I just read this article that made me start thinking about
prayer and talking to God. http://www.npr.org/2012/03/26/149394987/when-god-talks-back-to-the-evangelical-community
Just to summarize, T.M. Luhrmann is an anthropologist
who recently spent time observing evangelical church services. By observing and
talking to congregation members she observed that they see prayer as a
conversation with God in which they talk to God and God literally talks back. I
thought this was very interesting. I was raised Catholic, and taught that
prayer and a relationship with God are very important. I’ve always felt that
prayer does involve talking to God in a personal way, not just reciting
memorized Our Father’s. I’ve also been told that God will answer prayers.
However, I have never expected to literally hear the voice of God speaking to me,
telling me what to do. Honestly, if I did hear the voice of God, I might assume
I was going crazy.
This is not to say that I think the people Luhrmann talked
to in her studies are crazy, and I think the explanations she offers in this
interview are very interesting. I suppose it isn’t really possible to know for
certain if these people actually hear God. However, I think the fact that they
have this very real experience that they perceive as God speaking to them can
have interesting implications that can relate to morality and moral decisions.
I am definitely skeptical of these claims. I tend to believe
that God works in more subtle ways than a voice in my head. I propose that what
people perceive as the voice of God is actually the voice of their conscience.
This has big moral implications, especially if the person has a malformed or
misinformed conscience. Suppose they heard what they perceive as the voice of
God telling them to do morally incorrect things. People do immoral things all
the time, but when someone claims the voice of God told them to do something, a
whole new level of controversy arises.
This somewhat relates to people using religion to justify
their immoral actions. There are obvious examples of this everywhere. One that
immediately comes to mind is the Westboro Baptist Church which justifies messages
of hate with Bible passages. On a similar note, a good example of a malformed
conscience can be seen in this article about a man who drove his car into a
women’s health clinic that he (incorrectly) believed performs abortions (this
happened in my hometown).
Now, hypothetically let’s say that the man who drove his car
into the clinic claims to have heard the voice of God telling him to do this.
Already, just by thinking it could be morally justifiable to drive his car into
the clinic he would be perceived by many people as a religious fanatic. However,
suppose the clinic actually was an abortion clinic. Personally, I still call
him a religious fanatic, but I don’t think I would be going out on a limb to
say that plenty of people out there might privately (or publicly) support his
decision. After all, by destroying the abortion clinic didn’t he save thousands
of innocent lives? Of course, true Christian morality says that the ends can’t
justify the means, so he is still in the wrong here. Now, let me go back and
restate the Hypothetical situation: The man drives his car into an abortion clinic,
killing and injuring several of those inside and of course, causing at least
thousands of dollars of damage. When it’s all done and he has been arrested, he
claims that God told him to do this.
Some people definitely say he is a crazy,
dangerous religious fanatic. Some people will say what he did was not right,
but maybe they won’t judge him as harshly because it was an abortion clinic. And I don’t know, maybe some people actually
believe that God told him to do it and he is absolutely right in his actions.
Obviously, this situation is an extreme. However, I think
the discussion is worthwhile. How does the “voice of God claim" affect the way
a person’s actions are perceived, whether they are immoral or not? Is it
actually possible that God does reveal things to people by speaking to them?
Certainly this expression is used a lot in the Bible. God spoke to Abraham. God
spoke to Moses. God revealed himself to the apostle Paul. Are these Biblical
accounts are meant to be taken as literal or interpreted as someone coming to
an understanding of the truth of God? How does God “speak” to faithful people
in the world today?
When people think that God is telling them to do something, I also do not believe that they are literally hearing God tell them something. God would not want people to harm each other, even for a moral belief. I personally believe that we are entitled to our own options and it is okay to debate about them, but there is a certain point when things are taken to extremes. Like the example used above, the man who drove his car into an abortion clinic was wrong to do that. He physically harmed people who basically did what he did not agree with. I am not saying that I agree with abortion, but hurting the people who were in the clinic did not make the man a better person, or being him closer to God.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard about the Westboro Baptist Church and I think what they do is completely inappropriate. They claim they are making things right by being hateful toward people who do not share the same views, but they are just hurting people who have done no harm. These people they are rallying against have done nothing wrong to the Westboro Baptists Church, or anyone else. They are not the world become more moral, rather upsetting people or making them angrier, Even using Bible references, they are not coming off as good, religious Christians.
I do not think all of the Bible stories should be taken literally, but used more as a guide to hearing God. I have never heard God actually speak to me, but I can sense his presence when I am thinking about him, or if I need his guidance I know he’s listening. Being religious is not wrong, unless it is taken too far. If people want to talk to others about how they enjoy their religion that is no problem. The problem starts when people harm others to shove their beliefs into others.
When I am experiencing a difficult time in my life, I usually pray to God for guidance in direction. I know that I have made the right decision regarding my situation when I feel a sense of contentment about the course of action that I have chosen to take. When I feel this, I believe that God had directed me to where he wants me to go in life. I do not hear a voice literally speaking to me and telling me what to do. It is just a feeling that I have. I am confused about whether or not it is God communicating with me. I want to believe that it is Him, but it is so hard to discern what something is if it is not tangible.
ReplyDeleteNow, regarding the hypothetical situation with the man that drove his car into the front of the clinic, I do not believe that that was something that God “told” him to do. I, too, am skeptical of people who attribute their wrongful actions to God. I believe that God is good and that He would never lead people to commit an act like this. Looking back to stories in the Bible, Jesus’ way was usually one of nonviolence. He did not viciously attempt to kill someone just because their beliefs were different than his. Instead, he attempted to reason with them and convert them to his way of thinking. I believe that people who use the concept of the “voice of God” and support for their crimes are confused.