How I Changed How I Saw Belief

[Tim WBParticipant]

I really identify with the process David described in his recent weekly letter, “How Belief Prevents Change” – I, too, read the books, constricted the thoughts, polished the theology (did you know that Mythbusters proved that you can polish a turd?)

Anyway, I digress…

My dreams / visions were subtly different, and happened in a progression…

I don’t think I ever expected faith to be the entire house, but for a time it was “the” foundation, then “a primary” foundation, then “an alternate” perspective (it’s not really fair to call it a foundation any more, is it?)

I had a dream about purity / holiness / fundamentalism, that I was standing on a plain that was white / grey / black, and I had the option of declaring any part of it off-limits (anathema?), and slicing it off.

But I realised that I couldn’t see perfectly, and that I needed room to move, and so if I were to slice off too much, I’d just end up stuck somewhere grey.

And I also realised that I wasn’t just cutting off featureless space, but that there were people who lived in those areas I judged grey (or black). (Ironically, that’s where I live now – in one of the darker shades of grey!)

And I also had a dream that I’d split my life into segments: the faith, the rational / scientific, the emotional, the sexual, the familial, the creative, … and that my role was now to anneal them so that I could be whole. (I used to think of this like changing gears in a car – I can still hear the gears grind as some of my friends change from “faith” to “social”. And there’s a special gear they reserve for certain situations – like when I came out to a few recently. Two months later, it would appear that they’re still stuck in that gear…)

I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but those are my immediate thoughts.

[JonParticipant]

It’s too easy for me to get stuck in the pigeonhole mentality that attempts to label people by their beliefs and see them in some ‘other’ area than myself. I really appreciate your picture of this multi-shaded space in which people live and move, kind of fluid-like. I see the potential people have to change and move around on this space both from darker areas to lighter areas and vice versa.
Having a history deep in fundamentalism, I still find myself defaulting to the labelling agenda. Even as more of a progressive SBNR person, I find the objects of my judgementalism are now the conservatives, right-wingers and fundamentalists. It’s a lot easier to leave the beliefs than the legalistic mindset.
I think that if I were to look at all those around me as having this kind of potential, it would change the way I interact with them, possibly with more patience and compassion, certainly with a greater desire to understand.
Thanks so much for your insights.

[Author]

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