Session 4 With or Without God - by Gretta Vosper
why the way we live is more important than what we believe
Chapter Ch. 3. Challenging Christianity - The dilemma of New Understandings
"Whether non-theistic religious gatherings can thrive and survive is anyone's guess. We are in the midst of a great experiement. I fervently believe that we need to see that experiment through to the end, giving our all to the creation of communities of "faith" that celebrate the communal nature of life and challenge us to engage in right relationship with self, others, and the planet." ... p356

Index Related Video Commentary Discussion References
Related Videos
The Golden Rule is the Ethic of Reciprocity. The Humanity Healing Network introduces here dozens of versions of this excellent insight.

This video was used for closing.
Karen Armstrong in conversation with Alan Jones of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, 27 Feb 2008 on "Religion - New and Old Understandings".
Karen Armstrong is among the world's foremost commentators on religion. A former nun in the Roman Catholic Society of the Holy Child Jesus, Armstrong now defines herself as a "freelance monotheist," drawing from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Marcus Borg. A tidbit from an hour on politics and religion with Christine Peolosi at the Beatitude Society 28 Feb 2008. "Religion is is not a matter of either / or"
The full program is HERE.
Commentary -

(slide one) Our world is demanding that our worldviews change (p. 103) But how should they change?

(slide two) Three "good" things

As I become more acquainted with Vosper - her psychology and her writing style - I find her quite like Spong. She is incisive and revealing. She certainly has a way of "calling it like it is." Where some of us are inclined to "tread lightly" Vosper "attacks." I find that I have similar reactions to her as I do when I read Spong. There are times I feel wonderfully enlightened from statements with which I strongly agree. There are times I become angry at points with which I take exception.
Our individual psychological makeup has a lot to do with how we approach spiritual and religious matters. That is no doubt one of the reasons I react to Vosper as I do. I like the way she cuts to the heart of a "fuzzy" issue, bringing some clarity. I dislike her inclination to being a "one track" or "opinionated" thinker. My psychological makeup converges and diverges from her's as I read her book. Do others feel as I do?

She makes three points I like in this chapter:
1. Cognitive Dissonance
2. Left/Right Brain Disconnect
3. Liturgy as 'Cover-up'

(slide three) Three "bad" things

She makes three points I find frustrating in this chapter:
1. Misunderstanding Myth
2. Either/Or Thinking
3. Living in the Zeitgeist

(slide four) Likes: 1. Cognitive Dissonance

Faith "compartmentalized" - in training, delivery and reception of many ministers' messages. When an individual holds an understanding about something, and then finds that way of thinking challenged; even threatened; the psychological defense mechanism of "cognitive dissonance" has probably kicked in. When what we have always believed and what we now begin seeing in a new way do not fit together, our minds are quite likely operating in "cognitive dissonance" mode.
Rather than going along with a change in what we perceive happening - humans have a natural first tendency to cling to old thinking more strongly - even rigidly. That is a posture I would call "compartmentalization."

Ministers in training and congregations exposed to new ideas from the pulpit experience the effects of "cognitive dissonance."
We use lines like the following to explain this phenomenon when we see it happening:
"Methinks thou dost protest too much"
"Weak point, pound hard."

The phenomenon of cognitive dissonance is rampant in religious circles, says Vosper (although she does not use the term.)

(slide five) Likes: 2. Left/Right Brain Disconnect

We have a left brain church tradition. We do not well handle right brain realities.

The Meyers-Briggs Personality Inventory that was so popular some decades back can help people recognize themselves as "left" or "right" brain-dominant thinkers. A positive aspect of the MBPI is that it has helped many of us to see that both "left" and "right" brain-dominant human characteristics have their place but we need to learn how each has value. We need to understand how to be discriminating in our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of "left" and "right" brain-dominant thinking and its effects within and between people.
Vosper is helpful in pointing out that we in the mainline Protestant tradition have been strong on the "left" - rational side, and weaker on the "right" - intuitive side of seeking and understanding truth. We have a tradition of thinking logically about faith and being suspicious of experiencing it intuitively.

Put perhaps simplistically, we have erred on the side of "reason" and failed to see the benefits of "experience" when it comes to approaching faith.

(slide six) Likes: 3. Liturgy as 'Cover-up'

We have discovered the value of liturgy but use it as a gloss for contradictions in meaning.

"Ritual" is the acting out of our beliefs. Some churches have stronger liturgical traditions than others. We call Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches "liturgical" while Presbyterian and United churches are traditionally less so.
Our United Church of Canada became more "liturgical" as we were exposed to other denominations through enriching ecumenical engagements. The lectionary, the way we conduct our (sacramental) baptism and communion rites, and the more dramatic "form" of our Sunday services are examples of this.

When faith contradictions or "cognitive dissonance" confront us, Vosper says, we react by defensively "hiding" our fears and uncertainties in liturgical behaviour. As our convictions about certain truths decline, our liturgical life becomes embellished.

I can speak from personal experience from the church I served as a pastor for twenty-five years.

The liturgical movement during the second half of the twentieth century - while a wonderful and expansive ecumenical development for many of us - was also a mixed blessing.

"Chancel prancing" became the vogue. "Smells and bells" grew more common. "Priestly vestments" followed a trajectory that morphed from non-existent, to plain, to ever-more elaborate.
Liturgy can be a marvellous gift. What a wonderful blessing it is when our worship leaders possess a sense of liturgical drama! When we re-enact our beliefs with integrity, we confirm and help to embed those beliefs into our personal psyches and communal lives. And that is a good thing.
But liturgy can "mask" unbelief as well and "enhance" belief.
Vosper helps me to see this in a special way. As secularization grew dominant and our churches became more aware of the "threats" and the "challenges" posed by the world around them, worship leaders were tempted to "hide" in the liturgy. And quite a few did.

(slide seven) Dislikes: 1. Misunderstanding Myth

Vosper is a left brain person who does not appreciate right brain imagery.

I said earlier that our psychological makeup has a way of making us pre-dispositioned to spiritual awareness. Vosper demonstrates a very limited appreciation for "myth" and "metaphor" in this chapter. Perhaps she just doesn't get it - but what's worse - she discredits those who see great value in "myth" and "metaphor" as a way bridging contradictions in our experiential awareness.

To explain; declaring Jesus' resurrection a "myth" does not deny it happened. Rather, it helps us to move beyond the confusions of rational explanation with which many can get bogged down.

(slide eight) Dislikes: 2. Either/Or Disdain

Her critique of Borg misunderstands his attempt to see the good in two sides of an argument'

Because of her psychological pre-disposition, Vosper is inclined to discredit "both/and" thinking in favour of an "either/or" approach.
I readily admit to being a "both/and" thinker by psychological predisposition. It makes me angry and upset when Vosper criticizes a theologian like Marcus Borg who employs a "both/and" approach.
Vosper describes Borg as a "compromised" thinker (p. 115) because he says there are things we can credibly enact liturgically what we cannot acknowledge rationally.

This reflects a maxim that is common in our St. David's community. "We can sing what we cannot say" (attributed to Joanne Anquist.) We use hymns and repeat words even when we cannot agree with the theology.

Vosper is an "either/or" thinker whose critique of Borg sadly misunderstands his attempt to 'cast a wide net.' He does this, I think, in order to see the good existing in two sides of an argument; all-the-while attempting to be intuitively consistent.

Vosper is attempting to make a point, I admit. But she does not convince me.

(slide nine) Dislikes: 3. Living in the Zeitgeist

Vosper honours the "spirit of our age" but fails to appreciate the development of Christian doctrine as well as the theological struggles and achievements of the past. She seems unaware that many of the issues she sees as "contemporary" have visited Christians in times past. We need not reinvent "the theological wheel" today as she seems to think.
This is not to suggest that we come to the same theological conclusions today as in the past. But we are not without precedents to guide us.
The more I read Vosper, the less I believe she has much regard for history and tradition. She is a person of our age, because most people today tend to think little of history and tradition.

How sad. It can be such a help to us! It need not confine us!
My discomfort with Vosper in this chapter - as much as she is able to helpfully diagnose the "contradictions" and "hypocricies" of some churches today - is that she has limited exposure or desire to familiarize herself with the theological struggles of the past. That is why I call her a child of the Zeitgeist.

I am reminded of a famous caution by Dean Inge, a former English cleric and writer. He left us a telling insight: "Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself (sic) a widow(er) in the next." Indeed, our world is demanding that our worldviews change. But how should they change? How much is Vosper a guide in helping us build a new worldview with substance?
Summary of Discussion Notes
(slide ten) Discussion Questions:

1. How do you feel after reading Vosper's critique of our own moderate to liberal United Church ways?

2. What theological approach should St. David's ministers use in their preaching and teaching?


Discussion Feedback:

1. We need to "support" our Sunday morning worship services and our ministers through such aids as discussion groups and expanded textual readings - perhaps from other sacred scriptures - to help us deepen our understandings.

2. We need to become more "invitational" as a congregation; inviting others to share experiences with us in an open and unbiased way.

3. We are a people who want to be challenged in our faith; "and pushed to think" rather than merely to accept.

4. Exposure to various religious traditions and their sacred scriptures can be spiritually liberating. It can also challenge us to apply faith to daily living in our multi-faith world.
References Related to Chapter Three
p104 Article on "Lateralization of Brain Function" - a background on the learning about left/right aspects of our human nature and the slight exageration of the idea in popular psychology.
Vancouver School of Theology. Judith Lethin is a current student in the MDiv program at VST. Asked to say a word about her ordination, exclaimed "How could I encapsulate every image, every sound, every smell, and every hug in one word! Words, as plentiful as stars in God's heaven, tumble and rumble around in my head: love, belonging, family, joy, laughter, smiles, prayers, presenters loudly saying 'We do!', fish ice cream, candlelight, fiddle music, toes tapping, beaver stew, red heart-shaped lollipops, chocolate kisses, more smiles."
p114 The Heart of Christianity - Rediscovering a Life of Faith - by Marcus Borg. Vosper mentions the book of our Holy Manners 8 study.
p115 The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions - by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright. Also mentioned, was this first of our Holy Manners Bookstudies.
p119 What is the corpus collosum? Here's an article at Carleton explaining the matter. They include an MRI image of this bridge between the left and the right.
FORA p120 Vosper discusses Lectionary. Here's a Grace Cathedral video backgrounding how lectionary's came into existence and how they have undermined the meaning of the gospels. Dr. Alexander Shaia offers a fresh and important interpretation of the traditional gospels and answers current controversies about the Christian scriptures.
UCTV p131 The Sins of Scripture - John Spong. Here's a University of California video where Spong delivers the burke lecture describing the notions in this book.
P136 Richard Holloway, a Scottish progressive cleric is concerned also to value the bible in a new way like Vosper. In this CBC Ideas program, "How to Read the Bible", he amplifies some of these ideas..
Clicking the icon left will activate the e-mail on your machine and direct your comments to us. Comments are welcome and will be posted with usual editorial courtesies. St. David's United Church.Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jan 2008