Have you ever noticed, those of you with a church background (particularly of the more charismatic type), that there is often a vibe in church that our minds are an obstacle to receiving from God? Most of the time it’s subtle; other times, not so subtle. But the underlying premise is that we receive from God by the Spirit in ways that our natural minds cannot understand, and that if we try to discern with our minds, it will become a stumbling block to us. You can pick up this vibe in the way things are worded–when we are encouraged in some way to “bypass our minds” when God is manifesting His presence in some way, or when we are trying to get hold of some revelation, or when we are praying in tongues (again, for you charismatic folk).
I was programmed most of my life with this idea, and like most imbalances in church, it has a nugget of truth in it. I do believe that there is much about an infinite God that our finite minds couldn’t possibly comprehend–that our reasoning is often flawed and incomplete when trying to figure God out. I know of atheists who actually want to believe in God, but simply can’t get around the logic in their minds. So yes, our mind can get in the way. But we take it a bit farther and we act as though our mind is an enemy to receiving from God. I’ve been in meetings where people are almost encouraged to try to turn off their brains so they can better receive from God.
Yep. I’m not kidding.
Where I think this can be even more dangerous is in the manipulations and spiritual abuse (see Kathy’s recent post) that often occur in churches, where the members are discouraged from questioning the doctrine of the church or the judgment of the leadership. Again–turn off our minds, be good little sheep, and just follow. Anyone who questions is often presumed divisive, when actually that person is probably just trying to understand.
But here are some things I realize:
- God created our minds for a reason. He made us intelligent beings on purpose, with both the capacity for reason and the freedom to choose. Yes, our minds can be turned into an obstacle; but so can just about anything else. Why would He want us to turn our brains off?
- In my experience, whenever I sense God speaking to me or revealing something to me…it comes to me as a thought in my mind. It may have its source in the spirit realm, but it translates to my brain. If that’s the conduit by which I receive–what would be the point of bypassing it?
I guess what I’m saying is that we’re overthinking this thinking thing. 🙂
So what about when our minds do get in the way–when we stumble over the things of God when we can’t figure them out? I believe this is not the time to “bypass the mind” so the “spirit” can take over; there’s a difference between soul and spirit, but we focus too much on which is which, when sometimes there’s a better way.
I believe that when our minds get hung up on the details, that’s where faith comes in. Faith is trusting in God when it doesn’t make sense; that’s what faith is for! To me, faith is when I go, “Okay, God, I don’t get this, but I trust You anyway. If you say it’s so, I’m willing to take You at Your word.” It’s not about becoming some sort of Zombie Christians just being dragged around by the Holy Spirit or something; it’s about letting faith take over when our reasoning falls short. That, I believe, is a lot better than trying to “get around” our minds; instead of trying to do that, we should be subjecting our minds to the lordship of Christ by faith, allowing Him to guide our reason. Not bypass it.
God has no use for Zombie Christians. Only submitted ones. Just sayin’. 🙂
Wayward Son
Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo.
I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.
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But Jeff, didn't Paul say: "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the removal of your mind…" (almost Rom 12:2).
Just kiddin'
I really enjoyed this post. Being both from a charismatic background, *and* an unabashed nerd who loves the world of ideas… well, it has been a very interesting journey. 🙂
The charismatic's approach to the mind is a lot like the puritan's approach to sex. 😀
Paul dealt with this exact issue in 1 Corinthians 14 when he encouraged the Corinthians to prophesy rather than speak in tongues all the time. Why? So their minds could understand the revelations of God.
But also, there seems to be times when your inner man (your spirit) knows something and your brain doesn't. So like you said, this is when trust in Him.
The idea of just "having faith" and leaving reason behind is also common in independent fundamentalist churches. They don't worry about Biblical scholarship, their attitude is "God said it, (in the KJV) I believe it, that settles it."
On the other side of the coin, when I was a Reformed Baptist, the emphasis was on the mind and having as much knowledge as possible.
WV: antivene – being against vene. (whatever that is)
One need only look at the prophet Daniel, a man who had tremendous supernatural experiences with the Lord, and yet according to the Bible he possessed great wisdom and knowledge according to Daniel 1:4,17.
I think that the anti-intellectual attitude in many charismatic circles is dangerous because 1) it tell us to throw discernment away, which I believe is closely tied to the mind; 2) It causes you to lose your mental moorings resulting in flighty, dimwitted behavior. I apologize for using such harsh descriptions, but that has been the mentality of some Christians that I've encountered over the years.