This is a remarkable essay from a Catholic POV. Just a few notes in response:
(1) Based on this article, it finally struck me that what's being described is traceable back to Immanuel Kant in it's most developed form. That is the likely bridge between Protestant thought and modern secularism. I do not think it is mere coincidence that Kant was a Lutheran. I'd encourage you to look into this connection further.
(2) A common complaint about Catholic practice is the Sacrament of Penance, which non-Catholics commonly blame for the cultivation of scrupulous anxiety. Since this is what Luther himself clearly suffered terribly from, again: no mere coincidence. But what you indicated in this article is that there is a sort of Protestant scrupulosity that can arise from a sola fide (or sola cognitio) approach: "Many Christians conceive of their lives as a kind of gigantic spiritual accounting exercise. Life entails one’s participation in a persnickety cognition ledger." So no matter what you do, there is a risk of scrupulosity: it is a general spiritual problem, not anything specific to a given Christian tradition.
(3) As a commentator already indicated, welcome to the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Catholics have continued to practice these "mysteries" though they've been derided as mere "hocus pocus" by opponents. C. S. Lewis, though he remained more of a Low Church Anglican, nevertheless was clearly influenced by enough High Church Anglican thought to be an effective translator from High to Low. The higher one goes in Anglicanism, the more one approaches Roman Catholicism.
(4) Welcome also to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. The issues which you described above have been dealt with quite robustly within a Catholic system of moral thought that has developed for the better part of 800 years, if not longer. We are the only Church that has stayed true to traditional teachings on contraception and such, and in the face of massive opposition to these teachings. See Casti Conubii and Humanae Vitae.
All this is to say: I invite anyone for whom this post resonates to give serious consideration to becoming Catholic. We regard you as our separated brothers and sisters in Christ, not our enemies. May the Lord bless you with the grace and peace of his truth.
I have written on this platform before, speculating that the apparent surging interest in non-protestant Christianity these last few years might be a result of the fact that almost all the most contentious social issues of our time implicate anthropology. Catholicism and Orthodoxy seem to offer a more thoroughgoing point-of-view in regard to the most pressing questions of our current moment. So on the one hand, you have a richly developed theology of the body produced by John Paul II, and on the other hand you have a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention making ad hoc, confused comments about the need for Christians to offer "pronoun hospitality" in conversation with transgenders. One of these things is not like the other.
I spend my days mostly thinking about, and writing, software. I have been a lifelong evangelical layperson. But I have been driven to grapple with some of these questions by events in my own life which have forced me to look around and ask questions.
Your comments about scrupulosity were curiously timely. I am immersed in a situation at this very moment in which one man's scrupulosity may, before it's over, destroy a happy local fellowship of believers. And the problem, in terms of group dynamics, is exacerbated by the lack of any kind of authoritative magisterium, the endgame of which, apparently, is that every man gets to be his own church father. If every local congregation is doctrinally "winging it", untethered from any other church authority, then the door is open for a person afflicted with scrupulosity to try to force the rest of the church to join him in his fevered obsessions. I was completely unaware of Luther's struggle, or that Catholics are dinged in some circles for contributing to this through penance. I thought your connecting my description of a "cognition ledger" with potentially a similar dynamic among evangelicals was both insightful and shrewd.
This is an excellent read. Thank you. My husband and I both grew up evangelical and have been searching for a more embodied faith. Liturgy has been so healing for both of us!
I printed this off to read at nap time. I think it will be helpful for me… We’ve been studying baptism and despite growing up in the church, I find myself really confused.
This is extremely well-written, even if hard to write. (I get it.) And it’s something I wish I had read in my evangelical days. I really appreciated your paragraph which opens:
“An alternative view of the world might be that we are creatures caught up in an ancient, cosmic conflict between light and darkness”
That’s the life-changing view most of us Christians need. Thanks for articulating it so well.
“God has invited us to be involved in something he himself is doing with the world. He has formed us for a task. We responded, as his creatures, by setting our spiritual house on fire. It is well and truly burning down around us.” Haha! Well put, well put!
Yes, of course embodiment is paramount. Most pagan religions seek to escape the body and its passions, or disdain it. I can’t wait to have a resurrected body in Jesus!
I think it is simple. The Bible clearly states that salvation is by faith. The Bible also clearly defines faith (examples in Hebrews 11) as trusting and obeying. Some people say that baptism is only an act of obedience. How then is it not an act of spiritual faith. I think baptism became unpopular because it was inconvenient and removed the instant gratification of the witness. It is also more difficult to submit to such an invasive act. Blessing to you.
Keith, this is very well thought out and articulated! Thank you for sharing it with us. I was unaware of some of the thought processes in the Evangelica circles regarding baptism. I look forward to discussing this in person.
I find your article highly nutritious for sustaining a Catholic mindset in these modern times. Delicious food for our thoughtful bodies, strengthening our immunity from the illnesses wrought by a gnostic mindset.
This is a remarkable essay from a Catholic POV. Just a few notes in response:
(1) Based on this article, it finally struck me that what's being described is traceable back to Immanuel Kant in it's most developed form. That is the likely bridge between Protestant thought and modern secularism. I do not think it is mere coincidence that Kant was a Lutheran. I'd encourage you to look into this connection further.
(2) A common complaint about Catholic practice is the Sacrament of Penance, which non-Catholics commonly blame for the cultivation of scrupulous anxiety. Since this is what Luther himself clearly suffered terribly from, again: no mere coincidence. But what you indicated in this article is that there is a sort of Protestant scrupulosity that can arise from a sola fide (or sola cognitio) approach: "Many Christians conceive of their lives as a kind of gigantic spiritual accounting exercise. Life entails one’s participation in a persnickety cognition ledger." So no matter what you do, there is a risk of scrupulosity: it is a general spiritual problem, not anything specific to a given Christian tradition.
(3) As a commentator already indicated, welcome to the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Catholics have continued to practice these "mysteries" though they've been derided as mere "hocus pocus" by opponents. C. S. Lewis, though he remained more of a Low Church Anglican, nevertheless was clearly influenced by enough High Church Anglican thought to be an effective translator from High to Low. The higher one goes in Anglicanism, the more one approaches Roman Catholicism.
(4) Welcome also to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. The issues which you described above have been dealt with quite robustly within a Catholic system of moral thought that has developed for the better part of 800 years, if not longer. We are the only Church that has stayed true to traditional teachings on contraception and such, and in the face of massive opposition to these teachings. See Casti Conubii and Humanae Vitae.
All this is to say: I invite anyone for whom this post resonates to give serious consideration to becoming Catholic. We regard you as our separated brothers and sisters in Christ, not our enemies. May the Lord bless you with the grace and peace of his truth.
Thank you for these fascinating observations.
I have written on this platform before, speculating that the apparent surging interest in non-protestant Christianity these last few years might be a result of the fact that almost all the most contentious social issues of our time implicate anthropology. Catholicism and Orthodoxy seem to offer a more thoroughgoing point-of-view in regard to the most pressing questions of our current moment. So on the one hand, you have a richly developed theology of the body produced by John Paul II, and on the other hand you have a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention making ad hoc, confused comments about the need for Christians to offer "pronoun hospitality" in conversation with transgenders. One of these things is not like the other.
I spend my days mostly thinking about, and writing, software. I have been a lifelong evangelical layperson. But I have been driven to grapple with some of these questions by events in my own life which have forced me to look around and ask questions.
Your comments about scrupulosity were curiously timely. I am immersed in a situation at this very moment in which one man's scrupulosity may, before it's over, destroy a happy local fellowship of believers. And the problem, in terms of group dynamics, is exacerbated by the lack of any kind of authoritative magisterium, the endgame of which, apparently, is that every man gets to be his own church father. If every local congregation is doctrinally "winging it", untethered from any other church authority, then the door is open for a person afflicted with scrupulosity to try to force the rest of the church to join him in his fevered obsessions. I was completely unaware of Luther's struggle, or that Catholics are dinged in some circles for contributing to this through penance. I thought your connecting my description of a "cognition ledger" with potentially a similar dynamic among evangelicals was both insightful and shrewd.
This is an excellent read. Thank you. My husband and I both grew up evangelical and have been searching for a more embodied faith. Liturgy has been so healing for both of us!
I printed this off to read at nap time. I think it will be helpful for me… We’ve been studying baptism and despite growing up in the church, I find myself really confused.
Amen
This is extremely well-written, even if hard to write. (I get it.) And it’s something I wish I had read in my evangelical days. I really appreciated your paragraph which opens:
“An alternative view of the world might be that we are creatures caught up in an ancient, cosmic conflict between light and darkness”
That’s the life-changing view most of us Christians need. Thanks for articulating it so well.
“God has invited us to be involved in something he himself is doing with the world. He has formed us for a task. We responded, as his creatures, by setting our spiritual house on fire. It is well and truly burning down around us.” Haha! Well put, well put!
Yes, of course embodiment is paramount. Most pagan religions seek to escape the body and its passions, or disdain it. I can’t wait to have a resurrected body in Jesus!
I think it is simple. The Bible clearly states that salvation is by faith. The Bible also clearly defines faith (examples in Hebrews 11) as trusting and obeying. Some people say that baptism is only an act of obedience. How then is it not an act of spiritual faith. I think baptism became unpopular because it was inconvenient and removed the instant gratification of the witness. It is also more difficult to submit to such an invasive act. Blessing to you.
Welcome to the sacramental worldview, Keith! If you’re open to an in-person conversation DM me.
Keith, this is very well thought out and articulated! Thank you for sharing it with us. I was unaware of some of the thought processes in the Evangelica circles regarding baptism. I look forward to discussing this in person.
I find your article highly nutritious for sustaining a Catholic mindset in these modern times. Delicious food for our thoughtful bodies, strengthening our immunity from the illnesses wrought by a gnostic mindset.
Wow, really well said, thank you!
We are each an embodiment of the singularity of consciousness and the means through which God experiences.