Several times over the years I have had the experience of leaving church and feeling utterly bewildered that not everyone in my town is a Christian. On these occasions the experience has been so positive, the communication so compelling, the congregation so engaged and the stories of personal transformation and healing so remarkable that it has involved a sort of feeling like that of a culture shock to return back to secular Britain.
What I've come to see however is that this sort of experience isn't the exclusive reserve of churches. As I've left the cinema after a particularly moving experience, when the theatre show ends or as the crowd's passion at the football stadium takes over I find myself feeling something similar. It's a feeling of 'I must spend more time here.' or 'these people have the answer to help resolve life's tensions.'
It's more that just something associated with groups coming together too. A vibrant party of impressive or delightful people, a panel discussion of bright and articulate communicators, a perfect outing or evening with friends; they all have a similar effect. They all bring about feelings of truth and totality. These people must be the right ones, their way must be the right way, this cause is what my life ought to be angled towards.
Recently I've come to see that the power of what sociologist Peter Berger calls a 'plausibility structure.' In high and heady moments I'm experiencing the strength and power of the story and emphasis in front of me.
--
You see belief is less linked to truth than it is linked to plausibility. If we believe a thing to be plausible we're likely going to be willing to accept it to be true, but if we struggle to see how reasonable a thing is we'll have a hard time going along with it even if it's obviously true. This is how conspiracy theories and cults work. They cast doubt and create suspicion, and they play into our ego's desire to be among the enlightened elite, and if they can enlist the support of popular celebrity they're onto a winner. In other words they make what they have to say sound and seem attractive; they create an appealing plausibility structure. But this doesn't apply only to cults and conspiracies of course but to almost everything we hold to be true. The sexual revolution, our attitude toward abortion or euthanasia, our policies on immigration, all of them have been shaped and formed on the level of plausibility.
What I've come to see however is that this sort of experience isn't the exclusive reserve of churches. As I've left the cinema after a particularly moving experience, when the theatre show ends or as the crowd's passion at the football stadium takes over I find myself feeling something similar. It's a feeling of 'I must spend more time here.' or 'these people have the answer to help resolve life's tensions.'
It's more that just something associated with groups coming together too. A vibrant party of impressive or delightful people, a panel discussion of bright and articulate communicators, a perfect outing or evening with friends; they all have a similar effect. They all bring about feelings of truth and totality. These people must be the right ones, their way must be the right way, this cause is what my life ought to be angled towards.
Recently I've come to see that the power of what sociologist Peter Berger calls a 'plausibility structure.' In high and heady moments I'm experiencing the strength and power of the story and emphasis in front of me.
--
You see belief is less linked to truth than it is linked to plausibility. If we believe a thing to be plausible we're likely going to be willing to accept it to be true, but if we struggle to see how reasonable a thing is we'll have a hard time going along with it even if it's obviously true. This is how conspiracy theories and cults work. They cast doubt and create suspicion, and they play into our ego's desire to be among the enlightened elite, and if they can enlist the support of popular celebrity they're onto a winner. In other words they make what they have to say sound and seem attractive; they create an appealing plausibility structure. But this doesn't apply only to cults and conspiracies of course but to almost everything we hold to be true. The sexual revolution, our attitude toward abortion or euthanasia, our policies on immigration, all of them have been shaped and formed on the level of plausibility.