Captives

Prisoners of beliefs - Captives in one's own mind.

But who remains imprisoned? "Us" or "Them"? And how does one lead others to find freedom?

In reading numerous books written by strident atheists, I've noticed many of the same techniques used by those who engage with weapons of political persuasion. When partisans and advocates wage war they often:

Antagonize

Mischaracterize

Sensationalize

Overdramatize

Marginalize

Propagandize

Labelize

Terrorize

Rationalize

All in in effort to evangelize and proselytize. Or at least to shame and silence others. Such tactics may be effective, but they are poor substitutes for honest dialogue and finding truth.

No wonder so many observers have simply tuned out.

Offers of freedom must be carefully weighed and scrutinized lest we become new hostages in the mental prisons of those who promised us freedom. (See 2 Peter 2:19 and Matthew 23:15)

Some "freedom fighters" may not even realize that they have been manipulated to serve as bounty hunters and jailers.