The Mature Religious Perspective	The Functional Religious Perspective	The Superstitious Religious Perspective
Goal	Spiritual Growth	Comfort	Control
Motto	I do not want the God I want, I want the God who is. (paraphrase of J. M. Long)	I do want the God who is, I want the God who will keep me peaceful.	I do not want the God who is, I want the God who will give me control.
Anxiety	Seeks to overcome anxiety in order to love sacrificially and unconditionally.	Seeks to use religion to soothe personal anxiety	Seeks to use religion to justify the control or destruction of any perspective that generates anxiety.
Science	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")	Compartmentalizes scientific discovery which threatens to conflict with dogma. ("Why study archeology at church?")	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.")
	Able to separate observation and interpretation.		Fuses observation and interpretation.
God	I will worship the true God.	I will worship the culturally acceptable god.	I will manipulate god.
Theology	Recognizes that theology is an intellectual exercise and that the intellect is extremely limited in its ability to define and understand God.		Believes that theological propositions express concrete truth about God.
Ritual	Recognizes that religious rituals are symbolic ways to describe and experience God.	Does not think much about the relationship between theology/ritual and God.	Believes that religious rituals provide an avenue to control and manipulate God.
Law	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)		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.
Faith	Defines faith as “living as if.”		Defines faith as believing certain rational propositions.
Personal Sin	Attitude towards personal sin is curiosity.	Attitude towards personal sin is denial or indifference.	Attitude towards personal sin  is judgment.
Evangelism	Evangelism is best carried out in acts of love and service.	Evangelism is best ignored.	Evangelism is best carried out by explaining theological propositions to persons and inviting them to accept those propositions as true
Faith Community	Faith Community is important because it provides the support and accountability necessary to maintain a sacrificially loving relationship to the rest of the world.	Faith Community is important because it provides a place of belonging that is comfortable for me.	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.