WEEK 1 :WHAT IS “TRUE RELIGION”?

Following Christ Faithfully:Unexpected Insights from

Psychology

Introduction to the Series

Problem of self-serving bias We tend to see ourselves

as better than we are E.g., 94% of college

professors think they’re above average

And miss many weak spots

Psalm 50.21 We may be inclined to

think God is like us rather than apprehend God as He really is

Introduction

Psychology overlaps theology Nature of persons Development Thinking Social relationships Emotions Goals and purpose Behavior

Theology Psychology

Plan for the Course

Psychology has looked at Christianity scientifically While there is much

misunderstanding (e.g., Freud)

There is much we might learn

We will take some insights and reflect on them in light of Scripture

What is “true religion”?

Overview of Today

Current climate Spiritual is good

Religion is bad Personal experience is good

Religious organizations are bad Spiritual is private

Religion is public, thus bad What does the religion vs.

spirituality debate mean to us? How does it match James 1:1-27?

Religion Spirituality

From Latin “religio” To tie or bind Thus a bond Between God and a

person But also among people

who share belief Historically used to

cover all areas of faith, practice, and experience

From “spiritus” “breath” or “life” Key is being immaterial Roots in dualism of

matter vs. spirit (e.g. deacons attend to

body; elders to soul) In cultural use, does NOT

imply the Holy Spirit Thus I prefer “Christian

Spirituality”

Etymology

Spirituality

Forms of spirituality in our culture Humanist

Connection to people Nature

Ephemeral connection to the environment

Transcendent Something more out

there…felt when looking at sunset or stars at night

Religious Sense of intimacy with

the divine

Roots of the “spiritual turn” Cultural secularism

Secular means “of the time” and thus focus on now, not eternity

Religion moves to be utilitarian, not valued in itself

Disrespect for institutions And increase in self focus Thus many churches try to

accommodate this and meet “felt needs”

Religion becomes spirituality Enables movement of R/S to

private domain Separated from the public

domain Explains current political

climate (and Muslim difference)

Religion (Christianity) Spirituality

Institutional External Objective Structural Fixed Frozen Requires God “bad” Commitment to Bible Moral obligations “costly grace” Community-focused Purposeful

Individual Internal Subjective Functional Flexible Dynamic No deity required “good” Freedom of thought Serves personal well-being “cheap grace” Individual-focused Useful

Contrasts

Spiritual Only Group is Growing in the U.S.

Religious vs. Spiritual

R and SR, not SS, not Rneither

Religious vs. Spiritual

The S not R group sees religion (such as our church) as negative, so less likely to: Attend church Pray Hold orthodox beliefs

More likely to: Be independent Go to group spiritual experiences (e.g. retreats) See religion as separate from spirituality

Emerging Group

Spiritual against religion Feel people need to be

freed from religion Promote spirituality

and talk down religion Common secular

position Serves to privatize

faith And free from moral

obligations

This Misses Important Things

Religion actually supports individuals in many ways

While still promoting relationships With God In marriage and family In churches

Spirituality generally is more self-centered and subjective

Searching for God

Spirituality encourages a search for something sacred And may value the journey more than the destination

Religion, particularly Christianity, is a seeking to draw near to God In a redemption-based relationship And encompasses all of life (work, meaning, identity,

and sense of belonging) within itReligious institutions – e.g., FPCC – promote

all of these Plus add moral dimensions to life

IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCESIN THE “REAL” WORLD

But…

EXAMPLE: Tolerance versus Love

Some thoughts, with thanks to D.A. Carson’s, The Intolerance of Tolerance

Recent change in the meaning:Old tolerance: accepting the existence of different views

Tolerate the person; debate ideasNew tolerance: accepting different views and not debatingMoves from admitting the right of people to differ to seeing the

differences as unimportant, with other views being as true (or untrue) as one’s own

So, saying Jesus is the only way to God is tolerant in the old view, but INTOLERANT in the new

Historically, Christians could differ with others on beliefs but honor them as humans made in God’s image

Intolerance is now being used to silence speaking out on faith

Examples of “Tolerance”

Universities, historically bastion of free speech, now limit one’s freedom to speak out. E.g. professors have been fired for

saying something that offends others … even if it is not hate speech

Media: OK with, say, Catholics reaching out in charity, but shun them when stand on issues like abortion/birth control

Sexual issues: while Christians have to an extent asked for it, to disagree with gay marriage is not a position of tolerance, and may be equated with homophobia, even if the person saying it genuinely shows Christian love ON BOTH SIDES, CALLING NAMES

IS NOT TOLERANT

So, increasingly it is intolerant to say anything is right or wrong that violates “intolerance” Though doubtless promoters of

tolerance are intolerant themselves Homeschooling Christian

fundamentalists the “mock attackers” in terrorism drills in in NJ and Michigan WHY? Simply because of

convictions, they are seen as intolerant and thus a suitable “enemy”

While releasing illegal alien criminals, US government deported German immigrant homeschoolers who came here for religious freedom to educate their children

So, increasingly those in power are silencing opposing views

Roots of Tolerance

Based on the notion that there is no true truthSo, your personal truth is OK as long as you leave mine

alone…and don’t try to influence public policyDiscourages discussionNo discussion of WHY tolerance is a virtue; it is assumed to

be the ONLY virtue, or the greatest of allHowever, if no rational discussion, power becomes the key

to enforcing your opinionInteresting, as tolerance now is Intolerant of those who

differ with it (thus homeschoolers are seen as likely target for terrorist attacks and thus vilified)

E.g., American Counseling AssociationHow does EXCLUSION promote INCLUSION???

Impact of Tolerance

Privatizing our religion No place for it is the public domain

Interpreting Christianity in light of tolerance Arguing that God/Jesus are examples of tolerance Yet Jesus was quite intolerant of the Pharisees, and spoke of

condemnation for those who seek God apart from HimBuddhist ideas are popular because they don’t claim a

right and wrong Good thing! Their founder deserted his wife to pursue spirituality

GK Chesterton reportedly said; “Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions” Though now tolerance is used to push certain convictions.

If believers had all been tolerant in today’s sense, there would be no martyrs

Being Public in Our Faith Summary of American

tolerance: Rooted in postmodern disbelief in truth Indifferent to right or wrong Or enforces opinion by power Cynical disregard for truth Distances from others

IN CONTRAST, Christian love: Cares for the other Yet believes truth is seeing as God sees Including that persons of all beliefs are

made in God’s image Discussion of differences is loving,

drawing closer to God/each other The “meekness of wisdom” Jas 3:13 We share our beliefs and doctrines from

love, not in effort to “prove” ourselves

Augustine on Love

"If you keep silent, keep silent by love: if you speak, speak by love; if you correct, correct by love; if you pardon, pardon by love; let love be rooted in you, and from the root nothing but good can grow.Love and do what you will.

Love endures in adversity, is moderate in prosperity; brave under harsh sufferings, cheerful in good works; utterly reliable in temptation, utterly open-handed in hospitality; as happy as can be among true brothers and sisters, as patient as you can get among the false ones. The soul of the scriptures, the force of prophecy, the saving power of the sacraments, the fruit of faith, the wealth of the poor, the life of the dying.

Love is all.”

Saint Augustine of Hippo

What Can We Learn from Religion v. Spirituality?

Infiltration of secularism into culture Contra Islam

Individualism pulls self-promoting pieces from Christian faith and calls it spirituality

Freeing people of obligations to other people AND from moral standards of religious faith

Using tolerance to justify sin and remove debate

Effectively privatizing faith

Biblical Teaching

The Holy Spirit is a Person in the Trinity Not a vague,

ephemeral feeling I stress Christian

Spirituality when speaking of the work of the Spirit in our lives

Even part of the role of Spirit is to convict us of moral failures

So, we have sin as a category

James 1:1-27 True religion, then, is in

Being in relationship with God by forgiveness of our sins

In the power of the Spirit, acting to serve others

Bear One Another's Burdens: Brothers, if anyone is caught in

any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (Galatians 6:1-3 ESV)

Applications

Watch your language! How are you using the

terms? How might that lead to

misunderstanding?Consider cultural and

political change How is Christianity

being privatized? How has tolerance

impacted you? What does that mean

for our children?

Recovering the language of sin Christian believe that God

is Holy and we are sinners Repentance is still in our

vocabulary Galatians 6 challenges us

to mind our sin and that of others

Moral obligations Good devotions do not

make for good religion What more should we do to

work out our faith? And speak of its truth?