thesis

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on what's happening in culture, and then you can hear

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his thesis, you can hear my thesis, and then you'll

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be able to decide. So everyone wins. So whenever it's uploaded,

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I cannot wait. So I was like, Okay, maybe maybe

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you know, I'll just keep listening. Maybe I'll take some notes.

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So I grabbed a notebook, I grabbed a Bible, and

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then all of a sudden, he mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and

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I'm like, oh, here we go. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Now, Dietrich

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Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian, and everyone leaves the Lutheran

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part out of that, especially when Baptist mentioned him or

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anything else. It's weird. On one hand, Lutherans, for many

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Baptists and for many Christians, Lutherans is a false gospel

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because they baptized babies and believe that's regenerative. They believe

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it that it saves, that it's salvific. That's a false gospel.

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That's not true, and they will condemn Lutheranism, But when

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it comes to some issues like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, they're like, oh,

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he was amazing. He was great. He was awesome, and

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it's like sometimes it's confusing, but now I do understand.

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Now that's one thing to say, Well, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, you know,

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we would disagree with this and this and this, but

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I do like what he said here. But typically when

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it's spoken of, we just forget all the philological issues

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we may have. But that's okay. It's so weird. So

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many times I had people recommend me Ditrich Bonhoffer. I'm like,

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so all of is theology. Well no, no, no, no, no, okay,

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So but you just spoke of him as if like

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he's the greatest thing in the history of mankind. Remember,

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer very much opposed what was going on in

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Nazi Germany and all the different things that happened there.

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But in this message, they didn't go into the history

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of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And I'm not going to go into

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the history of Dietrich Bonheffer right now and all of that.

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I'm not going to do that right now. We could,

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but I'm not. Here's what's interesting, are you ready? He

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mentioned a thesis that Dietrich Bonhoeffer offered up. Now, Dietrich

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Bonhoffer offered up this thesis and what we would call

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letters and Papers from prison, Letters and papers from prison.

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This is where it comes from, this thesis, and this

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thesis would be referred to as a thesis on stupidity. Now,

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as soon as he mentioned the thesis on stupidity, I

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was like, whoa, Okay, this is That's awesome. Now. There

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would be so many things I would disagree with this church.

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But going to church on a Wednesday night and hearing

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someone mentioned Dietrich Bonhoffer's thesis on stupidity, they had my attention.

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You had me at hello, I can overlook your chili cookoff,

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I can overlook all of your entertainment because you mentioned it.

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And I'm like, okay, okay, dig into it. But he

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didn't really, he didn't want to really dig into the thesis.

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But I'm like, okay, then I'm not going to listen

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to you anymore. I'm going to turn on the microphone.

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I'm going to dig in to Dietrich Bonhffer's thesis on

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stupidity because there's a lot to talk about. So we're

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going to talk about Dietrich bon Hoffer's thesis on stupidity

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and then at some point, not today, hopefully tomorrow they

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will upload the the live webcast that I was just watching,

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and then we will review it, and then we will

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see where they I don't know where they were actually going.

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I don't know. Maybe he did dig into the thesis,

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but it sounds like he was just mentioning it and

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he was moving on. But oh, there's a lot there

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I would love to hear. So again, once again, it's

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you know, you take the sermon's two point, oh app,

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you start listening to anything literally one message, I mean

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this one message. I guarantee you could possibly lead to

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ten hours, fifteen, twenty hours of us discussing it. That's crazy.

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You open up an app, you start listening, and you're

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almost handed like twenty hours of content, twenty hours of

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study and discussion. Do you understand how invaluable that makes

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the sermon's two point oh app? I cannot stress that

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enough to you. All right, but so are you ready?

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Let's do a little bit of work on here. You're

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ready to dig into Ditrich Bonhoffer's thesis on stupidity? Are

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you ready? I think we should do this. Let's start

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just a basic definition of stupidity from the Oxford Language Dictionary.

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What do you think about that? All right? Stupidity having

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or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense,

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having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense.

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Do you feel that now? I don't know if this

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is where the sermon went that I was listening to,

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but do you feel we are undergoing a cultural revolution

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right now? And what this cultural revolution, this cultural transition,

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and what we are seeing is we are walking into

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the era of stupidity. Do you think that possibly what

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is defining the age in which we are currently in

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is stupidity, that people show a great lack of intelligence

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and a great lack of common sense. I'm just saying

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Trump calls Zelenski dictator. That's okay, man, ooh boy, yeah, death.

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I'm gonna refrain from getting political the whole thing, okay,

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all right? Oh no, now, okay, another thing that Trump

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administration is doing. I'm getting all of these news articles

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all of a sudden, Okay, But but I will not

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connect it. I will not connect any dots. All right,

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But do you feel that we are walking clearly into

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a time where a lack of intelligence, a lack of

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common sense. Let's just say it. Stupidity is the spirit

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of the age now. In the nineties, I think there

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was a lot of discussion that the spirit of the

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age was relativism, moral relativism. We gotta fight moral relativism.

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So maybe, like in the time of Judges, there was

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no king in Israel and every man did what was

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right in his own eyes. Maybe the spirit of the

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age now is not that men or that everyone is

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doing what is right in their own eyes. Is that

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people think they're right in their own eyes and they're

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too stupid to know when they're not. Maybe that's the

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spirit of the age. Stupidity reigns, and so people can't

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even know when they are wrong. They can't even see

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that they're wrong. You can't even challenge them that they

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are wrong because they're too stupid to say. Now. I

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know that sounds mean, but I mean we're talking about

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thesis on stupidity, So I have to use

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the word stupid and I have to use the word

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stupidity because literally that's what the thesis is on. I

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will argue that we have entered into that era to

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some level. I think we have now what did Dietrich

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Bonhoeffer think, right, well, here we go. Let's go. Let's

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let's break this down a little bit. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thesis

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on stupidity comes from his letters and papers from prison.

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This was written while he was imprisoned by the Nazis.

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His reflections on stupidity, particularly in contrast to malice, have

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become widely discussed in philosophical, ethical, and political context. Now

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we're not going to try to We may look at

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it to some degree from a philosophical perspective. I don't

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know if I'll get into it from an ethical I

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definitely don't desire to get into it in a political context.

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But I may apply it to political context. But obviously

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I'm looking at it from a theological perspective. All right,

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So here is Bonhoeffer's key arguments on stupidity. Here in

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his thesis on stupidity, here is his key arguments. Are

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you ready? You want these down? Bonhoeffer's key arguments on stupidity?

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Are you ready? Number one, stupidity is more dangerous than malice.

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Stupidity is more dangerous than malice. Bonhoeffer argues that while

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evil people can be confronted and stopped, stupid people are

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far more dangerous because they are often unaware of their

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own blindness. Remember how I said we should change judges

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twenty one to twenty five if we wanted to reflect

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our age. And I'm not saying change the actual scripture.

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I'm saying, if we're describing our age, our age is not.

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In those days there was no king in Israel. O

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a man did what was run in his own eyes,

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and our age. Every man does what is run in

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his own eyes. And it's too stupid to know what

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they are doing or to even be proven that they're wrong. Well,

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Bonhoeffer was like, hey, here's the problem. Stupid people are

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worse than in a sense than evil people, because evil

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people can be confronted and stopped. Stupid people are far

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more dangerous because they're often unaware of their own blindness.

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They don't even see it. A malicious person acts with intent.

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We're a stupid person unwittingly becomes an agent of destruction,

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believing themselves to be on the right. That's the same

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with stupid people. They think they are right, but they

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don't have the intelligence to see that they are wrong.

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And we have been witnessing this over and over. Yeah,

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it doesn't matter the issue you start talking about. You

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can start talking about anything, right, Well, if we go political,

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you can talk about tariffs, you can talk about this,

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you can talk and peill oah lah blah lah blah

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blah blah, and you'll be like, well, what about this

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and what about this and what about this?

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I don't care or they are their favorite go to

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fake news, fake news, fake news, fake news, Oh, fake

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news is anything that goes against your little, tiny bitty philosophy.

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I'm sorry you can't have an intelligent conversation because they're

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so blind. And this blindness is a lack of intelligence,

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a lack of common sense, it's stupidity. Well, Bonoffer was like, hey,

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I can deal with malicious and evil people because they

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do it with intent. You can confront it, you can

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stop it. But with a stupid person you can't because

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they become an agent of destruction and they believe themselves

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to be right. So, according to Bonheffer's idea, stupidity is

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more dangerous than malice. Number two, stupidity is social. It's

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not an intellectual problem. Now, this is fascinating. From Bonheffer's perspective.

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Stupidity is a social thing, not an intellectual thing. Now

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I would tend to think, well, maybe it's more intellectual.

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But I'm willing to hear this perspective. So are you

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ready to hear it? Here we go. According to Bonhoeffer,

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he contended that stupidity is not merely a lack of intelligence,

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but it is primarily a social phenomenon. People who are

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otherwise intelligent can become stupid when they conform to mass

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ideology or group think, particularly under oppressive regimes or propaganda.

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So you can be intelligent, but you basically become stupid

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when you just conform to a mass ideology make America

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great again, and you just conform to it, and then

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there's no way of talking you out of it. Or

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you conform to something on the left, or you conform

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to something on the right, whatever mass ideology you conform

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yourself too. You become blind because now all you can

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see is the ideology. You cannot think, you cannot reason,

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you cannot see that there is nuance, You cannot see

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all the different things you don't care to see. Everything

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must conform to your little ideology. And then what do

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you say if someone confronts you false news, fake news,

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fake news, fake news, fake news. I don't want to

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hear it. I don't care. I'm right. So stupidity occurs

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when people begin to conform to mass ideology or group thing.

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Now listen, I'm gonna get I mean, I know, I'm

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going to take a bunch of people off. The same

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thing happens in the church. People conform to one ideology,

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one philological system. They follow group think, and guess what

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if you come and challenge it. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no,

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no no no. They get defensive, they get mad because

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I don't want to think. They don't want to be challenged.

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Everything must conform, everything must conform. To quote the famous lyric,

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you conform or you are cast out. I'm not that

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exactly paraphrasing the lyric. Okay, So, according to Bonhaffer, number one,

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stupidity is more dangerous than malice. Number two, stupidity is social.

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It's not an intellectual problem. It's a social problem. Intelligent

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people become stupid because they then just give themselves over

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blindly to an ideology or to group think. And it's

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funny everyone refers to the other side as just dumb sheep.

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People on the right will tell people on the left

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they're dumb sheep. People on the left will tell people

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on the right they're dumb sheep. Everyone thinks everyone else

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is dumb sheep, and everyone else thinks that they're right,

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And the same thing happens in Christianity. We're right, you're wrong,

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We're right, you're wrong. Everyone thinks that number three. Stupidity

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is a condition of power and manipulation. Bonhaeffer suggests that

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people in positions of power are those influenced by power structures.

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Become intellectually lazy and incapable of independent thought. They repeat slogans,

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follow trends, and lose the ability to think critically. That's

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our culture in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen, all right,

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The stupidity is a condition of power and manipulation. Bonheffer

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suggests that people in positions of power are those influenced

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by power structures. See, you may not be in power,

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but you're influenced by a political party, by an ideology,

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and you're you're influenced by its power structure. So then

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you become intellectually lazy, You become incapable of independent thought,

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You repeat slogans, you ever try to have a meaningful

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conversation with someone and all, and you're like, dude, yeah,

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you watch Fox News, Oh wow, you must have truth

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social because it sounds like you just repeat everything Trump said,

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or you sounds like you just watch MSNBC. You're whenever

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you just hear people seemingly just take complicated matters, reduce

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them to little sound bites, little cliches, little little slogans.

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Then you know, never mind, never mind. Now you and

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I hate to say it, you've become stupid. According to

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Bonhoeffer's definition here, when you follow a trend, when you

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when you lose the ability to think critically. When you

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lose that ability, you're in trouble. And the same thing

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goes into church, where they just people throw out philological

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slogansological philological cliches, and and you and you can't get

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them to have any independent thought. They won't think critically.

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And in many cases I've seen this happen. People will

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start arguing with me over a thiological issue and I'll say, okay, well,

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then let's do this. Go look up every reference on

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this word. Go look this up, go do this, go

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do this, check this, consider this. No no no no

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no no no no no no no no, they're not

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going to do the work. I'm just wrong. And then

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what do they repeat some trash they pulled from a

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Google search. Oh, well, congratulation. I've I can find that

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same stuff on Google as you can. Right, that just

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cut and paste is not critical thinking now looking at

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multiple sources and checking this and verifying this and questioning this.

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I got no problem using every source available, but just

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going to find the source that agrees with your already

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preconceived idea and then just repeating that to me, and

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you're not willing to do the actual study. I'm telling you,

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the church is filled from this discussion with stupid people.

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And we all can be stupid, because that's whole Bot

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offers entire argument. Is this not an intellectual issue, It's

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it's what happens when we face these structures and we

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just give into mass think, this mass out ideology, group think. So,

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according to Bonhoeffer and his thesis on stupidity, stupidity is

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more dangerous than malice, Stupidity is not as a social

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not intellectual problem, and stupidity is a condition of power

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and manipulation. Number four. According to Bonhoeffer, arguing with a

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stupid person is futile. According to Bonheffer, logic and facts

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cannot persuade someone who has embraced stupidity because their thinking

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is not based on reason but on conformity to a

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group identity. Oh my goodness, ladies and gentlemen, if that

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does not describe the world in which we live, and

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does that not describe in many cases elements of Christianity

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as well? It does? Let me read that again. According

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to Bonheffer, logic and facts cannot persuade someone who has

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embraced stupidity because their thinking is not based on reason

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but on conforming to a group identity. I don't care

399
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if it's a maga hat, I don't care if it's

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a theological system. When you're when you just conform to

401
00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:29.880
a group identity, I'm identified as I'm reformed. I'm not reformed.

402
00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:33.000
I'm this when you when you give yourself over to

403
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an identity, then no, nothing that goes against that identity

404
00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:39.680
you can't even accept because you just everything must go

405
00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:43.640
through your maga perspective or your non maga perspective, or

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your particular theological identity. Instead of changing their views with

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when presented with facts, they just double down. And if

408
00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.319
you ever had those conversations. You can bring all the

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facts and the no no, no no, they just double down,

410
00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:04.839
double down, double down, double down, double down, and you

411
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can't get It's just it just goes from stupidity to

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more stupidity to more stupidity. Again. I'm using stupid because

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it's bon Hoffer's thesis on stupidity. All right, I would

414
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I'm not using this term to be insulting. I'm using

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this term because that's literally what the thesis is about.

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All right, So right, let's go through these four again.

417
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Bon Hoffer's key arguments on stupidity. Stupidity is more dangerous

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than malice. Number two, stupidity is social, not intellectual. It's

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not an intellectual problem. Number three stupidity stupidity is a

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condition of power and manipulation. Number four, Arguing with a

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stupid person is futile. Man, I've seen that. Who a

422
00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:51.000
long time? Okay, So a news article came out way back.

423
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I don't even know what year. This was a long

424
00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:57.279
time ago, fifteen years ago, twenty years ago. I was

425
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doing a podcast I wasn't even called a podcast, I think,

426
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back then, and this information came out that an article

427
00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:09.960
that had been published in a medical journal that they

428
00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:13.319
were retracting the article. I think the original author was like, hey,

429
00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:15.599
I got my facts wrong. This is fraud, this is wrong.

430
00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:19.200
Do not use this anymore. It was one of those

431
00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:23.400
articles that the anti vaccine people had grabbed onto and

432
00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:25.359
anytime you would talk to them, they would cite, well,

433
00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.279
this article, this article, this article. And I was trying

434
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to tell everyone at this point, I wasn't even taking

435
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a side, whether anti VAXX or VAXX. I wasn't taking aside.

436
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I was just saying, hey, guys, we can't use we

437
00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:40.880
can't use this argument. We can't use this argument because

438
00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.079
not we let me put it this way, no one,

439
00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:47.440
because I wasn't taking a side. No one can use

440
00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:51.359
this argument because it's a fraudulent argument. It's a we

441
00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:53.599
can't use that, No one can you. I'm just saying we,

442
00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:55.839
in a general sense, you can't use it to make

443
00:26:55.880 --> 00:27:01.359
your anti vax arguments. Oh my goodness, gracious my email box,

444
00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:05.640
how dare you? Vaccines are filled with the you know,

445
00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:09.000
I don't know the mark of the beast, and it's

446
00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:12.000
satanic and it kills people, and it causes this, and

447
00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:15.079
it causes this and it causes that, and you're like,

448
00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:18.559
who whoa, whoa. Everything you're citing, not everything, some of

449
00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:20.319
what you're trying to cite. You're trying to cite this

450
00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.599
article that has been refuted by the person who wrote it.

451
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And he's like, no, it didn't matter, did not matter,

452
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.519
did not matter. They would just double down, double down,

453
00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:33.400
double down, or they would make claims about Obama. Oh man,

454
00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:37.279
I'll never forget all the claims Christians were making about Obamacare.

455
00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:40.039
We were all going to be micro chipped and sent

456
00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:42.319
to a FEMA camp and we're all going to die.

457
00:27:42.519 --> 00:27:46.640
Christian podcast pastors were saying this nonsensical stuff. And what

458
00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:48.799
did I do. I sat down with my over my

459
00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:52.400
lunch hour. For a week, we had printed out every

460
00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:56.680
single page of the entire Obama healthcare plan, and me

461
00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:59.960
and the doctors I worked with, we went through every page,

462
00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:03.799
each of it. And these pastors were saying complete lies.

463
00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.599
And you would be like, that's not true, that's not true,

464
00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:09.240
that's not true, that's not true. It didn't matter. Ohobama

465
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:11.519
is the anti Christ. We're all gonna die, We're all

466
00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:14.000
gonna become Muslim. He's gonna take our guns, He's gonna

467
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.680
ban Christianity, We're all gonna die. And you're like, I

468
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:19.759
think maybe, I think, maybe you're your Everything you're saying

469
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:21.960
is a lie. Well guess what. None of the things

470
00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.720
they said happened. Everything they said was fraudulent. And do

471
00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:27.519
they repent. No, they just doubled down and moved on.

472
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:33.119
That is the epitome of stupidity. Oh I remember when

473
00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:35.799
Christians on Christian podcasts were claiming Sandy Hook was a

474
00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:38.440
hoax and no children die. Oh I remember that going

475
00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:45.319
on as well. I mean, I remember some of this stuff.

476
00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.599
It's just futile, but I'll never forget when all I

477
00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.640
did was report the facts that the people involved in

478
00:28:56.680 --> 00:29:00.440
an article that anti vaccine people were utilizing to prove

479
00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:04.640
their side had now been demonstrated to be wrong, fraudulent

480
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:09.240
and misinformation. And what happened. The anti anti vax people

481
00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:14.559
attacked me, got mad at me, which was really kind

482
00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:16.920
of ticked off. Kind of ticked me off because if

483
00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:23.000
anyone has a reason to be anti vax, wait to see.

484
00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:26.559
Oh yeah, I almost died and I still suffer the

485
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:31.920
consequences of what happened to me because of the anthrax vaccine.

486
00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:37.640
But they didn't care. I see that. That's when you

487
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:41.799
just nobody like. You can't take your person, you can't

488
00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:46.440
take your personal experience and extrapolate from that some major

489
00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:51.160
claim of truth. One thing happens to you does not

490
00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:54.599
prove anything everything. That's not the way we do logical

491
00:29:55.759 --> 00:30:02.119
thinking or critical thinking. So arguing with stupid people are futile.

492
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:04.000
And I could give you a million other examples of

493
00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.599
dealing with craziness. Man. I remember way back then, some

494
00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:11.319
of that craziness was on sermonaudio. It was all over

495
00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:14.119
the place. Man, I was spending all of my time

496
00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.720
refuting all of this nonsense that was being put forth

497
00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:19.680
in messages that were being uploaded sermonatio. It was so

498
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:22.839
bad back then, it was so bad. It was so bad.

499
00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:26.680
And but yeah, now, on one hand, you want to

500
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:28.559
give people the right to say whatever. But I mean

501
00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:31.640
some of the things that were saying just whacked out

502
00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:36.440
crazy stuff. I remember during COVID I reviewed a Christian

503
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:40.640
podcast that was saying that the COVID vaccines contain nanobots, right,

504
00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:43.720
and then they inject into your bloodstream and the nanobots

505
00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:46.319
are inactive, and when five G is turned on, they

506
00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.319
will come active where they will come active, and when

507
00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:50.519
they come active, they will make your they will take

508
00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:53.319
over your free will, and you'll submit to the Antichrist.

509
00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:55.839
So by now the Antichrist should have already come to power,

510
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:57.599
and we should no longer have free will, and we

511
00:30:57.599 --> 00:31:01.000
should all be submitting to the Antichrist. If you got

512
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.559
the COVID vaccine, because the COVID vaccine was the way

513
00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:05.559
the Antichrist was going to take over the world. You

514
00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:07.920
think I'm making this stuff up. This is some of

515
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:12.720
the crazy I'm telling you. Stupidity has been within Christianity

516
00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:20.440
for a very, very long time. Now I'm going to

517
00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:22.119
have someone who believes this stuff is going to be

518
00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:27.559
emailing me within five minutes. But that's okay. So according

519
00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:31.240
to Bonhoeffer, stupidity is more dangerous than malice. Stupidity is

520
00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:34.440
a social, not intellectual problem. Stupidity as a condition of

521
00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:40.039
power and manipulation. Arguing with a stupid person is futile,

522
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:45.200
and trust me it is. And listen. That means all

523
00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:48.200
of us need to determine in which ways are we stupid,

524
00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:52.039
so that we ourselves have not only enough knowledge to

525
00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:56.079
believe that we're right, but enough knowledge to understand when

526
00:31:56.160 --> 00:32:01.680
we aren't right, right, That's key number five. The only

527
00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:05.200
cure for stupidity. Now, this is according to Bonheffer's thesis,

528
00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:11.039
the only cure for stupidity is liberation. Stupidity can only

529
00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:14.599
be overcome by freeing individuals from oppressive systems that condition

530
00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:18.160
them to avoid critical thinking. It requires a transformation in

531
00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:21.400
society that encourages people to think for themselves rather than

532
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:25.119
simply obeying authority or popular opinion. Now, and the sermon

533
00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:29.039
I heard, they said bon Hoffer believed that the only

534
00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:32.880
way to fix stupidity is the word of God. Now

535
00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:35.720
that's not that's I mean, he didn't say it that way.

536
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:37.799
Whenever I get to the sermon. Now, maybe I'm miss

537
00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:41.359
I'm not remembering the sermon exactly right, So I'm ready

538
00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:44.279
to be corrected. But I believe he said that. Bonheffer

539
00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:46.759
said that the way to overcome stupidity is the word

540
00:32:46.759 --> 00:32:50.000
of God. But he actually Now he may have said

541
00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:52.200
it somewhere. I would have to go through read everything

542
00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:56.000
in the thesis, and so he may have stated that somewhere. Now,

543
00:32:56.039 --> 00:33:00.680
the person, the person preaching, did not quote from the

544
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.440
I didn't quote from Bonheffer to go here, but from

545
00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:07.640
my understanding, and according to AI itself, and this is

546
00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:11.559
direct I'm going to read directly from AI, stupidity can

547
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:15.079
only be overcome by freeing individuals from oppressive systems that

548
00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:18.440
condition them to avoid critical thinking. It requires a transformation

549
00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:21.599
in society that encourages people to think for themselves rather

550
00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:25.680
than simply obeying authority or popular opinion. That's how AI

551
00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:31.119
describes Bonhffer's solution that he put forth in his thesis.

552
00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:34.000
And the word of God is not mentioned there. Now

553
00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:35.680
I can do a little bit of maybe I'll do

554
00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:40.160
some extra checking here. Well, let's just check, right, let's

555
00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:48.880
just ask. I'm going to ask, did okay, did bon Hoffer? Okay,

556
00:33:48.920 --> 00:33:55.119
I'm going to say here, did bon Hoffer say the

557
00:33:55.359 --> 00:34:07.839
only cure to stupidity is the word of God? I think?

558
00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.199
Just right there, you already know there's a logical problem here.

559
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:12.039
If you're stupid, how you're gonna how's the word of

560
00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:18.840
God gonna help you? But okay, right, okay, here we go.

561
00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:22.599
Bonhoeffer did not explicitly say that the only cure to

562
00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:24.599
stupidity is the word of God, but his writings do

563
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:28.639
suggest that true liberation from stupidity, particularly as a social

564
00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:32.639
and spiritual condition require a transformation that comes from faith

565
00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:36.480
and truth, which is ultimately found in God. So it

566
00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.599
wasn't specific. So in other words, it's more nuanced. Of course,

567
00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.760
imagine that the answer is probably more nuanced than was

568
00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:45.440
put forth in a sermon. Imagine that I know, I know.

569
00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:48.760
So Ai then breaks this down like it's like a

570
00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:51.639
small book. I'm not going to go through everything, AI says, here,

571
00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:54.239
maybe we'll get to it. So just already we know

572
00:34:54.320 --> 00:34:56.639
what we heard in a sermon possibly is not true.

573
00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:58.599
I know that is the most shocking thing I've ever

574
00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:00.840
heard in my life. All right, So so okay, So

575
00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:05.360
then Ai says this. Bonhoeffer's analysis of stupidity is often

576
00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:10.360
referenced in discussions on mass psychological propaganda and political manipulation

577
00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:16.519
and ideological extremism. His insights suggests that combating misinformation and

578
00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:21.719
mass delusion is not just about education, but about fostering

579
00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:28.320
a society that values independent thinking and moral courage. See

580
00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.199
what Bonhaffer was going is what we have to do

581
00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:34.280
is we've got a shape of society that fosters that

582
00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:41.199
promotes independent thinking, critical thinking. I've said before, the church

583
00:35:41.320 --> 00:35:44.039
does not promote I know, nobody's gonna like this. The

584
00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:49.360
church does not foster a place for independent thinking and

585
00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:55.039
critical thinking. No, it's group think, conform conform. This is

586
00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:57.880
you can't challenge this, you can't question this, you must

587
00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:04.639
go along with it. But by not teaching people critical

588
00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:08.760
thinking skills, by not teaching people to be independent thinkers,

589
00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:15.599
then what you create is well, you create an environment

590
00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:22.639
that produces stupidity. So, according to Barnhoffer, are you ready,

591
00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:26.239
here's his key argument, stupidity is more dangerous than malice.

592
00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:30.000
Stupidity is social, not an intellectual problem. Stupidity is a

593
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:33.599
condition of power manipulation. Arguing with stupid people are futile,

594
00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:39.920
and the only cure for stupidity is liberation. So so

595
00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:45.800
Bonhaeffer said, Bonheffer said, Ai said. Bonheffer's thesis on stupidity

596
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:51.280
remains profoundly relevant today, particularly in the context of mass media, politics,

597
00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:56.960
social movements, and digital culture. Here is a breakdown of

598
00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.480
how his insights apply to our modern content. Text and

599
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:02.480
I was like, okay, thank you, Ai. I didn't even

600
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:06.199
ask for this. AI just kept giving me more and more.

601
00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:09.039
AI seemed to love this subject. It had a lot

602
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:12.039
to say and gave me a lot of information. Okay,

603
00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:15.480
So AI was like, hey, this is important. Let's break

604
00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:19.159
this down, and let's consider bought Bonhaef for Bonheffer's thesis

605
00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:22.320
and how it applies to our modern culture, how it

606
00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:25.760
applies to twenty twenty five, twenty twenty four, twenty twenty three.

607
00:37:25.880 --> 00:37:28.880
I mean it applies for I think for a long time.

608
00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:31.639
So here's how AI breaks it down. You're ready. Here's

609
00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:37.760
AI's breakdown here. Number one. Remember his first key Remember

610
00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:42.440
his first key point that stupidity is more dangerous than malice.

611
00:37:42.840 --> 00:37:46.360
Remember that. Well, AI now is going to break it down,

612
00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:49.599
the danger of stupidity over malice in society. So what

613
00:37:49.639 --> 00:37:53.280
AI is going to do It takes what Bonhffer said. Now,

614
00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:55.599
it's going to take it and take bon Hoffer's point

615
00:37:55.639 --> 00:37:58.760
and apply it to our modern context. This is AI's

616
00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:05.039
application of Bonheffer's thesis. We may agree with AI's hype application,

617
00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:07.440
or we may disagree with the application, but this is

618
00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:09.840
how AI breaks it down. So I want to make

619
00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:12.400
sure we understand what is happening here. Before we're just

620
00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:16.400
looking at what Bonheffer said. I was offering some application.

621
00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:18.960
But now we have AI saying, let me break it

622
00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:24.079
down for you, let me apply it. So AI says this.

623
00:38:25.639 --> 00:38:29.840
Bonhaeffer argued that stupidity is more dangerous than malice because

624
00:38:29.880 --> 00:38:32.840
evil people can be reason with or stopped, while stupid

625
00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:37.800
people act unwittingly or act as unwitting agents of destruction

626
00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:41.320
in modern society. So and it says, this is how

627
00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:45.239
we see this play out, and it offers a couple

628
00:38:45.239 --> 00:38:48.360
of things here. So it's saying, Okay, according to Bonhoeffer,

629
00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:53.039
stupidity is worse than malice because evil people, and it's

630
00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:55.679
worse than evil people. Evil people can be reason with

631
00:38:55.840 --> 00:38:59.280
or stopped, where stupid people they just unwitting agents of

632
00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:02.320
destruction and you can't reason with them. There's there's just

633
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:05.320
no there's no point. It's better just to go throw

634
00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:08.280
yourself off a bridge because you're not gonna get anywhere.

635
00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:12.519
So AI was like, we see this play out in

636
00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:17.079
the following ways. You ready. Political polarization. I'm sorry, I

637
00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:24.119
hit the microphone. Political polarization. Political polarization, Ai says people

638
00:39:24.199 --> 00:39:36.639
often adopt extreme views without understanding them, simply aligning with

639
00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:44.800
their chosen party or their ideological group. Man, when you

640
00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:48.920
start talking about an issue and you hear them just

641
00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:51.840
start spouting off something and you're like, they don't they

642
00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:54.719
don't even understand this. They have no clue what they're

643
00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:58.119
talking about. And I know it ticks people off, but

644
00:39:58.239 --> 00:40:01.039
sometimes I get frustrated. So I'll be like I've had

645
00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:03.199
these conversations and I want to say to the person, Okay, wait,

646
00:40:04.280 --> 00:40:07.320
how many books have you read on this subject? Have

647
00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:09.880
you read this like Obamacare? Have you read No, I

648
00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:11.360
haven't read it. Are you going to read it?

649
00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:11.519
No?

650
00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:16.840
But you sure are making dogmatic assertions about what's in it. Well, well,

651
00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:20.599
well I heard it on Fox News. Well congratulations, I

652
00:40:20.639 --> 00:40:22.840
bet you got all the details. Why did you read

653
00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:29.239
it for yourself? Well? This this this? Well, did you

654
00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:31.559
check this? Did you listen to this? Did you hear this?

655
00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:35.400
Did you get this? Here's this document? Here's this document,

656
00:40:35.559 --> 00:40:38.159
here's did you go look at the document? Well, the

657
00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:41.119
Democrats passed a bill that Did you read the bill? No?

658
00:40:41.239 --> 00:40:43.239
I didn't read I don't read the bills. I don't

659
00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:46.960
read anything. I don't do I don't do any independent research.

660
00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:49.880
But yet I'm going to argue and speak like I'm

661
00:40:50.159 --> 00:40:53.840
the I'm the pope making my final decree. Well, then

662
00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:59.199
you know what you're just simply aligning with your chosen

663
00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:03.119
party and with your ideological group because that has become

664
00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:06.440
your identity, and there's no point in talking to you

665
00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:11.559
because now it's just stupidity. And that's true on the

666
00:41:11.639 --> 00:41:13.679
right and that's true on the left. You'll have people

667
00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:16.360
on the left making ridiculous claims like did you actually

668
00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:18.760
check it out? Did you actually read it? Did you

669
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:21.960
actually listen to it? And you got to be careful

670
00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:25.440
and listen, let's be fair. All of us can fall

671
00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:28.480
into this trap because see what some people will hear

672
00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:31.000
me say. So you're saying I have to read everything. No,

673
00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:34.039
what I'm saying is what you do not read and

674
00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:37.480
what you do not investigate. You probably should then not

675
00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:41.639
be dogmatic and don't worry about taking your political team side.

676
00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:45.199
Go My side could be wrong on this, their other

677
00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:48.920
side could be right. Let me try to understand where

678
00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:52.079
is this coming from, and just acknowledge what you don't know.

679
00:41:54.039 --> 00:41:57.360
That's all I'm saying. We're all limited in time. We

680
00:41:57.400 --> 00:42:00.480
can't spend all day coming you come home from working,

681
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:02.719
You're like, I'm going to spend ten hours reading all

682
00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:05.960
of that. You can't I understand that? So then be

683
00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:08.920
very careful not to be dogmatic, not to yell, not

684
00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:12.559
to call people names, until you get a greater understanding

685
00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:15.679
of what is happening, and then you can start offering

686
00:42:15.760 --> 00:42:19.639
your thoughts. That's all I'm saying, because the essence of

687
00:42:19.679 --> 00:42:24.239
stupidity is to take a dogmatic assertion, make claims, start

688
00:42:24.360 --> 00:42:27.480
arguing with people, and you don't have a clue what

689
00:42:27.800 --> 00:42:34.039
you are talking about. It used to be a joke

690
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:36.079
with people who worked with me, right, This used to

691
00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:39.679
be the joke if they would say, if I don't

692
00:42:39.679 --> 00:42:41.760
speak up, like if it's referring to me, if he

693
00:42:41.800 --> 00:42:45.719
doesn't speak up, if he doesn't say anything about a subject,

694
00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:48.639
then that means he doesn't know anything about it, and

695
00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:50.760
he's not going to offer any opinion. If they ask

696
00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:52.719
me my opinion, I won't offer an opinion like I

697
00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:55.199
don't know, don't know enough about it, can't be can't

698
00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:59.119
be assertive. But the minute I was, I would speak up.

699
00:42:59.159 --> 00:43:02.639
Everybody'd be like, oh no, oh, no, Okay, he clearly

700
00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:05.280
has read fifteen things on this, he has probably spent

701
00:43:05.320 --> 00:43:07.639
one hundred hours on this. He's about to go in

702
00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:09.920
and then I would speak up because in some case

703
00:43:09.960 --> 00:43:11.199
I'd be like, I don't know what any of you

704
00:43:11.199 --> 00:43:16.599
are talking about. Then I would get angry. If you

705
00:43:16.679 --> 00:43:21.320
don't know, then you don't know. It's just being humble

706
00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:26.119
enough to go. This is probably a very complicated situation

707
00:43:26.679 --> 00:43:30.119
things are. I know, we like political talking points, but

708
00:43:30.199 --> 00:43:34.760
politicians reduce everything to a talking point to manipulate stupid

709
00:43:34.840 --> 00:43:38.559
people who just want to be They just find security

710
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:41.519
and they're a little identity with their little political party.

711
00:43:41.719 --> 00:43:43.599
But you're being I don't care if it's the left

712
00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:46.960
or the right. I don't need talking points. I don't

713
00:43:47.039 --> 00:43:50.679
need bullet points. If you're talking about serious issues, I

714
00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:53.639
need to really understand what's going on. And look at

715
00:43:53.679 --> 00:43:55.679
all of the crazy information that's come out over the

716
00:43:55.760 --> 00:43:59.400
last few weeks. Elon Muskin, his group is doing this,

717
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:02.039
supposedly found this much money, and you find out, well,

718
00:44:02.039 --> 00:44:04.119
I really wasn't that much money, and it really wasn't this,

719
00:44:04.440 --> 00:44:06.559
Oh all this money was spent on this, well not

720
00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:09.119
actually it wasn't spent on that. And then you every

721
00:44:09.239 --> 00:44:12.159
for every claim, then there's like fifteen stories that will

722
00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:13.800
come out going well this is not actually true, and

723
00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:16.159
this is not actually true, and this is not actually true. Well,

724
00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:21.360
if you live within your cultural ideological structure, your media bubble,

725
00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:24.639
where all you hear is one side, you won't even

726
00:44:24.679 --> 00:44:27.079
know that it's been challenged or questioned, and then you'll

727
00:44:27.079 --> 00:44:30.320
be somewhere repeating it going and people like, yeah, okay,

728
00:44:31.599 --> 00:44:34.960
obviously you don't want to have any meaningful conversation on it.

729
00:44:35.559 --> 00:44:39.400
So AI is like, this political polarization is the essence

730
00:44:39.559 --> 00:44:44.559
of this. That shows that how dangerous stupidity it can be.

731
00:44:46.360 --> 00:44:49.880
Ai goes on to say, misinformation in fake news, many

732
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.480
individuals spread false or misleading information without verifying it, believing

733
00:44:54.519 --> 00:45:00.360
themselves to be informed while actually being manipulated. You gotta

734
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:04.840
love people, Oh I've got the information. I've got the information.

735
00:45:05.199 --> 00:45:08.679
Oh that's fake news, And you realize you are a

736
00:45:08.760 --> 00:45:20.159
manipulated puppet who can't even see that you're being manipulated. Verify,

737
00:45:21.480 --> 00:45:27.519
double check, triple check, quadruple check. What is the primary source?

738
00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:31.599
What is the secondary source? You're quoted this source, but

739
00:45:31.679 --> 00:45:34.360
this source is quoting your original source. So all you're

740
00:45:34.360 --> 00:45:37.000
doing is finding something that's verifying your original source, but

741
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:39.960
you don't have anything challenging or questioning your original source.

742
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:41.760
I mean, all the basic things you would do to

743
00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:44.199
check and verify. People don't even know how to do

744
00:45:44.280 --> 00:45:51.119
basic checking and verifying. That's an old trick, old manipulation trick.

745
00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:56.000
You put out an original article making the claim, and

746
00:45:56.039 --> 00:46:00.000
then you go then you create secondary sources that quote

747
00:46:00.159 --> 00:46:03.480
the original claim as being accurate. Well, wait a minute,

748
00:46:03.559 --> 00:46:06.679
your secondary source is simply quoting the primary source. But

749
00:46:06.760 --> 00:46:08.800
we don't know what the primary source is even accurate.

750
00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:11.480
I mean, we can get into all of the ways

751
00:46:11.599 --> 00:46:18.199
manipulation and propaganda works. So this is why stupidity is

752
00:46:18.280 --> 00:46:22.159
worse is because well it leads to political polarization and

753
00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:25.719
it leads to this misinformation in fake news narrative. Right.

754
00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:29.920
So AI then gives me an example. During elections, people

755
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:33.360
often share fake news articles without checking sources, not out

756
00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:37.320
of malice, but because they're emotionally invested in their political side,

757
00:46:37.679 --> 00:46:42.639
which means they're being stupid. According to his thesis, Bonhoeffer

758
00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:45.920
goes on to say stupidity and we already know the

759
00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:48.920
second point he's going to make stupidity as a social phenomenon.

760
00:46:49.239 --> 00:46:54.280
It's not an intellectual deficiency. Bonheffer's insight that stupidity is

761
00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:57.239
a product of group dynamics rather than personal intellect is

762
00:46:57.320 --> 00:47:02.599
evident in the following echo chamber and social media algorithms.

763
00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:07.599
People are fed content that reinforces their existing beliefs, making

764
00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:13.639
independent thought rare. Now, from the very beginning, when I

765
00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:16.360
got a microphone and I was going to say be

766
00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:21.199
on the sermonaudio platform, what I would constantly do is go, well,

767
00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:25.519
everyone's talking about this subject and they're approaching it this way.

768
00:47:26.159 --> 00:47:31.920
I'm going to offer a different perspective. Now. Typically, all

769
00:47:31.920 --> 00:47:33.880
that did was lead people to get ticked off at me,

770
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:36.199
people to get mad at me. I tried to do

771
00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:40.199
that on Christian radio. I tried to offer a different perspective.

772
00:47:40.199 --> 00:47:42.840
I got kicked off Christian radio because I ticked off

773
00:47:42.880 --> 00:47:47.079
all the Christians listening. Christians don't want a different perspective.

774
00:47:47.199 --> 00:47:50.320
They don't want to be challenged. They just want to

775
00:47:50.400 --> 00:47:54.239
hear what they already believe. They want their beliefs reinforced.

776
00:47:54.239 --> 00:47:56.760
They want their beliefs to their beliefs to be supported.

777
00:47:57.159 --> 00:48:00.559
They want their beliefs to their itching ears to be tickled.

778
00:48:00.559 --> 00:48:03.119
They don't want any challenge. They don't no no no,

779
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:05.119
no no no no no no no no no. Just

780
00:48:05.159 --> 00:48:08.440
tell me what I already know. Tell me I'm right,

781
00:48:08.800 --> 00:48:12.960
Tell me how smart I am. I think it has

782
00:48:13.000 --> 00:48:19.480
to be challenged sometimes, And this means makes stupidity a

783
00:48:19.639 --> 00:48:23.119
social phenomenon. It's because of group think. It's because of

784
00:48:23.159 --> 00:48:27.800
this structure. People are fed content that reinforces their existing beliefs,

785
00:48:27.960 --> 00:48:32.840
making independent thought rare. Mass hysteria and group think. Public

786
00:48:32.920 --> 00:48:38.840
reactions to crisis pandemics, or political scandals often become irrational

787
00:48:38.920 --> 00:48:42.239
due to fear and social pressure. Now, this is one

788
00:48:42.280 --> 00:48:45.400
of the reasons stupidity is a social phenomenon because many

789
00:48:45.400 --> 00:48:51.039
people manipulate the social the society at large, because all

790
00:48:51.079 --> 00:48:54.480
you gotta do is you've got to create a boogeyman.

791
00:48:55.039 --> 00:48:57.320
They're the bad people, and they're gonna do this to you,

792
00:48:57.360 --> 00:48:59.039
and they're gonna do this to you, and they're gonna

793
00:48:59.079 --> 00:49:01.800
do this to you, and independent thinking, critical thinking goes

794
00:49:01.800 --> 00:49:04.239
out the window. You, Oh, my goodness, they're gonna do this.

795
00:49:04.280 --> 00:49:06.320
They're gonna do this, they're gonna do this, They're gonna

796
00:49:06.320 --> 00:49:08.719
do this is gonna happen to us. And so then

797
00:49:08.800 --> 00:49:11.800
you become irrational, and then you start thinking and accepting

798
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:15.239
concepts that, in many cases should contradict the very ideology

799
00:49:15.280 --> 00:49:18.920
you claim to believe, like I don't know Christianity, but

800
00:49:18.960 --> 00:49:24.119
if they can scare you, fear will overcome fear will

801
00:49:24.119 --> 00:49:29.920
overcome rationality, and fear will overcome your Christianity. Just like that.

802
00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:32.760
I mean, if you would like to get in an airplane,

803
00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:37.159
fly to Boston, ran a car, drive to Salem, Massachusetts.

804
00:49:37.239 --> 00:49:40.199
It's not too far from Boston, and you'll find out

805
00:49:40.199 --> 00:49:43.880
that a small town. Now that where Salem is is

806
00:49:43.920 --> 00:49:45.920
not Salem Village. You have to actually, okay, well, I'll

807
00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:48.440
get into all the where everything's actually located there. But

808
00:49:48.480 --> 00:49:50.400
that's okay because I love the place. But what does

809
00:49:50.440 --> 00:49:53.639
Salem teach us? That these people who are Puritans and

810
00:49:53.880 --> 00:49:57.400
claim to believe in God lost their ever living mind

811
00:49:57.760 --> 00:50:06.880
because of fear and they killed innocent people. I think

812
00:50:06.920 --> 00:50:11.760
that's a kind of a violation of scripture because of fear.

813
00:50:12.840 --> 00:50:23.920
Fear During COVID nineteen, conspiracy theorist and mainstream media outlets

814
00:50:23.920 --> 00:50:27.280
contributed to confusion, with people blindly accepting one side without

815
00:50:27.320 --> 00:50:32.199
critical evaluation. It was crazy. During the COVID situation. You

816
00:50:32.199 --> 00:50:35.840
couldn't keep track of what about this? What about? Everyone

817
00:50:35.880 --> 00:50:38.519
had a theory, everyone had ideas, and of course who

818
00:50:38.519 --> 00:50:40.960
did not guest listen to anyone who was supposedly an

819
00:50:40.960 --> 00:50:45.400
expert was immediately their studient. I got a ged I

820
00:50:45.480 --> 00:50:49.039
graduated from high school, I had a semester of biology.

821
00:50:49.320 --> 00:50:53.000
I'm now a medical expert, and I know more about pandemics.

822
00:50:53.119 --> 00:50:56.360
And it's crazy because the people you never heard them

823
00:50:56.360 --> 00:50:59.199
talk about pandemics. They never were like reading about pandemics,

824
00:50:59.239 --> 00:51:02.599
study and pandem It was so fascinating to me with

825
00:51:02.679 --> 00:51:05.400
COVID because before that, I don't remember, back when we

826
00:51:05.480 --> 00:51:08.320
had our own standalone church app I was putting. I

827
00:51:08.400 --> 00:51:11.079
put some documentaries on there on some of the major

828
00:51:11.119 --> 00:51:14.039
pandemics that had happened in our country and about the

829
00:51:14.079 --> 00:51:16.639
things that occurred. And I kept telling people it's not

830
00:51:16.719 --> 00:51:20.360
a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Well,

831
00:51:22.159 --> 00:51:24.719
So I was trying to tell people because I knew

832
00:51:24.719 --> 00:51:26.719
that at some point because I worked in the medical

833
00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:28.079
world and I heard that all the time. It's not

834
00:51:28.119 --> 00:51:29.599
a matter of if, it's a matter of whin, it's

835
00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:31.440
a matter of win. It's a matter sooner or later

836
00:51:31.480 --> 00:51:33.360
we're going to have a pandemic. It's going to happen,

837
00:51:33.400 --> 00:51:35.000
it's going to I heard that in my whole life.

838
00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:38.679
It's going to happen. Well, then it's funny. People who

839
00:51:38.719 --> 00:51:40.920
never wanted to read a book on pandemics, never wanted

840
00:51:40.920 --> 00:51:44.320
to read a book on anything about anything related to

841
00:51:44.400 --> 00:51:46.800
All of a sudden, they're like, no, no, no, COVID,

842
00:51:46.840 --> 00:51:50.000
there's COVID. There's a fake it's this, it's there, And

843
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:51.840
you're like, okay, never mind. All of a sudden, all

844
00:51:51.840 --> 00:51:55.079
of you are experts on the subject. Congratulations, it must

845
00:51:55.199 --> 00:52:03.480
be amazing. See, it's a social phenomenon. That's not that

846
00:52:03.559 --> 00:52:06.400
their brain stop working. It's just to become stupid, because

847
00:52:06.440 --> 00:52:08.480
now they just give into group think, They give into

848
00:52:08.519 --> 00:52:12.079
a conspiratorial way of thinking based off whatever media that

849
00:52:12.119 --> 00:52:16.320
they are feeding on. Instead of going whoa wha wha pandemic?

850
00:52:16.360 --> 00:52:19.599
What where should I start? I don't know. Let me

851
00:52:19.639 --> 00:52:22.400
go read about the history of pandemics. Let's just go

852
00:52:22.480 --> 00:52:25.679
into the United States of America. What have been the pandemics?

853
00:52:25.880 --> 00:52:28.719
What procedures did they take to try to fight the pandemic?

854
00:52:28.960 --> 00:52:31.360
What things worked, what things did not work? What is

855
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:34.000
the rationale? What is the what has been the different

856
00:52:34.039 --> 00:52:38.320
theories about handle to handle a pandemic throughout history? What

857
00:52:38.360 --> 00:52:40.719
part has vaccines played to wipe out diseases in the

858
00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:43.159
United States of America, or would they have been success.

859
00:52:43.159 --> 00:52:45.039
I mean, you can just go I can give you

860
00:52:45.079 --> 00:52:46.719
some things to go to a library if you don't

861
00:52:46.719 --> 00:52:48.719
want to if you don't want to do any actual research,

862
00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:52.000
and you can read and try to start coming. But

863
00:52:52.039 --> 00:52:54.239
nobody wants to actually do that. They want to watch

864
00:52:54.239 --> 00:52:57.079
a little sound bite from their favorite talk show host,

865
00:52:57.280 --> 00:52:58.880
and then they just want to yell and scream and

866
00:52:58.880 --> 00:53:00.519
throw things out. And then when when you try to

867
00:53:00.519 --> 00:53:03.280
have a meaningful conversation, you're like, just forget it, never mind,

868
00:53:03.840 --> 00:53:08.039
just never. It's so you waste the time. It's a

869
00:53:08.079 --> 00:53:17.760
waste of time, and that's so frustrating. Number three. We

870
00:53:17.800 --> 00:53:20.599
know what number three is, power, structure and the manipulation

871
00:53:20.639 --> 00:53:23.800
of public thought. Bonhaffer noted that stupidity flourishes and environments

872
00:53:23.840 --> 00:53:29.320
where people submit to authority without critically thinking. So again,

873
00:53:29.960 --> 00:53:34.920
AI offer some ideas here. Authoritarian regimes and propaganda. Government

874
00:53:34.960 --> 00:53:38.360
and various countries suppress dissent and use media control to

875
00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:44.599
make people believe falsehoods. Corporate and media influence. Large corporations

876
00:53:44.599 --> 00:53:50.519
and social media platforms manipulate public opinion through advertising, selective censorship,

877
00:53:50.880 --> 00:53:55.760
and narrative control. So once again, you got to think

878
00:53:55.800 --> 00:53:57.840
about what you're hearing. You got to think about what

879
00:53:58.159 --> 00:54:02.000
ideological perspective it's come from, and then you've got to go, Okay,

880
00:54:02.199 --> 00:54:05.280
let me consider this. Now. I know that requires work,

881
00:54:05.320 --> 00:54:07.800
and look, I understand busy people don't have the time

882
00:54:07.840 --> 00:54:10.320
to do all of that. I know that. But then

883
00:54:10.360 --> 00:54:12.599
all I'm saying is, when you know you've not done

884
00:54:12.679 --> 00:54:14.760
a lot of work and a lot of variation from

885
00:54:14.760 --> 00:54:16.920
a lot of sources, then what you have to do

886
00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:20.880
is go, hm, let me not be too dogmatic about this.

887
00:54:22.679 --> 00:54:30.440
That's not hard number four according to AI, and all

888
00:54:30.480 --> 00:54:32.519
AI is doing is giving us the major points of

889
00:54:32.519 --> 00:54:36.159
already giving you the futility of arguing with stupid Boneffer's

890
00:54:36.199 --> 00:54:38.559
claim is that arguing with a stupid person is futile.

891
00:54:39.079 --> 00:54:42.639
Online debates and social media culture, facts often don't change minds.

892
00:54:42.639 --> 00:54:45.519
People dig in deeper when confronted. If you've never learned

893
00:54:45.519 --> 00:54:48.400
that on social media, there is literally no point and

894
00:54:48.519 --> 00:54:51.280
having a conversation because you're not going to get anywhere

895
00:54:51.360 --> 00:54:54.360
because people just double down and facts don't matter, and

896
00:54:54.400 --> 00:54:56.679
whatever facts you give them, they're going to go find

897
00:54:56.679 --> 00:54:59.800
some counter fact that supports their idea, and then nobody

898
00:54:59.840 --> 00:55:05.000
knows what the facts are, and then well it's it's ridiculous.

899
00:55:05.480 --> 00:55:09.480
Ai goes on to say cognitive dissonance and motivated reasoning.

900
00:55:09.519 --> 00:55:13.280
When presented with evidence contradicting their beliefs, people often dismiss

901
00:55:13.320 --> 00:55:16.599
it rather than to reconsider their position. Same thing happens

902
00:55:16.599 --> 00:55:20.239
in Christianity. You offer a counterpoint, they just dismiss it.

903
00:55:20.280 --> 00:55:22.880
And it's wrong. It's false. It's wrong. It's wrong. It's wrong.

904
00:55:22.920 --> 00:55:25.760
It's wrong. You're like, well, maybe you should reconsider your

905
00:55:25.800 --> 00:55:29.440
position now. What I've talked about this before, I'm not

906
00:55:29.559 --> 00:55:33.239
always good at doing it right, at least not publicly,

907
00:55:33.960 --> 00:55:36.559
because if I'm confronted publicly, I'm going to stand my

908
00:55:36.679 --> 00:55:39.400
ground and fight for my position. But I always try

909
00:55:39.719 --> 00:55:46.400
to go home and reconsider my entire thiological perspective. I

910
00:55:46.480 --> 00:55:49.000
try to do that, and what have I done? Even

911
00:55:49.039 --> 00:55:52.440
when we review sermons that I strongly disagree with? What

912
00:55:52.519 --> 00:55:54.679
do I try to do? I go and then many

913
00:55:54.679 --> 00:55:58.039
cases turns into six months, seven months, a year, two

914
00:55:58.119 --> 00:56:02.920
year study, recon considering everything to see if I'm right

915
00:56:03.039 --> 00:56:06.480
or to see if I'm wrong. All right, So I'm

916
00:56:06.480 --> 00:56:08.559
not saying I always do that right, But that's what

917
00:56:08.599 --> 00:56:13.599
we have to try to do. Right. So, for example,

918
00:56:14.159 --> 00:56:18.880
Ai says, flat flat earth believers or anti vaxers are

919
00:56:18.960 --> 00:56:22.679
rarely convinced by scientific arguments. Instead, they accused scientists of

920
00:56:22.679 --> 00:56:25.719
being a part of the conspiracy. So if you're a

921
00:56:25.719 --> 00:56:27.719
flat earther and you give them information, that's part of

922
00:56:27.719 --> 00:56:30.440
the conspiracy. If you're an anti vaxxer, no no, no, no,

923
00:56:30.679 --> 00:56:33.800
that's all get by Big Pharma. You're you're being duped.

924
00:56:33.880 --> 00:56:37.039
They're all wrong, they're all part of the conspiracy. But hi,

925
00:56:37.639 --> 00:56:40.840
I with my high school diploma, I have figured it

926
00:56:40.920 --> 00:56:43.519
all out. I've got it all figured out. See look

927
00:56:43.559 --> 00:56:46.960
at my look at my wall. This string connects to this,

928
00:56:47.199 --> 00:56:50.599
and this connects to big Pharma. We're all we're all

929
00:56:50.639 --> 00:56:53.239
being poisoned. We're all gonna it. Sounds like Alex Jones.

930
00:56:55.199 --> 00:56:58.239
Now in some cases they may actually have a valid

931
00:56:58.239 --> 00:57:01.119
point on something, but the point is then they take

932
00:57:01.199 --> 00:57:03.760
one valid point run with it. And when you offer

933
00:57:03.840 --> 00:57:06.519
to wha, let's slow down, let's offer some reason. No

934
00:57:06.519 --> 00:57:08.800
no no no no no no no no no, everyone's

935
00:57:08.800 --> 00:57:11.960
wrong because everyone's in on the conspiracy. So you see

936
00:57:11.960 --> 00:57:14.960
how conspiracy thinking it's really a form of stupidity because

937
00:57:14.960 --> 00:57:18.639
you can't get anywhere. They give you the conspiracy. You

938
00:57:18.719 --> 00:57:21.599
offer facts to contradict the conspiracy, and they will tell

939
00:57:21.599 --> 00:57:24.039
you those facts are part of the conspiracy, so therefore

940
00:57:24.039 --> 00:57:26.719
they're not facts, and the only facts that are facts

941
00:57:26.719 --> 00:57:33.000
are facts that agree with their conspiracy. All right, Okay,

942
00:57:33.280 --> 00:57:35.800
I'm just gonna go hop in a car and drive

943
00:57:35.840 --> 00:57:37.639
it right into a brick wall doing one hundred and

944
00:57:37.679 --> 00:57:40.239
eighty miles per hour because there's no point living anymore.

945
00:57:40.239 --> 00:57:42.079
All right, Okay, that's a little extreme, but you get

946
00:57:42.079 --> 00:57:44.960
the idea. All right. You know what AI is going

947
00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:48.599
to do now. The only cure liberation through independent thinking.

948
00:57:48.920 --> 00:57:51.840
Bonheffer believed that stupidity can only be overcome by freeing

949
00:57:51.840 --> 00:57:56.519
individuals from oppressive systems that discourage critical thought. This applies

950
00:57:56.559 --> 00:58:01.599
today educational reform, encouraging critical thinking rather than wrote memorization.

951
00:58:01.800 --> 00:58:05.920
Oh man, if we need a revolution and education. This

952
00:58:06.000 --> 00:58:09.280
is true in homeschool, this is true in church, this

953
00:58:09.360 --> 00:58:13.440
is true everywhere. Stop with just memorizing things to put

954
00:58:13.440 --> 00:58:15.519
down on a test so that you can pass some

955
00:58:15.599 --> 00:58:19.360
supposed standardized tests so that you prove that people are smart.

956
00:58:19.639 --> 00:58:25.119
Stop that nonsense. Critical thinking be don't just be able

957
00:58:25.159 --> 00:58:29.159
to tell me a date or a name. Give me information.

958
00:58:29.360 --> 00:58:31.320
What was it about? What was going on? What was

959
00:58:31.360 --> 00:58:33.559
the reasons, what were the what were the pros, what

960
00:58:33.599 --> 00:58:37.199
were the con thinking about it? Critical thinking is the

961
00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:39.400
only way to fight stupidity, and the same thing as

962
00:58:39.440 --> 00:58:43.639
in the church. Just don't recite something that you think

963
00:58:43.760 --> 00:58:49.159
is true. Let's break it down. Okay, So how do

964
00:58:49.199 --> 00:58:52.159
we here's this theological issue, here's this biblical issue. Where

965
00:58:52.159 --> 00:58:54.280
do we start? Okay, well, all right, let's go to

966
00:58:54.320 --> 00:58:57.039
the text. All right, Now, let's look at the text

967
00:58:57.119 --> 00:58:59.559
in this historical context. Let's look at it in this

968
00:58:59.639 --> 00:59:03.119
textual context. All right? What can this mean? What can

969
00:59:03.159 --> 00:59:05.480
this not mean? Look? How many how many of the

970
00:59:05.480 --> 00:59:07.920
thesis have we heard about Isaiah forty through fifty five,

971
00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:10.000
over and over and over and over again. What have

972
00:59:10.039 --> 00:59:14.159
we been able to demonstrate every single time that they

973
00:59:14.280 --> 00:59:17.960
one d per ignore the original recipients, the historical context

974
00:59:17.960 --> 00:59:21.599
other than maybe mentioning it. Then they violate all basic

975
00:59:21.599 --> 00:59:34.159
hermeneutical rules. You got to have critical thinking another thing,

976
00:59:34.360 --> 00:59:36.320
and churches can help people with this. We got to

977
00:59:36.360 --> 00:59:39.159
teach people how to analyze new sources and detect bias.

978
00:59:40.480 --> 00:59:42.360
You gotta be able to detect by now. A lot

979
00:59:42.360 --> 00:59:48.119
of people say I checked multiple sources. It'll be like Newsmax, Fox,

980
00:59:49.400 --> 00:59:54.440
Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson. Yeah you're let me

981
00:59:54.480 --> 00:59:57.679
tell you, you're citing a bunch of different sources that don't

982
00:59:57.719 --> 01:00:01.480
believe the same bias, okay, or the same thing on

983
01:00:01.519 --> 01:00:08.880
the left or within Christianity. I'm only going to listen

984
01:00:08.920 --> 01:00:11.559
to the people who agree with me. I used to

985
01:00:11.599 --> 01:00:13.599
hate as a past people like, so should I read

986
01:00:13.639 --> 01:00:16.840
this book? And I'd be like, why wouldn't you read

987
01:00:16.880 --> 01:00:19.960
this book? Because it may teach different than we believe.

988
01:00:20.079 --> 01:00:23.760
Oh no, what can we do? That could be the

989
01:00:23.880 --> 01:00:27.280
end of the world. We read something that disagrees with us,

990
01:00:27.599 --> 01:00:32.719
I don't know if I can handle it. Yeah, we

991
01:00:32.760 --> 01:00:35.800
read books that disagree with us. Yes, we read theologies

992
01:00:35.800 --> 01:00:38.039
that disagree with us. Yes, we listen to sermons that

993
01:00:38.119 --> 01:00:41.519
disagree with us, and then we challenge it and we struggle,

994
01:00:41.679 --> 01:00:43.920
and maybe we'll go through a period of complete confusion

995
01:00:43.960 --> 01:00:45.760
going I don't know what to believe, and maybe when

996
01:00:45.760 --> 01:00:48.039
we come out we have even fewer answers than we

997
01:00:48.079 --> 01:00:50.320
come in, and we may be completely confused, and we

998
01:00:50.400 --> 01:00:51.960
may not know what to do, and people are like,

999
01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:54.119
I don't like that. We'll get over it, because that's

1000
01:00:54.119 --> 01:00:56.559
what the pursuit of truth is all about. You can

1001
01:00:56.599 --> 01:00:59.920
either choose certainty, or you could choose truth rarely true.

1002
01:01:00.159 --> 01:01:03.400
Leave to certainty because the pursuit of truth sometimes it

1003
01:01:03.480 --> 01:01:12.599
is very difficult to find. Ay I says, we need

1004
01:01:12.639 --> 01:01:17.679
to encourage open dialogue, creating spaces for honest discussions rather

1005
01:01:17.719 --> 01:01:20.800
than ideological battles. Now that's hard to get into. That's hard.

1006
01:01:21.400 --> 01:01:26.840
That's hard because why our identity gets attached to our

1007
01:01:27.000 --> 01:01:30.559
ideological position, and then it's hard for us to not

1008
01:01:31.320 --> 01:01:34.639
oh our personal feelings and it's hard to go okay, okay,

1009
01:01:34.960 --> 01:01:37.800
let's just discuss this and not take it personal. I'm

1010
01:01:37.800 --> 01:01:40.840
not attacking you, you're not attacking me. You're not the enemy.

1011
01:01:40.840 --> 01:01:43.199
I'm not the enemy. Let's look at it's hard to

1012
01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:48.760
have those conversations. It really is, it really is. Really

1013
01:01:48.920 --> 01:01:56.559
is the Daily Show you By obviously not a Christian show,

1014
01:01:56.599 --> 01:01:59.679
but they obviously they do it from a comedic standpoint,

1015
01:01:59.679 --> 01:02:01.960
but they analyze what's going on in the world. Obviously

1016
01:02:02.000 --> 01:02:06.280
they're not a pro conservative, pro Republican bias. But they

1017
01:02:06.400 --> 01:02:08.719
greatly criticize a lot of things that are going on.

1018
01:02:08.800 --> 01:02:11.119
And one of the things they constantly did was send

1019
01:02:11.400 --> 01:02:16.159
this one reporter to all the Trump rallies. Some of

1020
01:02:16.159 --> 01:02:19.159
those interviews with people the Trump rallies were insanity. Some

1021
01:02:19.199 --> 01:02:22.000
of the things Trump supporters say are just utterly just

1022
01:02:22.039 --> 01:02:24.880
sometimes I'm just dumbfounded by what I hear. But he

1023
01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:27.519
was talking one time before the show or after the show,

1024
01:02:27.920 --> 01:02:31.039
they do this interaction with the live audience, and he

1025
01:02:31.119 --> 01:02:34.320
was They asked him, did you ever change anyone's mind anything?

1026
01:02:34.320 --> 01:02:36.280
He's like, no, But we had this one time, I

1027
01:02:36.280 --> 01:02:38.760
had this good conversation that when the cameras weren't rolling

1028
01:02:39.360 --> 01:02:42.199
and it was just me and this Trump supporter that

1029
01:02:42.280 --> 01:02:46.760
we had like an actual, meaningful conversation, and he saw

1030
01:02:46.800 --> 01:02:50.039
me not as a liberal enemy, and I didn't see

1031
01:02:50.119 --> 01:02:53.440
him necessarily as a crazy maga. He saw him as

1032
01:02:53.440 --> 01:02:56.800
a person, and we at least had an honest conversation.

1033
01:02:57.320 --> 01:03:00.239
And I think, well, it's hard to get there. It's

1034
01:03:00.239 --> 01:03:03.280
hard to get there. Same thing in Christianity, it's sometimes

1035
01:03:03.280 --> 01:03:07.119
hard because well, people just get they get all wrapped

1036
01:03:07.159 --> 01:03:10.239
up in a position, and then egos get involved. The

1037
01:03:10.239 --> 01:03:12.599
same thing has happened to me. I mean, I've made

1038
01:03:12.639 --> 01:03:15.000
plenty of mistakes getting mad or angry with people in

1039
01:03:15.079 --> 01:03:18.719
church and not handling a situation the way I could have,

1040
01:03:19.079 --> 01:03:22.199
because you take it personal after a while, and so

1041
01:03:22.320 --> 01:03:27.519
that's when it becomes bad. Right. So then AI says this,

1042
01:03:28.400 --> 01:03:32.599
Bonheffer's insights challenge us to resist intellectual laziness and group

1043
01:03:32.679 --> 01:03:38.800
conformity and an error dominated by sensationalism, ideological echo chambers,

1044
01:03:38.840 --> 01:03:45.440
and mass manipulation. Cultivating cultivating independent thought, personal responsibility, and

1045
01:03:45.480 --> 01:03:48.360
critical reflection is more necessary than ever. So, according to AI,

1046
01:03:48.480 --> 01:03:50.559
here's what we have to do. We've got to cultivate

1047
01:03:50.599 --> 01:03:54.599
independent thought. We need to take personal responsibility for what

1048
01:03:54.599 --> 01:03:58.159
we are thinking and listening to. We need critical reflection

1049
01:03:58.280 --> 01:03:59.840
on what we believe, why don't we believe it, how

1050
01:04:00.239 --> 01:04:03.239
we believe it? And then AI asked me, would you

1051
01:04:03.320 --> 01:04:06.639
like a deeper focus on any particular aspect of this analysis?

1052
01:04:06.639 --> 01:04:08.119
And I'm like, no, not at this time, thank you

1053
01:04:08.239 --> 01:04:14.880
very much. But there is bon Hoffer's thesis on stupidity.

1054
01:04:15.599 --> 01:04:20.679
Now remember his basic points, and we went over the

1055
01:04:20.679 --> 01:04:22.760
basic points and we just added to him each time.

1056
01:04:23.960 --> 01:04:25.719
At first, I just gave you the basic points and

1057
01:04:25.719 --> 01:04:28.920
then I had AI break down each one. Stupidity is

1058
01:04:28.920 --> 01:04:32.599
more dangerous than malice. Stupidity is social, not an intellectual problem.

1059
01:04:32.679 --> 01:04:36.639
Stupidity is a condition of power manipulation. Arguing with stupid

1060
01:04:36.679 --> 01:04:41.199
people is futile. And the only chure for stupidity is liberation.

1061
01:04:44.960 --> 01:04:46.599
And I broke all of those downs and we talked.

1062
01:04:46.639 --> 01:04:50.480
We talked about each one. Now, what this sermon does

1063
01:04:50.480 --> 01:04:54.320
with it, I don't know. I'm fascinated. On a Wednesday

1064
01:04:54.400 --> 01:04:59.280
night in a Baptist church they mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thesis

1065
01:04:59.280 --> 01:05:02.960
on stupidity. I was like, this is awesome. Where they

1066
01:05:03.039 --> 01:05:05.400
went with it, I do not know. I'm a little

1067
01:05:05.840 --> 01:05:08.599
confused on the way that we're in a cultural reformation.

1068
01:05:08.639 --> 01:05:10.159
On one hand, it sounded like they were saying it

1069
01:05:10.199 --> 01:05:13.199
was good because what's happening from the top down is good.

1070
01:05:13.440 --> 01:05:15.480
But on the other hand, they were saying it's bad.

1071
01:05:15.679 --> 01:05:17.920
So I don't know, Like, are there are two cultural

1072
01:05:18.039 --> 01:05:21.559
revolutions going on? Is there one? Is there one cultural revolution?

1073
01:05:21.639 --> 01:05:23.519
But what's happening from top to bottom is to fight

1074
01:05:23.679 --> 01:05:25.360
the cultural revolution? And I know, are you saying we

1075
01:05:25.360 --> 01:05:28.599
should fight the cultural revolution with politics? Oh? Now I've

1076
01:05:28.599 --> 01:05:31.199
got all kinds of questions whenever that sermon is uploaded.

1077
01:05:31.239 --> 01:05:32.760
In fact, let me well, I won't look now because

1078
01:05:32.800 --> 01:05:35.719
it'll mess up all of my settings, but I will

1079
01:05:35.760 --> 01:05:39.400
look here and when it's ready to go then not today,

1080
01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:44.840
but you know, tomorrow. Maybe let's look into it and

1081
01:05:44.920 --> 01:05:47.280
let's see if we can find out what the cultural

1082
01:05:47.320 --> 01:05:50.480
revolution is. And he will give you his thoughts, and

1083
01:05:50.519 --> 01:05:53.400
I'll give you my thoughts, and you can agree or

1084
01:05:53.480 --> 01:05:56.400
disagree on what's going on. But I don't think we can.

1085
01:05:56.599 --> 01:05:58.320
I think we have to admit this, and I'll end

1086
01:06:00.840 --> 01:06:05.920
this era of stupidity. It's true in the culture, it's

1087
01:06:05.920 --> 01:06:11.000
true in politics, and it's true in the church. Now,

1088
01:06:12.840 --> 01:06:14.760
I don't really care to fix it in the culture

1089
01:06:15.079 --> 01:06:18.760
because the culture has a deeper issue, right, They need salvation.

1090
01:06:19.880 --> 01:06:22.519
Forget politics. I think the entire system has corrupt, burned

1091
01:06:22.559 --> 01:06:24.840
the whole thing to the ground. I don't care. You guys,

1092
01:06:24.880 --> 01:06:27.039
play your political games, you go vote, you go do

1093
01:06:27.119 --> 01:06:30.039
all that you worry about politic go worry about it. Okay,

1094
01:06:30.320 --> 01:06:34.039
that's oh, don't leave me out of almost all of it. Okay,

1095
01:06:35.239 --> 01:06:37.360
but you should need at least think about it, not

1096
01:06:37.400 --> 01:06:40.320
from a position of stupidity, but a position of knowledge.

1097
01:06:40.440 --> 01:06:46.199
But inside the church, that's where I focus, because Christians

1098
01:06:46.440 --> 01:06:56.119
are supposed to be people who care about truth. I

1099
01:06:56.159 --> 01:06:59.559
think I read this a lot. Some of you know

1100
01:06:59.599 --> 01:07:06.599
where I'm going. If I can find it, Can I

1101
01:07:06.679 --> 01:07:09.800
find it? We'll see here. I usually can find it

1102
01:07:10.079 --> 01:07:19.440
relatively quick Ephesians four twenty five. Put away lying, Speak

1103
01:07:19.639 --> 01:07:23.119
every man truth with his neighbor, For we are members

1104
01:07:23.519 --> 01:07:28.920
one of another. Christians are to put away lies and

1105
01:07:28.960 --> 01:07:36.599
speak truth. No bearing false witness, no false accusations. God

1106
01:07:36.679 --> 01:07:40.599
hates lying lips. We should be trafficking and truth. We

1107
01:07:40.639 --> 01:07:44.159
should be trafficking and making sure we have facts. We

1108
01:07:44.519 --> 01:07:48.440
believe God has given us a mind. We should be

1109
01:07:48.480 --> 01:07:52.199
good stewards of that by not submitting. And our identity

1110
01:07:52.239 --> 01:07:54.800
is christ not a political ideology. I should not be

1111
01:07:54.840 --> 01:07:57.119
ident I don't want to be identified as a political party.

1112
01:07:57.159 --> 01:07:59.320
I don't want to be even identified as an American.

1113
01:07:59.440 --> 01:08:01.039
I want to be a identified as a Christian. If

1114
01:08:01.079 --> 01:08:03.000
I'm going to look at this from a theological perspective,

1115
01:08:03.159 --> 01:08:06.039
we should not be beholden to. We should not worry

1116
01:08:06.079 --> 01:08:09.239
if we offend the Republican, the liberal. We don't care.

1117
01:08:09.559 --> 01:08:12.599
We should be focused on truth, truth, truth. We should

1118
01:08:12.639 --> 01:08:16.239
be the ones speaking about education and learning and logic

1119
01:08:16.479 --> 01:08:19.039
and critical thinking, because we are Christians and we take

1120
01:08:19.119 --> 01:08:21.239
the mind that God has given us serious and we

1121
01:08:21.279 --> 01:08:23.119
are going to be good stewards of it, and we

1122
01:08:23.159 --> 01:08:26.119
want to pursue truth. And we don't want fraudulent information,

1123
01:08:26.319 --> 01:08:30.840
half information, misleading information. We want facts. We should be

1124
01:08:30.880 --> 01:08:33.279
the ones trafficking in it to such a degree that

1125
01:08:33.319 --> 01:08:36.279
the world's like, what's to deal with the Christians and

1126
01:08:36.840 --> 01:08:40.479
being really careful not to repeat gossip or slander or

1127
01:08:40.520 --> 01:08:43.600
bear false witness or spread false information. And they double

1128
01:08:43.720 --> 01:08:46.039
check and triple check everything, and they're factual and they're

1129
01:08:46.079 --> 01:08:48.560
fact based, and they don't seem to care about being

1130
01:08:48.560 --> 01:08:51.960
identified by a political party or by a cultural ideology.

1131
01:08:52.119 --> 01:08:54.199
They seem to be separate from all of that. They

1132
01:08:54.199 --> 01:08:56.439
seem to be apart from all of that. And that's

1133
01:08:56.479 --> 01:08:58.960
the way, that's how we're supposed to be. But we're

1134
01:08:59.000 --> 01:09:01.399
not like that in anyway, way, shape or form. In fact,

1135
01:09:01.479 --> 01:09:04.119
we are now so identified with a political party that

1136
01:09:04.159 --> 01:09:05.640
when you talk to people, they're like, oh, you're just

1137
01:09:05.680 --> 01:09:08.000
one of those Trump supporters, Like, no, I'm a Christian

1138
01:09:08.079 --> 01:09:10.800
who's not a Trump supporter. They're like, oh, can that happen?

1139
01:09:11.079 --> 01:09:16.079
Is that even allowed? Well, not in many churches. I say,

1140
01:09:16.119 --> 01:09:17.920
I don't want to be identified as a Trump supporter.

1141
01:09:17.960 --> 01:09:20.119
I don't want to be id identified as a non

1142
01:09:20.159 --> 01:09:22.319
Trump supporter. I want to be identified as being a

1143
01:09:22.439 --> 01:09:24.640
Christian who cares about the Word of God and cares

1144
01:09:24.680 --> 01:09:29.039
about truth. That's the difficult part. Bonhaeffer was saying, we've

1145
01:09:29.079 --> 01:09:31.159
got a problem with stupidity. I don't think he could

1146
01:09:31.199 --> 01:09:40.640
have even predicted what was coming. All right, there's Dietrich

1147
01:09:40.680 --> 01:09:47.640
Bonhoeffer's thesis on stupidity. Do you feel smarter or do

1148
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you feel stupid? I think we can all say we've

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all been stupid to some level, and I definitely have.

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By no means am I ever going to deny that.

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All I can do is try not to be stupid tomorrow,

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and then the next day try not to be stupid,

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and the next day. And there will be days I'll

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be stupid, there will days will not be stupid, but

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hopefully I can move away from stupidity and become less

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and less stupid. All right, thanks for listening. God bless