BOUNDED RATIONALITY -- LESSONS FOR CHRISTIANS

Within the discipline of “Behavioral Economics” the social economists developed the concept of “Rational Choice Theory”. This hypothesis assumes that consumers will always make rational choices to benefit themselves.

To optimize their survival strategies, “Rational Choice Theory” presupposes that consumer choices will always be sensible, logically reasoned, and economically wise—in a word, “Rational”.

However, consumer theorists soon realized that their assumptive “Rational Choice Theory” is flawed, mainly because of three limitations that in the end result in sub-optimal decisions. The three limiting factors are: 1) Cognitive Limitations [not enough smarts]; 2) Information Limitations [not enough facts]; 3) Time Limitations [not enough time to make the best possible decision].

The theorists recognized that certain “irrationalities” assert themselves in the psyche of the buying public due to the above three constraints. Buyer biases, consumer contradictions, purchasing paradoxes and anomalies, revealed to mainstream economists and researchers that various “animal spirits” [as per John Maynard Keynes] or, unconscious, instinctive, and impulsive reactions [according to Freudian psychology] impact negatively upon the decision-making processes of the consumer.

To describe this phenomenon the phrase “bounded rationality” was coined, meaning the “rational” element of the human mind became “bound” by “irrationality”, or the “animal spirit”.

This theory posited that rational choice becomes “irrational” because the reasoning faculties became “bound”—knotted up by three limitations which cause the consumer to become muddle-minded and confused. Rational decision-making capacities are “held captive”—or “bound” – like a prisoner that has limited freedoms and choices.

These “irrationalities” act contrary to logical, sane, sound-minded behavior. “Rational” decisions become “bound” to severely limit the logical decision-making mind of the purchasing public—you and me, the harassed and hurried money-spending buyers.

The consequence of “bounded rationality” is that the individual can’t think logically or make reasoned judgements to buy intelligently. The driving force in the purchasing psyche is the irrational animalistic and unreasoned instinctive urge to survive—compromising both quality and cost.

South Africa, if not the world, experienced such irrational buying behavior at the outbreak of Covid-19. The populace became fear-driven—fear of food shortages, and even toilet paper! [What a biological contradiction … do starving and totally famished people need toilet paper?] The populace experienced “bounded rationally”. They could not think straight, or sanely! And some Churchians abandoned their professed faith in God’s protective power and binge-bought basic foodstuffs … and toilet paper!

Under the Governmental, medical, and industrially induced fears rationality became captured—BOUNDED!—by the three limitations: Cognitive Limitations, Information Limitations, and Time Limitations. The public were being hassled to make quick decisions [Time Limitation] without being factually apprised [Information Limitation] and thus not fully comprehending the “crisis” [Cognitive Limitation].

Analogously there exists within “Mainstream Churchianity” a type of “conversion theory” which also results in “bounded rationality”.

During evangelistic campaigns there are Theological Information Limitations; there are Time Limitations, restricting the time in which to make the most serious decision in human life—to live eternally or be burned in hell fire! And, due to the emotional pressure imposed, the “buyer”—the harried and hurried “repentant” sinner—becomes mentally disturbed, confused, and illogical, resulting in Cognitive Limitations.

The reduced logically reasoned and intelligently judged decision-making process becomes a mere “animalistic” survival reaction—an instinctive, impulsive, self-preservational, emotional response to gain maximum benefit [eternal salvation] as ignorantly as possible, as quickly as possible, and as irrationally as possible.

If you consider this assessment as harshly unreasonable or absurdly unfounded, let me ask you: What percentage of those who “gave their hearts to the Lord” actually “LIVED AS UNTO THE LORD?”

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CHURCHIANS ARE ACTUALLY CHRISTIANS? [Churchians are committed to their Church rather than to Christ. They love their corporate human creation more than their Creator! (Ro 1:25)]

Once Satan has devised a successful deception strategy to induce poor decisions in any field—international economic manipulations, battle-field operations, car sales, or supermarket purchases—he does not have to re-invent his wobbly wheel. He applies the same ubiquitous tactics in all disciplines and human endeavors, knowing that human nature—which is his own satanic nature [James 3:14-16], engendered by him in Eden--has remained the same for some 6000 years. He can, therefore, successfully apply the same “devices” today as in Eden to achieve his devastating purposes designed to destroy humanity.

By misquoting or misapplying scripture, or not supplying all the relevant information [Information Limitation], hassling people into quick decision-making [Time Limitation], and thus preventing sufficient thinking, analyzing and information processing and therefore obstructing full and clear understanding of the “contract”, the covenant commitment and the associated responsibilities of “giving your heart to the Lord Jesus” [Cognitive Limitation], the “customers”—the “shoppers” at the evangelistic campaign—become the victims of “bounded rationality”. They make irrational decisions based on incomplete information within an emotionally laden environment inside a harried campaign setting under the influence of a “power marketer”—a blaring, ear-splitting, stentorian-voiced, fear-mongering evangelist.

People in such situations make fear-induced, self-preservation based, irrational, “save-my-soul”, decisions. Their “rationality” has become “bounded”. Their “decision for the Lord” is flawed, being made under pressure, without rational consideration and without all the necessary facts. They make uninformed decisions—poor quality decisions.

And here’s the tragedy: They have been misled into thinking they are “saved”! The three forces of “bounded rationality” accompany their religious life for all time thereafter which could lead them directly into the lake of fire! Unless the Eternal mercifully leads them into sane, informed decisions over a longer period of time thereafter, they are truly “lost”!

Scripture demands people to “study to show themselves approved unto God” [2 Tim 2:15]. Study provides the TIME to garner the FACTS and make RATIONAL DECISIONS. Depending on the Eternal’s calling, and spirit guidance, that can lead to – not impart! – Eternal life,

Yes, I am fully aware of the calling-faith-grace-election-holy-spirit-led-Christ-committed elements, and that a million years of study cannot ensure your salvation (which is imparted through faith in Christ). But the fact still remains, study is part of the process of overcoming “bounded theology”—or, plainly, false teaching and heretical dogma bounded in millennia-long satanic deceptions!

We must face the horrific truth that ecclesiastical error, denominational deception, Churchian canards, clerical falsehood, and religious delusions are the cognitive fabric of bounded theological and teleological [creative purpose] irrationality!

Irrational bounded theology dominates the Churchian supermarkets: the friar’s fair, the pulpit potentates’ power-preaching, the false vision-seeing and fame seekers’ cock-and-bull stories, the hot-gospeler’s hellish mendacity and the egotistic evangelist’s fictional fabrications and inventions—and loony trips to “heaven”!

All this adds grist to the Churchian mill--and the preachers’ pocket.

It requires a truly bible-based analytical rigor—honest consideration of the Word—to become “rationally [and theologically] unbound”, to be set free from the commercially concocted Churchian “goods”. [See our previous blog, “Are you eating at the wrong table?”]

Isaiah foresaw the “bounded rationality” of Judaism and Christianity when proclaiming the coming of Messiah and His great work of spiritual deliverance of CAPTIVE RELIGIONISTS—imprisoned in their PAGAN TRADITIONS—and thus bound theologically.

Isaiah prophesied about the eventual deliverance of the two spiritual strongholds. Serving as Messiah’s mouthpiece, he prophetically declares: “YEHOVAH, has anointed me [the anticipated Messiah] to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me [the coming Christ] to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…” [Is 61:1].

He declared the liberation from bounded theology of those who were spiritual captives [theologically bound and doctrinally imprisoned] under a future Pharisaic dogma [those suffering the deception, dishonesty and harsh rigidity of the so-called Oral Law—centuries later chronicled as the Mishnah, Talmud and Gematria], as well as those being held captive by the Pagan philosophy and deceptive doctrines absorbed into historic Churchianity and refined over centuries by Rome and the Reformers.

Yes, church leaders enslave people with their humanly devised philosophically based doctrines and private interpretations of the scriptures. “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” [Mat 23:4].

But through the gracious elective calling of the eternal Father [Jn 6:44, 65] and a thorough study of the Scriptures [2 Tim 2:15 and 3:16, which specifically means the Old Testament since the New Covenant scriptures had not yet been fully compiled at that time], and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can have UN-BOUNDED, SPIRITUAL and eternal SALFIVIC UNDERSTANDING.

IN and through Christ we can have the fullness of revealed UN-bounded knowledge of the Eternal God. We can be captives set free from man-made, demon-designed, theological schemata. We need no sanctimonious, sentimental, weeping or arrogant prophets-come-lately to proffer their false dreams and “other-spirit” inspired revelations. We need no date-setters, calendric manipulators, Elijah imposters or messianic appointees.

Messiah shall appear in the clouds of glory after being given the dominion over the earth by His Father in heaven [Dan 7:14]. Accompanied by his myriads of angels he will collect from around the globe the true saints---saints as declared by Him, not by any ecclesiastical cabal established upon an ancient Jupiterian hilltop temple-site in Rome!

These saints will meet Him in the clouds to descend with Him upon the Mount of Olives to assume the gift of kingly rulership over humanity by means of the Torah--the LAW. The Torah [the Law] is Christ’s “rod” by which He will rule or govern humanity. See Revelation 2:27, 12:5 and 19:15.

Torah-rule will be executed by the saints under the Kingship of Christ [Daniel 7:18 and 22]. This RULERSHIP is reflected in Psalm 149:5-9.

5 “Let the saints be joyful in glory [that is, after their resurrection, having been provided with

glorified spirit bodies at the return of Christ]. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,

and a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance upon the heathen,

and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor [the magnificence and majesty of kingship, as per Rev 1:6 and 5:10] have all his saints. Praise ye YEHOVAH.”

He will rule by means of the law. The glorified saints will assist Him in his royal rulership responsibilities. They will rule from Mount Zion over all nations. But to become part of this royal-priestly rulership family the constant study of and meditation on Yehovah’s word is an imperative. We cannot be taken up into the royal ruling family as “strangers” and renegades—teaching people on earth that Sunday is “the Lord’s day” when Christ himself will be teaching the seventh day Sabbath as holy unto YEHOVAH!

Do you think, dear reader, that the Father will accept in His kingdom people who will teach that the sacred annual holy days are “done away” as “Jewish” ceremonial laws when He designed and instituted those days as early as Genesis 1:14 and will institute them to be kept in the millennium? Zechariah 14 clearly states that all nations will have to observe those sacred days of Leviticus 23 or be severely punished by drought and famine!

Do you think for one second that Christ will have as His international emissaries and king-priests any who will teach the monstrous misrepresentations of Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s, All Saints, and a host of other revolting, depraved, foul, shamefully conceived pagan holidays to replace his sacred and salvation-based holy days? If he allows that, his kingdom will be divided into the myriads of pagan religions that we have on earth today. In other words, his kingdom will be a replication of the religious corruption and division we experience on earth today! Satan will thus still rule the nations and continue with his cunning and hellishly depraved religious concoctions!

How smart do you think it will be if, in Christ’s kingdom, you will teach and preach the mistaken, immoral, iniquitous, and sinful teachings of reincarnation, the immortal soul, the [n]ever consuming hell fire, Christ’s MISTAKE in NOT rapturing anybody before the tribulation? Presumably during the millennium the rapturists (if there are any left on earth!) having their theory ruptured, will have to be taught the truth about Christ’s return even after he has already returned!

Some Churchian folk who may remain on earth as normal flesh and blood people, and not finding themselves in heaven, will, like the deluded Scribes and Pharisees of 2000 years ago, argue with Christ. He can’t be Messiah they would argue, because, according to their doctrine, he should have taken their whole Christian cabal up to heaven for a thousand years to examine billions of people’s dirty sinful secret lives, declare them damned and send them to hell!

The Jews will argue with Him because they expected a normal flesh-and-blood Jew from the Bronx, Babylon or Bayuk Agn Dagi [known to us common folk as Mt Ararat], declared to be their Messiah by another bible chronology manipulating false prophet, like Akiva?

Do you think that Christ will accept as part of an ecumenical and syncretistic world religion people who will demand skull caps, the tonsure, philosophers’ black togas, circular [sun-god disk] crispy communion wafers dipped in wine and supernaturally “transubstantiating” into the REAL blood of Christ and His REAL flesh? And, in another corner of the kingdom there will be super-duper holy ones drinking grape juice with their fluffy white leavened bread? Will Christ place Mary next to Him in the kingdom or above Him? Will millions still have to seek her intervention even when Christ is on earth? Will the memory of the fertility goddess Ishtar and Ba’al, alias Semiramis and Nimrod, still be venerated each Easter and Christmas?

How IRRATIONAL can anybody be to think that the holiness of YEHOVAH can be merged with the lust-laden, sensually based "spirituality" of paganism in His holy kingdom?

If we desire to understand the mind and methods of the Eternal God and how he will rule humanity in the world to come, and not be rationally bound in our theological understanding, we need to commit ourselves to the Word.

More about the bounded theology of Churchianity in a future blog. In the meantime, may the Eternal supply all your insights and understanding in Christ through the study of the Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.