Exactly. Most Christians do not understand the parable of the rich man and the eye of the needle or how it relates to logical fallacies but it does and in a very important way. The eye of the needle was a narrow passageway through one city's wall. In order for a camel to get through the eye of the needle, the saddlebags would have had to have been removed. Saddlebags are where a rich man would keep his wealth. If the rich man removes his saddlebags so his camel can squeeze through the eye of the needle, his saddlebags are likely to be heavily taxed by the guards, if not stolen outright. The rich man KNOWS he will be eating a loss if he enters the city. What the rich man does NOT know is what treasures lay within the city. Inside those city walls may be even greater wealth than that which he would sacrifice in order to enter. Inside those city walls may be the love of his life, his long lost child, or the guru who is able to help him achieve higher levels of spirituality, love and wisdom. When Jesus says that it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, he's pointing out that it is very important to be open minded and explore. People who are too lazy or afraid to explore new things will, like the rich man who will not eat a loss by entering the city, never discover what they might have discovered had they actually explored new things. So how does that tie into logical fallacies? Many people have "Momma Boucher" syndrome. Momma Boucher in the Adam Sandler Waterboy movie, regularly referred to anything she didn't understand as "the devil!". To her, even football was the devil. Women were the devil. Everything was the devil. That's the exact opposite of how to be. Her fear of becoming associated or familiar with "the devil" drove her to isolation and ignorance. If people are armored, however, by the armor of discernment, they are more willing to go explore new ideas. Discernment most definitely includes logical fallacies. That said, I think that being aware of logical fallacies emboldens us to go explore. Exploring is how we can love our neighbors by looking at things they think are significant or important. By treating people as though they have something of value to offer, we may wind up finding what that value is. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, though.

That bacon on your profile picture is the skin of Christ.

Well said!!!! I didn't realize that was the full parable of the eye of the needle! Much much more meaning I can discern from it now. Risk losing the things you are beholden to (say, unjustified claims to knowledge that you have left unchallenged) to discover the truths, the greater riches, the opportunities that cone with inspection, with the unknown.

I think it clearly distinguishes the difference between that which is a proxy to riches, and the riches themselves. Much like an analogy that is spoon fed to you, rather than the proof itself that you verified yourself, which all too commonly is missing. This proxy to riches is counterfeit prone, and used to enslave us. We chase the proxy.

Yes, I think riches are a proxy concept for “attachments”. In this case the economic wealth is used as a proxy to represent “possessions” but not economic/physical possessions. These “possessions” are beliefs or preconceived notions. This eye of the needle teaching echoes the teaching of the empty tea cup koan from the Zen tradition. If we are unwilling to let go of what we hold, we may be preventing ourselves from holding onto something better in the future.

I think I'm holding onto paying the extortion fees of the government too much. Time to let go of that panic button and just ride the freedom that comes from not filing taxes. They probably would refund me more than I have to pay in capital gains and self employment anyway, self employment yielding me I think a net 0 too, so it's probably pretty safe to just not file. That notion of having to cover my ass, I feel like I can't risk losing it. Maybe I can't risk keeping it.

Another one I like that is disturbingly true is the monkey trap tree. Dealing with asymmetry hard coded in the brain hints that the house always wins. You can burn all your possessions to the ground, but you will still find yourself picking things out of the burn pile even though you told yourself red pills from this point forward. Reading the book thinking fast and slow only reminds you that these bugs are hard coded. Like any handicap, strategy becomes your tool of choice.

I've used this meme in the past before you sent me the Tea cup note. It's a little different. I captured this from a game I was playing: Legacy of the Ancients