Memorandum

To: All persons concerned about religious extremism

From: Paul Borene, Willmar Minnesota, USA

Date: January 1, 2023

Subject: Introduction to a strategy for overcoming religious oppression by changing hearts and minds

Greetings:

You don’t know me, but I have learned a little about you by reading various publications and social media posts focused on religious oppression and the intersection of religion and politics. From these I have identified you as someone who might share my concerns about religious extremism – including, but not limited to, Christian Nationalism.

Informed by knowledge about you from your writings and posts, I am reaching out to encourage you to collaborate with me in a strategy to marginalize the corrosive, deathly effects of religious extremism nationally and internationally. I invite you to continue reading to learn more about that strategy.

BACKGROUND
The way I see it, books, editorials, articles and social media posts about religious abuse and the threat of Christian Nationalism are timely and necessary. Reporting about offensive, burdensome religion is marginally therapeutic and informative, but echo chambers do nothing to change the hearts and minds of outsiders.

Changing hearts and minds is a slow, sensitive process that is much more complicated than changing politics and votes. But, difficult as the process may be, we need to believe that hearts and minds will change if we are patient and strategic.

Normally I am not given to melodrama or political activism, but I will say that these are perilous times that call for a new model of covert activism that is totally unlike the violent, in-your-face, social/political/religious activism reported in history books and the daily news. For ten years I have quietly tried to sound the alarm
about religious extremism through several social media platforms, but with minimal effect. I know that I have reached many people worldwide, but conditions at home and abroad convince me that the need to reach more people grows daily. The reason I have not had more influence is not because my message is weak or
my strategy is faulty. The reason is that I do not have the ability to reach a larger audience through my limited social media resources. That is why I am now reaching out to you.

With this memo I am calling people of conscience and zealous anger about religious extremism to exit the comfort zones of their chosen echo chambers and use their influence to do the quiet, covert work of changing hearts and minds through their face-to-face relationships and social media platforms. I believe that this kind of activism will succeed where all other types of activism fail. Belief that hearts and minds will change if people adopt the strategy I propose is the hope that drives me to write this memo.

WHY WE NEED A STRATEGY
Many sincere, well-meaning people are following their own strategies to overcome division in the land. Unfortunately, politics, protests, legislation, editorials, books, blogs, sermons, court rulings, prayer meetings and other platforms are ineffective strategies for unifying a nation. In fact, it is obvious to me that those strategies only cause more division. They may do a good job of sharing rhetoric within unique echo chambers, but they do not reach outsiders, nor do they change hearts. It is clear, therefore, that a new, creative strategy is necessary if we are serious about healing our divided land.

As far as I know, no one has proposed or is following the kind of strategy I am suggesting here. And this is what we should expect from a covert, discreet, strategy designed to change hearts and minds. A covert strategy has no name, no website, and no organization or membership. It is invisible to everyone except
those who use it. If executed with care, it will even be invisible to those who discover someday that their hearts and minds have been changed by it.

You could say that adopters of this strategy are the underground resistance to Christian Nationalism and other forms of religious oppression. The weapons of these resistors are truths that overcome the lies and erroneous religious beliefs that define and guide religious oppression in all its forms – including Christian
Nationalism.

People who understand bible symbolism know that religious oppression has been a problem since bible times. All bible stories of warfare and shedding of blood symbolize conflict between religious nations who use words as weapons to gain control over people and their money. It is a strategy that works for a while but fails sooner or later. Lust for power and money is the root of conflicts reported in all history and today’s news.

Considering this history, we should not be surprised or impatient to recognize that historical, conventional strategies (e.g., political activism, protests, legislation, editorials, books, blogs, sermons, court rulings, prayer meetings, etc.) intended to create unity and peace for all do not work. History tells us that these human efforts only make matters worse. If they did work the world would not be such a mess.

It is helpful to remember that, even though religious extremism is not a new phenomenon, America has survived and thrived mightily as a world leader in many respects. And it is useful to remember
that Christian Nationalism is only the most recent manifestation of religious extremism based on lies and deception. Moreover, we must remind ourselves often that the rewards will be great if we do not grow weary of doing good by speaking truth to people who need to hear truth.

We have all the evidence we need to understand what happens when the hearts and minds of highly religious people are not changed. What truth looks like will vary from person to person. Since I am taking the initiative to launch this strategy I
will continue to share important truths as I understand them through a series of Memorandums like this. Then, each person who continues to receive the Memorandums accepts, rejects or modifies my suggestions and does what seems right regarding what, when, how, where, and with whom they share their beliefs with others. That’s it. Each person operates independently and covertly unless he/she chooses to appeal to others to adopt the strategy like I am appealing to you now.

ELEMENTS OF GOOD AND BAD STRATEGIES TO CHANGE HEARTS AND MINDS
It is wrong to think of Christian Nationalists as evil, stupid people. It is correct, however, to think of them as normal people like us – except that they have been deluded by fine sounding rhetoric that radically activates their political and religious beliefs. Those of us who are active in politics and/or religion should find it possible to relate to them because we might otherwise share some of their political and religious beliefs.

The main difference between us and them is their misguided zeal for Christian Nationalist ideology that overlays their politics and religion. So, just as most of us discretely avoid arguing about politics and religion with people who do not agree with us, and just as most of us avoid name-calling and bullying as strategies
for making friends, we should avoid these aggressive strategies when changing hearts and minds.

Logic and facts are meaningless arguments against Christian Nationalism ideology. Because most people know hypocrisy and insincerity when they see it, it is critical that you have the right heart attitude before you share truth without an invitation to do so. After that, it is just a matter of knowing which facts to share with
whom and when.

When imagining how religious extremists might respond to your attempts to change their hearts and minds, it is useful to put yourself in their shoes. How would you respond to aggressive, in-your-face attempts to change your heart and mind regarding your political and religious beliefs? Whatever you imagine is what
you can expect from others. That is why your strategy must be discreet, covert, patient and loving.

These tactics are necessary because, if people suspect that you are trying to manipulate them into agreeing with your personal political and religious beliefs, they are more likely to resist you, double down on their beliefs and practices, and maybe even attack you, before they listen to you.

OUTLINE OF A GOOD STRATEGY TO CHANGE HEARTS AND MINDS
If you believe that changing hearts and minds is possible, consider this strategy:

1. We who recognize the threats of religious extremism agree to mobilize and collaborate to disable the
Christian Nationalism and religious oppression in all its forms.
2. We discretely share truth about false beliefs that inspire and motivate religious extremists with
friends and family who are part of the problem.
3. We discretely recruit conscientious, zealous people like us who want to help overcome religious extremism to share the truth about the false beliefs that inspire and motivate religious extremists.

At its core, the strategy is really quite simple. The complicated part is the execution. But you won’t know that until you try to do it. Since I have been working at this for many years, I like to think I understand some of the principles of how to change hearts and minds. If you choose to get involved, you can depend on me to
share tips on how to execute your personal strategy. I will also share examples of truths that might change the hearts and minds of religious extremists. For example, here are three videos I created that describe truths that conflict with Christian Nationalist beliefs:

Introduction to bible interpretation (4 minute video podcast)
Heaven and Hell are not what you think (3 minute video podcast)
Demons, devils, satans, evil spirits and antichrists are not real (3 minute video podcast)

If you are a religious person, you might experience an adverse reaction to these videos. That kind of reaction is exactly what Christian Nationalists will experience if you share this video with them. This kind of reaction should not dissuade you from sharing it because the realities of these kinds of truths are not quickly or easily grasped. It’s a process – not a quick fix. We don’t know when the truth will begin to sink into hearts and minds. That is up to God. Our job is to just share the truths again and again with the firm belief that God will do his part changing hearts and minds if we do our job.

While I am optimistic about changing hearts and minds, I am not naive about the risks and difficulty involved when we discretely share truth with people who very likely do not want to hear what we have to say. The challenge is the same as lovingly and patiently detoxifying someone who has been deceived by a charismatic cult leader, or like trying to convince someone to change their politics or religion. It is hard because they sincerely believe in their hearts and minds that their religion and politics are biblical and affirmed by God. If we are not respectful of the origins and depths of these beliefs, we will make enemies instead of friends.

CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS IS POSSIBLE – BUT NOT EASY
The bible reports that oppression, persecution and domination by other religious groups has always been a feature of religion. This fact is referenced often in the symbolism of warfare between nations. We learn from these stories that overcoming religious oppression does not happen quickly or easily. But the bible also tells us that hearts and minds can be changed. This is where we put our hope for change.

Knowledge that hearts and minds can be changed gives us reason to believe that our strategy will be successful if we are careful to follow biblical principles. Sadly, these principles are never featured in religious teachings or doctrines. This is another issue where you can depend on me to share what I have learned. Before we get to that point, the first thing you need to do is to abandon previous beliefs that conventional political/social action strategies work. If you are double minded on this point, your efforts will fail. If you don’t believe that truth alone has the power to change hearts and minds, your unbelief inhibits your power and authority to speak truth to others. Your beliefs are either gateways or obstacles to what God wants to do.

Furthermore, if you don’t fully believe in your heart that truth alone has the power to change hearts and minds, your efforts will do more harm than good. You will just need to trust me about this. It’s a spiritual thing that I can’t explain. And if this doesn’t make sense to you, just remember that we would not be in the current social/political mess if conventional strategies for healing division were effective.

By the way, those of you who do not believe in God might be interested to know that lack of belief in God is not an obstacle to God working through you. Examples of this actually appear in the bible. As I said, your beliefs are either gateways or obstacles to what God wants to do. I said this in the context of belief that truth accomplishes what social/political strategies cannot do to change hearts and minds.

What this means for atheists and agnostics is this:

If you think that religious extremists misrepresent God (if indeed God exists) and his ways because they interpret the bible literally, and, if you think that symbolic interpretations of the bible accurately represent God (if he exists) and his ways, and, if you actively share those correct, symbolic interpretations with religious extremists so that they might know the truth about how to interpret the bible, then, your actions are gateways for changes of hearts and minds.

In other words, it is belief in how the bible should be interpreted (i.e., literally or symbolically) that matters to God. The overriding
truth that God wants us to share, whether we believe in him or not, is that the truth about him and his ways exists in symbolic bible interpretations – not in literal interpretations. I you can accept this principle, then God can use you to overcome religious extremism.

A CALL TO ACTION
It is not an understatement to say that the social/political/religious environment is deteriorating at an unacceptable rate. I don’t know about you, but I for one am not willing to idly watch that happen.

As I observe the news and social media, I see a lot of fear, anger and worry in reporting of facts and personal experiences by observers and victims of religious oppression. What I don’t see are proposals for action that are different from anything tried before. Politicians and religious leaders recite time-worn platitudes about
loving one another, listening, respect and compromise as keys to change. These are not unimportant behaviors, but they alone will not change hearts and minds.

Because my conscience won’t let me live with inaction, and because I do not trust politicians or religious leaders to lead a movement to change hearts and minds, I am compelled to invite you to collaborate with me and others whose concern for the welfare of people abused by religion is similarly aroused to the point of action. I hope that this describes you.

If you are interested, it would be good for you to verify that I am not some kind of crackpot religious weirdo. A good place to begin is this video I created about Christian Nationalism. If you want to know about the efforts I have already made to confront religious extremism and steer religious people away from interpreting the
bible literally to interpreting it symbolically, you can check out my posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. In all of these platforms you will find posts that reveal what I believe, and why I believe it.

If you want to know even more about what motivates me, you can go to The Cry of My Heart and my primary website Religion Detox Network. If you are interested to learn more about changing hearts and minds, watch for more messages from me.

You don’t need to contact me or subscribe to anything. If you are not interested, I am sure you will do what is necessary to ensure that you don’t get any more messages from me. I will not purposely pester you with messages.

Finally, be assured that I will never ask you for money, try to sell you something or otherwise use your
identity for any purpose other than what I have discussed here.
Thanks for your attention.