The Problem with Perspective & God

"Truth, God, and Embracing a Reasonable Spirituality" series, Part 1

This is the first article in my series, “Truth, God, & Embracing a Reasonable Spirituality”, which will continue throughout the month.

Around 1989, I used to go to sleep listening to a radio program called "The Comedy Spot". One comedian (I think it was Dennis Miller) had a routine about getting high. In it, he asked, "How do I know that the color blue to you is the color blue to me?" The response was, "Check the crayon box, asshole!"

In her book, How Emotions are Made, Lisa Feldman Barrett talks about a study where Americans and Russians were asked to look at blue dots and tell them apart. Americans couldn't do it, but the Russians could. It turns out that the Russians were easily able to see the difference because their culture identifies the two versions of blue as different colors. 

So much for using a crayon box for help.

This is what we know: everybody has a perspective. That perspective is shaped by their lived stories. Those stories influence how they experience life and how those experiences are understood.

As a result, two people can look at the same thing, such as a series of blue dots, and perceive different things.

You can listen to this article if you prefer. Enjoy!

This has huge significance for religion and spirituality.

What if a close friend of yours suddenly became super religious? And when you ask them what triggered the change, they said, "I received a visit from an angel who said this is the one true path to eternal Bliss".

How would you react?

• Maybe you get it. Spiritual experiences happen all the time with you. You think nothing of it and are very happy for them.

• Having never seen an angel yourself, you don't believe it happened, though you do believe that your friend believes it happened because of the life change.

• Having had spiritual experiences yourself, you are intrigued at the possibility but remain a bit skeptical.

I suspect most people would be skeptical, even those who have had intense spiritual experiences. After all, it's quite the claim. And, there's no way for you to verify it.

We can apply that skepticism to every single religious and spiritual claim out there. Generally speaking, it's not something you can validate. Sure, we can say that brain waves change, but that doesn't mean that the interpretation of the experience is accurate.

And, if we are wise, we would apply that same skepticism to our own interpretations of our own religious and spiritual experiences. After all, we know that our understanding of situations often tends to be skewed toward what we want them to be, especially if they make us feel special. 

The perspective problem

The fallibility of perspective is a real problem for religion and spirituality. Those two frameworks often act as our anchors during the storms of life, and we need them to be reliable. Yet, the very nature of a perspective is to not be 100% reliable.

How can we deal with that in a healthy way that accepts realistic limitations while embracing the power of such experiences to ground us?

Well, I think there are a few things we should not do.

• We should not arrogantly assume that our understanding of our experience is 100% reflective of reality. This kind of egocentrism closes the door to learning from other people who don't share our perspective.

• We should not pessimistically assume that if an understanding can't be measured it is 100% wrong. There are things that simply are not measurable in the universe. Maybe someday they will be. But for now, they are not. And just because something is not measurable, doesn't mean it can't be true.

• We should not simply assume that just because our understanding is merely a perspective, that we don't have something significant to say about the nature of the universe in which we live. Sure, it's entirely possible that you completely and utterly misunderstand what's happening in your spiritual life. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't share your story. Sharing and listening help us to expand our perspective so that we can come to understand what's happening a little bit better.

Being spiritual doesn't mean you have to turn your brain off, and being reasonable doesn't mean you have to reject subjective experience. It is entirely possible to embrace spiritual experience and be reasonable at the same time. 

In this month’s series, I will explore “Truth, God, and Embracing a Reasonable Spirituality.” I hope plan on joining me. 

Peace, Bo
www.evolvingchristianfaith.net

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