The Ten Marks of a Deluded Person

[Written by John Loftus] Below in no particular order are what I consider the ten marks (or characteristics) of a deluded person. I think even educated Christians will agree with most of them. You might want to consider from this checklist how many of them apply to you. To the degree that more of them apply then the more likely you are deluded by your faith. Now it's quite possible that Christians can be deluded and yet their faith is true, in the same sense that a person might be brainwashed or indoctrinated into believing the truth. But the point is that if you're deluded then you have no reason to believe.

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Another Mark of a Deluded Person

[Written by John Loftus] Previously I wrote on the Ten Marks of a Deluded Person. Here's another one. Many Christians treat skeptics like me as if we are enemies to be debated rather then fellow human beings interested in the truth. That is surely one of the marks of a brainwashed or deluded person too. Dr. Randal Rauser in his book, You're Not As Crazy As I Think, would seem to agree. Rauser: "The single most effective way to protect a core set of ideological claims from critical introspection is by positing a simplistic binary opposition between two sides while placing the views we seek to protect on the correct or true side and all views hostile to the core ideology on the incorrect side." (p. 58) "For too long we have objectified the dissenting voice at the other end of the battlefield as nothing more than a target of conquest." (p. 12) However, "The real person of truth is one who expresses a genuine willingness to listen to the other as as equal conversation partner." (p. 8) As a corrective to this Rauser endorses a resolution "...to engage with the other--the liberal, the Dawinist, the animal rights activist, and the atheist--as an equal partner in dialogue and so to treat each one as a person we can learn from and need to listen to." (p. 11)