Information and comments on the essay:
Dis-integrating old beliefs
From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee
Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks
Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKTW1ENEN0aTRMUVk/edit?usp=sharing#Faith #Integral #Psychosocial
 |
| Chum For Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters |
Dis-integrating old beliefs
I have recently been challenged that my comments threaten to
“dis-integrate” people’s beliefs and that this comes off as “threatening and
painful” to them. Thus, I am being rude, inconsiderate, and unsociably
aggressive. Talk about a curve ball! I just didn’t see that one coming.
The concept is that most people are already quite satisfied
with their sources of authority and their beliefs. They believe things that are
similar to what their friends believe and this makes them feel comfortable and
secure. They feel that their existing beliefs all make sense together (are
integrated). Thus, it is not nice for someone like me to come along and upset their
apple cart.
I chewed on this problem for a while before it occurred to
me to launch from, “What Would Jesus Do?” Actually, Jesus published a new
gospel and admitted that he came to cause division, rather than peace. He
warned his disciples that they and their new message would encounter violent
resistance. I don’t mean to compare myself to Jesus – only to point out that
there come times when one’s ideas have to transcend comfortable and familiar
traditions.
While having a similar discussion with my youngest son, he
proposed a model of
