Spirit vs. Intellect

This week at my church we discussed the desire of many folks to be more "spiritual". It was invigorating.

Whenever the subject comes up, it's always in a dualistic fashion. In metaphysics, a dualism is a viewpoint that sees two opposing forces, or two opposite realities. I would describe the modern Christian view of "being spiritual" as fundamentally dualistic.

That is, the assumption in modern Christianity is that "spirituality" is honorable and respectable. Spirituality is something to be striven for, something to be greatly desired.

But intellectuality is, in many Christian circles, to be despised. It is something to be minimized, and perhaps something that we'll eventually be delivered from.

So, since that's the viewpoint people hold - it's no surprise that they have this gnawing drive to be more spiritual. I mean, if spirituality is better than intellectuality, who wouldn't want to be more spiritual, right?

And the way I have always found people expressing spirituality is by expressing emotionality. Frankly, especially in my current surroundings - spiritual equals emotional.

Now I am not saying that emotions are necessarily bad, or that God's presence in our lives does not mess with our emotions. Far from it.

There are those occasions when I believe that God has truly impressed something on my consciousness in a deep, visceral way. On those occasions, I find myself emotionally "un-made". My favorite scriptural example of this is from Isaiah. Note his reaction in bold.

" In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.'

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, 'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.' "

- Isaiah 6:1-7

I have a hard time reading that passage without getting misty. The thought of that angel touching Isaiah's unclean lips (unclean like my own!) with that coal from the altar, and Isaiah's sin being taken away... Man, that's almost too much for me.

But I have to ask - "What does being spiritual look like? How will I know when I'm being spiritual, and when I'm being spiritual enough? Is it crying? Is it hopping around yelling 'hallelujah'? And after all's said and done, what does being spiritual accomplish?"

I know, I know. Here I go trying to be logical about spirituality.

Hmmm - logical. The word "logic" is a derivative of logos in Greek. Now most of you Bible students will know the typical translation of logos is "word". But the truth is, logos may be equally translated "reason" or "reasoning". That is, our ability to think, to understand and to know.

So with that in mind, check out one more passage from Isaiah.

" 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient,you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. "

- Isaiah 1:18-20

Here in the beginning of Isaiah's grand prophetic writing - God calls Israel to come and reason with him. And the specific issue at hand is huge. He is restating the covenant promise that was always the foundation of Jewish monotheism. Specifically, God says "If you obey me, you'll do well. Otherwise, you're gonna be in a world of hurt."

Notice that God did not say, "Come now, let us feel better together" or "Come now, let us emote all over one another" or "Come now, let us ignore reality for awhile".

My proposal: Reason is the proper basis for faith - not emotion. But emotion is also a natural part of our being, and thus, a natural part of our faith. There is no dualism in true Christian spirituality. There is no "either/or". It is "both/and" - with reason (intellect) leading the emotions.

So when the logos became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14) - was it the feelings of God that became incarnate in Jesus?

And then I wonder - should I ask "How do you feel about that?", or "What do you think about it?".

:)

Speeding Up

The heel-healing (?!?) process has been excruciatingly slow over the last 4 months.

For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about - I mentioned my recent heel-breaking accident here and here. If I've said it once, I've now (literally) said it a thousand times.

"Break your head, break your heart, but whatever you do - don't break your heel!"

The good news is I'm now gaining back foot-function at a rapid rate. I'm psyched!

Last weekend I belayed some good friends at Sam's Throne in Arkansas. I couldn't stand it though - I just had to climb something. So just before we left I shoved my feet into my climbing shoes and did a lap on this simple 5.4.

I'm thrilled to report that everything worked just fine. This weekend we'll go at it again and crank it up a notch. I'm not where I was, and certainly not where I plan to be - but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Father, thank you for your mercy towards me and for the healing of my body. I ask the same for my father and sister - and for all those we love that so desperately need your healing touch and a fresh revelation of the kingdom to come.

Politics, Leadership and A Failure of Nerve

Dr. Edwin Friedman - the eminent psychologist, therapist, lecturer and consultant - didn't finish A Failure of Nerve before his untimely death in 1996.  His wife and several former colleagues went ahead and finished it for him.

I use a number of sources as the theological and philosophical bases for my approach to leading and training leaders.  But Friedman's works (Generation to Generation and A Failure of Nerve) have become my primary psychological foundation for leadership. 

Here's a quote from the introduction of Failure.  Emphases are mine.

"I believe there exists throughout America today a rampant sabotaging of leaders who try to stand tall amid the raging anxiety-storms of our time.  It is a highly reactive atmosphere pervading all the institutions of our society - a regressive mood that contaminates the decision-making processes of government and corporations at the highest level, and, on the local level, seeps down into the deliberations of neighborhood church, synagogue, hospital, library, and school boards...

It is my perception that this leadership-toxic climate runs the danger of squandering a natural resource far more vital to the continued evolution of our civilization than any part of the environment.  We are polluting our own species.  The more immediate threat to the regeneration, and perhaps even the survival, of American civilization is internal, not external.  It is our tendency to adapt to its immaturity.  To come full circle, this kind of emotional climate can only be dissipated by clear, decisive, well-defined leadership.  For whenever a 'family' is driven by anxiety, what will also always be present is a failure of nerve among its leaders."

Friedman goes on to detail the symptoms of nerve failure throughout the book.  And of course he outlines the cure - which is brilliant, yet astonishingly easy to understand.  

I must admit that the book could have used more of Friedman's touch - he was the master of applied Family Systems Theory and he also had a way with words that his proteges have unfortunately not quite captured.  But nonetheless, the ideas expressed in the book stand, in my opinion, as the genesis of what I hope will become a significant new trajectory in leadership thinking.

I'm now old enough to have paid attention to a sizable chunk of the political discourse in this country.  And in watching the presidential campaigns, culminating in yesterday's election, I'm reminded of Friedman's analysis.

Now more than ever I'm convinced Friedman was right on when he spoke of our nasty, self-destructive tendency to adapt to our own personal and national immaturities - to adapt toward weakness rather than strength.  Here's an example of what I'm talking about.   

What is Peggy actually saying?  Is her fundamental approach good for her or for our country?

Again, I'm with Friedman - I believe we're polluting our own species.  Any thoughts?