11.09.07
Certainty - Margaret Johnston
In studying the stages of belief, need for certainty is one concept that stands out as very important in stage development.
Take the case of a Stage One. (See Religious/Spiritual Development…for Dummies for explanation of these stages) He has no certainty at all - and for him this is pathological. The Stage One person is at the whim of whatever comes his way. He can be swayed by wayward peers, his own greed or his own personal weaknesses. Because there are no central principles this person believes in, no rules to which he is subject, this person is likely to experience huge levels of confusion and his life is likely to wind up in great disarray. Compared to the Stage One, the Stage Two is all about certainty. This person is sure he has found the one true belief system and he is equally sure that everyone else is wrong. For the Stage Two, this type of certainty assures him freedom from the chaos he may have experienced before when he was a Stage One. In fact, this person often enjoys so much certainty that he cannot imagine that others (in the higher stages) have already set aside this need for certainty. He assumes everyone who is not of his same belief system must be wrong (he assumes everone else is a Stage One!!) and often sets out fervently to convert them. After all, the Stage Two person’s conversion meant so much to him, saved him from so much chaos, improved his life so much, that he needs to condemn everyone who might threaten his beliefs or weaken his certainty. At the same time he also wants to try to lift up everyone else to his level so they can be saved as well. If only they would convert to his beliefs then he could be even further justified in his certainty!The Stage Three person also needs a form of certainty. This person has most likely left behind (or at least is questioning) some type of tradtional religion. He needs to know that what he left behind or rejected is not realy valid. I personally believe the three Atheist manifestos that have appeared on the best seller list in recent years (The End of Faith by Sam Harris, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens) are written by solid stage threes. These three writers went about scientifically showing there is no evidence that God exists. They felt so sure about this they needed to write a book to prove it. This is certainty. Also, some atheists may be running away from the harmful effects of religion. Take the example of some of the scary stuff, like possession by the devil, espoused by the Catholic Church. A person who has convinced himself there is nothing but the here and now - nothing but that which is scientifically provable - could be seeking certainty that scary stuff like ghosts and devils do not exist!Now, at Stage Four, we find a return to…..UNCERTAINTY! These people have transcended the need to be sure they currently have the right answer. Instead, they have a respect and desire for mystery. This means they actually like not knowing and take pleasure in continually seeking deeper truths. Furthermore, at this level people seem to be more tolerant of beliefs that are different from their own and tend to feel that the various forms of belief are just different views of the same thing. These people have grown beyond the need for the certainty of the lower levels and can still live a meaningful life without the need to know how they got here and what might be coming next.
MPJ
MPJ said,
November 14, 2007 at 9:18 pm
This comment came in from Vicky - who had submitted the two “goddess” stories from 10/21 and 10/23
Margaret -
Thank you so much for this very helpful, concise explanation of the stages
of belief…each stage such a fine line from the others, with tremendous
consequences for the individual and the collective. One can only hope that
we each find our way to the mystery and linger there…
Vicky