Sex, Politics and Religion

37 thoughts on “Sex, Politics and Religion”

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2. Amen sister! Militant atheists and agnostics are all bark and no bite!

   My favorite tactic is to ask them: What proof and evidence do you have that atheism is true? When you have an aggressive atheist confront you, certainly you can offer defenses of Christianity, but by all means go on the attack!

   “Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.” – Sun Tzu

   “The initiative, once handed over to the enemy, is hard to regain ; ward off blows for a week and your hands are full of defensive details, you begin to be apprehensive of the unseen work of the enemy, and you abandon your plan on small provocation.” Captain Johnstone, The Foundations of Strategy

3. I find it interesting how many people are threatened by a difference of opinion or thought that someone else has. For instance, why should I, as a Christian, be threatened by an atheist, believing that there is no God? Just because someone says there is no God or anything else does not make it a fact. Anyone can state anything, but it does not become fact because it has been stated. The example I always use is: If I walk you into a garage and tell you that you are a car, does that make you a car? I don’t think so!

4. The last two posts were mine. I accidentally typed in the name Phil B. as the author of those posts.

5. Mike Michelozzi,

   You wrote:

   “As Steve and “mentally tough” people know, it’s emotion and passion that drive people and what drives emotion and passion is not logic is not critical analysis is not pramatic objectionalism – it’s belief, survival mechanisms, and all forms of emotion from which passion arises.”

   Of course, emotion and passion are powerful forces which can be channeled to help drive people to achieve their objectives/goals.

   However, logic and critical analysis play a part too. For example, astute salesmen provide sound benefits and reasons why people should buy something, but they also fuel a buyers emotional reasons to buy plus establish a rapport and long term loyalty.

   Also, Goethe wrote:

   “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

   I would argue that logic and critical analysis builds confidence and commitment to take a particular course of action because you know it is a sound course of action. I realize that life does not always provide absolute certainty when making a decision, but doing due diligence through critical analysis does inspire greater confidence in a course of action and thus increases commitment. And commitment is very important to passion.

6. Phil B,

   I do believe in supporting my claims via facts, figures, etc. Citations via links, etc. is the most efficient way on the internet to do this. Unlike atheists and rabid, thoughtless Bible skeptics, I don’t have the luxury throwing out ill founded allegations with reckless abandon. Since atheism is a castle built on thin air with no evidential support, atheists are reduced to lobbing inane allegations which have no foundation.

   Second, you can speculate all day long on the degree of my emotional intelligence all you want, but armchair internet psychology is a dubious practice to say the least.

   Third, I have worked in several fields which require the hide of rhinoceros plus an understanding of human nature. Currently, I work in a field which requires a lot of mental toughness plus analytical and technical skills as well. In my field, it is not unusual to have tens of thousands of critics in a 5 year period which is not surprising in the post 1960s culture war era. People either love me or hate me. So I already have a fair degree of mental toughness. Plus, I have read the works of mental toughness experts such as Peter Clough, Jim Loehr, George W. Dudley and Shannon Goodson plus sports psychologists as well. However, there is always room for improvement and Steve’s book 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class: The Thought Processes, Habits and Philosophies of the Great Ones appears to be a good book.

   Steve’s latest book appears to be a dud though. But hey, even Babe Ruth struck out sometimes. 🙂

7. Hi Steve,
   Let me first compliment you on your new book. I am loooking forward to reading it. In perusing through the comments to your blog, it is interesting to me to see the wide spectrum of responses. I must comment, however, that Paul needs to back up and take a breath. To me he is couching his emotional responses in quotes and web sites. I did see that he is comitted to read your “177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class”. Perhaps he can develop an additional perspective in his though processes.

   My first immediate reaction when I saw the title of your new book was,”finally, someone is taking on the much over-emphasized PC, political correctness”. We, our country, needs a counter to this much hyped yet devoid of logical thinking phenom. I hope you are over whelmed with media and publicity requests.

   My hope is that you will be starting a national awakening to looking at things with some logic and common sense for a change. I will enjoy watching your success.

8. Steve and/or Steve’s staff,

   Thanks for appearing to reconsider and publishing those 2 recent blog posts.

   No hard feelings. I have decided to buy Steve’s book 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class: The Thought Processes, Habits and Philosophies of the Great Ones which appears to be a good book and his most popular book as well.

   Obviously, I will not be buying his latest book as I know social liberalism and Bible skepticism are not warranted by the evidence.

   Again, no hard feelings.

9. Dear Steve,

   By censoring my last 2 post which made legitimate points, you have further demonstrated that atheism is not for the mentally tough, but for those who are mentally and morally weak.

   Here is an article on atheism and cowardice http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_cowardice which helps demonstrate the mental and moral weakness of contemporary atheists.

   “Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.” – Tom Stoppard

   Thoughts?

   Paul

10. Steve,

    Some additional thoughts:

    1. You wrote:

    “I am interested in promoting free thinking, and following a 2,000 year old book of symbolic literature full of hatred, bigotry and intolerance authored by men born in the iron age is NOT free thinking.”

    A few additional comments:

    1. Newer is not truer. One of the logical fallacies that atheists/agnostics/skeptics often commit is the appeal to novelty which you are doing. You are definitely not demonstrating critical thinking here.

    2. The Bible is not merely contain symbolism. For example, the gospel writer Luke is considered by many to be one of the finest historians of antiquity due to his careful recording of events which has been corroborated by historical and archaeological evidence (see: http://www.doxa.ws/Bible/Luke.html and http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/acts.htm).

    Next Steve you wrote:

    “I have no interest in promoting Atheism or Agnosticism.”

    My reply:

    You also have unwarrantedly disparaged the Bible and advocated “free thinking”. Since atheists often refer to themselves as “free thinkers”, I am asking you if you are atheist. The reason I ask this question is that atheism has often been referred to as the stealth religion and historically atheists have been unable to effectively defend their worldview. That is one of the reasons why global atheism and global agnosticism is shrinking in the world while global Christianity is experiencing dramatic growth (see: http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/05/globally-worldviews-of-atheism-and-non.html ).

    So I am asking you, are you an atheist? If so, what compelling defense of atheism are you able to offer via sound logic and evidence?

    Next, I realize that you have been one of the leading business speakers in the world. In the past though, you offered more sound material than the material you are offering in this latest book judging from some of the videos I have seen of yours.

    However, there is a definitely trend of America becoming more religiously conservative due to the higher birth rates of religious conservatives (see: http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-are-years-2012-and-2020-key-years.html). Your book and the efforts of other social liberals are not going to change that. Plus, Bible believing Christians are now becoming highly active on the internet while the efforts of atheists on the internet are stalling and their viewership is dropping significantly (see: http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/05/internet-atheism-and-skepticism-thrill.html and http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2012/05/hundreds-of-houston-missionaries-share-testimonies-online/ ).

    As a result, I don’t think your anti-Bible efforts are going to bear much fruit. Plus, each year the pro-life lobby gets stronger due the higher birth rates of religious conservatives.

    Furthermore, I see your efforts merely having the possibility of undermining some people’s mental strength. For example, atheists have one of the highest suicide rates (see: http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.html). On the other hand, the Mayo Clinic after examining hundreds of studies found that religious involvement significantly enhances a person’s mental and physical health (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11761504 ). Also, in the journal article Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: Associations, explanations, and implications, psychologists McCullough and Willoughby theorize that many of the positive links of religiousness with health and social behavior may be caused by religion’s beneficial influences on self-control/self-regulation (see: http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/mmccullough/Papers/Relig_self_control_bulletin.pdf ).

    The only thing I see your new book achieving long term is the harming of your business. And of course, it is totally unnecessary. There are plenty of leading business speakers who advocate things such as persistence, self-discipline and having a positive mental attitude without resorting to illegitimate and poorly reasoned attacks on the Bible.

11. Steve,

    A few additional thoughts:

    Although we disagree on some matters, there are areas we can agree on such as the overgrown nanny state.

    Here is a fair question: What candidate running for president offered the most reasonable and evidence based policies which would pare down the nanny state? Was it Ron Paul? Ron Paul is a Baptist.

    On the other hand, Barack Obama, who has been very hostile to biblical Christianity and was the first president to invite an atheist organization to the White House (see: http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=106938 ) is miring the United States in massive amounts of debt.

    Lastly, while I recognize that you have gained access to many American corporations, it was not due to Bible bashing and promotion of socially liberal policies. It was due to you offering more sound information on mental toughness. The speaker Zig Ziglar and other Christians have gained access to these same organizations and these individuals are not irrational and weak minded people.

12. Steve,

    You wrote: “As far atheism is concerned, it is simply a non-belief, which requires no proof. It’s a belief based on a lack of evidence.”

    This is a standard response of atheists who are not very philosophically sophisticated. However, this is not how the leading encyclopedias of philosophy define atheism. For example, atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and other philosophy reference works, is the denial of the existence of God. Here are is an additional resource and it gives the etymology of atheism: http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm While it is true that the British philosopher Anthony Flew attempted to dilute the definition of atheism, it is also true that he subsequently converted to theism via deism. Plus Flew failed to convince the larger body of fellow philosophers to adopt his diluted definition of atheism. How is your definition of atheism any different from many people who call themselves agnostics.

    Second, it seems to me that you are acting hypocritically as far as demanding evidence for Christianity, yet failing to provide any evidence supporting atheism. What proof and evidence do you have that atheism is true? I at least pointed out that the apostles, who were eyewitnesses, were willing to die for their belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Plus, I alluded to a whole host of evidence for Christianity in other areas (see: http://www.apologetics315.com/ ).

    Third, you claim that the Bible is full of hate and bigotry, yet history tells us that Christianity has grown precisely due to its message of love plus that love demonstrated. I would suggest read the article “The Triumph of the gospel of love at: http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/church_history/themistocles_triumph_love.htm. Plus, Christians/theists give more to charity per capita than atheists do even if their church donations are excluded, see: http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians

    Third, you claim my comments are emotionally based, but I don’t see how you can effectively engage in “armchair internet psychology” on someone you barely know. There is a difference between critical thinking and atheism. For example, Baylor University found that the irreligious were more likely to hold superstitious views (astrology, etc.) as can be seen here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html Also, a 1980 study published in the magazine Skeptical Inquirer that showed irreligious college students to be by far the most likely to embrace paranormal beliefs, while born-again Christian college students were the least likely as seen in that same Wall Street Journal article.

    Fourth, while I do think we disagree on various matters (Christianity, atheism, and social liberalism), there are areas we do agree on as I am a business owner. For example, the importance of entrepreneurship, mental toughness, smaller government, etc. In my past, before I owned a business, I sold a $180 product door to door and closed 1 out 6 clients with a commission rate of about 25%. I also was a debt collector. In other words, I learned mental toughness the hard way!

    Lastly, I have a feeling you have a lot of animosity towards Christianity/Jesus due to some person in your life such as a close family member who claimed to be a follower of Christ yet acted poorly. Jesus warned of wolves in sheep’s clothing and insincere Christians, yet as I demonstrated Christians are far more charitable and perform other acts of kindness than their irreligious counterparts. But perhaps I am wrong in this matter. Maybe, the main issue is that you just want to do your own thing and dislike the idea of God who is going to ultimately going to hold each person accountable for their actions.

13. Steve,

    Google Insights for Search is indicating you are becoming less popular over time. Why?

    The more you bash the Bible and use words like “free thinking” which is just a code word for atheism, the more Google Insights for Search says your popularity is going down as can be seen here: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=steve%20siebold&cmpt=q Atheism is extremely despised in America and from a business point of view you are shooting yourself in the foot. For example, Texas is booming with a lot of business activity and you aren’t winning many friends in places like Texas ( I do not live in Texas).

    Atheism has no proof and evidence behind it, while Christianity has tons of evidence including the apostles who were eyewitness and willing to die for their beliefs, Bible archeology, fulfilled Bible prophecy, historical evidence and a host of other evidence. Atheism is irrational while Christianity is rational.

    You could be helping a lot of people with your evidence based material and making 5 times the income, but going off into tangents to promote social liberal causes and atheism, is not going to help your business or your customers.

    From a long term marketing view and from an overall practical view, this book and your past mixing of your personal opinions not based on evidence, but mere opinion is a big mistake.

    I think you have a lot of potential, but I think you are doing counter productive things from a business point of view.

    1. Paul,
       You assume that I’m interested in building popularity. I am not. You also assume I’m interested in making 5 times as much money. I am not. The purpose of this book is to wake people up before it’s too late to save this country. I have no interest in promoting Atheism or Agnosticism. I am interested in promoting free thinking, and following a 2,000 year old book of symbolic literature full of hatred, bigotry and intolerance authored by men born in the iron age is NOT free thinking. There is no proof whatsoever of the supernatural claims of the Bible. As far atheism is concerned, it is simply a non-belief, which requires no proof. It’s a belief based on a lack of evidence. As far as helping more people, thats exactly what I’m trying to do. Last year I was in front of over 50 million people thanks to over 100 TV appearances worldwide, as well as hundreds of radio shows and print interviews about my work.
       This year will be the same or larger, which is more than any speaker in the industry. You obviously don’t agree with my views, and thats fine, but I would ask you to consider them before you make emotionally fueled judgments and assume things you can’t possibly know. Thats what I have taught the biggest companies in business for 16 years, which is how I can afford to say what I think and not worry about being popular.
       Your thoughts?
       Steve

14. If the Landing page upsets you,
    PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. 🙂

15. Steve,

    Those emotional thinkers are going to push your book to the top! Now that is critical thinking at it’s best.

    best regards

    1. David,
       Good thought, but surprisingly it’s been the critical thinkers who are buying the book and inviting me on their shows. This book is so tough on the emotional thinkers that I’m trying to stop them from buying it! I didn’t write this book for money, I wrote it to fuel a national conversation before it’s too late. In the first 48 hours that the media has had it, the phone is ringing off the hook. It’s incredible.
       Thanks for your comment.
       Steve

16. Oh no. My under construction web address is wrong in the previous comment. Left out the ‘e’ in pen. No way to correct it. Signed, embarrassed wordsmith.

17. Well I’ve read the SPR book three times already and I CAN’T WAIT to see the reaction and commentary it will generate.

    It’s so loaded with interesting, thought-provoking content – and what a refreshing relief from the endless avalanche of election politics that constantly bashes – and nearly buries – us.

    Good for you, Steve!

    Brenda

    http://www.potentpn.com
    (NEW design under construction)

    1. Thanks, Brenda.
       Steve

18. Thank you for writing Sex, Politics and Religion and thank you for creating the landing page warning people who are emotionally fueled not to buy it.

    Personally, I think you did an excellent job with the landing page. You covered a lot of very controversial topics in your book and I think it is great that you took personal responsibility for it’s contents and you chose to warn your readers what they’re in for before they decide to buy it.

    I also agree with Wes Hopper that this is a very powerful launch technique for your book. I wanted to read it before I read the landing page but now that I see the many topics you’ve written about, it makes me want to read it all the more.

    Sex, Politics and Religion has the potential to turn things around and help get this country back on track but it can only succeed if the masses decide to be emotionally grown up and mature enough to look at life through the eyes of logic and chose to be mentally tough and grown up enough to set things right again. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of grown ups in our world anymore and it’s a shame.

    Congratulations Steve.
    I wish you all the best!

    1. Thanks, Lisa. And I agree with you: it’s time for the grown ups to grow up and take this country to the next level before it’s too late. Hopefully this book will help fuel conversation.
       Steve

19. Brilliant book so far.

    1. Thansk, Christina!

20. Thanks for doing us all a favor and simply “telling it like it is.” I find it very refreshing. Thanks for sharing.

    Scott Pritchard
    Las Vegas

    1. Thanks, Scott. The response so far has been fantastic.
       Steve

21. Steve almost all the industries are based on the human emotional reaction. You know that. And it will take allot of time & effort to change.
    But the good news is that it has started!

    1. Mike,
       I agree, and thats why we all have to keep pushing logic based decision making. I didn’t plan it, but I think this book is coming out at the right time. It’s time for the thought leaders in this country to step up and be heard!
       Thanks for your comment.
       Steve

22. Steve,
    One question – we acknowledge that this country/society is in its adolescence, and want to know what you think about European countries and where they are emotionally.

    1. Marian/Leroy,
       Great question. When it comes to sexual expression and freedom, there’s no question Europe is way ahead of the puritanical United States. We don’t even have comprehensive sex education in our public schools! Europe is also much more mature when it comes to religion. 92% of Americans believe in the Bible, yet less than 10% have ever read the entire book! Our leaders love to proclaim that America is “God’s Country”, which is certainly one of the greatest propaganda campaigns of all time. We slaughter the Indians, steal their country and then claim to be God’s Country? America is still a great country, but we need to learn from our older and sometimes wiser friends overseas. I just hope it’s not too late.
       Thanks for your comments.
       Steve

23. We read the introduction and are in full agreement with what you have to say. You have put into words the conversation that we have been having for a long time. Thank you. This is a conversation who’s time has finally come. “Build it and they will come”, they say. Write it and they will read, we say. Steve, stay on the creative course you are already on – we are right behind you!

24. I want to get the ebook version but couldn’t find it in the Kindle ebook store??

    1. Brian,
       The kindle version will be out in a week or so.
       Steve
       P.S. We just built the pool you designed at the lakehouse. It came out great!

25. Without yet reading the book OR even the landing page, I have to say that this is one of the most powerful launch techniques I’ve seen for a book in, like, forever. Sex, politics, religion and controversy – what a way to get people fired up! Especially since the primary theme of the book is correct. Emotion, not logic, hooks people.
    Now if I can just find a good way to apply this to my next launch…hmmm.
    Well done, Steve.

    1. Thanks, Wes, but it’s less of a marketing tactic than a way to wake people up to whats happening in America. So far it’s working pretty well.
       Steve

26. I have checked it out and I think it is fine. I just received a picture from a friend of mine who believed that the photo was a picture of Air Force One and how President Obama had repainted the plane to match his campaign slogans. She was upset over the President replacing the American flag with his logo. She was outraged until I showed her that the plane was a Boeing 757 and Air Force One was a 747. Her emotion clouded her ability to think clearly and therefore support her beliefs about the President. The point is, when will we stop allowing the media, politicians, and yes church leaders, twist us into a frenzy by using emotional presentations to cloud our critical thinking? As long as we keep thinking the way have been thinking, we will keep getting what we have always gotten!

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