Thank you for your perspective. I do believe a person's beliefs matter. Beliefs can incorporate morals, values and integrity. Wise words from your therapist. 👏🏻
Fantastic piece! I tend to agree that a combination of intention and impact is important to weigh, though I do think that impact carries much more weight. It ultimately comes down to flexibility and understanding. I really loved reading this!
Awww thanks! I do agree that impact usually carries more weight. Though I have seen some people who are trying to form relationships across race or class become paralyzed by trying to imagine all possible unforeseen ramifications of their actions. Maybe that's a Seattle problem, haha. Maybe that's where the flexibility comes in.
This is a hard one. When I first deconstructed I noticed three mindsets when it comes to our beliefs and you solidly nailed two of them in this article; the natural mind and the nominal mind which each respectively seek to be ethically right (read: factually correct) in an effort to have good motivations and endgames or to be motivationally correct in order to have good ethics and endgame. I recognise a third mindset in which our endgame informs our ethics and motivations. I haven't posted about it yet on Substack but maybe that will be next Thursday's post.
All of this to say, I gave up on faith as a primary unifying factor for people. It's still important but it means less and less to me when removed from love and hope. Faith is what changes us into the image of what we identify most with; if it's Jesus happy days, but more often than not it's being White or American or some crap like that. Thanks for this.
interesting ideas. I'll be curious to read your post! Yes, I wonder whether "faith" is too squishy to be unifying--where do you draw lines on what is "essential" to believe in? And if someone is "in" because of their faith, but they act like an asshole?
Your instincts are right. Faith without love is too squishy--no one is "in" because of anything they believe. James says "you say 'God is One,' even the demons believe that and shudder!" 1 John is explicit that if we do not love, we do not have God. 1 Corinthians says that "...Faith, Hope and Love remain but the greatest of these is love." It's all there for those who are looking. The Bible is pretty clear about minimal belief. Hebrews says that in order to please God we must believe that He exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Paul sets the bar of saving belief pretty low as well--"all who call on the name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved." Paul also never enters a city proclaiming a great theological treatise but only "Christ and Him Crucified," which tends to mean a levelling of all things.
Saying this, it is the tenants of unity in faith to accept or reject based on knowledge--not a community of love, faith and hope in the gospel. One theologian rightly puts it, "We would not deny the faith of a child because they don't understand the hypostatic union of the Godhead (Jesus is the fullness of God in flesh)" even though some might say that "Jesus is Lord" is essential knowledge. We bear with one another in love as God reveals Himself to each of us. If someone comes into the fellowship claiming to love God but actively hates their siblings then they are not from God and the scriptures say that "they will not stand among the righteous"--literally that they won't stay long.
I hope this makes sense.
We don't do this well, by the way. I have a post coming next Thursday about why that is, and I hope you read it then. I'll be working on the post about mindsets but I'm not sure how to write it yet--I have all of the pieces, but there are other things coming more readily at the minute.
I believe that how a person acts “counts” for more than what they believe … hmm, have I set a trap for myself with that one? And for me, I believe that we should be kind to each other and I do my bloody best to practice that. Today, when I was finished shopping at Costco, I offered to push this old lady’s cart over to the car corral. And I didn’t flip anybody off. Very minor move in the right direction. I’m enjoying your reflections, oh, and thanks for that podcast recommendation for the Short Creek series. That’s some serious nutball stuff. And look at that, another win: pleasant, engaged comments are acts of kindness, and I didn’t tell anyone that their writing sucked. Another very small win for my crusade to act on my beliefs. 😀
And that’s because you’re judging me on my actions, thank goodness! But then what a world it would be if we were judged by the contents of our private thoughts.
God, I love the good place so much. Thank you for the reminder and the fork clips 😆🥰
My spouse and I were just talking last night about sharing things that we care about on social media vs virtue-signaling. It got heated. lol. This is tricky for me because beliefs & values are tricky for me post-evangelicalism. I still feel things really strongly and my brain likes to see things as black and white. And I don’t know if it’s my makeup or my evangelical conditioning. I can hold a lot of nuance for most things, but others (like ending the bloodshed in Gaza for example) I feel a white hot certainty.
I feel you. The war in Gaza is horrifying and many of us wish there was something we could do about it. There's a great Jia Tolentino essay about how the Internet informs us of so many problems that we can't actually impact. (Is it a blessing or a curse to be so well-informed?) posting online can feel like Taking action, but I doubt it changes many minds
Yikes, reading that Tolentini article makes me want to take back everything I said about the internet clarifying my values 😆 sheesh. That’s enough to make me throw it all in the river.
I agree. But I know how sometimes even being in my echo chamber can give me confidence to speak up about things in my real life. That was sort of where our conversation went last night - how sometimes my values get clarified online and then I feel more clear when speaking up or acting in real life. This does feel more like a values conversation though - versus beliefs. That’s one thing that came up when I was reading this - I’m not sure belief is important to me anymore. I’d much rather talk about values.
Very good points. Writing is a way of thinking, and writing online and getting feedback can be super helpful. I like how "values" feel more concrete and actionable than beliefs.
Thank you for your perspective. I do believe a person's beliefs matter. Beliefs can incorporate morals, values and integrity. Wise words from your therapist. 👏🏻
Good point about integrity. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of people claim to believe one thing and then act differently.
Fantastic piece! I tend to agree that a combination of intention and impact is important to weigh, though I do think that impact carries much more weight. It ultimately comes down to flexibility and understanding. I really loved reading this!
Awww thanks! I do agree that impact usually carries more weight. Though I have seen some people who are trying to form relationships across race or class become paralyzed by trying to imagine all possible unforeseen ramifications of their actions. Maybe that's a Seattle problem, haha. Maybe that's where the flexibility comes in.
This is a hard one. When I first deconstructed I noticed three mindsets when it comes to our beliefs and you solidly nailed two of them in this article; the natural mind and the nominal mind which each respectively seek to be ethically right (read: factually correct) in an effort to have good motivations and endgames or to be motivationally correct in order to have good ethics and endgame. I recognise a third mindset in which our endgame informs our ethics and motivations. I haven't posted about it yet on Substack but maybe that will be next Thursday's post.
All of this to say, I gave up on faith as a primary unifying factor for people. It's still important but it means less and less to me when removed from love and hope. Faith is what changes us into the image of what we identify most with; if it's Jesus happy days, but more often than not it's being White or American or some crap like that. Thanks for this.
interesting ideas. I'll be curious to read your post! Yes, I wonder whether "faith" is too squishy to be unifying--where do you draw lines on what is "essential" to believe in? And if someone is "in" because of their faith, but they act like an asshole?
Your instincts are right. Faith without love is too squishy--no one is "in" because of anything they believe. James says "you say 'God is One,' even the demons believe that and shudder!" 1 John is explicit that if we do not love, we do not have God. 1 Corinthians says that "...Faith, Hope and Love remain but the greatest of these is love." It's all there for those who are looking. The Bible is pretty clear about minimal belief. Hebrews says that in order to please God we must believe that He exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Paul sets the bar of saving belief pretty low as well--"all who call on the name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved." Paul also never enters a city proclaiming a great theological treatise but only "Christ and Him Crucified," which tends to mean a levelling of all things.
Saying this, it is the tenants of unity in faith to accept or reject based on knowledge--not a community of love, faith and hope in the gospel. One theologian rightly puts it, "We would not deny the faith of a child because they don't understand the hypostatic union of the Godhead (Jesus is the fullness of God in flesh)" even though some might say that "Jesus is Lord" is essential knowledge. We bear with one another in love as God reveals Himself to each of us. If someone comes into the fellowship claiming to love God but actively hates their siblings then they are not from God and the scriptures say that "they will not stand among the righteous"--literally that they won't stay long.
I hope this makes sense.
We don't do this well, by the way. I have a post coming next Thursday about why that is, and I hope you read it then. I'll be working on the post about mindsets but I'm not sure how to write it yet--I have all of the pieces, but there are other things coming more readily at the minute.
I believe that how a person acts “counts” for more than what they believe … hmm, have I set a trap for myself with that one? And for me, I believe that we should be kind to each other and I do my bloody best to practice that. Today, when I was finished shopping at Costco, I offered to push this old lady’s cart over to the car corral. And I didn’t flip anybody off. Very minor move in the right direction. I’m enjoying your reflections, oh, and thanks for that podcast recommendation for the Short Creek series. That’s some serious nutball stuff. And look at that, another win: pleasant, engaged comments are acts of kindness, and I didn’t tell anyone that their writing sucked. Another very small win for my crusade to act on my beliefs. 😀
LOL, for as much as you write about your bad impulses, I've only ever found you to be kind and delightful, Tom
And that’s because you’re judging me on my actions, thank goodness! But then what a world it would be if we were judged by the contents of our private thoughts.
Indeed!
God, I love the good place so much. Thank you for the reminder and the fork clips 😆🥰
My spouse and I were just talking last night about sharing things that we care about on social media vs virtue-signaling. It got heated. lol. This is tricky for me because beliefs & values are tricky for me post-evangelicalism. I still feel things really strongly and my brain likes to see things as black and white. And I don’t know if it’s my makeup or my evangelical conditioning. I can hold a lot of nuance for most things, but others (like ending the bloodshed in Gaza for example) I feel a white hot certainty.
I feel you. The war in Gaza is horrifying and many of us wish there was something we could do about it. There's a great Jia Tolentino essay about how the Internet informs us of so many problems that we can't actually impact. (Is it a blessing or a curse to be so well-informed?) posting online can feel like Taking action, but I doubt it changes many minds
Yikes, reading that Tolentini article makes me want to take back everything I said about the internet clarifying my values 😆 sheesh. That’s enough to make me throw it all in the river.
I agree. But I know how sometimes even being in my echo chamber can give me confidence to speak up about things in my real life. That was sort of where our conversation went last night - how sometimes my values get clarified online and then I feel more clear when speaking up or acting in real life. This does feel more like a values conversation though - versus beliefs. That’s one thing that came up when I was reading this - I’m not sure belief is important to me anymore. I’d much rather talk about values.
Very good points. Writing is a way of thinking, and writing online and getting feedback can be super helpful. I like how "values" feel more concrete and actionable than beliefs.