We fend off competing worldviews because . . .

[D. Allan]

Defense

"We fend off competing worldviews because by threatening our present understanding of reality they threaten our essential security. An unbeliever presented with claims of God, for instance, or a believer confronted with the view that God is mere wish fulfillment are both being told that any meaning and security derived from their explanation of the world is spurious and illusory. Confronted with radical disorientation, the initial response is to preserve the self and the status quo. Flannery O'Connor realized this when she wrote in one of her letters, "my communications. . . sound as if they came from a besieged defender of the faith. I know well enough that it is not a defense of the faith, which doesn't need it, but a defense of myself who does." — The Myth of Certainty by Daniel Taylor

"We know that arguments about faith and politics can become very intense, even to the point of violence. Why is that? I think that Daniel Taylor hit on something very deep when he said that challenges to our beliefs disorient us and threaten our sense of meaning and security. Thus, we become defensive and either fight or flee to deal with the threat.

"Flannery O'Connor was a great writer from the American South, a region that has produced many extraordinary literary figures. Her Roman Catholic faith underlies her novels and short stories, many of which deal with bizarre and even grotesque situations. Her comment recognizes that we really are defending ourselves, rather than the faith or principles we espouse. It may be that our pride, ego, or security is at stake.

"Next time you are in one of these situations, stop and ask yourself: "What is really going on here? Who or what is being defended?" Perhaps you'll find that it really is not God or the faith or the principles that are being defended, but our very selves. An awareness of this can make all the difference."

Peace and blessings,

James M. Long

Minister of Pastoral Care

- from a blog at www.fcchurch.com