“Normalcy bias refers to the state of mind we enter when facing a disaster. It causes us to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its potential effects. The result is failure to prepare personally. On a larger scale, it can lead a government to exclude its citizens in disaster preparedness planning.
In essence, normalcy bias is created by the assumption that because something has not occurred, it will never occur. As the intensity and convergence of many strategic trends is becoming personal on many levels, the boundaries of our normalcy bias are being stretched, and in many cases, broken.”
[Excerpt from article by Mary Miller, Director of Issachar Studies and IDB in the News Journal of Koinonia House] [The normalcy bias is also discussed in the book: AFTERSHOCK … Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown, by David Wiedemer, Robert Wiedemer, & Cindy Spitzer]
“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” ~Winston Churchill
“…In the last days difficult times will come.” ~ 2 Timothy 3:1
“When the righteous triumph, there is great glory. But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.” ~Proverbs 28:12
“Cognitive dissonance is not an excuse. You will reap what you sow. We all do.” ~Unknown
THE “EISEGESIS” BIASES
Wikipedia defines eisegesis as “the process of interpreting a text or portion of text in such a way that the process introduces one’s own presuppositions, agendas, or biases into and onto the text.”
We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.
Ignorance is not always the problem. The illusion of knowledge is often the real problem. The Bible is infallible, but we aren’t. And sometimes one of our doctrines isn’t infallible either (considering how many denominations there are). Our doctrines can be an illusion of knowledge sometimes. For instance, not every eschatological doctrine can be correct, and those that are not, are most likely an illusion of knowledge that can result in not preparing properly for foreseeable/predictable events as they actually occur.
Our doctrines (among the innumerable doctrines) seem normal to us, but that may prove to be an illusion. Again, we don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. Our perspective is our reality. So, what are we … you and me?
Ignorance is an unguarded door for the enemy to come through unawares, so we need to learn how to guard the door to our faith like the Bereans did. We CAN judge doctrine by the Word of God, and we’re required to test ourselves to see if we’re in the faith.
THE CIRCUS ELEPHANT AND
THE NORMALCY BIAS
(Borrowed from an advertisement by James Stafford)
I heard this story a while back and I think it’s deeply empowering…
If you’ve ever seen a Circus elephant, you may have noticed they’re only held down with a single small rope – that’s it.
No cages, no bars, nothing.
Now elephants are pretty mighty mammals, and they can break free whenever they want – but they don’t.
The reason they don’t is because since birth, trainers condition the elephants using small ropes because at that age, it’s more than enough to stop them escaping….
As time goes on, the elephant grows bigger thinking that the SAME rope will not let it get away – so it doesn’t even try.
In short, the elephant becomes conditioned to believe it’s being held back by its circumstances…
And the same is true for most people.
I know it was certainly true for me!
I was charging $7 for a book I wrote that was worth WAY more because I had conditioned myself to believe this was ALL I was worth.
The truth is that most people never achieve success because they’re held back by limiting beliefs – many of which are either self-imposed or given to them by others.
They’re conditioned to think in terms of LACK rather than abundance.
This ‘poor mindset’ is what prevents so many people from having the kind of success they COULD have – if only they didn’t hold themselves back.
Or they just don’t know…
You can’t escape from a prison you don’t know you are in.
So what’s holding you back right now? (end)
ESCAPING FROM THE ELEPHANT PRISON
The circus elephant does not see things as they are, he see things as he is. Bound.
That is the circus elephant norm. Don’t let it be yours.
In essence, the elephants normalcy bias was created by the assumption that because the rope never got bigger, that it would never get bigger and that meant to him that that little cord would bind him for life.
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. ~Isaiah 26 (emphasis adder)
If the world is about to slip into the prophetic era known by many as the end times we must escape all the restraints that keeps us for preparing for it. The world is oblivious, and so is a vast majority of Christendom to this reality. Prepare for the worst case scenario as Isaiah advised!