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| style="padding:15px;" |Activating Event '''A''' + Belief '''B''' ------> Emotional Consequence '''C'''

| style="padding:15px;" |Activating Event '''A''' + Belief '''B''' ------> Emotional Consequence '''C'''

|}

|}

'''The ABC Theory of Emotion''' represents a widely-accepted model of how one's feelings and behavioral patterns are created. It asserts that the emotions we experience such as, for example,  frustration or anxiety, and resulting [[behavior]], do not come directly from the events in our lives, but from the interpretations{{#tag:ref|cf. "The difference between believing and disbelieving a statement – your spouse is cheating on you; you’ve just won $10 million – is one of the most potent regulators of human behavour and emotion. The instant we accept a given representation of the world as true, it becomes the basis for further thought and action; rejected as false it remains a string of words."<ref>{{cite book |title=What we believe but cannot prove: Today’s Leading Thinkers on Science in the age of certainty |editor=John Brockman |chapter=Sam Harris |publisher=Harper Collins |place=New York |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-06-084181-2 |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060841818/ref=rdr_ext_tmb |quote=}}</ref>|group=note}} we make of those events, i.e. from conscious or subconscious beliefs we bring to that situation.<ref name="Virkler">{{cite book |last1= Virkler|first1= Henry A.|title= A Christian's Guide to Critical Thinking|url=http://books.google.no/books?id=rUgqAAAACAAJ&dq=virkler+A+Christian%27s+Guide+to+critical+thinking&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lzc9T9DDD4nN4QSy-fmACA&redir_esc=y |accessdate=16.2.2012 |type= |edition= |series= |volume= |date= |year= |month= |origyear=1993 |publisher= Wipf and Stock Publishers|location= Eugene, OR|isbn= 1-59752-661-4|page=253 3|pages=336 |at= Dealing with our Discomfort when Long-Established Beliefs are Threatened |chapter= 9 |quote= |ref= }}</ref> Its roots stem from a Rational-Emotive Therapy ('''RET''') developed initially by Albert Ellis in 1955.<ref name="Ellis">{{cite web |title=Expanding the ABCs of RET |author=Albert Ellis |publisher= |url=http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02281207#page-1 |accessdate=August 30, 2013 |quote=The original ABCs of rational-emotive therapy (RET)—where A stands for the Activating events in people's lives, B for their Beliefs about these events, and C for the emotional and behavioral Consequences or Concomitants of their Beliefs—have proved very popular and therapeutically useful since RET was created in 1955. These ABCs have been expanded over the years by Ellis and other writers on RET. This article presents an up-to-date and more detailed expansion of the ABCs, with special emphasis on expanding the more common rational Beliefs (rBs) and irrational Beliefs (iBs)}}</ref> According to him, over 200 research articles confirm this theory.<ref name="Virkler"/>  

'''The ABC Theory of Emotion''' represents a widely-accepted model of how one's feelings and behavioral patterns are created. It asserts that the emotions we experience such as, for example,  frustration or anxiety, and resulting [[behavior]], do not come directly from the events in our lives, but from the interpretations{{#tag:ref|cf. "The difference between believing and disbelieving a statement – your spouse is cheating on you; you’ve just won $10 million [“You’re gay. You were born that way. Accept it.”<ref name="HURLBUT2013"/>] – is one of the most potent regulators of human behavour and emotion. The instant we accept a given representation of the world as true, it becomes the basis for further thought and action; rejected as false it remains a string of words."<ref>{{cite book |title=What we believe but cannot prove: Today’s Leading Thinkers on Science in the age of certainty |editor=John Brockman |chapter=Sam Harris |publisher=Harper Collins |place=New York |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-06-084181-2 |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060841818/ref=rdr_ext_tmb |quote=}}</ref>|group=note}} we make of those events, i.e. from conscious or subconscious beliefs we bring to that situation.<ref name="Virkler">{{cite book |last1= Virkler|first1= Henry A.|title= A Christian's Guide to Critical Thinking|url=http://books.google.no/books?id=rUgqAAAACAAJ&dq=virkler+A+Christian%27s+Guide+to+critical+thinking&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lzc9T9DDD4nN4QSy-fmACA&redir_esc=y |accessdate=16.2.2012 |type= |edition= |series= |volume= |date= |year= |month= |origyear=1993 |publisher= Wipf and Stock Publishers|location= Eugene, OR|isbn= 1-59752-661-4|page=253 3|pages=336 |at= Dealing with our Discomfort when Long-Established Beliefs are Threatened |chapter= 9 |quote= |ref= }}</ref> Its roots stem from a Rational-Emotive Therapy ('''RET''') developed initially by Albert Ellis in 1955.<ref name="Ellis">{{cite web |title=Expanding the ABCs of RET |author=Albert Ellis |publisher= |url=http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02281207#page-1 |accessdate=August 30, 2013 |quote=The original ABCs of rational-emotive therapy (RET)—where A stands for the Activating events in people's lives, B for their Beliefs about these events, and C for the emotional and behavioral Consequences or Concomitants of their Beliefs—have proved very popular and therapeutically useful since RET was created in 1955. These ABCs have been expanded over the years by Ellis and other writers on RET. This article presents an up-to-date and more detailed expansion of the ABCs, with special emphasis on expanding the more common rational Beliefs (rBs) and irrational Beliefs (iBs)}}</ref> According to him, over 200 research articles confirm this theory.<ref name="Virkler"/>  

The traditional viewpoints and approaches about human behavior fail especially when it comes to understanding and dealing with so called [[disturbed character]]. Problems with functioning well in a social context are not so much a consequence of the way a person feels, but are associated with distorted thinking patterns and dysfunctional core beliefs.<ref name="SimonCharDist"/> The current research indicates that the cognitive-behavioral therapy consisting in confronting these erroneous thinking patterns and reinforcing a person's willingness to change them, together with their resulting behavior patterns, is the treatment of choice in such case.<ref name="Simon"/> Taking constructive action in one's life, such as disputing old irrational beliefs<ref name="Ellis"/>, helps one to live a full and meaningful existence and not be ruled by one's emotional state.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Trouble With Self-Esteem  |author=Lauren Slater |publisher=The New York Times |date=February 3, 2002  |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/03/magazine/03ESTEEM.html |accessdate=December 22, 2014 |quote= Reynolds writes, ''Cure is not defined by the alleviation of discomfort or the attainment of some ideal state (which is impossible) but by taking constructive action in one's life which helps one to live a full and meaningful existence and not be ruled by one's emotional state.''}}</ref> Disturbed emotions as consequences and concomitants of irrational beliefs can be inappropriately fueled and amplified beyond control also by [[substance abuse|addictive abuse]] of [[Ecstasy|psychoactive substances]].<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>         

The traditional viewpoints and approaches about human behavior fail especially when it comes to understanding and dealing with so called [[disturbed character]]. Problems with functioning well in a social context are not so much a consequence of the way a person feels, but are associated with distorted thinking patterns and dysfunctional core beliefs.<ref name="SimonCharDist"/> The current research indicates that the cognitive-behavioral therapy consisting in confronting these erroneous thinking patterns and reinforcing a person's willingness to change them, together with their resulting behavior patterns, is the treatment of choice in such case.<ref name="Simon"/> Taking constructive action in one's life, such as disputing old irrational beliefs<ref name="Ellis"/>, helps one to live a full and meaningful existence and not be ruled by one's emotional state.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Trouble With Self-Esteem  |author=Lauren Slater |publisher=The New York Times |date=February 3, 2002  |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/03/magazine/03ESTEEM.html |accessdate=December 22, 2014 |quote= Reynolds writes, ''Cure is not defined by the alleviation of discomfort or the attainment of some ideal state (which is impossible) but by taking constructive action in one's life which helps one to live a full and meaningful existence and not be ruled by one's emotional state.''}}</ref> Disturbed emotions as consequences and concomitants of irrational beliefs can be inappropriately fueled and amplified beyond control also by [[substance abuse|addictive abuse]] of [[Ecstasy|psychoactive substances]].<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>         

**''B: Belief about the activation event and its meaning:'' Little by little, he interpreted the activation event in line with popular unscientific misbelief that such feelings of [[same-sex attraction|sexual attraction]] can only be the result of being 'born gay'.<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>{{#tag:ref|cf.:

**''B: Belief about the activation event and its meaning:'' Little by little, he interpreted the activation event in line with popular unscientific misbelief that such feelings of [[same-sex attraction|sexual attraction]] can only be the result of being 'born gay'.<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>{{#tag:ref|cf.:

*External Link: [http://www.mygenes.co.nz/PDFs/Ch8.pdf Are brains "gay"?]<ref>{{cite web |title=My Genes Made Me Do It! - Homosexuality and the scientific evidence. |author= |url=http://www.mygenes.co.nz/download.htm}}</ref>

*External Link: [http://www.mygenes.co.nz/PDFs/Ch8.pdf Are brains "gay"?]<ref>{{cite web |title=My Genes Made Me Do It! - Homosexuality and the scientific evidence. |author= |url=http://www.mygenes.co.nz/download.htm}}</ref>

*"Worse yet: when people lament their homosexual tendencies, you have just told them, “You’re gay. You were born that way. Accept it.” Of course what you do not realize is that homosexuality is a learned response, a teachable response, and a recruitable response. Such recruitment took place in ancient Greece, and again in medieval Rome. And recent evidence suggests it is taking place again."<ref>{{cite web |title=Homosexuality: Open Letter To Christie |author=Terry Hurlbut |date=August 24, 2013 |url=http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2013/08/24/family/homosexuality-open-letter-governor-christie/ |accessdate=October 31, 2013}}</ref>

*"Worse yet: when people lament their homosexual tendencies, you have just told them, “You’re gay. You were born that way. Accept it.” Of course what you do not realize is that homosexuality is a learned response, a teachable response, and a recruitable response. Such recruitment took place in ancient Greece, and again in medieval Rome. And recent evidence suggests it is taking place again."<ref name="HURLBUT2013">{{cite web |title=Homosexuality: Open Letter To Christie |author=Terry Hurlbut |date=August 24, 2013 |url=http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2013/08/24/family/homosexuality-open-letter-governor-christie/ |accessdate=October 31, 2013}}</ref>

*The Christians are frequently blamed and labeled for being [[Moral_relativism#Moral_relativism_as_TUMOR|intolerant]] against homosexuals. Recently it became a part of public debate in Germany when at one event there was held a workshop offering help to people struggling with same-sex attractions. One of my teachers asked me how come that Christians are so ''“intolerant”''. I gave her the following answer: “Think twice who is actually intolerant. There are number of people who have “homosexual” tendencies, because they were [[Sexual abuse being a contributing factor for homosexuality|abused]] as children, seduced, or something similar. Many simply have homosexual fantasies, but they don’t like it and feel concerned about it. They seek for help, but at the same time they feel embarrassed to acknowledge it. They would like to live in normal way, but are struggling with their emotions. And today they are told: ''“You cannot have any problem! Just be homosexuals, whether you like it or not! It is compulsory upon you to be them!”'' Is this tolerant? There are multiples of people being ignored, who search for help, but it cannot be granted to them. They are being ignored by totalitarian homo-policy, and not tolerated! And woe to you should you be interested to help them.” This teacher was not stupid, she acknowledged my point.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kreuz & Quer in der Szene |author=Novak, Kornelius et al. |publisher=Lichtzeichen-Verlag |year=2010 |pages=110 |isbn=9783869540184 |url=http://lichtzeichen-shop.com/Buecher/Evangelistische-Literatur/Kreuz-Quer-in-der-Szene.html |language=German}}</ref>|group=note}} Such [[phenomenon]] when our ability to fool ourselves can push us towards erroneous conclusions is recognized as [[ideomotor effect]].

*The Christians are frequently blamed and labeled for being [[Moral_relativism#Moral_relativism_as_TUMOR|intolerant]] against homosexuals. Recently it became a part of public debate in Germany when at one event there was held a workshop offering help to people struggling with same-sex attractions. One of my teachers asked me how come that Christians are so ''“intolerant”''. I gave her the following answer: “Think twice who is actually intolerant. There are number of people who have “homosexual” tendencies, because they were [[Sexual abuse being a contributing factor for homosexuality|abused]] as children, seduced, or something similar. Many simply have homosexual fantasies, but they don’t like it and feel concerned about it. They seek for help, but at the same time they feel embarrassed to acknowledge it. They would like to live in normal way, but are struggling with their emotions. And today they are told: ''“You cannot have any problem! Just be homosexuals, whether you like it or not! It is compulsory upon you to be them!”'' Is this tolerant? There are multiples of people being ignored, who search for help, but it cannot be granted to them. They are being ignored by totalitarian homo-policy, and not tolerated! And woe to you should you be interested to help them.” This teacher was not stupid, she acknowledged my point.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kreuz & Quer in der Szene |author=Novak, Kornelius et al. |publisher=Lichtzeichen-Verlag |year=2010 |pages=110 |isbn=9783869540184 |url=http://lichtzeichen-shop.com/Buecher/Evangelistische-Literatur/Kreuz-Quer-in-der-Szene.html |language=German}}</ref>|group=note}} Such [[phenomenon]] when our ability to fool ourselves can push us towards erroneous conclusions is recognized as [[ideomotor effect]].

**''C: Behavioural consequences of the belief:'' His belief about the activation event produced his later behavioural patterns including sexual experimentation, visiting gay clubs and bars, and promiscuous sexual encounters with other men.<ref name="Yuan's web"/> This homosexual lifestyle was not caused directly by activation event itself, but by his interpretation of its meaning. Later, after being diagnosed as [[HIV]] positive, he realized that his justification for homosexuality was wrong and he mistakenly allowed his feelings and sexual passions to dictate who he was.<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>{{#tag:ref|cf.

**''C: Behavioural consequences of the belief:'' His belief about the activation event produced his later behavioural patterns including sexual experimentation, visiting gay clubs and bars, and promiscuous sexual encounters with other men.<ref name="Yuan's web"/> This homosexual lifestyle was not caused directly by activation event itself, but by his interpretation of its meaning. Later, after being diagnosed as [[HIV]] positive, he realized that his justification for homosexuality was wrong and he mistakenly allowed his feelings and sexual passions to dictate who he was.<ref name="Yuan's Book"/>{{#tag:ref|cf.