People don't get it
A major aspect of my writing has been trying to get Christians to internalize what they already believe. All of my books, YouTube lectures (which you can find here) and Substack posts tend to do the same thing. Let’s talk about the problem directly.
The sandbox
To “believe” something means to accept it as true. That's a choice we can make mentally. However, there is an important distinction between accepting something as true and internalizing it. Internalization means adjusting how you see everything else to align with that truth. And in case you didn’t know, this process is not automatic. In fact, it’s extremely difficult.
Our minds include a sophisticated filtration system, with layers of safeguards. It has checks and balances to stop new ideas from actually reaching our core personality and affecting anything important. Our conscious thoughts are like the outermost layer of security. In this mental space, ideas come and go freely, interacting and bumping into each other. In computer terms, this is called a “sandbox”: an isolated testing area that can run programs without giving it access to the deeper parts of the system. Viruses, malware, and buggy crap can be detected and disposed of without any risk of damaging your PC, and the same thing goes for your conscious thoughts. And we should thank God for that.
This feature stops most of Satan’s tricks from ruining our spiritual lives permanently. It’s why the entire world can be screaming propaganda at you from the time you’re a child, and you can “believe” it for decades, but just as quickly you can also easily toss it in the garbage when, for example, you meet somebody whose attitude you respect who believes otherwise. Attitude and respect are part of the same process.
In terms of mental configuration, “attitude” is the next deeper layer than conscious thought, so it’s also pretty shallow. Attitude is a combination of all your supposed beliefs coming together to form a stance, or a hypothetical approach, to situations. We use our attitude to test our hypothesis about how the world works. This process is more subconscious and slow than the intellect; you’re not supposed to notice this happening normally. Changing your own attitude takes more effort than changing your conscious thoughts, but it can be done. Manipulating your attitude is about as far as Buddhism and most religions go. Christians need to go way beyond this.
Neural network
What comes after attitude? I don't know a proper term for it, but let’s call it your system.
If your conscious thoughts are a sandbox to play in, and if your attitude is a functional stance towards situations, then the next level deeper is the system which steadily creates bonds between beliefs and possibilities. In other words, the “system” part of your brain is like an search engine which constantly examines the implications of everything you believe, creating hyperlinks between them and allowing you to correlate words, images, feelings, and ideas with everything else.
Strangely, implications are very hard to deal with. They simultaneously require logical analysis and emotional investment. People can go their entire lives without ever examining the implications of what they believe. Doesn't that seem crazy? Personally, this breaks my heart. I know it's a normal part of the security system of our minds, but almost every Christian I know struggles to internalize their biblical beliefs to the point where their system is realigned and they make the logical connections between their faith and their daily worldview. They “believe” that God loves them and provides everything they need, but yet they worry about things constantly. They believe that they are forgiven and have been called to serve the Kingdom of Heaven, but they have guilt and neurosis. They believe in prophecy, and yet they think world events are spiraling out of control and we need to get involved in politics.
On the other hand, if people didn't stop their beliefs from affecting their system, we would be surrounded by murderers and psychos; because we're all taught that we are merely animals with no God above to judge us, and that other humans are just arbitrary meat and chemicals in a random galaxy of protons and electrons. We’re taught that the only thing we evolved to do is to reproduce sexually and maximize our personal fortunes, and yet people don't act like that's the case. They don't internalize that belief, even if they accept it as true mentally. Those who do internalize the belief stand out to us as bad examples, not respectable.
Be warned
Jesus created an analogy for those who “believe” him but don’t internalize the reality. He compared it to a person who builds a whole house, but failed to dig down deep and find a solid foundation to construct it on.
“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say?
“I will show you what the person is like who comes to me, and hears my words, and acts on them: he is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came the torrent crashed against that house, but they could not shake it, because it was well built.
“But the one who hears my words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”
(Luke 6:46-49)
Jesus recognized the problem: people have a hard time internalizing truth, even when they accept it on a superficial level. Why does he compare it to building a house? What does it mean for a storm to knock it down? How are we supposed to “dig down deep and lay the foundation on the rock”? Isn’t accepting Jesus as simple as saying a prayer and supporting a church? And if not, isn’t it good enough to believe in your mind that Jesus is Lord?
Everyone familiar with construction knows how stupid it would be to build a home without considering the risks and implications of choosing a spot and preparing it properly. Much like a religious worldview, your home is a massive liability if it turns out to be faulty. You have to live in it. It could come crashing down on you. Rather than being a shelter and a source of protection, it becomes your tomb. Your life depends on the sturdiness of your home, literally. In the same way, listening to Jesus but not acting accordingly—not internalizing the truth he speaks—is like having a good house that is ready to fall apart instantly. Why? Because one simple truth has millions of implications that will eventually be challenged. It’s not enough to just believe Jesus is Lord intellectually; you have to “dig down deep” by clearing away the nonsense in your own head and finding the deepest part of your personality, and accepting it there.
To do so is an emotional experience. It is a sense of conviction, not just opinion. This is why I don’t try to convert people using intellectualism, and why Jesus did not preach theology, but rather cut to the heart of the matter and exposed the truth about a person’s life. Jesus consistently took people out of their element and caught them off guard to make his points. He did not walk them through Theology 101.
Many have it backwards. They think they irrational conviction is the weakest form of faith, and that a sophisticated theological model is the most advanced. They memorize thousands of arguments in favor of Christianity, but I’ve noticed that they don’t have any originality. It’s like they took a school course and aced the test, but haven’t gotten a real job. They’re stuck in a world of theory.
Passionate fools
If we do not work through the implications of what we believe, we will suffer from mental contradictions sooner or later. And this contradiction is not about intellectual arguments, but a contradiction of character. It’s cognitive dissonance. And if we have cognitive dissonance, we are susceptible to manipulation and delusion. The Bible has a wonderful little saying for this:
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:8)
And notice once again, the Bible warns about instability. Once again, this correlates to the analogy of a house’s foundations. We need sturdiness and strength, which comes from deeper than the mind. It goes all the way to the heart.
Do not trust your intellect alone. Dig deeper. Get angry. Get sad. Get joyful. Be passionate. Hate the world. Fear God. Love Jesus. Reject sin. Love your fellow man. Let the implications of Hell impact how you feel about liars. Let the implications of the Kingdom of Heaven impact how you feel about death. Let the crown of salvation bring you to tears of gratitude. Let the roots of your faith go deeper…
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
(Matthew 13:3-6)
Notice again the pattern: deeper roots are good, just as deeper foundations are necessary. God is trying to warn us: survival requires depth. Perseverance requires stability. Your faith won’t survive if you are shallow.
We are currently in a time of massive deception, and it is specifically trying to target Bible-believing Christians. They will try to recruit you to their sides, show you false wonders, and poison your mind with beliefs that you may very well accept are true. But what have you internalized? What is deeper down? How sturdy is your faith? Has your system of reasoning been aligned with the Bible, or have you kept that part of your mind reserved? When the day comes that we face death for our religious views, what will remain standing? Prepare yourselves for that day, and if you do, perhaps you will have the emotional weight necessary to clear those filters and access the deeper parts of your mind, where the most important connections are made.
In the next part I want to talk about the role of the imagination and the Holy Spirit.
Let me know if this made sense to you.
I sit here stunned for the 1st time reading anything outside the bible, almost out of breath, and have 1 word pounding my mind and heart ... PROFOUND. Terry, this short piece is probably the most profound and deep writing I've ever outside the bible seen in my 50+ year journey. I hope more than ever I get to meet you in Panama. Godspeed. Thanks.
Yes this article made perfect sense to me. The internalisation of Christianity is essential. As our Saviour Jesus said and you reminded us 'foundational'. It is after all, spending eternity with God or eternity in hell.