Our Murderous Political Divides

How Tribal Instincts Feed Our Biases

By J. Jeff Toler for Shenandoah Christian Alliance  j.toler@sca4christ.org

• And they sang a new song, saying:

  “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” —Revelation 5:9

The things that people are divided over often have a social and political aspect to them. They are not subjects that deal with merely the physical. People can talk about the weather, or the properties of water. But, “With purely physical subjects we tend to be open to evidence and we tend to converge on a common understanding of that issue,” says Ryan Chapman in the podcast, “Your Brain is Wired for Tribalism” episode. (April 6, 2022) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eHi-HKLBFo]

Ryan Chapman

Ryan begins with the drawing of a duck, like the one illustrated in our header art above. This drawing, we are told, is a duck, albeit one with a pretty fat beak. But, if at first you didn’t see a duck and instead you saw a rabbit, not to worry. It seems that people will be more or less divided over whether it is a duck or a rabbit. 

The duck/rabbit is an innocuous example of how people will see things a certain way because they are conditioned to or simply because in their mind’s eye made the connection and that was all they saw.

What would you think, however, if you were told that seeing a rabbit when others were seeing the duck was an indicator that you were not able to see the real truth. Or that seeing the rabbit proved you were racist or sexist, or some other social or cultural pejorative.

Likewise, if our conversation about water introduces a social element, the topic can change dramatically. For example, if I wanted to talk about how ocean levels will rise over time and eventually pose a threat to coastal communities—even just that part about rising water levels will provoke some people to feelings of doom or despair. 

Our interlocutor will start to prepare for fight or flight, wondering who I am and where I’m going with this. In other words, mental guards in his head will begin to raise up, however subconsciously. The alarms go off.

You didn’t have the mental guards in your head go up when we were talking about the properties of water or the picture of the duck-rabbit, because our biases of ducks or water are not a threat.

Some biases can be triggering. If that describes you, no worries. There is nothing wrong with you.

This is but a component of human nature.

When we think about social issues, we tend not to think in an open, exploratory way as we do talking about water or swimming, or surfing. Instead, we think around our preferences. Our preferences act like a center of gravity, and our thinking will orbit according to those preferences.

When we were very young, we were afraid of the dark, or the monster that lived in the closet. As we grew older, we began to realize those fears couldn’t threaten us anymore. Our peers and our family might have prepared us to dismiss such things as childish. 

And yet, that didn’t mean we were no longer subject to fear. Instead, it meant we would be afraid of the things that replaced them; that continue to represent a threat to our very existence, or worse, our personal peace. This is how, over time, we develop a bias. Everyone tends to do the same. Is that necessarily bad? That depends on what our biases are.

Tribalism is a component of human nature, fueled by biases and psychopaths.

The more complex or sophisticated a society may become, the more that divisive social issues polarize. Of course, it only needs someone to actively agitate for it. We contend with tribalism anytime politicos bring us contention—not from a “natural” inclination, but through the pressure of deliberate polarization.

In this present day and age, Christians still face the same enemies of our faith as we always have. The difference is the way we must contend not with the adherents of primitive beliefs, or pharisaical intervention, or Roman interference, but with the new tribes of this present age: the woke, new-agers, atheists, and secularists.

Not unlike the pharisees of ancient days, they assume a power position designed to intimidate and cudgel our liberty. In fact, power is their religion. They have come to believe nothing else. It either seems like it’s getting worse, or it really is.

The tribes living in the Gaza Strip, or those protesting on college and university campuses in and around our country have become very threatening and frightening.

Jordan B. Peterson

You can watch and hear why this is so as Dr. Jordan Peterson discusses this with Dr. James Lindsay during a recent podcast. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYGNTFY4ZIQ] We learn that psychology has identified certain tribal types with Cluster B psychopathology. Peterson refers to such psychopaths as Luciferian. 

This refers to a group of personality disorders characterized by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behaviors. These disorders are defined in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition” (DSM-5), and include: 

1. Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD): Marked by a pervasive disregard for the rights of others, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, and a lack of remorse after harming others. [https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320508?utm_source=chatgpt.com]
2. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Characterized by instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions, along with impulsivity and intense fear of abandonment. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder]
3. Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD): Involves excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior, including inappropriate seductiveness and a need for approval. 
4. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD): Defined by grandiosity, a constant need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. 

Sources: [https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/personality-disorders/overview-of-personality-disorders]

Individuals with Cluster B personality disorders often experience difficulties in regulating emotions and maintaining stable relationships. Their behaviors may be unpredictable and can lead to significant distress for themselves and those around them. Some of these behaviors can take on the form of cancelling, doxxing, and even death threats for people they hate or fear.

The psychopaths have formed into tribes.

How are Christians supposed to respond to tribes of psychopaths?

I genuinely support any effort to offer the Gospel wherever and whenever we can. If for no other reason than we aren’t ashamed of the truth. It’s not about ducks or rabbits, or rising oceans or gun control. It’s always about the truth.

As we learn the scripture, hide it in our hearts, and pray for our families, our communities and our country, we can offer encouragement by giving the reason for the hope that lies within us.

Can we do anything about the psychopaths who are, and have already wrested control of our institutions, our media, our courts? Should we even try? Of course! Our bias is only for the truth. But it’s always a good idea to first understand how the enemy of humanity—Lucifer—operates. 

• And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” —Mark 16:15