What is Manipulation?

2. What is Manipulation? • Can be: • Treat part of a body for fracture • Treat with skill a material or a thing • Manage by dexterous (esp. unfair) use of influence

3. What is Leadership? • To cause to go with one • To conduct or guide by going in front • To direct movements • To guide by the hand or by contact

4. What are the Types of Manipulation? • cherry picking • straw man tactics • mob mentality • attacking the player and not the ball • spin • guilt by association • reliance on the opinions of men

5. What is Cherry Picking? Selecting only those cherries that appeal to us, and by rejecting those we don’t want. Selecting those arguments that Appeal to us and ignoring those that don’t.

6. How do we overcome Cherry Picking?

7. How do we overcome Cherry Picking? By saying to ourselves that we need to make sure that we are telling the whole story, we are taking into account all other matters that may influence and benefit this person or these people.

8. Faith, Grace, Blood of Christ? • We are all saved (justified) by grace. • Rom 3:23/26 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

9. Faith, Grace, Blood of Christ? • We are all saved (justified) by faith. • Rom 5:1/2 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God”

10. Grace, Faith, Blood of Christ? • We are all saved (justified) by his blood. • Rom 5:8/9 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, • while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him”

11. Should we judge others? Matt 7:1/2 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you.”

12. Should we judge others? Matt 7:1/2 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” Matt 7:6 “Cast not your pearls before swine” Matt 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets”

13. Should we Judge others? • 1Co 5:11 “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat" • 1Co 5:5 “To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”

14. What is a Straw Man? Misrepresenting or Selectively presenting another persons argument incorrectly, so as to make it weaker than it really is, then easily tearing it down. Or claiming what a person teaches by deducing something he/she does not teach and then showing why it is incorrect.

15. How do we overcome straw man tactics? By saying to ourselves that we are going to project our minds into what has been said so our personal prejudices do not interfere with our responses or statements. We must be honest in declaring what is believed and not in our own opinions.

16. How do we overcome Straw Man Tactics? Some examples: “he said in 3 days he would destroy this temple”

17. How do we overcome Straw Man Tactics? Some examples: “he said in 3 days he would destroy this temple” “Thou shall not kill.” This means this person is teaching he will not kill under any circumstances, yet faithful people like David did and when Israel entered the land they were commanded to do so. What is this person failing to do?

18. How do we Overcome Straw Man Tactics? “Richard Dawkins. – “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak … etc etc” further down the same page – “It is unfair to attach such an easy target”.

19. How do we Overcome Straw man Tactics? “Richard Dawkins. – “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak … etc etc” further down the same page – “It is unfair to attack such an easy target”. The truth of the matter is that this target is only easy because Dawkins has made it this way. If he read the OT for accurate understanding, he would find a very different God from the one he attacks, one that is not an easy target at all.

20. What is Mob Mentality? Going for the 5 minute grab, playing to the audience (mob) by making fun of another’s view or by using some witty saying.

21. How do we Overcome Mob Mentality? • I hold my God in to high an esteem to cheapen my God and His son by: • going for the 5 minute grab • making fun of another’s view • using emotive language where it comes out of an incorrect • interpretation, so that I get what I want

22. How do we Overcome Mob Mentality? Some examples: “crucify him, crucify him” “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Dan 6:5 “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

23. What is playing the player and not the ball? Attack or make criticism of the person instead of the issue or matter at hand.

24. How do we overcome Ad Hominen? Are we being objective? We must look at the issue not the action, we must address the argument not the arguer.

25. How do we overcome Ad Hominen? Some Examples: “he saved others he cannot save himself” “They asked him this question tempting him” They commented on Paul’s appearance rather than his teaching.

26. What is Spin? Concealing the downside of a matter and only presenting the good side.

27. How do we overcome spin? We must be honest and reveal all details. In this way we are loving our brothers and sisters. Are we overcoming the mere presenting of the best side of this situation or are we being honest and giving due weight to all that has happened?

28. How do we overcome Spin? Examples: 1. The Amalekite and Saul’s death 2. Richard Dawkins: God ordered Abraham to make a burnt offering of his longed for son …. A modern moralist cannot help but wonder how a child could ever recover from such psychological trauma. By the standards of modern morality, this disgraceful story is an example simultaneously of child abuse, bullying in two asymmetrical power relationships .. Page242

29. What is guilt by association? Attributing to another person a form of guilt because they have company with someone who has done wrong by their brothers and sisters or by God. Associating with a group of people is seen as adopting the same views as those people.

30. How do we overcome Guilt by Association? Are we overcoming this natural tendency to lump all into the same basket because they work together in the same group? This is a bit like syllogistic reasoning.

31. How do we overcome Guilt by association? Examples: 1. A Christadelphian appears in the local press therefore all Christadelphians own that person’s behaviour or circumstance. 2. Judas’ fellowship of Christ 3. R Dawkins – Preface “Imagine, with John Lennon, a world with no religion. Imagine no suicide bombers, no 9/11, no 7/7, no Crusades, no witch-hunts, no Gunpowder Plot, no Indian partition, no Israeli/Palestinian wars, no Serb/Croat/Muslim massacres, etc”.

32. How do we overcome Guilt by association? Examples: 3. R Dawkins – Preface “Imagine, with John Lennon, a world with no religion. Imagine no suicide bombers, no 9/11, no 7/7, no Crusades, no witch-hunts, no Gunpowder Plot, no Indian partition, no Israeli/Palestinian wars, no Serb/Croat/Muslim massacres, etc etc”. 3b. Page 272 Even if we accept that Hitler and Stalin shared atheism in common, they both also had moustaches, as does Saddam Hussein. So what? The interesting question is not whether evil (or good) individual human beings were religious or atheist.

33. What is reliance on the opinions of men? Accepting as fact those opinions that are presented as fact yet we have no hope of ever proving them to be true or be able to verify with certainty their truth. Where matters are not provable they should not form part of a conclusion. We need to go elsewhere.

34. How do we Overcome reliance on men’s opinions? We can overcome this by sticking to what we can prove to ourselves.

35. How do we overcome reliance on men’s opinions? Examples: “That so and so said such and such but he/she is now deceased.” “That so and so said this when there is no evidence available to prove what is said”

36. What makes good leadership? Declaring the whole counsel of God. Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God:” Act 20:20 “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,”

37. What makes good leadership? Declaring the whole counsel of God. Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God:” Act 20:20 “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,” Acts 20:28: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

38. What can we conclude? • We can overcome being unintended manipulators and being unintentionally manipulated by: • recognizing and applying the tests we have considered and so overcome faulty and selective reasoning

39. What can we conclude? • We can overcome being unintended manipulators and being unintentionally manipulated by: • recognizing and applying the tests we have considered and so overcome faulty and selective reasoning, • discerning unacceptable behaviour that comes with • manipulation - that is self evident.

40. What can we conclude? • We can overcome being unintended manipulators and being unintentionally manipulated by: • recognizing and applying the tests we have considered and so overcome faulty and selective reasoning, • discerning unacceptable behaviour that comes with manipulation - that is self evident, • knowing that honesty and completeness are essentials of a • leadership that has the love of brothers and sisters foremost • in mind.

41. What can we conclude? • We can overcome being unintended manipulators and being unintentionally manipulated by: • recognising effective leadership commences with each individual it is not about style or who

42. What can we conclude? • We can overcome being unintended manipulators and being unintentionally manipulated by: • recognising effective leadership commences with each • individual it is not about style or who. • above all it refers to a duty of care in what is encourage and • what is not encouraged.

43. What can we conclude? 1Pet 5:2/3 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.