"Confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. They are motivated by wishful thinking. This error leads the individual to stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far confirms the views (prejudices) one would like to be true.
Once we have formed a view, we embrace information that confirms that view while ignoring, or rejecting, information that casts doubt on it. Confirmation bias suggests that we don’t perceive circumstances objectively. We pick out those bits of data that make us feel good because they confirm our prejudices." https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201504/what-is-confirmation-bias.
Whenever a former member of The Source Family has openly spoken out against Jim Baker or the practices that he imposed on his entire group of followers; they are immediately pounced upon and attacked/discredited by the more rabid and devoted followers of Father Yod/Yahowha, due to the depths of some follower's confirmation bias about the man, Jim Baker and the 'new age' utopian fairytale image of what it was like being in The Source Family that borders on pathological.
I wanted to share a First Degree podcast from January with Jim Trattner aka Magus where he talks about his own experiences and perceptions of Jim Baker when he joined The Brotherhood of The Source, in an interview that I see as a kind of 'confirmation by us' (a play on the term confirmation bias) in what I consider to be the more honest shared memories and experiences by those former Source Family members who refuse to follow or adhere to the scripted, prescribed and approved Source Family narrative, which only presents or portrays Jim Baker in a heightened and spiritually superior way, while hiding or ignoring the more disturbing aspects of the man and many of his 'aquarian teachings' or directives.
Jim Trattner was given the name, Magus, after he joined The Brotherhood of the Source early on where Jim Baker began to refer to Magus, as the 'elder brother' of the group, perhaps because he was the closest in age to Jim Baker. But, Jim Baker saw it as 'a feather in his cap', to have someone older and educated like Magus becoming one of his followers. But, with age and experience brings more questioning and discernment which is often lacking in younger and more inexperienced 'spiritual seekers', as was the case with myself and others who joined The Brotherhood. So, when Magus began to question Jim Baker's behavior and 'teachings'; especially when Baker began to have sex with more and more women among his following referring to them as 'his women', but mostly because Jim Baker was against any of the members seeking or using medical help outside of the confines of the Brotherhood----Father Yod called Magus a head tripper---someone who thought about things too much---was in their head too much. I witnessed first hand Jim Baker take it as an affront, when Magus decided to leave The Source Family where Baker spent quite a bit of time, during 'class' rebuking Magus for leaving the group. Here is a link to the wonderful The First Degree podcast featuring Jim Trattner's excellent interview. https://the-first-degree.simplecast.com/episodes/the-source-family-cult-ZWE_Y8UC
