| | (Compelling thoughts, that dovetail with much of what's been on my mind this year, and years past, as I muddle through life. Excerpted from Richard Beck's stimulating blog.)
If William James is correct that faith configurations may be more or
less existentially defensive (e.g., the contrast between the
healthy-minded and the sick soul) then is seems worthwhile to speculate
as to what a respective faith configuration feels like. In
this we are following James' phenomenological approach. In Beck (2004,
2006) I attempted to do this descriptive work, pulling from diverse
literatures regarding the religious experience to describe two modes of
faith: A existentially defensive faith called defensive religion versus a more existentially aware faith called existential religion.
Obviously, the defensive orientation parallels James' healthy minded
type while the existential orientation parallels the sick soul.
Again,
pulling from diverse theological, philosophical, and psychological
literatures (theoretical and empirical) regarding defense mechanisms, I
created the following descriptions of the defensive and existential
orientations. First, we look at the faith configuration of the
defensive orientation. Specifically, a defensive faith configuration
will generally involve five themes:
Defensive Orientation:
Special Protection: The belief that you will fare better in life (physically speaking) than others.
Special Insight: The belief that you can discern God's will clearly today and tomorrow.
Divine Solicitousness: A "butler" view of God, where God helps out with even the most trivial of our inconveniences.
Special Destiny: The belief that God has a unique and specific plan for your life.
Denial of Randomness: Seeing each detail of life as Divinely intended and purposeful.
Why
these features? Well, to feel that one is protected, guided, served,
special, and living in a well-ordered world, is, to put it mildly, a
very comforting worldview. A very cozy worldview. In short, faith
systems configured in this manner appear to be operating defensively,
repressing the confusions, pain, and difficulties of life.
To
illustrate, think through each facet of the defensive faith
configuration. Take special protection. Rather than living with the
existential truth that Christians are not differentially more healthy
or live longer, these believers think they are somehow "different." For
example, they might pray for healing or travel mercies in the face of
the evidence that Christians die of cancer or auto accidents at the
same rates as everyone else. Insurance companies don't give Christians
breaks. They simply are not protected. And that's scary. And
unsettling. And that's my point. Rather than adopt a faith in the face of this existential reality, the faith is adopted to deny this reality. The faith is a defense mechanism.
We could do this for each feature. But I think one example is unsettling enough.
In
contrast to the defensive configuration the existential believer denies
or, more precisely, doesn't endorse the belief features of the
defensive orientation:
Existential Orientation:
It rains on the just and unjust: The believer fares in life (physically speaking) the same as others.
Inscrutability: God's intentions are difficult to discern.
Divine Autonomy: God intervenes in life on his own unpredictable schedule.
Choice and Responsibility: God rarely guides life choices demanding responsibility from us.
Ubiquity of Randomness: God does not micro-manage the world. Most of the time accidents are simply that, accidents.
This,
then, is the existential orientation. Many will be put off by it. But
let me quickly hasten to say that this is only the start of the journey
toward authenticity. This is a point of faith, or a gateway. It is not
a final resting place.
Let me be more clear. For faith to be
truly authentic at one time or another the faith system must pass
through this existential gate. Why? For at this point the faith system
is doing no existential work for you. Look it over. Nothing is being
repressed. All the pain and randomness is endorsed while, at the same
time, faith exists. The faith denies nothing. It is free from the voice
of Freud's Ghost. It has stepped outside of the warm, cozy house of
defensive faith into the icy wind of existential realization. And then
it takes its coat off. And stands naked.
And in that moment, do you still believe?
For
if you do, you have, to use the phrase of the existentialists, "the
courage to be." Or, for our purposes, "the courage to believe."
After
passing through the existential gate the believer may return to
previously held convictions although it is doubtful that she will
return to a naive faith configuration. There is no fully going back.
You come back "frostbitten" to a greater or lesser degree. Some
believers might force themselves to stay out in the cold, consistently
demonstrating to themselves that they believe from free choice, not
from existential comfort or solace. Really? Who does this? Here is
Kierkegaard:
"Faith is precisely the contradiction between
the infinite passion of the individual's inwardness and the objective
uncertainty. If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not
believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe. If
I wish to preserve myself in faith I must constantly be intent upon
holding fast the objective uncertainty, so as to remain out upon the
deep, over seventy thousand fathoms of water, still preserving my faith."
Many
wander in and out of the cold throughout the life span, verifying over
and over the authentic choice undergirding their faith.
Demonstrating again and again that they have not lost "the courage to believe." |
| | Posted 8/13/2007 5:24 PM - 10 Views - 2 eProps - 3 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
you're such a good writer, though. And pose such thought-provoking issues. <3
) However, I will fly home to my parents on Sept. 19th. We should see each other asap! Plus I've got a present for yoooooouuuuuuu . Love u xxxx