I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt.
the Egyptian magicians did the same with their spells, Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he did not heed them—as the LORD had spoken.
when Pharaoh saw that there was relief [from the plague], his heart was made heavy and would not heed them, as the LORD had spoken.
and the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he would not heed them, as the LORD had spoken.
When Pharaoh inquired, he found that not a head of the livestock of Israel had died; Pharaoh's heart became heavy, and he would not let the people go.
the LORD stiffened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not heed them, just as the LORD had told Moses.
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Book by Jonathan Haidt:
We were never designed to listen to reason. When you ask people moral questions, time their responses and scan their brains, their answers and brain activation patterns indicate that they reach conclusions quickly and produce reasons later only to justify what they’ve decided.
What helps break through?
1. Being at ease, physically and emotionally (even smelling something nice!)
2. Relationships - I will accept new information from someone I care about,
4. Understanding that there are moral schema that are different from your own, taking seriously the idea that other people are not "duped" or "stupid" or "evil", but that they are prioritizing different "moral flavors"
12 step insights
- Appealing to a Higher Power, or at least using language that acknowledges one's powerlessness over one's own thinking and behavior
-Taking seriously the idea of "becoming entirely ready" as its own step
- Sometimes, the necessity of "hitting bottom", finding the limitations of your current views