Faith & Works

I have a terrible habit of procrastinating.  I think of some great way to spend my time and then I do something far less productive, and this usually leads me to leave projects half finished.  This post is a great example.  I've had the idea for this post sitting on my computer for over a month.  Ironically this post covers the best way to combat procrastination.

The idea for this post came from the readings of the June 16th Sunday Mass (so long ago, I know, but still relevant).  The theme for these readings is faith and its relation to forgiveness.  In light of this, I wish to cover the most controversial reading first.  In Paul's letter to the Galatians he says, "We ourselves, who are Jew by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no flesh be justified."*(1)  Here it may seem as though Paul is saying we are saved by faith and not good works.  I have seen some protestants use this as a way to justify bad habits:  "It's okay if we mess up, as long as we believe."  

However, in the letter of James it says, "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works?  Can his faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."*(2)  So how do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory verses?  The first way is by looking to the context of Paul's letter to the Galatians.  Throughout Chapter 2 Paul makes clear that he is distinguishing between the New Law and the Old.  In early Christianity there was conflict between those of Jew and gentile descent, largely over the practice of circumcision.  Christians of Jewish descent would argue that to be saved one must follow all practices outlined in the Old Law.  Paul is rebuking this heresy, not denying the connection between faith and works.  In Galatians Chapter 5, Paul states, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love."*(3)  Here Paul both rebukes the heresy that Christians must follow Jewish custom, and confirms faith living through works.

But here is the really exciting part! Not only can we know this through revelation, but also through

As a student of psychology, I always get super excited when I find faith supported by scientific research.  Over this summer I have been taking online classes at my local community college.  I thought they would be horrible and boring.   However, the book we have been reading for Social Psychology, written by David Myers, has been amazing.  Besides being a political leftist, Myers was able to keep his work generally unbiased and let the research do all the talking.  In chapter 4 of his book, Myers covers the relationship between behaviors and attitudes.  "It's true that we sometimes stand up for what we believe.  But it's also true that we come to believe what we stand up for."*(4)  

Probably the most convincing study on this subject comes from Dr. Philip Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment.*(5)  Randomly selecting college aged men to either play prison guards or prisoners, Zimbardo made a startling discovery: it is not always bad people who do bad things, but good people in a bad place.  To ensure that they did not allow any psychopaths ruin the authenticity of the experiment, Zimbardo and his colleagues administered a psychological test to screen perspective participants.  Both prisoners and prison guards scored equally on the test, and all participants had an equal chance of ending up with either role, making personality a low predictor of behavior.  With a simulated prison built in the basement of Stanford University, prison guards were ordered to treat the prisoners how they would be treated in a real prison.  The results of a two week experiment were so horrifying that Zimbardo was forced to call it off after only six days.  The prisoners became depressed, many going absolutely insane at the thought that they could not escape.  The guards took to actively humiliating the prisoners whenever possible, and even Zimbardo himself became completely immersed in his role as "prison warden".

This experiment shows the power of both circumstances and behavior upon our attitudes.  None of the prison guards expected to treat the prisoners so inhumanely.  Their attitudes were completely reversed by their actions.  To me, this completely verifies the relationship between faith and works.  If we allow bad habits to creep in, do we really believe what we say we do?  If behaviors have such a powerful influence on our attitudes, behaving sinfully will facilitate sinful beliefs.  And expressing a sinful belief strengthens that belief.  "People often adapt what they say to please their listeners...Nevertheless, they begin to believe what they are saying - provided they weren't bribed or coerced into doing so.  When there is no compelling external explanation for one's words, saying becomes believing."*(6)  Maybe you think social pressure is a compelling enough explanation to leave your beliefs unchanged.  But consider the following experiment, "Tory Higgins and his colleagues...had university students read a personality description of someone and then summarize it for someone else, who was believed either to like or dislike the person.  Students wrote a more positive description when the recipient liked the person.  Having said positive things, they also then liked the person more themselves.  Asked to recall what they had read, they remembered the description as more positive than it was."*(7) 

As Christians in the modern world, social pressure is an extremely powerful motivator.  Social media, such as Facebook and Youtube,  constantly throw varying beliefs at us along with asking us to proclaim our own.  When hiding behind the computer screen it is easier to take a more radical position than we would in person.  This depersonalization, however, works both ways.  The commitment that normally accompanies public proclamation loses some of its power through seeming anonymity.  What we defend on the internet we may attack in person.  My own problems with sexuality are evidence enough for me.  It is easy for me to defend abstinence and purity on Facebook while turning around to watch porn and masturbate while I think no one is watching.  It takes more than belief to conquer sin.  You cannot think your way up the hill to die with Christ, you must walk.

FOOT NOTES:

1) Galatians 2:15-16 RSV. Here I varied a bit from the reading in mass, as the reading did not include verse     15.  This inclusion was done for the sake of context.

2) James 2:14-17 RSV
3) Galatians 5:6
4) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.126
5) http://www.prisonexp.org/
6) David Myers, Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013) p.128
7) Ibid, p.128

Love Is Not Enough

So, the other day I broke up with my girlfriend whom I had been dating for five years.  When discussing this with her I completely understood why it had to happen.  We had been sexually active when she didn't want to be, and both of us have had major problems we have to deal with.  She has difficulties with body image, and struggles to understand how anyone could love, even God.  I have my problems with pornography, masturbation, and depression.  It was a destructive relationship ultimately.  My false expectations of her sexuality caused constant trouble, leading to depression and suppressed feelings for the both of us.  Eventually it came to the point where neither of us trusted each other.  She could no longer trust me to treat her properly and respect her.  In addition to this I treated myself poorly, threatening suicide on multiple occasions, making it impossible for her to tell me how I had hurt her without the fear that I might hurt myself.  Before the breakup I had always thought that I trusted her to make good decisions and do what she thought was right.  I was proud of her for having the courage to tell me she needed space, but when she said that she may never want to be in another relationship I lost it.  I kept telling myself this would be a temporary thing, that once she was able to love herself we would be back together.  The thought of never getting back together hurt.  I thought my best friend, the person I could talk to the most was abandoning me.  I got angry, and attacked her for it.  I tried to guilt her back into the relationship.  In doing this I provoked a true but painful statement from her.  I had never respected her or her ability to make decisions.  I was always overbearing.  I hate the fact it took so long for me to find this out.  It was always easy to deny this truth.  Reflecting back I can see where I went wrong.  Whenever she had to make a major life decision I always had my own opinion and argued for it forcefully.  I thought I was being supportive.  When she was graduating high school, she told me that she thought she would go to Case for nursing.  I supported this, telling her that Case was the perfect school for her to do that.  However, when she changed her mind, I didn't support her new decision right away.  I argued that she would do better at case than Franciscan.  When she decided she wanted to change her major from nursing to theology and writing, I argued again.  When she had doubts of wanting to go to college at all, I argued again.  When she wanted to drop her theology major, I argued again.  Every decision she ever made, I argued.  While I thought I was being supportive, she took it as sign that I couldn't trust her to direct her own life, to find her vocation that God alone could give her.  I realize now I was too controlling.  I wanted a certain thing for her life, for her to marry me and be a mother.  I was selfish.  I was trying to be a god.  I put myself before the only person who could help her, thinking I was the one God would use to determine her steps, not her own reason.

This post is meant as an apology.  I am so sorry I wasn't the trusting friend you need, Liz.  I am so sorry for trying to control your life.  And I am so proud of you and so thankful that you gave me the slap in the face I needed to wake up and realize I am not the man I need to be.  I pray for your safety, your salvation, and that you find where God needs you to be in this life.  If that means losing a romantic relationship with you for good, than so be it.  But please know I will always be your friend, and I will try my hardest to love you as such.  And to anyone else reading this, I pray you don't make the mistakes I did.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9