We live in a world of competing ideologies and belief systems. We all have different ideas as to what is right and what is wrong. Some of us have the notion of "Everybody thinks they're right, but I know they're wrong." We are convinced that what we believe is the absolute truth, regardless of what anyone else says or opines. We are so enclosed and entrenched in our beliefs that we find it hard to be open to other perspectives.
There are beliefs about politics, religion, social systems, etc. These beliefs have been inculcated and ingrained in us through our upbringing, the community of faith, and the educational system. We tend to take that which has been implanted in our minds for granted without bothering to question.
What I would like to address here is the attitude of defensiveness. Whenever we hear or are presented with something which contradicts that which we have heard all our lives, we become defensive. We build a mental wall around ourselves in order to fend off these mosquitoes (ouch!) which are invading our ideological system.
This attitude is noted in the area of religion. If we are raised in a particular community of faith, we automatically assume without question that the tenets that were taught us are "gospel truth." Because these tenets, which were supposedly thrown from Heaven to Earth by God, we dare not question them, or even bother to examine if they are true. After all, who would want to even think of daring to question God?
Another reason why we do not bother to question our beliefs is that it is a tedious task. It takes a lot of energy, time, and work to examine the history, origins, and presuppositions of our belief system.
We are also afraid that when challenged, our long-held beliefs might be proven wrong, and we are reluctant to admit that there is even the slightest possibility that our long-held beliefs may not be valid at all. It is like demythologizing Santa Claus and removing the rug from under our feet. We fall into the mindset of the ostrich with its head buried in the sand, with the attitude of "Please don't confuse me with the facts." We then become even more defensive by fortifying our attitude of denial and attempting to "cover the sky with our hands."
The use of Scripture to support our belief system does not solve the problem either. The reason for that is that even we subscribe to the notion of "sola scriptura" (The Bible alone) as our basis for faith and practice, we then encounter the variety of interpretations and understandings of Bible readers. Each Protestant church claims to base its teachings and theology on the Bible, but yet each one has a different doctrinal and theological system of beliefs. So we ask then, what is wrong with this picture?
I invite you, the reader, to discuss and share with us your opinion as to why we are so defensive. You can share some of your own personal experience with and history of being defensive. I don't think that any of us is immune to this syndrome, so feel free to "let your hair down." You will not be attacked, mocked, or ridiculed for openly sharing where you stand. Perhaps your contribution will help us to find a solution to this defensive attitude, and put us on the road to dismantling the barriers of religious defensiveness that leads us to fight "tooth and nail" for what we believe.
Grace and peace,
Juan Ayala-Carmona
I would imagine that one if the predominant issues behind defensiveness is the fear of being left without! If you take away my Santa Clause I'm left without a reason to celebrate. We must then do some homework to come up with for giving and/or taking. If we could only realize that remaining open brings possibilities of enlargement and growing. Truth will always prevail so why worry? That's just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth for your contribution. As always, you give us something to think about. I think that I can concur with the notion that fear is prevalent relative to our defense systems. We are told that animals attack because of fear, especially the fear of territoriality, and the fear of being attacked themselves. As humans, we fear the uncertain, and unknown, we fear being attacked and ridiculed, we fear appearing to be ignorant, etc. etc.
DeleteYou say that if we take away Santa Clause, we're left without a reason to celebrate. Really? Is the mythological Santa Claus the real reason for celebrating Christmas or is it as we have heard over the years "Jesus is the reason for the season?" In general, are we defensive because we fear that the beliefs that we hold so dearly might be proven to be either myths or outright lies? That is a very difficult and challenging question to answer because many of our beliefs are based on infantile emotions (no disrespect intended). Many times we have the attitude like we say in Spanish, "asi me ense~naron, asi mi quedo (That is the way I was taught, that is the way I will remain)." We would much rather fight than switch, even if it has been clearly demonstrated that reality demands that we switch. If the message of the Gospel that we believe in is a pipedream, wouldn't it be more honest to wake up and face reality, no matter how grim it is? Don't we do a grave injustice to people by continuing to perpetuate myths instead of stark realities? Was Karl Marx correct when he referred to religion as "the opiate of the masses?" I think that we must do our homework so that we come up with a faith that enables us to deal with reality and not run away from it. It is only in that manner that truth will prevail. That's just my two cents. Thanks for forcing us to think and to "take the bull by the horn."
Juan
In my tradition we believe that scripture is primary in our understanding of God, but we also hold that in order to understand God we are to look to tradition, experience, and reason. This has to all be lead and guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will encourage us to seek the truth that is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ ------ but also the Holy Spirit will guide us through the community of faith to find wholeness as we walk with our sisters and brothers in this journey.
ReplyDeleteDear Pastor Philip: I think that it is safe to say that Scripture is primary in our understanding of God in most Christian traditions. And, most Christian traditions would also make good use of tradition, experience, and reason. Most Christians, I believe, in one way or the other, believe in the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual believer and of the Church as a corporate entity. Since the issues here was that of defensiveness, I think that the resources of Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason, along with the work of God's Holy Spirit, should enable us to dismantle all attitudes and structures of defense, and replace them with attitudes and structures which reflect bravery and confidence in God. Thanks so much for your valuable contribution. It is truly enlightening.
DeleteJuan