Tag / spirituality

by daviddawson462742281

The Past is Always Present

I am on my second listen through of Yale professor Marci Shore’s series of lectures European Intellectual History Since Nietzsche (2026, https://youtu.be/fhIW-E9wZe8?is=cO7TYm7H1V-40djN). I found Shore’s lecture on French philosopher Henri Bergson fascinating for how a Christian like me understands time. I am PhD candidate doing qualitative research focused on exploring how people describe and understand their own experiences. So, I was intrigued about Bergson’s contribution to our understanding of quantitative versus qualitative knowledge. 

Along with Husserl, Bergson was part of a philosophical movement that rejected positivism, arguing that time cannot be divided. Bergson explored the dichotomy between the continuous and the discreet. Time is continuous in contrast to mathematical numbers which are discreet. Time is unmeasurable and therefore must be understood in qualitative terms. A flame can serve as a metaphor for this, which cannot be “cut”, or by materials that melt together. For example, the past lives on in the present in an interpenetrating way. As with so many philosophers since the Enlightenment, Berson was seeking to deal with the alienation sensed in the West after the intelligencia rejected God and revelation as sources of transcendent ethics, epistemology, and ontology (what we should do, how we can know anything, and what is?). 

Kant argued that we should act ethically because to not do so would be catastrophic. Hegel argued that our ethics should be based on an understanding that history is moving toward an ultimate telos which we are part of. But Bergson rejected the Hegelean notion of determinist arguing that there is space for human free will within time. Bergson injected free will into time against Hegelian determinism, human free will is always influencing the world. In this conception, time involves sequence without distinction – that is – there is movement but not fragmentation. To repeat, the past lives on in the present, an ever-present interpenetration. 

Bergson argued for a creative evolution contra Hegelean teleology (the world is moving towards a determined goal) and a mechanistic understanding of the world (everything in the world works like a machine than can be understood by disassembling and reassembling the parts). He draws upon the concept of élan vital (life force) describing it like a meteor that explodes fragmenting in particles. He uses duration or duré to describe the common human understanding of time. Bergson argued that we need both intellect and instinct / intuition to understand the world. Intellect, according to Bergson, is turned towards inert matter and the mechanistic. Intellect is insulated from what is animate and alive. Instinct or intuition, in contrast, is turned towards the animate world. Both Intellect and intuition are needed in human understanding, but Bergson argues that the Enlightenment had undermined the essential role of intuition to understand the world. 

As I stated earlier, I am drawing this description of Bergson’s philosophy of time from Marci Shore’s lecture. What I find fascinating as a Christian is how much of Bergson’s thought aligns with a biblical worldview. Both the Jewish Tanak and the Christian New Testament propose rational and intuitive knowledge as essential to human understanding of the world. The Bible describes human intellect as being part of man’s being created in the image of God. Jesus uses rational argument in many of his teachings. Biblical narratives also describe men and women coming to understand subjective knowledge of love, beauty, and virtue with the help of the Spirit of God. Recently I heard a sermon where the speaker stated, “the past is gone”. I appreciate what the preacher intended to say regarding not letting the past act like a shadow or burden to a Christian’s present. However, I also recognize that the influence of the past in many good ways sustains me and encourages me as I attempt to follow Jesus and fulfill his purpose for my life. The voices and examples of the men and women of God who discipled me continues to follow and inspire me today. 

Philosophers since the Enlightenment have attempted to address human alienation since the “death of God” as described by Nietzsche. And the biblical narrative continues to inspire me to seek belonging in the Triune God. I do not find the Christian life or worldview a simple path without doubts and contradictions along the way. But in my fragility and inconsistency, I say like Peter that I have not found another source of life-giving truth than Jesus. Following Jesus does not require disengagement from philosophical exploration. Secure and held by our relationship to Jesus, we can bring hope to those around us who continue to ask the primordial questions of human life and understanding our world. 

References

Shore, Marci (2026). European Intellectual History Since Nietzsche, https://youtu.be/fhIW-E9wZe8?is=cO7TYm7H1V-40djN

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by daviddawson462742281

Challenging Common Notions Regarding Faith Today

Church is for the Disenfranchised of Society?

According to sociologist Nancy T. Ammerman (2015, https://youtu.be/xl9qYKcfWUo?si=d6H0-A1V_2-3KBO8), a key shift in the sociology of religion has been the blurring of boundaries that traditionally confined the field. Increasingly, sociologists are exploring how religion is manifest in diverse spheres of daily life. Some findings contradict common notions regarding religious affiliation and practice in the Western world. For example, religious vibrancy is often attributed to Evangelical Pentecostalism that attracts the poor and disenfranchised communities of large urban centers. However, Ammerman’s research indicates the opposite – that the poor and disenfranchised are the majority of those who don’t attend regular worship services in the U.S. On the contrary, most churchgoers tended to be upstanding enfranchised members of society.

Together with Spanish sociologist Jose Casanova, Ammerman’s research found that most Americans who leave their religious tradition do so because they don’t belong not because they don’t believe (Ammerman, 2022, https://youtu.be/RAgd4QmVWKA?si=6OjKExySg-hqFgTO). This reinforces the evidence that religious faith is often higher among the more educated because they feel they belong to society, including its religious expressions and institutions.

Spirituality Thrives without Community and Tradition?

Ammerman also researched religious “nones” in the U.S. (2016, https://youtu.be/W-uOims2A0A?si=RP3j4JaCeoldxvW0), the term referring to people who have religious beliefs and practices that are not expressed in the context of organized religion. Only a tiny percentage of these religious nones (RNs) are atheists. The biggest factors for the growth of the RNs since the 1980s was being raised by parents who were also RNs as well as the rise of the “moral majority” Evangelical political culture, which many credited with their decision to leave church. A common notion associated with the RNs is that vibrant individualized spiritual practice often thrives without association with any faith tradition or community. Ammerman found that doing so is very difficult and that community and tradition are extremely helpful for the development and maintenance of religious practice. Many RNs end up joining religious communities, and most of them are drawn by the experience of collective worship – the experience of connecting with God and community. Particularly attractive to RNs is the opportunity to converse with others in church about their faith. Ammernan also described a large category of marginal or “liminal” RNs that move in and out of religious communities and traditions in a cyclical pattern never developing roots. 

Spirituality Thrives Where there are Convincing Rational Arguments for Faith?

German Catholic sociologist Hans Joas (2020, https://youtu.be/BcuyrfhQ76Y?si=Eohb1T2UvT1GZGx0) argues that values develop from human experience, in contrast to the view that in modernity values develop from rational discourse. Joas cites the Holocaust, which came to be seen as evil not by rational discussion but historical experience. In contrast to the view that the modern era is disenchanted, Joas argues that universal human morals emerge through a process, concepts such as humanity as a common race across the earth with shared essential qualities. Joas sees a global genealogy of moral universalism, in which the individual’s moral values cannot be explained by the tradition they were raised in. Rather, individual’s values are shaped by paradigm-forming experiences. Joas argues that enchantment, which I would describe here as the consciousness of the spiritual, is a constant cyclical re-emerging human phenomena throughout human history and very much present today. In contrast to the secularism hypothesis, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, and southern Germany are examples of the pervasive relevance of religious faith and practice (Joas, 2002, https://youtu.be/N_f-MF19GSs?si=tL_xapiSi0AARfgS).

Implications for Faith in the Modern West

In this brief text, I have cited some interesting trends in the sociology of religion. As a Christian living in Southern Europe, I am encouraged to see such evidence of desire for God in the modern Western world. It has also been my experience that developing and maintaining the Christian life – a relationship with God and participation in His kingdom – is highly impeded by a lack of community. The body of Christ is where we experience the collective reality of Christ’s kingdom. Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas held that ethics precludes ontology in philosophy (Zoloth, 2024, https://youtu.be/nCT_nS3z1aA?si=sCARFsRjXl-5VqUz). By this he meant that ethics can only be understood in the context of community. Enlightenment modern attempts at totality deny the particularity of the individual. Levinas argued that the encounter between the individual and God was the foundation of ethics, rooted in Torah. Levinas say this encounter as always involving three interlocutors: God, the individual, and the other. 

These trends in sociology of religion reveal the continued relevance of religious faith and practice. We don’t live in a time of increased irrelevance or marginality of faith and devotion. Even in the West, we are surrounded by a vast sea of individuals who seek the answers and experiences that we Christians have found in Jesus Christ and his church. 

References

Ammerman, 2015, https://youtu.be/xl9qYKcfWUo?si=d6H0-A1V_2-3KBO8

Ammerman, 2016, https://youtu.be/W-uOims2A0A?si=RP3j4JaCeoldxvW0

Joas, 2002, https://youtu.be/N_f-MF19GSs?si=tL_xapiSi0AARfgS

Joas, 2020, https://youtu.be/BcuyrfhQ76Y?si=Eohb1T2UvT1GZGx0

Zoloth, 2024, https://youtu.be/nCT_nS3z1aA?si=sCARFsRjXl-5VqUz

by daviddawson462742281

Short-term Missions in a Postmodern, Postcolonial World

Various social institutions and sociological theories influence cross-cultural engagement. A postmodern anthropology looks at economics, development, religion, and social class. In this text, I will look at some sociological theories examining short term missions (STM).

Economics and Development

Christian anthropologist Mike Rynkiewich (2011) analyzes postmodernism and postcolonialism in his book Soul, self, and society. Attempts to provide a form of international assistance engage dynamics of reciprocity and exchange. A gift gives symbolic representation to a relationship, having “value and meaning beyond its appearance” (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 81). Colonialism embodied the category of exchange known as redistribution, where goods move toward a center and then out from it. Globalization has brought the market exchange model where individuals bring their wares to a common market – physically or online – and seek exchange. Anthropologists have increasingly critiqued the notion that development and modernization are equivalent, and that advances in technology represent the most important aspect of development (Rynkiewich, p. 82-84). 

Practitioners of STM should be sensitive to each one of these paradigms of economics and development. Attempts by richer nations to help poorer ones as an expression of Christ’s love must not ignore the cultural dynamics of reciprocity and exchange. STMs runs the risk of inadvertently using colonialism’s paradigm of redistribution by acting as if Christ’s kingdom is centered in the sending country. This colonial association of Christianity with a particular culture – most notably the West – has been so destructive and yet runs the risk of being reproduced in the Global South. What makes students of church history think that the temptations of power will not affect the megachurches of the Global South. Why wouldn’t new emergent poles of Christian power assume that they are now the true people of God, as did the Portuguese and Spanish, Christened by the pope in the 15th century to colonize the New World (Coben, 2015)?

Perhaps the most accessible starting place for STMs in addressing cultural perspectives on economics and development is reciprocity and exchange. The giving of gifts is a universal mode of interaction between groups potentially symbolizing and communicating “the value of a relationship between groups” (Caillé, 2013). Reciprocity generally emerges through the “obligating social indebtedness” created by participants independent of the “coercive power of an external social institution” (Carrier, 1991). The spiritualization of reception is a process that “converts unequal material gifts from foreign hosts into spiritual understanding among STM travelers” (Addler & Offutt, 2017, p. 600). What is perceived as repayment takes the form of “spiritual gifts of self-understanding, growth, and awareness”. For example, American travelers in foreign countries become “aware of the blessing or bounty of their current life”. This is a hopeful example of how international partnerships can be done in a way that is “made meaningful across inequality” (Addler & Offutt, 2017, p. 612-617). 

Concept of Religion

STM must also consider the prominence of the Western concept of religion in the development of modern missions. It can be argued that the concept of religion as a belief system chosen by the individual is a Western construct. What Westerners conceived of as religion when they met with spiritual practices and traditions overseas was, for the indigenous peoples, a “way of life” consisting of many beliefs and practices that cannot be separated from each other (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 99). For most peoples in human history, beliefs and rituals were understood as part of everyday experience, connected to land and community. To these premodern civilizations, spiritual forces were more conspicuous and evident than to the enlightened Westerners (p. 99). And contra the secularization hypothesis of the 20th century that predicted the demise of religion, the everyday reality of spiritual forces continues to be the majority opinion of the world population (Riesebrodt, 2000). Thus, STMs must account for the disruption that can occur when integral aspects of an individual or community’s identity are denigrated by the proclamation of the Christian gospel.

In a postcolonial world, STMs must abandon old paradigms of cultural development from simple to complex, used to justify Europe’s position “at the top of the ladder” (p. 99), simply because of their military superiority. Evolutionary theories of religion that posit progression from animism to polytheism and ultimately monotheism depict primitive peoples being benevolently guided to enlightenment by Western tutors (p. 101). But Western theories of the function of religion as a means of social cohesion and facing adversity negate humanity’s deep connection to spiritual belief and practice. Many in the West are content with explications of religion that provide a pretext to ignore it. But practitioners of STM must recognize the importance of the “middle range of religion” (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 106) – the immanent, mystical experience of spiritual phenomena in the daily life of most Majority World cultures. 

The encounter of different cultural groups can cause the social constructions of each to come undone (Offutt, 2011, p. 805). As STM practitioners engage in the local world-building activities of indigenous peoples, they much take care not to cause harmful disruption. Hosts and travelers can mitigate against such damage by seeking “common stocks of knowledge” shared between them. What is shared can begin at the level of global culture such as international sports and then move to shared Christian beliefs. Once rapport is established between traveler and host, more profound dialogue can ensue as trust has been established (Offutt, 2011, p. 805). 

One ambitious STM model that has emerged is multicultural joint teams which recognizes that mission is now truly “from everywhere to everywhere”. This strategy mobilizes teams from two different cultures and perhaps different denominations. The two groups are then sent to a third cultural context where it is hoped that new forms of missional engagement may emerge. Another aspiration is that this practice bring reconciliation to cultural and denominational differences (Mulieri, 2020). 

Caste, Class, and Ethnicity

Rounding off this analysis, STMs must take account of caste, class, and ethnicity in its cross-cultural endeavors. Westerners may sneer at the concept of caste in Asia, but the idea of hierarchy is found in the West as well. The difference is that in most societies religion is used to provide the explanation and justification for social inequality (Rynkievich, 2011, p. 115). Ambiguity related to the conversion of indigenous peoples to Christianity for social advancement is something STM participants should be aware of. Since most STMs have come from richer countries endeavoring to serve poorer ones, the reality of class difference must also be considered. The influence of Western concepts of class associated with income, residence, profession, and education has come into stark conflict with non-Western communities concepts of identity. The Western concept of ethnicity has arisen in the colonial confrontation between different cultures, languages, and customs. Ethnic identity has been formed not within a community with certain biological, linguistic, and geographical connotations, but through this community’s interaction with others. As STM participants go into the world, they must consider how the context of caste, class, and ethnicity can undermine cross-cultural relationships (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 117-123).

Research indicates that STM can help foster a “thicker global civil society within Christianity” (Offutt, 2011, p. 810). STM still currently consists of most Western teams and long-term missionaries going into the Majority World. But those Majority World churches that do send STMs feel enabled to engage in missions themselves locally and internationally. STMs result in the establishment of “overlapping networks that criss-cross the globe” establishing “higher levels of trust” between cultures. Unfortunately, research also indicates that STMs from the new non-Western centers of Christianity often have little or no intercultural training resulting in cultural misunderstandings and offenses (Offutt, 2011, p. 810). 

Other research, however, indicates that harmful attitudes about ethnicity are hard to mitigate against in the context of STMs (Huang, 2019, p. 55). International travel offers helpful challenges to the identity of STM participants. However, the inherent privilege of STM participants is often invisible to themselves. This level of privilege has led some to the conclusion that STM has little potential to reduce participants’ prejudice. More optimistic voices suggest STMs seek to be aware of the power and privilege of its participants and the “invisible ways” these “penetrate their organization”, intentionally embracing “ways that counter these tendencies” (Huang, 2019, p. 68-70). 

References

Adler, Gary J. & Offutt, Stephen (2017). The Gift Economy of Direct Transnational Civic Action: How Reciprocity and Inequality Are Managed in Religious “Partnerships”. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 56(3):600–619

Caille ́, Alain (2013_. Anti-utilitarianism and the gift-paradigm. In Handbook on the economics of reciprocity and social

enterprise, edited by Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni, pp. 44–48. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Carrier, James. 1991. Gifts, commodities, and social relations: A Maussian view of exchange. Sociological Forum

6(1):119–36.

Coben, L. A. (2015). The Events that Led to the Treaty of Tordesillas. Terrae Incognitae, 47(2), 142–162. Complementary Index. https://doi.org/10.1179/00822884.2015.1120427

Huang, Lindsay A. (2019). Short-Term Mission Trips: Developing the Racial and Ethnic Consciousness of White Participants. Journal of Sociology and Christianity, Volume 9, Number 2

Mulieri Twibell, Simone (2020). Contributions, challenges, and emerging patterns of short-term missions. Missiology: An International Review, Vol. 48(4) 

Offutt, Stephen (2015). The Role of Short-Term Mission Teams in the New Centers of Global Christianity. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(4):796–811

Riesebrodt, M. (2000). Fundamentalism and the Resurgence of Religion. Numen, 47(3), 266–287.

Rynkiewich, M. (2011). Soul, self, and society: A postmodern anthropology for mission in a postcolonial world. Cascade Books.