Wednesday, July 22, 2009

yet another curious conflux

Some people have said that the character/integrity/"personal" beliefs of a public servant matter less than skill/capability/talent for the specific post (such as US president).

Some people have said that the religious character/integrity/"personal" beliefs of a public servant (such as Francis Collins) matter just as much if not more than skill/capability/talent for the specific post (such as heading NIH).

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Worldview Fragment: motivational verity

Worldview fragment: one or more related ideas/viewpoints that can (and often do) serve as a component or flavor in a complete worldview held by some specific individual. The "fragment" term is not intended to be a subtle insult, but to accurately reflect the reality that the fragment is 1) not necessarily an actual, comprehensive worldview, and 2) could likely coexist with a variety of other fragments within some individual's worldview. A puzzle piece isn't worthless because it's a puzzle piece.

"Motivational verity" is the quality of discovering, understanding, and acknowledging one's own real motivations ("verity" originating from a thesaurus consultation on my part). As with the other worldview fragments, this isn't specific to Christianity. Unlike most of the rest, it's beneficial. Without motivational verity, a Christian is either acting without full knowledge or despite what knowledge he or she has. It contributes to charges of hypocrisy by others (which might lead to a movie exhibiting the effect for humor's sake).

Since a lack of motivational verity is partially responsible for many unfavorable outcomes, the methodical Christian shall try to increase his or hers. Although the primary and indispensable ingredient is penitent earnestness (i.e. just like any other lasting personal change one must sincerely want it and work for it), here are some suggestions and factors to consider.
  • Unflinching confrontation. Much has been said and written about denial and avoidance. Motivational verity can't get far if the truth isn't perceived as is, regardless of desirability. What this implies is that possible motivations aren't disqualified without good reason. "Is it possible that I am motivated by..." Furthermore, someone should strive to not overemphasize the pleasant possibilities. "I feel like I might be doing this for personal glory, but anyways I do care, too..."
  • Perceptual bias by self-concept. This factor is more subtle than outright denial or purposeful ignorance. The evidence, scientific and anecdotal alike, points to the influence of perceptual biases. In short, people tend to perceive/interpret relative to their expectations. They can see patterns where none exist and miss patterns that are obvious to a different individual. Self-concept is a strong bias. "Lately I've been getting angry about trivia. It doesn't reflect a worrying trend in my attitude; after all, I'm facing stressors G and H." "I deeply wish I could volunteer, but my schedule is so full and I can't clear it, especially my golf time, which is really a ministry to my non-Christian friends, right?" The bias is tricky to eliminate because it's invisible by nature. However, a productive route is to work backward from self-concept to potential biases. Probe the questions, "Given that my self-concept is ______ , how would I (or anyone similar) be most likely to interpret _____ so it fits? Of the interpretations available, are mine precisely those that would disturb my self-concept the least?"
  • Review. The regular review of one's behavior and motivations can take a variety of forms: a journal, a free-ranging prayer session before sleeping, a comparison to a Bible reading. The point is collecting and synthesizing the minutiae to produce a timely and consistent overall perspective, instead of going about the task in an erratic, ad-hoc search for indications of a precooked conclusion. Don't "cherry-pick" the past month for proofs of developing virtue. Do "rewind" the day, impartially holding each significant moment to the glaring light and confessing or rejoicing in it. Guilt for confessed and repented sin is not the goal of this practice; a sensible way of measuring progress is!
The remaining three entail dangers and caveats. These require caution and care in usage.
  • Others' opinions. Others' viewpoints aren't framed by the same prejudices as the subject, so their opinions can be immensely valuable for breaking through preconceptions. Yet they have their own set of prejudices, they differ greatly in the capability to correctly discern, and the most empathetic of observers could be as wrong about the subject's motivations as the subject. In addition, strictly speaking Christians aren't obligated to seek approval of their motivations by other Christians. Their inability to surely know the motivations behind an action is one important reason why they aren't (and can't be) the final judges. Finally, due to someone's motivations being a highly personal, private topic, trust and compassion are vital to prevent an incendiary result that can wreck weak relationships, leaving everyone worse off. Of course, an opinion of someone's motivations perhaps shouldn't be expressed at all unless it is supported by a range of identifiable examples that can be marshalled in response to the fair follow-up question "Why do you think that's what makes me tick?"
  • Prioritization of action over statements. Commonly known as "talk is cheap", this is the strategy of measuring motivations through placing much more weight on deeds than on claims. In terms of a simplistic bluntness that borders on a vulgar degree of insensitivity, "results not excuses". If someone planned or merely intended to _____, but didn't, the failure to act may be a sign that the related motivations need adjustment and someone's awareness of his or her actual motivations is suspect. Piercing examination is necessary; there may be perfectly good reasons why someone didn't act, but on the other hand the inaction may have been a victory of ignoble motivations that need to be broken and given over to God. (In-)Consistency is a marker to watch. One broken promise is less symptomatic of hypothetical motivational problems than a promise broken so often its very existence is reasonably doubtful. The danger of correlating motivations so closely to actions is that it potentially binds someone to a "Law" that isn't mandatory, with accompanying discouragement and despair - better to try and do a little rather than give up completely after trying and not doing a lot. The questions are deceptively straightforward: "If you believe that your motivations are becoming more godly, are your actions also becoming more godly, whatever that means for you? If your actions aren't, then isn't that just cause to pause and question your belief in your changing motivations?"
  • Immediate reactions and free associations. The most humbling and/or devastating step of all to achieve motivational verity is noting the raw, unembellished, unfiltered motivations that occur effortlessly in the face of anything. The Christian one isn't guaranteed to come first. Or second, third, fourth... An individual who acts Christian, on occasion, in a specialized context, isn't likely to have his or her proud beliefs about personal motivations to be confirmed in this way. Moreover, worrying about a lack of confirmation here is probably counterproductive, as it won't change through "willpower". It's more likely to happen over time, a side effect of old habits and ways of thinking replaced by new, "mind renewal". I've heard cases of people's former desires extinguishing and never returning, but it's not typical.
I can evision a reply to the preceding: "The quest for motivational verity seems to be a probing intrusion on my privacy, autonomy, and comfort. As an alternative, why couldn't I compile a to-do list of Christian-y stuff, and select items as I wish?" And someone could, and many do. Though I'd appreciate them not calling Jesus "Lord" or claiming divine forgiveness without repentance and rebirth.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

a breathtaking quote

"We are as gods and might as well get good at it" (Whole Earth Catalog)

Yowza. It's a well-intentioned sentiment, repeating the point that with time humanity has unquestionably gained in the power and responsibility both to accomplish good or evil on a massive scale, but just...wow. Bald, provocative self-deification? Is that even necessary? Shouldn't we humbly recognize that our control of anything is at all times tenuous, we still can only manage to rearrange matter and energy, and "earthly authority" is solely deputized to us by God for achieving His aims?

Sunday, July 12, 2009

what if one of us were God

One of my annoyances is when Christians reuse "What if God Was One of Us?" Listening closely to the lyrics seems to indicate the concept of God as "just this guy, you know?" God as a human, doing what humans do. In short, "Jesus" being indistinguishable from anyone else in the crowd. God cut down to size.

But Christian thought progressed beyond this point centuries ago! The Jesus of the Bible was fully God and fully man (not ghostly) similar to how the Trinity is fully three and one. Jesus' divinity is essential. He taught like no human. He reordered parts of creation in miracles. He knew temptation without sin.

Perhaps every rendition of "What if God Was One of Us?" should be immediately followed by "Mary Did You Know?" In the latter song, God has seen and done the unimaginable despite presently looking like a small, dependent infant in the mother's care.

God took a face, but always remember that if He hadn't, we'd be dazzled and humbled by his countenance.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

a mishmash of reactions to watching Saved!

  • I'm so tired of hearing people say "Hilary Faye". Can't they say "Hil" for short?
  • I suppose the naivete of the main character is meant to be funny, but I also find it sad that innocence isn't a working strategy for life.
  • Okay, the way the pastor uses "youth-speak" is great. Some forms and norms of communication are intended for differentiating social groups (e.g. by age). If someone is by definition excluded from a group, it doesn't matter how well he or she can adopt that group's language styles; he or she will just seem disturbing.
  • If someone experiences a vision and/or is struggling with a moral dilemma, bringing in other believers to help advise or interpret should be a given. This is partly why isolating yourself is discouraged.
  • Interesting choice in having one of the school's non-Christian outsiders also be a prickly rebel (and one who in actuality doesn't want to be expelled). For the movie to really portray judgmental attitudes as irrational, the outsider could have been a person who was in almost every way likable apart from being a non-Christian. But I suppose that making the outsider be defiant, mocking, etc. serves to underline just how much the outsider is "outside", and that this status is partly engineered by the outsider on purpose.
  • I appreciate that it shows people smoking to rebel. I've always thought the extreme edge of adolescent rebellion, people doing something forbidden because it's forbidden, has tinges of absurdity. A rebel doing something stupid just to rebel thereby illustrates that his or her actions are still motivated and activated by rules. It turns out to be another subtle way of being controlled and not thinking for oneself.
  • Good idea: evangelism to avert the eternal damnation of sinners like us. Bad idea: evangelism that isn't heartfelt, is by-the-numbers, and is so heavy-handed that it doesn't reach a person at a point of need.
  • Y'know, private religious institutions, even schools, have the constitutional right to accept and reject participants for religious reasons. It's quite debatable whether the religious should remove themselves out of public society and instead isolate themselves into a self-selected alternative culture, but it's their right if they so choose. Sometimes I've heard Christians describe their childhoods as existing in a "Christian bubble" in which the "outside world" is kept safely at a distance. The undeniable problem is that the bubble prevents/dissaudes Christians from applying the gospel where it's needed most. It's notable that during his exceedling brief ministry, Jesus didn't "stay put" and wait for people to come to him.
  • One of the more improbable aspects of the storyline is the fertility level involved.
  • Oooo, the movie used some music from Jesus Christ Superstar. That'll now be in my head for a couple of weeks. I'm thankful it wasn't the "always thought that I'd be a disciple..."
  • Tolerance is tolerance, and plain meanspiritedness is meanspiritedness. Yet it seems to me that it's at least partially a "two way street". Feuds escalate when people keep deciding to strike back instead of being the "bigger person" who defuses the situation by loving enemies and reaching out in a way that could be vulnerable.
  • It can't be repeated enough: of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. The two summary commands are loving God and loving people. Christians who see their beliefs as a set of social customs - don't do this, do volunteer there - and not as a transforming of self into a mold out of which lovable actions "overflow", are living a deficient Christianity. To state the obvious, one of Hil's primary missteps is that she doesn't practice the habits of examining her own motives and of empathizing with those she encounters.
  • The communal correction of a fellow brother or sister (for we are all adopted in) can appear harsh. However, it exposes the lie that deep love is continually pleasant or blind. Allowing someone you care for to self-destruct is indifference, not love.
  • Odd how the movie shows someone immediately going through a full-blown crisis of belief at the first hint of confusion or dissatisfaction. The more common experience is people realizing that they must accept some of their questions going unanswered, and keep steady. As I've read somewhere, it makes no difference what you profess, atheist or not: you'll have moments of serious doubt.
  • The scenes between the pastor and the mother are sooooo infuriating. Look at all the pretty red flags each of them ignores! And if there's no physical contact, there's no need to worry! Puh-leaze. Examine your emotions, you simpletons. How can we dare to face God until we understand and reveal our true face even to ourselves?
  • The pastor facilely explaining his circumstances as a divine judgment, and the mother's priceless response, are well done. A major peeve of mine is Christians who twist all they see into an egocentric picture of divine intervention.
  • Nice ending, although the attempts to bar people from the prom are strange since my impression of those functions is that they're generally pretty loose and open-ended. On the other hand, letting in the people who broke specific rules in order to attend is a clear-cut example of awarding bad behavior, no?

Saturday, July 4, 2009

drop the negativity

Negativity as an overall stance on life is part of what I tried to describe in my entry about a symptom of real despair. Such people will retort that negative expectations are more often, and more likely, right. They could also claim, quite self-evidently, that looking out for problems, mistakes, and flaws is a much better tactic for good achievement than merely shrugging one's shoulders and "hoping for the best". I'm not arguing against those points.

Nevertheless, acknowledging the negatives in every part of life is distinct from treating negativity as an "axiom" or core ingredient of perspective. For the mature, a state which some never reach, attitude and response aren't controlled by external events. Two people in an identical negative situation will feel persecuted; this is only natural. What separates them is the pivotal question "Now what?" The person who structures their beliefs with negativity will answer "I expected this all along. I can try to do something about it, but it probably won't work." The person who has dropped negativity will answer "This is a setback. My reaction to it defines who I choose to be. I refuse to assent to this, because that would mean I'm complicit in it. Even if I fail, I will do something about it."

You can be realistic without being negative. You can be prudent and shrewd without being negative. You can be skeptical without being negative. You can find faults without being negative. Badness is out there, everywhere you care to search. The negativity lies in pretending that badness is all there is.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

two unconditional loves

As you might expect, the first unconditional love is from God to fallen creation, including us.

The second unconditional love is the reciprocation of love from us to God regardless of Him not being reliable in the common ways we define reliability in our everyday lives.