Tag Archives: Philosophy

February 23, 2013 · 1:23 pm

Happiness: Living on the Street called Choice


HappinessA question often asked by people who are having problems says something like this, “When am I ever going be to be happy”? 
An underlying factor within the question is the level of dissatisfaction felt about life experience.  Another that issue associated with concerns about future happiness is a feeling of entitlement precedes the way individuals view the outcome of life.  A way to understand expectations about future happiness in life events is energized with a core belief that happiness is the capstone that describes a problem-free life.  Therefore, the normal, natural question about challenges is whether happiness is a real possibility to be attained.  A fundamental problem with a question like this is that it looks ahead to an unknown time and looks at life experience with a particular ideal world where happiness just happens. Obviously, the answer never comes for some individuals because of a lack of clear understanding of what happiness describes or what conditions must be met to create the “state” that some people describe as happiness.  As a result, a common explanation of happiness utilizes language intertwined with feelings about circumstances in life.  For instance, some descriptions of happiness are interpreted to mean removing all anxiety or other life disturbances standing in the way of an optimum state of euphoria achieved through a pain-free existence.  Therefore, happiness built upon an idealism of reducing life expectation to a simple no pain, resistance, or other difficulty formula holds the probability of great disappointment and lingering question, “When am I ever going be to be happy”?

So what is happiness anyway?

A place to begin is with a dictionary definition, which associates happiness as an emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being.  Since the dictionary defines it in terms of emotion, many people may conclude that when there is the absence of those life affirming emotions mentioned that happiness is not a reality.  Apparently, somehow meaning is attached to happiness that translates into an absence of pain or difficulty.  If you are a philosopher or study the field of Ethics, you will quickly identify this definition as consistent with ideas drawn from the philosophy of Hedonism, which describes the pleasure principle as the central motif of making life work in a way to reduce pain, discomfort, and difficulty for the “greatest good” as an outcome rationale.  Applying this philosophy of life affirms the idea that when people are happy life is experienced with the least amount of difficulty, pain, or unpleasantness within life experience. Obviously, this sounds good in principle, but it is a very simplistic way to view a very complex subject that leaves the questions of people with less than positive life experience with a lack of hope that happiness can be realized.

We usually seek success in order to find happiness.

One of the fallacies in looking at happiness because of circumstances is that it constructs happiness from feelings of success or performance outcome.  However, much of life is lived on a street that has noisy neighbors, sick children, grass to mow, snow to shovel, and storms that come and go.  The result is that life is full of experiences that may not have an outcome that feels like success.  A relevant point relates to how well-being and satisfaction incorporates into a life filled with experience that evokes negative emotional responses.  Unfortunately, what is missing from the dictionary definition is a comprehensive understanding of common happiness that everyone can have no matter what life brings. In reference to this, Dr. Marla Gottschalk states that:

How we “digest” our life experiences, both negative and positive, can be instrumental in influencing levels of happiness.  As Achor explains, reported happiness cannot always be fully explained by life events themselves –it is how we view those life events that prove to be pivotal.  Many of us have a tendency to become focused upon negative information and events (possibly an evolutionary necessity).  As a result, we may under-represent our successes and fail to draw energy from them. On some level, we give up our power to be happy – by resting its fate entirely in the external world – when in fact, our “internal script” can be quite influential. Shorter-lived emotions can contribute to a broader “affect”, or tendency to feel either positive or negative. (What is happiness then? (Positive Psychology and Happiness at Work).

Happiness precedes success in the way thoughts are constructed in the mind

Happiness is a way of thinking about life that uses an organized way of mental cognition that incorporates using “pathways thinking” to create momentum in the activity of life.  Unfortunately, the notion that experiencing a particular life outcome will create happiness is conceptually flawed because this perspective lacks a consistent and measurable inference.  For instance, placing two individuals in an exact set of circumstances does not indicate that happiness will occur sequentially or is predictable.  In fact, the level of well-being felt will depend more on the way individuals think about events than the events alone.  Obviously, two people can have the same experience and value the experience in different ways.  On the other hand, another way to look at happiness is that happiness is consistent with thinking constructs, which introduces quantitative and qualitative factors into the life that individuals experience.

Think about the meaning of the word, “life”

A simple definition of life is, “the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual” (Dictionary.com). 

For many people life is just an existence or a human organic experience of conscious awareness with a sort of organic fatalism that reduces life to what we have in our genes and DNA.  However, life is much more than an organic existence of matter over a set period of time.  Life is an activity which describes a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul” (Dictionary.com) as both quality of life and quantity of time in existence.  An idea expressed in the words of Jesus that connects a meaning to life that delineates a way of thinking about life that predicts outcome in life says, “I have come to give life; and life more abundant” (John 10:10 KJV).

Textual evidence from grammar interprets life as “zōḗ – life (physical and spiritual).  … it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life”.  In addition, life is modified in the use of an adjective abundant … “perissós (an adjective), properly all-around …  beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation”, which describes a life lived with a view of life characterized by (well-being and satisfaction=happiness).  Another related word that adds meaning to the way Christians think about happiness spoken of in the Psalms is, “blessedness”, which describes a state of being in a Christian life that orders the thoughts around a spiritual view of life that is grounded in a reflective relationship with God.  Also, “blessedness” informs existence with an aptitude, a view toward life, informing the way behavior occurs in life. An important point to make is that in the Beatitudes, (Matthew 5:ff.) happiness is not associated with the removal of pain or the absence of challenging experiences, but rather, with a changed perspective.  In fact, the idea is that optimum happiness results from life being viewed through certain definable attitudes understood about life from God’s perspective.

Thinking patterns discipline the mind to create happiness and pathways for life

Later in the Bible, The apostle Paul wrote about the activity of the mind.  He said, “every thought should be brought into captive obedience to Christ.”  The message of I Corinthians resonates the principle that ineffective ways of thinking must be superseded with organizing the thoughts around a perspective of life dominated by a positive Christian mindset.  The idea is present in the text that suggests that vain ways of thinking result in spiritual captivity to false ideas about life.  So, when life does not experience the well-being that individuals feel entitled to experience in the circumstances of life, what response should be given?  Peter said, “Gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13).  Strengthen the mental outlook is the central message of Peter to those facing persecution.  Obviously, there is a mental motif prescribed: When life is falling apart and does not give you the measure of success that is expected, quit fighting the circumstances to find happiness.  The point is to reorganize thinking around hope that will create new pathways, ways of thinking about life.  The consistent and compelling message about happiness is not the absence of challenging, heart-wrenching events.  The application is the message about the way thoughts are organized with a view toward life.  The application is about how inner strengths of character are identified through hope and how happiness develops a pathway to effective living. As a result, happiness will not be achieved through technological development, possession of things, or vain expectation: it is achieved through inner development of the person.

Common ideas about happiness are found in a belief that if a person takes up a hobby like wood carving, playing golf, or other activities that the unhappiness can be distracted denied, and delegitimized.  However, while distraction from pain or unhappiness may minimize the symptoms of unhappiness in life, it will not change a point of view about life.  The truth is that you can never remove unhappy events in life by replacing challenges with the innocuous placebo of pleasure.  One craving only leads to another, which leads to another reinforcing a life of pursuing pleasure to numb the pain felt about unhappiness in life circumstances.

What is the road to happiness?

The answer rests in altering ineffective thinking by cleaning up the clutter about how we organize thoughts about life.  Happiness does not guarantee that life will never face difficulty.  On the other hand, happiness changes how individual think about difficulty and what they will do when challenging moments come.  The road to happiness is joined to an inward journey of the development of the mind, spirit, and soul-life.  Indeed, spiritual life cannot be isolated in a detached metaphysical experience of escape from pain, from difficulty, or performance of duty.  The matter of importance is that happiness is rooted in a way of thinking toward life.  Therefore, the road to happiness is understanding, which leads to positive life-affirming ways of thinking reflectively about life.

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February 16, 2013 · 9:10 pm

Point of View: How Perspective Influences Cultural Trends and Communication


Railroad tracks

A Narrow and Vanishing Perspective

I only have one opinion so it is the only one I can give.  I know that sounds narrow minded and resistant, but isn’t that really what it boils down to with everyone?  However, the problem with opinion is that many time opinions are irrelevant in an atmosphere of constant change of culture and communication technology.  As a result, one of the challenges in modern world is to understand the speed that culture is changing right before our eyes and how the communication of ideas is in constant state of flux.  Therefore,  on the high speed information network, the challenge reinforces a constant need to adapt to changing constructs and to understand that there may be an inhibited ability to comprehend the rate that information passing before our eyes is  feeding a blurred generational and cultural myopia.  In a world  where a narrow perspective is vanishing, some people may ask: Does any generation have an absolute truth or a point of view that is constant, timeless, and irrefutable through all of time, generations, and cultures to balance information contained in the communication of ideas?  Obviously, while there are differences about the answer, the ideas that many people hold as timeless principles of truth seems to be quickly vanishing in the milieu of ideas and being edited within the context of modern culture. A strong point of consideration about information and communication in a world that is technology bound is the strong evidence to suggest that the happenings of culture today are affecting, not only what subjects are relevant to the times, but how communication occurs in the 21st century.

In recent blog post Ed Stetzer (2011) cited Adlai Stevenson who stated, ‘”That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in another.’ He did not have a particularly high view of the next generation, but he does challenge us to consider the radical changes in thinking that are sometimes seen between generations” (Stetzer).   The apparent point to be understood is that every generation has a perspective that shapes contemporary beliefs— what is deemed important—values that form a perspective about level of importance of certain ideas.  In addition, it is not just the message of communication and values that is important, it is the fact that methods of communicating from the past are vanishing and being replaced on the super highway of technology. Consequently, what is apparent from an understanding cultural transformation in the 21st century is that a present cultural perspective is shaping point of view and validating the principle that both the vehicle and the message in every generation creates a shift in how people in a given generation arrive at a destination that they believe is truth and in a vehicle that the present generation creates its own mind-set.

Just as people from different cultures, races, and people groups think differently about important issues, generations are cultural subgroups of the macrocosm of human existence.  It is evident that each  thinks differently about matters of  believed to be of importance.  However, remember that successive generations hold a different point of view that is emerging and is relevant to the time.  Therefore while people may disagree, different perspectives are worth taking time to consider. It is said that one thing common to every generation is how the collective perspective is internalized. Ed Stetzer  (2011)  cited George Orwell’s perspective, which states that “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it and wiser than the one that comes after it” (Stetzer).  Someone from a past generation may ask: Are current generations really more intelligent or are earlier generations wiser?  Obviously, the answer depends on perspective – what it looks like from where you are standing or pontificating.

What perspectives are influencing the way life is understood in the 21st century?

The perspective, the unique way life is understood today, is a sociological and cultural phenomenon. For those who want to deny reality and continue to ignore what is shaping the point of view of the emergent culture of the 21st century only creates frustration and disconnection, which does not offer any substantive answers or a reasonable framework to understand reasoning behind current ideals.

Ideologues and philosophers offer suggestion about what is occurring, but unfortunately understanding ideals and philosophy alone will not provide efficacy that creates effective communication. Ideals, are generally moral ideas or mores’ based on certain group identification that create expectations about how people should think or act. Philosophical assumptions are the ways that beliefs are rationalized into reason.  Thus forming, the informational content of perspective. Values or axiology has more to do with what is deeply felt, importance, passion, and motivation that affect beliefs. For example, the   felt importance of something believed to be true.  When tension deposited in life experience that conflicts with values, it results in conflicting ideas about importance that creates a  disconnect between perceptions and experienced reality.

The question is formed: Who/what is right how can the way values are felt be rationalized with experience that does not match a reality believed?  Unfortunately, I find myself at odds with most idealist and the emphasis upon what should be and find myself focused upon what emerging culture is saying. As a point of reference something that needs to be understood is how to  connect perception to reality.  Consequently, the constant flow of information  redefines the importance of what seems logical in one generation as information is disseminated and absorbed into successive generations.  Therefore, there is a tension that exists in the message and mode of communication that results in aberrations in what is felt about the information, which places the greatest emphasis upon perspective.

Obviously, anyone can give an opinion about what is wrong with something.  However, knowing what is wrong is not the critical issue in communication of solutions that are workable.  One perspective that some people have is to write people off who look different, think different, and have a differing perspective.  Another point of view is to embrace the culture and learn the language, thinking, and mindset of the 21st century.  Seeing someone else’s perspective is not whitewashing culture or moralizing behaviors, it is asking why do people do that in the way they do and understanding if the desire is to connect, communicate, and build meaningful relationships that we need to understand more than what we know.

With the increasing isolation of people and the desire to have relationships, there is a tremendous opportunity to step outside a solitary opinion and understand people as part of a culture that thinks different than we do.  The opportunity demonstrates a tremendous potential, if we will take time to understand how perception formation is impacting beliefs and governs the content and methods of communication in the 21st century.

Point of View Perspective Beliefs God Theology Church Traditions Statistics Surveys Theory Demographics Communication Context Relationships Unchurched Christian Universalism Philosophy Vision Mission Outcome.

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May 21, 2012 · 8:07 pm

What’s the purpose of being a Christian?


The goal of Christian living: A series of paradoxical truths–What’s the purpose of being a Christian?

by Ronnie Lee Murrill on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 8:58am ·

Some people may wonder why be a Christian and what the purpose of being a Christian may be. A point might be made that it depends ho you ask. Where we will get the answer from?  If people are going to be surveyed on facebook you might get answers about what you have to do and ideas that must be believed to be a Christian, i.e. doing something–believing things in a certain way.

However, an important question to ask is what assumptions does God‘s perspective bring to the discussion?

“What Jesus promises is not a gimmick to give you goose bumps nor a mental attitude that has to be pumped up at pep rallies. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart.”(Lucado)

If heart reconstruction is what Christianity is about; then, if the opinion of Jesus a tenable position, then what the goal of Christian living?

In The Applause of Heaven, listen to what he says is His perspective.

“Observe the sequence. First, we recognize we are in need (we’re poor in spirit). Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency (we mourn). We quit calling the shots and surrender control to God (we’re meek). So grateful are we for his presence that we yearn for more of him (we hunger and thirst). As we grow closer to him, we become more like him. We forgive others (we’re merciful). We change our outlook (we’re pure in heart). We love others (we’re peacemakers). We endure injustice (we’re persecuted).

What observation can I take away from this?

Christianity is not about doing something or ideals held, it is about being something.

The perception of Jesus is that a Christian is invested character traits that result from a relationship to Him and bring happiness “Blessed”   The inner attitude –belief and results in behavior.e, repenting, humility, servant-hood, surrender, appetites, compassion, holiness sanctification, making peace, and tenacity under fire–shapes the outer life.

Christianity is about becoming something–it is a process and takes time.

Patience: precedes piosity and condemnation.  It was the religious crowd that had the wrong approach–who condemned those who did not conform to the rule and idea of religious tradition of the day–becoming a Christian in character is not conformity to an appearance, ritual, or culture, and becoming does not happen overnight.  Character traits are developed in a life lived against the wind in a refining and reflective process of listening to God, internalizing truth, and being changed in a process of development.

Observation: Today is a day that it can begin anew and what happened yesterday is yesterday.  Quit trying to do something, conform to someone, and be something.  Let relationship with God shape character and empower a life that is a sweet smelling fragrance going up before God that is well pleasing.  It is a place to start.

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November 13, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Spirituality, Science, Philosophy and The Origins of Consciousness


¹”Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain comes joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency and lamentations.” From the F. Adams translation of The Genuine Works of Hippocrates.

Francis Crick, Nobel prize laureate in physiology and medicine, in his book, The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul, borrows an idea from Hippocrates¹ and uses it to argue that “You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules” (Crick, 1995, p. 3).

Philosopher and cognitive neuroscientist, Alva Noë, in response to Crick’s statement, argues that the most striking thing about Crick’s hypothesis is that is not astonishing at all:

. . . [W]hat needs to be kept clearly in focus is that the neuroscientists, in updating the traditional conception of ourselves [we are our brains], have really only   succeeded in replacing one mystery with another.  At present, we have no better understanding of how ‘a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules’ might give rise to consciousness than we understand how supernatural soul stuff might do the trick.  Which is just to say that the you-are-your-brain idea is not so much a working hypothesis as it is the placeholder for one (p. 6).

Is consciousness just a mass of cells that forms a placeholder in time and space for humanity or is consciousness the manifestation of a process of events and relationships, which includes an understanding of waking human life as something to be considered beyond what, can be measured in a lived experience that suggests the existence of the soul as a mystery yet to be understood?

In response to a very difficult question that cuts across every period of history an observation can be made that religion is man’s search for God, philosopher’s debate over a search for reality, and psychology is man’s search for self understanding. The etymology of the term soul from the Greek word, psuche –psuche is the word that defined as, “breath … the breath of life … that in which there is life … a living being, a living soul … the soul the soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body)” (Thayer).

In Christian tradition, this has been the basis for understanding the essence of life from a non-scientific, metaphysical view.  In this approach of philosophy the process of rational inductive reasoning is applied to explaining a view of the soul. Plato…identified the soul with the person who reasons, decides, and acts … person or soul is not the familiar creature of flesh and blood but rather the incorporeal occupant and director of, even the prisoner in, that corporeal being  (soul, 2002).  Historically, emphasis is put upon the material and immaterial and are assumptions which bear upon Cartesian Dualism. It is interesting that there is a relationship between beliefs within Christian thought, philosophical assumptions, and the scientific approach of psychological theory.  Contemporary thought, questions, and dilemmas have produced the quest for understanding within developing psychological research that presents an attempt to synthesize views of the past into a current understanding.  This is most evident in the writings of Freud, Jung, Maslow—Rogers, to the current time who in an attempt to provide substantive answers about what consciousness is and how it influences a greater understanding of human life, behavior, feelings, and thought processes.

A beginning point is at a contemporary definition of consciousness which, “includes both the feeling of awareness, some of which may be under the focus of attention”, as cited in (Sternberg, 2009, p. 125).  A definition, such as this, provides an understanding of what a person may be aware of, but also necessitates that consciousness is distinct from attention in that, “information proceeds without conscious awareness” (p. 125).  However, understanding what a person may be aware of and what he/she is not consciously links two processes together to form an important connection to personality, behavior, and focuses attention upon the unconscious’ influence upon what happens in the brain-mind-body transaction.  A conclusion that can is evident here is that researchers will fall short in understanding by drawing premature conclusions concerning consciousness and unconsciousness without first embarking upon a thorough understanding of  information available from multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding Cognitive Behavioral Psychology.

With that in mind here, a reasonable conclusion to begin with is that what we know is simply not enough to declare an end to research and understanding.  What is apparent is that more information is needed to explain unconscious processes in the relationship to life as whole.  An important point is that these processes are, “harder to study simply because you are not conscious of them” (p. 124).  However, a salient point which can be noted is that significant advances have been made in understanding through continuing research, such as the, “development of … the positron emission tomography (PET) scan—for mapping the brain [and] neuropsychology … [which] has been an outgrowth of this contemporary focus on biological explanations of human thought and behavior” (psychology, 2008).  While it may seem to some that the debate has been settled by science, philosophy, or theology; an apparent fact is that the debate about consciousness has not ended, and may never.

What is interesting in this discussion is that the matter of the soul-consciousness relationship becomes a matter of interest when connected to certain themes in life: in matters of significance, meaning, purpose, and as death.  What can be observed in responses to research as a closed-system is that faulty assumptions arise out of the point of view of the researcher.  This is noted by Gary Collins (1998) who says, “When Freud wrote about religion, he predicted that interest in spiritual things would fade as people as people embraced science” (Collins, 1998).  Apparently, Freud was mistaken about religion and spiritual interest in matters of the soul and consciousness.  A truth that stands out here is that if there is one definitive proof that the question is not settled, it is the experience of humanity in the desperate search for answers.  A point of clarification that resonates in the information available is that there is a pressing need to understand what theorists, philosophers, scientists, and theologians have said and identify areas that need fuller research.  An apparent point that is clear is that what has already been said is not adequate to mediate the questions of science, while at the same time be able to bridge the gap between birth, death, and the uncertainty of what we know about waking life and the consciousness of human life.

If this is a subject that interests you leave a response and let me know what you think and if you would like to hear more about this subject.

References

Collins, G. R. (1998). The soul search: a spiritual journey to authentic intimacy with God. Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Thomas Nelson.

Crick, F. (1995). The astonishing hypothesis: the scientific search for the soul. New York, New York, USA: Simon and Schuster.

psychology. (2008). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from Capella Library: psychology. (2008). In Th Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com.library.capella.edu/entry/columency/psychology

soul. (2002). In A Dictionary of Philosophy, Macmillan. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from Capella Library: Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com.library.capella.edu/entry/macdphil/soul

Sternberg, R. J. (2009). Cognitive Psychology (5th Edition ed.). Belmont, California, USA: Wadsworth, Cenage Learning.

Thayer, S. a. (n.d.). Greek Lexicon entry for Psuche. Retrieved Aug 1, 2010, from The New Testament Greek Lexicon: http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5590

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August 12, 2011 · 1:13 pm

Spirituality: Jesus the Church, Evangelism, Discipleship, and Multiculturalism


spirituality shelf

Which Books are You Reading?

Albert Mohler (2010) said, “As the period of emerging adulthood grows longer, young people are becoming more alienated spiritually.”  Mohler’s statement raises questions about what is occurring in 21st century within beliefs about spirituality. It is apparent that there is a significant departure from the views held by evangelical Christians who have had a predominate voice in shaping opinions in earlier generations. A good question to ask is who or what is influencing the views of this emergent generation and will evangelical Christian maintain their ability to influence this generation?

For social theorists this might be a developmental stage of an evolving culture.  If they are correct what can be understood about the process and what is important to understand? Within the discipline of psychology, there is a principle taught in life–stage theory that every period of life has an identity crisis and skill development must occur that enables a successful transition to  face the responsibilities of the next period of existence.   The theory purports that there is a natural development process that contributes to being able to engage with life and have efficacious responses in the challenges that are a part of the experience of life.  This an interesting analogy to make about how culture is developing, but what is the result of the process?

The results are portrayed in a fundamental gap between generations and that the distinctive beliefs of the past have not been articulated in a way that demonstrates a connection between what has been believed about matters of faith, morality, and God and what is believed now.  One of the questions may be have we advanced as a culture in the view about spirituality? Consider the views of the past generation about spirituality.  Is the earlier better informed than the present?  If so, has the view of the past informed, equipped, the present generation with the essential skills to enter a new time, face different responsibilities-challenges?

Could it be that Spirituality in America is in need of family systems therapy?

Apparently there are perceptions about spirituality today suggests a noticeable departure from traditionally held views of spirituality to a changing perspective. Ed Stetzer (2011) says, “This generation is open to God and spirituality. When asked if they considered themselves to be spiritual, 73 percent of respondents age 20-29 answered affirmatively” (Stetzer).  In response, a question that may not be addressed adequately in literature today is what impact does how the last period–generation approached spirituality have upon the present understanding of spirituality?  What is apparent is that there is a clear disconnect from traditionally held views.  Has a rebellious child of the 60’s 70’s or 80’s been raised and is misbehaving and we don’t like what is happening?

The statistics cited by Stetzer (2001) indicates that the respondents are indeed open to God and have a belief that they are spiritual, which essentially is not different than previous generations, but in retrospect, what does it really mean?

One assumption is that because there is openness and the basic belief about personal spirituality that there is motivation to understand life in spiritual terms and indeed someone—something is defining what spirituality means.  Sometimes I hear people referring to culture as an evil force – a collective consciousness that is leading people away from or at odds with another point of view. However, culture is better understood as “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought” (Free Dictionary) which describes culture as a defining force in a point of view. Therefore, there are culturally implicit beliefs, behaviors, and values characterizing the way differing generations, groups, races, and religions internalize information and externalize behaviors. As Stetzer (2011) describes this generation, it is not a generalization about all modern culture, but an indication of a group perspective.

A caution about generalizing statistics that needs to be understood is that popular surveys are not scientifically validated and some research that is offered–used to infer conclusions–may not be accurately applied.  An example of this is how people often say that “we live in a Christian nation” which reflects the point of view that historically may be valid, but unfortunately is not a fair nor accurate collective representation of America. Therefore, a larger question that needs to be understood which moves beyond what popular beliefs are is where do the respondents, 20-29 year olds,  get their point of view and what influences within this cultural group impact the perceptions reported, and what conclusions can be inferred about what spiritual communication will engage this emergent generation?

A fundamental question posited here is can this generation be engaged in a discussion about spirituality and motivated to respond without others understanding what prompts what millennial’s value and believe?

Understanding what the behavior means and what is shaping the values of 20-29 year olds is not interesting or appealing to many people. However, a challenge for traditional– modern Americans is to accept that multi-culturalism is shaping the view of people.  If  there is going to be meaningful engagement of the emerging peoples, groups, and cultures, it means that understanding what is driving the point of view, what are the assumptions, and how competence can be developed that enables an understanding outside of self which is motivated by an interest in connecting generations that are disconnected and can benefit from what the other brings to the process.

It is an easy thing to generalize and for adults to look at small children and expect them to understand and behave as an adult.  It is also easy for children to look at their parents and think they are really not very informed and disregard what may be simply not understood.  Unfortunately, in the milieu of cafeteria-style spirituality, the absence of a distinctive clarifying voice  that is having a significant impact upon culture, there is a danger present of morally and spiritually bankrupting the core values in modern culture.

Keywords: Spirituality, Culture, Sociology, Multi-culturalism, Generations, Millennial, Perspective, Perception, Beliefs, Consciousness, Behaviors, Generalizing, Statistics, Research, Communication, an Cultural- Identity.

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July 7, 2011 · 3:49 pm

Synthetic Spirituality: Is it New Wine in Old Skins or Something Else?


Florida Baptist Theological College Graceville Florida

When the apostle Paul says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8), what does it mean to 21st century Christians?  There is a poignant reminder that there is a present and real impact that popular beliefs held in culture can overshadow how spiritual beliefs are integrated into organizational life in the culture of the church.

Recently, evidence of a shifting paradigm reflecting views about interest in organized religion and current spiritual beliefs, presented in an opinion article written by Chris Mooney, reports, “Across the Western world — including the United States — traditional religion is in decline, even as there has been a surge of interest in “spirituality.”  What’s more, the latter concept is increasingly being redefined in our culture so that it refers to something very much separable from, and potentially broader than, religious faith.”  The disparaging remarks about about traditional religion and interest in spirituality reveal a perspective moving toward synthesizing postmodern religious beliefs into a new form of spirituality.

A Modern Definition of Spirituality

 Mooney indicates that the shift in modern culture has redefined how previous beliefs about spirituality synthesized into a contemporary application form a new perspective, “Nowadays, unlike in prior centuries, spirituality, and religion are no longer thought to exist in a one-to-one relationship.  Spirituality is something everyone can have — even atheists. In its most expansive sense, it could simply be taken to refer to any individual’s particular quest to discover, that which is held sacred.  What is apparent is that post-modern views have embraced an eclectic point of view that demonstrates a shift in authority and knowledge from beliefs held in the Christian Bible to what is relative to the present culture.

 Application: A Non-specific Spiritual Relativity that Shifts Truth about Spirituality from Biblical Truth to Personal  Experience.

 This report by Mooney  illustrates how the locus of truth forming current beliefs about spiritual ideologies has shifted from the institution to culture, from culture to the collective opinion, and the collective group to individual relativity.  Therefore, we can all find our own sacred things — and we can all have our own life-altering spiritual experiences.  These [beliefs and experiences] are not necessarily tied to any creed, doctrine, or belief; they grip us on an emotional level, rather than a cognitive or rational one.  That feeling of awe and wonder that sense of a deep unity with the universe or cosmos— such intuitions might lead to a traditional religious outlook on the world, or they might not.  An analysis Mooney’s observation reveals a contemporary presentation of spirituality emphasizing cultural relativism as the absolute, the hermeneutic, for understanding what spirituality means in the 21st century.  Conclusions can be inferred that spirituality may mean something quite different from what is contained in the historic view of God that defines spirituality in terms of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  One fundamental question that needs to be answered is what this non-specific spiritual relativity has done to bolster belief in the essential nature of God.  Is the new form of spirituality a belief in God or the antithesis of what has been believed for centuries?

 Is Modern Spirituality Atheism in a Rebranded?

What may not be apparent to many casual onlookers is that in the re-branding of spirituality into the synthetic form that spirituality has taken on the form of agnosticism and for some atheism. The Nuevo spirituality has gained the attention of entertainers and Richard Dawkins, the most prominent atheist of them all who reports that he has certainly felt spiritual uplift.  In response, he has written an entire book, Unweaving the Rainbow, about the wonder that comes with learning how things really work.  Dawkins, in a recent interview with Al-Jazeera, said that “spirituality can mean something that I’m very sympathetic to, which is, a sort of sense of wonder at the beauty of the universe, the complexity of life, the magnitude of space, the magnitude of geological time.  All those things create a sort of frisson in the breast, which you could call spirituality.”

“But,” Dawkins quickly added, “I would be very concerned that it shouldn’t be confused with super naturalism.”… It does not require science and faith to be logically compatible, for instance.  Nor does it require that we believe in anything we cannot prove.  Spirituality simply doesn’t operate on that level.  It’s about emotions and experiences, not premises or postulates. What can be taken away from what Dawkins says is that in his view of spirituality there is nothing definite that is founded on premises of truth, it is the subjective experience of a human experience that is in no way connected to any belief in God.

Cultural Christianity and Atheism

In Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan interview with biologist Richard Dawkins , the article continues and states  how Richard Dawkins sometimes describes himself as a cultural Christian.  He says that he is fond of the sort of mild Church-of-England Christianity where nobody really believes it or takes it very seriously, a bit like many of his Jewish friends who call themselves cultural Jews but who are actually atheists. Unfortunately, the position of Dawkins is not his alone, but a popular position that is embraced by many advocates of current opinions about spirituality.  The conclusion leads to a formidable fact that what is contained in much of the spiritual rhetoric being bandied about today is nothing more than the resurrection of atheism.

The view inside the church and the source of conflict: Secularization of the Sacred

What is apparent is that there is a shift in thinking about spirituality that is not only outside the church, but also is influencing how things are done in the church.  In a 2005 article in Christianity Today “Spirituality for All the Wong Reasons”(March 2005) managing editor, Mark Galli presents a series of questions to Eugene Peterson about how spirituality is viewed inside the church. An interesting observation at the beginning of the article is the point that Peterson makes about how spirituality is compartmentalized and disconnected from the material life, “It avoids the ordinary, the everyday, the physical, the material.  It’s a form of Gnosticism, and it has a terrific appeal because it’s a spirituality that doesn’t have anything to do with doing the dishes or changing diapers or going to work.  There’s not much integration with work, people, sin, trouble, inconvenience” (p. 44).  This point of view is well supported and demonstrated within the sacred-secular distinction that characterizes the lived experience of many people inside the life of the church.

Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary  says, “The real question posed by Mooney’s USA Today column is whether Christians possess the discernment to recognize this postmodern mode of spirituality for what it is — unbelief wearing the language of a bland faith.’

Mohler’s observation that, “Chris Mooney might be on to something here. The American public just might be confused enough to fall for this spirituality ploy.  Will Christians do the same?”  (Albert Mohler) demonstrates that there is a significant influence being place upon historic perspectives of spirituality that is having an impact upon beliefs and practice, but also on organizational behavior inside and outside the church.

What is apparent is that there is cultural change that is influencing not only what is thought, but also how thoughts and ideas are influencing what is believed.  Only time will tell what comes of these current developments in American culture and how it will influence not only culture, but also the spiritual lives of the people of this generation and the generations to come.

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April 25, 2011 · 2:07 pm

Happiness: Success and a Well-Lived Life


Well_lived_life

What does it mean to be a success in life in the 21st century? I suppose the answer you get depends upon who you ask. One important thing that seems to stand out this morning is that it is really hard to feel successful at anything when you are not happy. Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they choose to be.”

This is a thought provoking statement that indicates that happiness is a choice that people make as well as implying that success is a secondary result of happiness. Often, when people think about happiness, thoughts are conjured up of people who laugh and smile a lot, but that is not really accurate. Happiness is not based upon circumstances, in psychological terms, it is better understood as an approach to life that is present in spite of circumstances that provides hope, resilience, and strengths of values under-girding a perspective toward what is done in life. One thing for sure is that it is not what happens to us in life that determines success, rather, it is connected to how we feel about what happens and how the experience is internalized into life actions.

A well-lived life is connected to positive emotions that are internalized into beliefs, perception, and attitudes, which provide the substance of life affirming actions– behaviors in the experience of life. Positive emotions and efficacious actions are connected to the ability to have positive affirming relationships that characterize relationship in groups, social interaction, and organizational life. At the heart of life characterized by a pattern of broken relationships is a missing element of hope. The missing element is happiness that gives meaning to life– the wind in the sails of life bringing accomplishment within circumstances The point is that success in life is very much connected to happiness and its is definitely something that you have to choose in life.

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April 8, 2011 · 12:48 pm

Ethics: What is the Role of Ethical Standards?


Morse Code Straight Key J-38

Morse Code: A Standard for Communicating to Others.

A recent news report by KENS 5, San Antonio Texas says, San Antonio council woman Jennifer Ramos is speaking out about the ethics rule she has been accused of breaking. An ethics review board found that Ramos violated a section of the ethics code by using city computers to email her then-employer, the WellMed Charitable Foundation. But the board agreed to dismiss the most damaging allegation, reporting there’s no proof she used her position to unfairly advance the interests of WellMed (Kens 5 San Antonio). What is apparent from the report is a potential for ethical dilemmas that are a common to the daily business of life.

A good question to pose is: what is the role that ethical standards should play in a professional capacity being served? Like politicians and other professionals, psychology professionals are faced with a challenge to provide competent-ethical services. A point of view about standards is that, “ethical codes provide normative ethical expectations that apply to all members of a profession” (Ford, 2006, p. 1). Further understanding of what an ethical standard does is expressed in greater description indicating at least 4 reasons for developing ethical standards: [1.] To clarify their sense of professional identity by distinguishing themselves from those practicing other professions and occupations. [2.] An ethical code is a way of communicating to students and practitioners of the profession the basic principles, ideals, and interests of the profession. [3.] To address questions and problems relating to ethical matters. [4.] Establishes standards of professional conduct that provide specific behavioral guidelines that provide specific behavioral guidelines and serve to sensitize all members of the profession to ethical issues involved in the practice of the profession (Ford, 2006, p. 4)

A point taken from these reasons is that the objectives fulfilled in a code of ethics are, “to educate professionals about sound ethical conduct … provides a mechanism for professional accountability … serve as a catalyst for improving practice (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2009, p. 8). In addition to the internal component of the code of ethics that relates to the professional practicing, the overarching theme for the code of ethics serves the function “to safeguard the welfare of the client by providing what is in their best interest (p. 8). Therefore, standards provide an information base that educates a logical process in decision making. Ethical standards provide an objective standard for evaluation of specific areas of potential conflict.

The role that ethical standards ethical codes play in decision making is to enable a bi-directional process of induction and deduction. A code is not designed to discourage intuitive ethical judgments but to enable a process where thinking and reasoning can be applied and critical-evaluative ethical judgments can be made with a dependable basis (Welfel, 2006, pp. 20-21).

As a result the process that the code puts in place is an analytical reasoning process in which decisions must be formulated in a particular construct to enable a response. What can happen is that, “it will enable professionals to differentiate contexts involving multiple, or competing, ethical considerations from those that are less complex…[and] provide a template of steps professionals can take to resolve complex ethical issues in a rational manner” (pp. 82-83).

In the case of the council woman’s ethical dilemma, “the board agreed to dismiss the most damaging allegation, reporting there’s no proof she used her position to unfairly advance the interests of WellMed. Ramos said she’s pleased with the outcome, but the issue needs to be addressed” (Kens 5 San Antonio) providing a reasonable way that a decision could be made between competing interests.

Consequently, development of professional codes of ethics provides a substantive basis for decision making which provides guidance in what is expected of professionals and what is acceptable responses to problems which arise.

References

Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2009). Isssues and Ethics in the Helping Profession (7th ed.). Belmont, CA, USA: Brooks/Cole. Ford, G. (2006). Ethical reasoning for mental health professionals. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Sage Publications.

Kens 5 San Antonio. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2011, from Kens 5.com: http://www.kens5.com/news/Councilwoman-speaks-out-about-lessons-learned-from-ethics-violation-119289394.html Welfel, E. R. (2006).

Ethics in counseling & psychotherapy (3rd ed.). Belmont, California, USA: Thomas Higher Education.

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April 6, 2011 · 3:53 pm

Spirituality and Knowledge: Culture Shifting Emphasis from Content to Skill Development


Knowledge levels

Knowledge Acquisition, Theory or Reality?

Knowledge Dissemination in the 21st Century

In USA Today (March 5, 2009) Greg Toppo’s article, “What to learn: ‘core knowledge‘ or ‘21st-century skills‘?” describes a changing emphasis in how knowledge is ranked on a gradient of importance in contemporary American culture. “At least 10 states have committed to helping students develop these “21st-century skills” in schools, the workplace and beyond” Analysis points to an effect that technology has the value of knowledge in an emergent culture.

Toppo reports, “a Massachusetts task force concluded that straight academic content “is no longer enough” to help students compete:” that de-emphasizes theoretical content based knowledge while it emphasizes a shift toward technological skill proficiency “That drew a rebuke from The Boston Globe, … it’s ‘”not clear that the approach can be implemented without de-emphasizing academic content’” (Toppo, 2009). Change in emphasis in educational delivery systems is an indication of how what is happening in culture is being driven by economic, industrial, cultural, and technological differences that are not only changing the application of knowledge, but how value is assigned.

What is apparent is that the influence of constantly changing media platforms cannot be underestimated as having significant influence upon changing the way knowledge is communicated as well as the importance of what knowledge is communicated.   My question is can a society be reformed how culture processes knowledge without having an impact upon beliefs, values, and practices in the matter of spirituality?

A point of view held from a Christian perspective is that postmodern information technology has replaced validity found in theological, philosophical and historical authority through media driven messages, advertising, punting idiolology in a construct where knowledge is a subjective matter.

Contemporary evidence of this can be observed by considering the plethora of sources of knowledge; spiritual teachers, television preachers, and Internet technology—offering knowledge challenging the theology of mainline churches. The result is felt in frustration experienced by conservative Christianity in understanding that what was once knowledge found in a system of thought is now subjugated to the popular beliefs of entertainers, politicians, or musicians. Therefore postmodern technology developments have shifted information processing constructs i.e, “Knowledge can be described in terms of an intellectual — and spiritual –marketplace” (Adams, 1997).

This is demonstrated by Thomas Guarino (1996) presents a point of view saying that, “Postmodern thinkers reject foundationalist ontologies [sources of knowledge] of all types because these philosophies seek to ‘close down’ effective history, to end historical consciousness” (Guarino, 1996).  Therefore, the source of knowledge about spirituality in matters that are religious and non-religious has been deligitimated. The source of authority in knowledge is now located in the many voices of consumer driven media messages communicating a changing value system of knowledge.

A fundamental question hinges upon whether it is right or wrong?  Obviously, that depends upon your view of knowledge in an accepted value system held.  It might be better to recognize it being what it is than spending time in criticism of the change.  A better question is related to effectiveness in the 21st century economy and culture.  If what is held as a personal belief system is important enough to feel it needs to be preserved, then maybe we should spend time thinking about how to communicate the message, definition, and meaning of spirituality in a technological– media driven culture that has embraced collaboration as a mediator for knowledge.

References

Adams, D. L. (1997). Toward a theological understanding of postmodernism. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from Crosscurrents: http://crosscurrents.orh/adams.html

Guarino, T. (1996). Postmodernity and five fundamental theological issues [electronic version]. Theological Studies , 57 (4), Retrieved from EBSCOhost March 30,2011.

Toppo, G. (2009, March 5). What to learn: ‘core knowledge’ or ’21st-century skills’. Retrieved 6 2011, April, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-03-04-core-knowledge_N.htm

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April 1, 2011 · 10:29 pm

Spirituality in a Postmodern Age: The Decline of the West and Spirituality.


Adam and Eve Driven out of Eden, by Gustave Do...

Adam and Eve Expelled From Garden

Postmodernism: — a state of mind in a particular period of history affecting every area of western culture

Postmodernism is a term that has gained popularity in scholarly writing as well as casual conversations. Thomas Guarino (1996) says, “It’s a “movement” that has inspired raging debates about ‘the cult theory’ across the arts and sciences” (p. 654) My intention in this paper about postmodernism is not to solve the debate, but to understand the influence that state of mind held has upon contemporary beliefs about spirituality.

What Does Research say About Postmodernism?
A description given by Daniel J. Adams (1997) says, “The postmodern era can best be understood in terms of four major characteristics: the decline of the West, the legitimation crisis, the intellectual marketplace, and the process of deconstruction” (Toward a theological understanding of postmodernism).

What Adams perspective demonstrates is a fundamental shift in thinking that began in a demonstrable period of time and is associated with significant phenomenon in Western Culture characterized with the period of decline.
His analysis of Western Decline draws attention to point of view that is fundamental to an evolution of spiritual meaning that has correlates to historical-cultural development. Adams (1997) says, “the legitimation crisis, identified with metanarrative show [what] is now being seriously called into question” (2). Unlimited development and capitalistic in American ideology versus environmental pollution, limited resources, concerns about nuclear proliferation—use of energy, environmental threats, third world poverty, and the goals of the NAFTA have deligitimated what had characterized capitalism and the success of the West. Postmodern thinking is characterized by a shift in state of mind about core beliefs that are delegitimized in an essential devaluation of past matters of importance.

Adams, draws attention to another significant development correlated to Western Decline the, “metanarrative of Judeo-Christian sexual ethic” (p. 2)  characterizing American culture.  His perspective identifies the shift of views about sexuality chastity, homosexuality, marriage, divorce, and traditional view of marriage as another deconstructed normative value in culture. With Judeo-Christian ethics disempowered from authoritative acceptance, norms from the past are replaced with a plurality of views with no central source of knowledge or universally held value to describe a way of life experience in America. Deligitimation in postmodern life of the Judeo Christian ethic demonstrates changing beliefs about marriage, sexual behavior, and accepted norms indicate a shifting emphasis upon past.

A perspective about the impact of postmodernism upon Christian thought is offered by David Couchman (2002) who describes how mind set has been affected: “if you drop a frog into boiling water, it will jump out immediately, but if you put it in cold water and heat it slowly, you can boil it alive because it does not realize what is happening. … We think we know what is going on, while the culture in which we are immersed is slowly killing us without our realizing it” (Couchman, 2002, p. p. 74).

References
Adams, D. L. (1997). Toward a theological understanding of postmodernism. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from Crosscurrents: http://crosscurrents.orh/adams.html

Couchman, D. (2002). Facing the challenge of our times equipping christians to respond biblically and effectively to postmodernism. Evangel , 20 (3), pp. 74-78 retrieved from EBSCOhost March 09, 2011.

Guarino, T. (1996). Postmodernity and five fundamental theological issues [electronic version]. Theological Studies , 57 (4), Retrieved from EBSCOhost March 30,2011.

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