11.25.07
It’s a Good Thing We’re All Christians in Here……by Margaret Johnston
“It’s a good thing we are all Christians in here - or else we’d be killing each other!” The words hit me like a slap in the face with a cold slab of steel. It was the first time I had ever heard anyone imply that Christians were nicer, kinder, more civilized somehow. I was shocked! I mean I was brought up in the Catholic Church and taught that only Catholics had the “right” religion. Only Catholics could go to heaven. But nobody ever said Catholics were nicer. Why would Protestant denominations of Christians think they were “nicer” than other people???
The day I heard those words nearly thirty years ago, I was attending a seminar recommended to me by someone who shall remain nameless. It was a talk by some sort of evangelist - you know almost the TV evangelist kind - but it was not on TV. Thousands of people were in that audience and the seats were packed in rather tightly. To get to a particular seat you had to climb over all the people who were already seated in your row. People were squeezing past my seat when a lady of about my age turned around from the row in front of mine and uttered that statement that shocked me so much.
I was a confirmed atheist at the time, but someone I trusted said the speaker was good, so I went with an open mind. I planned to attend alone, but by chance a woman I worked with at the time mentioned she was going and while the place was far too vast to sit together, we at least were able to compare notes afterward.
As for the seminar, I was not impressed. The speaker ranted in a sensationalist way about the faith in the lord and the way to be saved, etc. In the course of the evening, he managed to insult my sensiblities as a woman, saying that women were always subservient to men. The next day I found out his ranting had also offended the woman from my office. A black lady herself, her beef was that the speaker had implied people of color were really moving up in the world when they chose to attend one of his seminars - as if before that they were all too uncivilized!
Just today I heard the word for this type of thought pattern: “Triumphalist!” Compliments of Father Thomas Keating, in a video done for the Integral Spiritual Center, we can now use the word “triumphalist” for those who insist only their religion is right and that people of their particular faith are better than others. Father Keating says that this “triumphalist” mindset arises from the need for security. These people need to be sure that what they believe is right and that their group is saved when all others are not. (typical Stage Two mentality) The religion of others somehow threatens their security so they rail against it by condemning those who believe diferently from them. Father Keating says this group has overidentified with their religion.
Our stage theorists would say these people are Stage Twos (see Religious Development…for Dummies for explanation of the stages) and are much in need of feeling above everyone else in their religious choices. They cannot allow that anyone else would be as nice, as good, as saved as they are.
We need to allow these people to hold on to this type of belief because they have such a deep need for it. And I feel Stage Ones should listen to them, and hope someday they might catch up.
But for any Stage Threes and Fours who run into this mentality, it is good we recognize “triumpahlism” for what it is. We should not reject these people or fear them. But rather have compassion and understanding.
If we are Stage Threes, somehow our life experiences have allowed us to move beyond the need for this type of religion and this is a good thing. But we should not try to belittle what these people believe. It is important to them and we should respect that.
If we are Stage Fours, we need to recognize that our type of religion is very different from that of the Stage Two triumphalist. Even if we attend the same church as they do, we need to see that we need not join the triumphalist in their tribal mentality. Yes, “tribal.” Only their “tribe” is important - versus a “worldcentric” or even “cosmic” view, more typical of Stage Fours, where others of different faiths, those in different parts of the world, and indeed even other galaxies, are all viewed as being important, included in our level of concern and seen as part of the same whole.
Marilyn Miller said,
November 26, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I completely agree with many people feeling the need to be correct in their religious views. Afterall, they often devote a tremendous amount of energy and stake their life choices on these beliefs. I also agree that it is important for people of differing mindsets to understand that people have different needs based upon their spiritual development and personal experiences. I firmly believe that all things happen for reasons. If that is true, then the various religions must be there for important reasons as well.
Not everyone has the same circumstances or mindsets, so the various religions to have a place in helping get some people pointed in a positive direction when they might not otherwise know how to work their way up from some deep and dark place that they have worked their way into.
The difficult part is watching loved ones embrace religions that appear to be totally ridiculous and cult-like in nature. Remembering that each person has their own path and that all things happen for reasons really helps.