Sunday, July 01, 2012

More on Deception

It's weird how something as simple as introducing an artificial light source can mess up the simple navigation system of a moth. If you stop to think that some insects use the bright distant light of the sun or moon as reference points for navigation and can fly a relatively straight line by doing so, it becomes easier to see that a close light source like a light bulb or flame might cause the same insect to spiral inward to its demise.

Unfortunately, our brains are just as easily deceived when it comes to artificial shadows or shading. We use the shadows and light to determine depth and color in most things that we see. When the shadows are false or not really there, our brains act as if they are real and present us with false truths.

For example:
In the picture below, the shaded yellow square on the front of the cube is the exact same color as the brown square on the top of the cube that appears to be in the light. We "see" the light and shadow and perceive the colors accordingly. But the reality is that it is just a two dimensional picture that only appears to have a light source.



The best way to see this for yourself is to copy the picture to your computer and then open it with Microsoft Paint or a similar program that will allow you to cut a piece out and move it to over lay the other color.
You can do the same thing for this picture that shows that both A and B are the same shade of grey.



Cool, huh?

This last one (for today) is one of my personal favorites.



You can just cover the middle area with your hand or fingers (or a narrow strip of paper). By removing the shading, you can see that A and B are, again, the same shade of grey.

If our natural perceptions can be so easily manipulated and tricked into false beliefs, doesn't it also make sense that our spiritual perceptions can be fooled. When we look at the things of the world through the eyes and perceptions of a natural man, we see things as men. We need to see the world as God sees it. We need to remember that, as believers, we are new creations, new beings in Christ Jesus our Lord and we need see and act as Jesus would act.

John<><

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Prov 16:25

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