We Have Lost Our Minds

One Sabbath, while Jesus was teaching in a Jewish synagogue, there was a man “whose right hand was withered” (Luke 6:6). As Jesus was teaching, the “scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him” (Luke 6:7). Jesus, knowing their thoughts, called the man forward and asked those in attendance, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9). But no one answered. So, Jesus told the man to stretch out his hand, and when he did, his “hand was restored” like new (Luke 6:10). One would think that all present would rejoice and glorify God for the man’s healing, but this was not the case. Instead, they were all “filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11).

The Greek word translated here as “rage” is particularly interesting. It is the word anoia [ἄνοια] and is a compound word containing the negative particle “a” and the Greek word “noia” meaning mind, intellect, or thought. This word is most often translated as “folly” or “foolishness” and represents the state of one who has ceased from acting rationally. In a sense, they had lost their minds and had become fools. While it may be true, as Rebekah Eklund argues, that anoia, in and of itself, does not mean fury,[1] it appears to me that the context does support this reading. In their fury, the scribes and the Pharisees lost their minds and ceased to act rationally. The anger blinded their eyes. They had become like the ones John describes who, because of their hatred, walked in darkness and did not know where they were going, “because the darkness has blinded” their eyes (1 John 2:11).

We see examples of anoia in the Greek Old Testament, referring to the blind, mindless rage of anger and fury. 2 Maccabees tells of a man, Simon, who was made the governor of the temple. However, this Simon “fell out with the high priest” (2 Maccabees 3:4) named Onias. Simon slandered Onias, even calling him a traitor. Simon’s “hatred went so far that by one of Simon's faction murders were committed” (2 Maccabees 4:3). Simon and his faction stirred up so much strife that it became “impossible that the state should continue quiet, and Simon leave his folly [anoia],” unless the king should intervene. Simon’s folly was the result of his senseless, mindless anger and hatred. Simon’s anger towards Onias caused him to lose his mind and to act irrationally towards him and anyone supporting him.

In reflecting upon this passage, it occurs to me that, as a culture, we, too, have lost our minds. In our folly, we have become a nation addicted to outrage. This thought is not new, nor am I the first to voice it. There are many today who are warning of such an addiction within our nation. A recent Politico study of the “10 top-rated shows on cable news, 10 top-rated shows on talk radio and 20 widely read political blogs” found that “Fully 100 percent of the cable program … contained outrage, while close to 90 percent of radio shows and about 80 percent of blog entries were characterized by outrage”[2]. They concluded that, “In many cases, outrage is not part of the content, outrage is the content”[3].

There are many reasons we have become addicted to outrage. One study indicates that “expressing outrage stimulates the brain’s reward system. Studies show that moral outrage activates the ventral striatum, a brain region associated with pleasure and reinforcement. In other words, venting anger, especially in a social setting, can feel satisfying”[4]. While we may not want to admit it, expressing outrage feels good and is rewarding.

Secondly, social media prioritizes provocative content, including that which expresses moral outrage. “Platforms like Facebook, X, Bluesky, and TikTok are designed to maximize engagement. Their algorithms prioritize content that evokes strong emotions—particularly anger—because it keeps users clicking, commenting, and sharing. More engagement translates to higher ad revenue”[5]. Social media feeds our addiction by feeding us a constant stream of content designed to provoke, including content filled with moral outrage.

Thirdly, not only does social media fuel our addiction to outrage, but it also makes it easier and safer to express our outrage. “In an offline world, … the expression of moral outrage comes at a cost- people usually express moral outrage via gossip, shaming and punishment and there is a risk of retaliation; but it is a lot easier to shame others online to sound virtuous and morally correct”[6]. It is easy to be morally outraged at someone while we hide behind our screens and never actually meet the one we are outraged against.

Finally, our retreat into moral outrage is often nothing more than an attempt to assuage our own sense of guilt and moral failure. The results of a recent study indicate that “ascribing blame to a third-party can be motivated by a desire to defend the self against feelings of moral guilt and maintain a sense of moral identity without the often extensive cost of attempting to undo one’s wrongdoing”[7]. When we use outrage as a defense strategy against our own feelings of failure, it becomes a vicious cycle. “Outrage at other people’s failings evaporates all recollection of our similar failings. When outraged, we feel pure. … The more outraged we are at others, the more righteous we feel; the more righteous we feel, the more we feel duty-bound to be outraged at others”[8]. This forms a vicious cycle that is “highly addictive”[9].

There is no simple step to healing our addiction to moral outrage. Glen Beck wrote an entire book on the subject entitled Addicted to Outrage: How Thinking Like a Recovering Addict Can Heal the Country. However, perhaps the first step is to admit to ourselves that we are addicted to outrage and to own up to our own failure before spewing our outrage on the failures of others.

One day, Jesus told the following parable to his disciples: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:41-42). When we use moral outrage to feel better about ourselves, we are like the man who sees the speck in his brother’s eye, all the while being deliberately blinded to the log in his own eye. Perhaps if, when moved to outrage, we first stop to consider our own life and our own failures, we would have more grace, understanding, and forgiveness for the failings of others. In times like these, it would be well to remember the words of King Solomon, “do not take seriously all the words which are spoken, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you, for you know that even you have cursed others many times as well” (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22). In other words, it is wise to remember that, in judging the faults of others, we judge ourselves, because we too have failed just as they have failed. Instead of judging them, we should love them and pray for their forgiveness, just as we pray for our forgiveness.

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David Robison

[1] Rebekah Eklund, “Fury or Folly? Ἄνοια in Luke 6.11,” New Testament Studies 69, no. 2 (2023): 222–29, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0028688522000376.

[2] Jeffery M. Berry and Sarah SOBIERAJ, “Are Americans Addicted to Outrage?,” Political Magazine, January 3, 2014, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/angry-politics-americans-addicted-101735/.

[3] Ibid.

[4] David Cycleback, “Why Online Moral Outrage Is Addictive: The Psychology of Moral Panic and Social Media,” David Cycleback: Big Ideas, April 1, 2025, https://davidcycleback.substack.com/p/why-online-moral-outrage-is-addictive.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Neelam Sharma, “Digital Moral Outrage, Collective Guilt, And Collective Action: An Examination of How Twitter Users Expressed Their Anguish During India’s Covid-19 Related Migrant Crisis,” Journal of Communication Inquiry 47, no. 1 (2023): 26–45, https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599221081127.

[7] Zachary K. Rothschild and Lucas A. Keefer, “A Cleansing Fire: Moral Outrage Alleviates Guilt and Buffers Threats to One’s Moral Identity,” Motivation and Emotion 41, no. 2 (2017): 209–29, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-017-9601-2.

[8] Jeremy E. Sherman, “Maddiction: Addiction to Self-Righteous Outrage: Being Furious Is the Most Effective Vaccination against Being Curious,” Psychology Today, August 6, 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/jerkology/202108/maddiction-addiction-to-self-righteous-outrage.

[9] Ibid.