Mature Religion, Functional Religion, and Superstitious Religion

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Practical Spirituality"><U>WMEades.com Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.counseling-waco.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.counseling-waco.com"><U>Counseling-Waco Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://wacopartnership.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://wacopartnership.org"><U>Waco Partnership for Psychological and Spiritual Care Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://practicalspirituality.wordpress.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://practicalspirituality.wordpress.c"><U>Practical Spirituality Blog</U></A></div> <div> _________________________</div> <div> <A HREF="aboutme.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Me and My Work"><U>About Me and My Work</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id518.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Making an Appointment"><U>Making an Appointment</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="policies.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Policies"><U>Policies</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="cost.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cost of Counseling"><U>Cost of Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="helpfularticles.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Helpful Articles"><U>Helpful Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="directions.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Directions to Office"><U>Directions to Office</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="booksummaries.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Summaries"><U>Book Summaries</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="counseling.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pastoral Counseling"><U>Pastoral Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="premarriage.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Premarriage Counseling"><U>Premarriage Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="enneagram.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Enneagram"><U>The Enneagram</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="faith.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When Faith Doesnt Work"><U>When Faith Doesn't Work</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.centexintergroup.org/schedule/schedule_local.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.centexintergroup.org/schedule"><U>Alcoholics Anonymous Mtgs</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.theravive.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.theravive.com"><U><IMG SRC="83da03c0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Would you help me build this table?  I would appreciate receiving your thoughts at </FONT><A HREF="mailto:WMEades@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:WMEades@aol.com"><U>WMEades@gmail.com</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="839" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="77"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="77" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC><NOBR><div> <B>The Mature Religious Perspective</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC><NOBR><div> <B> The Functional Religious Perspective</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC><NOBR><div> <B>The Superstitious Religious Perspective</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Goal</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Spiritual Growth</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Comfort</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Control</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Motto</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> I do not want the God I want, I want the God who is. (paraphrase of J. M. Long)</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> I do want the God who is, I want the God who will keep me peaceful.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> I do not want the God who is, I want the God who will give me control.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 49 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Anxiety</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Seeks to overcome anxiety in order to love sacrificially and unconditionally.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Seeks to use religion to soothe personal anxiety</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Seeks to use religion to justify the control or destruction of any perspective that generates anxiety.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER ROWSPAN=2 BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 82 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Science</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Embraces scientific discovery and is comfortable revising dogma in the light of science. ("Archeology shows us that the Bible is not attempting to offer a detailed picture of earth's history")</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Compartmentalizes scientific discovery which threatens to conflict with dogma. ("Why study archeology at church?")</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Denies the legitimacy of scientific discovery that conflicts with dogma. ("The account of creation in the Bible is literally true, therefore God placed dinasaur bones in the ground to confuse scientists.")</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Able to separate observation and interpretation.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="248" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Fuses observation and interpretation.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>God</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> I will worship the true God.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> I will worship the culturally acceptable god.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> I will manipulate god.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <B>Theology</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Recognizes that theology is an intellectual exercise and that the intellect is extremely limited in its ability to define and understand God.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="66" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="248" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Believes that theological propositions express concrete truth about God.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 49 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Ritual</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Recognizes that religious rituals are symbolic ways to describe and experience God.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Does not think much about the relationship between theology/ritual and God.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Believes that religious rituals provide an avenue to control and manipulate God.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 82 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Law</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Recognizes that rules for living are principals which must be applied with care and with regards to the unique circumstances that life presents. (Kohlberg's "Post-Conventional" Ethics) </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="82" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="248" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Insists that rules for living are to applied concretely in every setting.  God punishes those who break the rules and blesses those who keep the rules.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Faith</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Defines faith as “living as if.”</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="248" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Defines faith as believing certain rational propositions.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="77"><div> <B>Personal Sin</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Attitude towards personal sin is curiosity.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Attitude towards personal sin is denial or indifference. </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Attitude towards personal sin  is judgment.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <B>Evangelism</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Evangelism is best carried out in acts of love and service.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Evangelism is best ignored.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Evangelism is best carried out by explaining theological propositions to persons and inviting them to accept those propositions as true</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <B>Faith</B></div> <div> <B>Community</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="238"><div> Faith Community is important because it provides the support and accountability necessary to maintain a sacrificially loving relationship to the rest of the world.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="248"><div> Faith Community is important because it provides a place of belonging that is comfortable for me.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="251"><div> Faith Community is a mark of correct belief. Those who are not a part of the correct faith community are not in proper relationship to God.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>