Welcome!This guestbook is just like a guestbook at a Bed and Breakfast, museum or, well, a funeral home. Some people like to read blogs but don’t like to comment. But you may wish to let me know that you stopped by or leave a comment card for the management (I’ll see that they get it). I don’t keep a blog counter so the only way for me to know that you visited is for you to leave your name and tell me where you are from.
Many of our regular guests are listed below. Please feel free to drop in on them during your travels.
Thanks for stopping by!
Richard
PS-Oh, and I almost forgot! There's a message for you at the front desk.
Life As I Know It
Metaliminal Reflections
Liberal Jesus
Kendallball
Higgaion
Running with the Lion
Out of the Depths
Theoblogia
Rude Truth
Ocular Fusion
Hopeful Daniel
Scott Freeman
Run to Win
Ponderings on a Faith Journey
AmbivaBlog
Shipwrecked at the Stable Door
Aaron Ghiloni
In Search of Life
Beyond Black and White
YMBT?
Chaplain Roy's Blog
Coming Out of the Prayer Closet
Found in the Fog
The Christian Cynic
Bob Sutton
Mined Splatterings
Luke Reeves
Beyond Rivalry
Every single one of us is a little civilization
Musings, Nits, and Praises
HarvestBoston
God, Me, and Them
Thoughts from the wrong side of brain
Words of Wisdom
being read into poetry and prose
Knitting Between the Lines
Running to Stand Still
Mr. Worthington
Chapter Two
Jonathan Chilvers
111 comments:
I'm here and I tell myself with each subsequent entry that I need to jump into the discussion. This may be the push I needed.
Hullo.
Frequent reader; infrequent commenter; big fan.
Daniel, 27, Seattle
i'm not very into commenting, but i always read your blog (i even took a print version on vaccation..)
after 24 years of christianity, its good to be challenged into new rhealms of faith and philosphy..
cate, 28, missionary in germany
http://germanjungle.blogspot.com
Stumbled onto your blog by Googling "The Psychology of Jesus" I am a 26 year ordained Lutheran veteran of parish wars who is just now finishing MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University in California. Thought I was headed out of the parish until a wonderful opportunity came up in Colorado that is a fitting "icing" on the cake. I have not delved into your blog in depth but am very interested in what I have initially seen here. There is a lot to be said about your use of Spinoza's seal, but how and when does the mainstream Christianity of the parish enter into the discussion?
Pstrfstr
www.omgitstom.blogspot.com
I've recently become a frequent reader of your blog and very much appreciate your writing. Though married to a psychologist I don't usually think of psychology and religion together without prompting. I find your blog not only helpful in that vein, but also very insightful religious writing as well.
I was happy to "discover" your blog - just a few days ago. I live on the Island of Rhodes, Greece. I am an ACU alumnus (1979) and ACU is very dear to me. What I have read so far in your blog seems very exciting. After I ... experiment with it for a while, I will have more to say.
Chrysanthos Theoharis
Here I am again! It's very unlikely you wouldn't be familiar with it, but just in case you are not, please, check this site:
http://www.wickedness.net/ej.htm
Thanks,
Chrysanthos Theoharis
Richard,
I found your blog this week and like it a lot, especially because of my acceptance of universal salvation in the past decade. As a Mennonite and peace church person, this is a good revolution in thinking.
My question today is to ask where you're going with this Cartesian storm and the free will question. What are the totalist claims of neuroscience but today's form of materialism; sophisticated, et al et al, but what's the difference? The trouble with arguing against free will, for determinism, or materialism is that the next move of everybody who does it is to excercise their free will in some fashion. So, just because we don't understand soul, or free will, or whatever you want to call whatever is not determinism, does not prove its nonexistence...expecially while our visits to the Civil Rights museum, or reflections on benevolence and justice, or whatever, demonstrate the exercise of our soul and free will. Give these things new names or something, but don't argue that they are not there!
Hello
I have just found your blog and my mind is alive. I read the blog on existentialism vs defensive faith and found it to be one of the best worded defenses of reality in christ that i have ever heard. Thanks for putting this down so clearly. As a counselor i am finding your tying of psychology and theology to be very thought provoking. I have been attempting (with limited success) to plod through some of these same issues in my blog www.ubuntuinnj.blogspot.com.
Ubuntu is the concept that we are all intricately tied together and cannot become whole without all being whole. A friend from Uganda began teaching me of it as well as the concept of Amahoro. As a warning my blog is just my thoughts-not at all as well planned or written as yours-but take a read if you have time.
Blessings
I've been doing a bit of 'soul-searching' and 'faith questioning' lately. I find your insights very encouraging and thought provoking.
Howard
Hello, Dr. Beck. I'm a minister in Brooklyn, NY and I recently began a sermon series on universalism. As one who is of the restoration heritage, I've been grateful for the series you did on universalism. In fact, I used one of your posts in a small group setting that followed up my first sermon on the subject and it went well.
This past Sunday, I used your take on Hosea to point to the main claim that restoration and reconciliation always have the last word. I hope you don't mind my using your resources.
peace -- Joe Hays
ccfb.wordpress.com
Rich, your blog is a gem. Keep it up. All best, JL
Well, since there's a guestbook I'll sign in!
A friend pointed me to your blog recently, and I have visited in the past.
You are a very gifted thinker and writer. A little deep for me, perhaps, but I think visiting regularly will give me quite an education!
I've visited off-and-on in the past, but am just now digging in to the archives. What a treasure-trove. It's like I've found a kindred spirit.
Don't be surprised if, in my sifting through the archives, you see me commenting on posts from way back.
Glad you're here.
Richard- I've always enjoyed your blog. I'm in the Metroplex area and know of quite a few folks, who like me, read you regularly.
Hey Richard - Our friend John La Grou pointed me in this direction. I think I'll hang out for a while if you don't mind.
Peace,
Mike
I like this blog. Expect me to make curmudgeonly, pedantic, argumentative, left-field and possibly cynical comments on a reasonably regular basis but rest assured you are making me think and directing me towards reading material too.
cheers
Tim
Came here by way of Mystical Seeker on Blogger. The blog title "Experimental Theology" on his/her blogroll caught my eye for two reasons. (1) Philip Pullman, in his Dark Materials trilogy, used the same term as an alternate name for physics. And (2) because lately I've come to believe that all theology is experimental in that we cannot really know for sure who or what God is or if there really is a God.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
speak of synchronicity and serendipity! Here I was, telling my daughter about the skull under the Cross in Orthodox imagery (we are Russian Orthodox), and looking for information on the web, and there was your lovely blog -
And, what is more, I have been obsessed with the issue of spirituality and psychology, and people here (I'm in France) don't really catch on. The Archbishop here even sent me an e-mail saying "you must not mix up spirituality and psychology"! Humph.
Wish I had a whole other life to search in this direction. In the mean time, I'll try to look at your blog as often as I can.
Congratulations! Much needed.
Alexandra
I love this blog! Richard, you make me think and research and ponder and deliberate - which I think might just be part of the plan.
I do, however, frequently go back in my mind to your moving portrayal of a leper back in the days of the old Good Muse Troupe... and not just because of your groovy hair! To this day, it was one of the most moving pieces of theater I've ever seen...
I somehow found myself at this blog after googling "natural history" +blog -museum.
Experimental theology sounded interesting enough to pause for a bit, and lo and behold, - very literary. Ingenious as well.
But oh so painfully plebeian. So inappropriately mired in humankinds past at the very time in history we need A New Idea
Being an older naturalist my leanings of course would tend toward the utterly unique nature of life in the universe as we know it.
Toward the singularity of that lifes NEG-ENTROPY, compared to everything else in the universe as we know it.
Toward the astounding fact that a species has developed the brainpower to see both the possibility of leaving this planet, and at the same time the eventual neccessity of doing so.
And Again at the same time the ability to do so.
Man what a set of coincidences eh?
Toward flights of fancy. Perhaps humankinds "destiny" is as the seedsower of life through the celestial orchard.
Oh well, I'll restrain myself for now. And I'll be back. Good Blog!
yours
douglas
dcsherriff@yahoo.com
Get beyond words. Read Joel S. Goldsmith. THE ART OF SPIRITUAL HEALING is a good place to start if you haven't read any of his thirty or so books.
Great stuff. I am from NC (USA) and especially like your introduction to "Omega Point". Do you ever comment on Jung's model of the psyche? Best wishes!
Hi Dr. Beck!
I don't know if you remember me - I audited your survey psych course last semester...until I started using that time-slot for assignments and such. Any how, I enjoyed being there very much.
I'm glad I visited your blog, think I'll read it regularly now. Hope to run into you on campus from time time.
- Morgan P.
I came across your blog because I am keen to know what Spinoza said about sexual jealousy. I have been reading Russell's book on western philosphy and came across the sentence that he is perhaps one of the few philosphers to have thought extensively on this issue. I read a few of your articles, and liked the one on sinning in ones heart very much. Since you have mentioned you like to know where commentators are from: my name is Priya and I live in Bhopal, India.
Hi Richard,
Fascinating site! I hope to visit often.
-Greg Wilson, Abilene TX
Thanks for all your thoughts and analysis. I'm a frequent reader and somewhat less-frequent commenter. I appreciate your generosity of spirit, especially where I find myself across the fence from you...
Eric Meyer
Hi Richard
I've been reading the blog for quite a while and just noticed this 'guestbook', so I thought I would sign!
I'm currently studying Theology at undergraduate level, and in the discernment process for ministry in the Church of England, as well as volunteering for a student-run listening and support helpline in my free time, and I've found your work and insights astoundingly helpful and thought-provoking across all three areas. It's fantastic to see someone making the crucial connections between human psychology and Christian theology and ethics, and in such an engaging and eloquent manner.
Thanks so much!
I am following this blog for a year now and just wanted to say I found very interesting discussions in here. Thanks.
Marc
Thanks for the fascinating and thought provoking musings.
Best wishes, Kyōshin
'Echoes of the Name'
http://jodoshinshubuddhism.wordpress.com
Good stuff from a fellow blogger. I am in Innovation management and I have discovered that people have lost their ability to think critically.
Your musings are a fantastic way to exercise this lost mental skill.
Dr Beck,
I graduated ACU in 1989 and now meet with folks in the Metroplex and across the country that share the greater hope that God will restore all things to himself.
Will be in Abilene for the Summit on Monday perhaps our paths will cross. craigodom@hotmail.com
all in all,
Craig Odom
Hi,
Thank you for your very helpful comments on hospitality and welcome (June 19 2006). I am preparing a seminar on this area as part of my studies at theological college and will refer to your helpful comments - thank you. With best wishes, Adrian
Greetings from Sydney Dr Beck ! I have read a lot of your work, and although I think that as a lot of research has been done in this area widely within the christian population, do you think that it would be a good idea to broaden the knowledge by some more research involving Hindu population? What sort of questions would you ask?
I've never read your blog before today and I'm blown away by the attachment stuff. I'm a licensed professional counselor in Alabama and I'm currently knee deep in studying attachment issues in adopted children as part of my clinical work. My husband and I are also in the process of adopting internationally. I told my husband recently that I think I have a "spiritual attachment disorder" and that I wanted some "attachment therapy" because I didn't enjoy being so "RAD" in my relationship with God. While I thought that this clearly articulated my struggle with God, I had NO IDEA that there were folks out there researching this topic. If I ever decide to go back school, I do believe I've found my dissertation topic! Where can learn more about this!?!?!?! Do you have a "public" email address? I can be reached at mhoward@abchome.org.
Thanks,
Melanie
The Calvin Hobbes series was really interesting and I "borrowed" a couple of paragraphs for my blog. Please continue more "sub rosa" material.
Hey Richard
Ended up changing my blog address... I am now at www.capturedperspective.com with a group blog. "every single one of us is a little civilization" is now on the way out!
Keep up the good work.
Peter
How could you read my mind? I really can't believe what I read, because it was as if you verbalized the things I have been saying to myself (although I have let others know some of what I have thought!). Thank you for a healthy dose of good integration, faith and learning! I am fascinated by your discipline, as I have always loved psychology....
Hi Mr. Beck,
I just stumbled upon your blog while doing research for my project, and I really like it. I'm doing my project on Post Secret and the psychology of secrets. I was wondering if I could interview you through e-mail for my project. (If you have the time of course. I understand that you are probably busy)
My e-mail is pantalonesarehxc@hotmail.com. I would really appreciate it if you could help me out.
Thanks!
-Jenny.
Thanks so much for your "Theology of Calvin & Hobbes." I had mentioned to a friend how much I had enjoyed the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, and that I wished someone would write a book about the strip a la "The Gospel According to Peanuts." They directed me to the online book on your blog. I am enjoying reading through it.
btw, my permanent home is Fort Worth, Texas, but right now I am living in Mbale, Uganda, serving the Mbale Mission Team.
Thanks again!
This book "The Theology of Peanuts" has been on my mind since the 60's when I used it for teaching Sunday School. Am looking for multiple copies to hand out as presents this year for parents of my grandkids and beyond. Great stuff!
Don
Hi! I really enjoy your Blog, good stuff, makes me think. I really enjoyed Freud's Ghost and have used material gleaned from reading when I have spoke. Thanks so much!
God Bless John Stuart
I'm really enjoying this blog. I've been really wondering about the integration of different disciplines with the study of theology and the implications that these realms of discourse might have toward our understanding of God and the world we find ourselves in. thank you for taking the time to post your reflections...i'm particularly enjoying your books on Calvin and Hobbes and Freud's Ghost. Blessings.
Would you and yours be interested in posting and/or co-blogging at PostSermon?
It's another experimental theology project.
Richard, your site was recommended by a friend of mine. I also have an interest in Girard and Heim. I have written a book called the Trinitarian Self: The Key to the Puzzle of Violence. I would be happy to send you a copy.
Charles Bellinger
Brite Divinity School
c.bellinger@tcu.edu
I am a ELCA Pastor from Mass. I found your blog Christmas morning. I consider it a gift, and since we did not do gifts this year - that is nice. I led 5 services so I am brain exhausted and what else can I do but surf the web Christmas morning? Anyway, I did not know such places with this theological orientation existed (old guy who is internet neanderthal.) I have been stuck with Our of Ur, Easum and Bandy and other such places. Are there other theologically oriented places such as yours? I really would appreciate direction.
Very, very interesting blog!Im a 4th year Theology & Psychology student, currently working (...well working on starting...) my thesis!
Your writings have been a terrific help on picking my title and hopefully will help when i eventually start!
I'll be visiting again,
thanks!
--Tara, Ireland
Just had to suppress a chuckle...midway through the "Theology of C&H" series, I stole a look at your profile and noticed you had listed the book _On Bullshit_ as one of your favorites. That book works at so many levels, it's incredible...self-referentially ironic, wickedly satirical, blah, blah, blah. Reminds me of that old _Journal of Irreproducible Results_. _On Bullshit_ is a scream.
qb
Hello there. I'm an aspiring psychologist in college and I stumbled upon this blog of yours.
I am certain you must already be very strapped for time as a working Ph.D professor, however, if the interest strikes you to perhaps spark up a conversation, I can be found at harpleharkle@gmail.com.
With respect and best regards
-me
I was wondering if you were the "richard beck" who lived in Huntington Harbor, CA in the late 1960"s. If so, would like to chat. gakeating@roadrunner.com.
Hey Richard,
Didn't you do a series on theology and sexuality? I can't seem to locate it. Am I wrong about this?
joehays(at)gmail.com
thanks -- Joe
Hey Richard,
I really have been enjoying you blog. I went through you online book "Freud's Ghost" and found it fascinating. In it you speak a little bit about universalism which made me think of a book I am reading through called "the Evangelical Universalist" The author is Gregory McDonald (a pseudonym) and it is a great mix of philosophical and biblical theology. His reading of Revelations is particularly interesting. there is also a bog that centers its conversation around the topics of this book that is also called "The Evangelical Universalist" Thought you might be interested if you have not already heard about it. Thanks again for the insightful postings, keep them coming.
If you have any questions about the book here is my e-mail: Robert_W_Wells@hotmail.com
Thanks,
Robby
Good Day Mr. R. Beck,
Reference: Potential Topic for Experimental Theology Blog.
I wished to bring to your attention an essay that I have written that may be of interest to you as the main contributor of the excellent Experimental Theology blog. This essay is titled The Evolutionary Wager: How the Ideas of Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins & Evolution Itself Negate Atheism and Point to Christianity and it can be found at theevolutionarywager.blogspot.com. Furthermore, if you would like, I can e-mail the essay to you in a Word Document--my e-mail is rdmiksa@gmail.com.
As I am attempting to generate interest in this essay and the blog site where it is posted, then if you would find it worthy enough to post about and discuss on your blog, I would be greatly appreciative of your time and your efforts.
Finally, as I understand that you may be either too busy to read this essay or simply not interested in it, I wish to thank you regardless, especially for taking the time just to read this comment. If you do have the opportunity to review the essay or post about it, then I would like to truly thank you in advance for your time, effort and assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
RD Miksa
Greetings;
I am an undergraduate philosophy, theology, and literature student, and I stumbled across your blog as I was doing some research. I am quite intrigued by your articles, and am interested in very similar genres. I am in the process of looking at graduate schools, and I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your academic background or offer advice on grad schools in theology/psychology/philosophy?
Thanks and best of evenings to you,
Lacey
Found you quite incidently on the internet, a voice of reason ... and discovered that you're practically a neighbor! (We're celebrating the voting down of Diamondback. Go Wylie.)
Richard,
I found your blog via a link from Liberal Jesus when I tried to search for people taking a break from church/religion. Lots of interesting reads plus the beautiful icon by Andrei Rublev!! I'm still researching my original question since I'm thinking of making the journey myself. Thanks for introducing me to people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Richard,
I found your blog through a friend ... fascinating! My daughter currently attends ACU as a freshman and loves it!
How do I subscribe to your blog?
I love the blog.
Bill
Christ is risen!
It seems interesting...
Hi Richard- I found your blog via a google search and wish i had found you alot sooner. I am curious, since i havent perused all your archives, have you ever done a post on endtimes theology/psych mixture and the varying views of dispensationalists and preterists?? I plan to be a regular visitor and will pass on to many your place here.
Cornishevangelist Billy Bolitho
very informative.
http://cornishevangelist.wordpress.com
Hi Richard,
I found your blog through Interest:
(psychology) on Blogger. Interesting blog :~)
Hi. I read your articles for my ethics class :)
As in, we're assigned them. Congratulations, you are worthy of being studied!
Just thought I'd let you know!
I am very excited that I happened on your website this morning when I googled a question about practising Christian charity that's been a problem for me for a long time. I just can't seem to find a happy medium between when to give/lend and when not to. And then I would like to know what your thoughts are about the Hadron Collider that's supposed to be launched in September/October this year? Thanks!
I had already consumed about six of your blog posts before noticing the guestbook. I just want to say thank you, thank you, very much for putting these up. They are fascinating and have confirmed things that I always suspected but could never quite explain or analyze. Thank you again, I will continue to enjoy reading these!
Hi;
I can't recall where I linked from, but I've visited a few times and enjoy the content. I've linked you from my blog - let me know if this is a problem and I'll undo. Thanks for the insights and passion you share. Blessings.
Kelly
Dr. Beck,
I was very excited to run across your blog! Psychology and Theology are my two of my passions. I just graduated with a BA in psychology a couple of weeks ago and am taking a year off to consider my options before applying to grad school (probably seminary).
Having attended a secular institution for my undergraduate studies, I was not able to devote as much time and mental energy as I would like to considering these passions in relation to one another. In my mind they are inextricably linked and I have a strong desire to investigate the connections. One of the most exciting things about graduating is that I now have the time to follow my desires!
I look forward to reading more, especially your series on Attachment and God. Attachment was a primary area of study for me. While I've yet to investigate this, that there is a connection seems intuitive to me.
Thanks, Jodi
Dr. Beck,
I discovered your blog several weeks ago, and I've been dipping into the articles from time to time. You rock. This is just the sort of thing I'd be writing if I gotten my act together for graduate school. I've got a (now quite dated) B.S. in Psychology from MSU in Wichita Falls, and I took the applied/experimental track, so all of this resonates with me pretty deeply. Keep writing! You've got yet another faithful reader.
My daughter told me about your blog and I have been reading off and on for over a year now. I have enjoyed most everything I have read, especially your thoughts on hospitality and building bridges between diverse people. As an American married to an Italian and living in Italy (more than half of my life from the toe to the top of the boot), as an EFL teacher meeting people working in a wide variety of jobs and as a sister to christians arriving to work in Italy from all over the world, your essays have given me a lot to chew on and share with others! Thank you. Lucy
Your words on humor are helpful. I'm writing a sermon on the movie Year One... a bad movie with a few good moments... and the thought that seems to be guiding the sermon is humor and wondering why, as Christians, we seem to be so serious.
Glad to have found you.
Good stuff. As a religious studies major working on my MA thesis--about James and New Thought--I really like your insights. My reading of James is that both the Healthy-Minded and the Sick Souls deny reality--the one denies that the world can truly cause suffering, the other that the world can truly cause happiness. And this ties in with James' understanding of consciousness, which has evolved precisely to pick-and-choose portions of experience, thereby imparting meaning and motivations to "reality". James' critique of Freud would be, I think, pragmatic: what is the value of "deflating" religion? Why has Freud's consciousness chosen to create a desacralized world?
Dear Dr. Beck,
I have been quietly following your blog for a few months now. My interest in the field of psychology of religion began rather unorthodoxly in college when i was introduced to the powerful and (I believe) potentially mystical aspects of the psychedelic experience. As someone who grew up in an intensely religious home (my parents are church of christ missionaries) I was amazed to encounter in psylocibin and a strikingly similar experience of "oneness with the universe" that characterized my own early religious experiences and philosophy. On that note I wonder if you have any thoughts on the recent Johns Hopkins University Psylocibin Research projects as it relates primarily to "peak" or "primary" religious experiences. My own experience has been that those who actually have had their own religious encounters with the divine in the "first-person" often have a different and much more gracious and open approach to other religious traditions (healthy-minded),for they recognize the utter ambiguity of such ecstatic encounters. Secondly, I am interested in your take on the Andrew Newberg and Eugene D`Aquilli experiments on the Neuropsychological mechanisms of human Mystical experiences as it pin-points the anatomy of mystical experience.
It is my firm conviction that the debate on "Why do people believe in God?" would benefit greatly from the study of psychedelics on the human brain as it has been a proven catalyst for primary religous experiences in the life of many (even though popular media and, to a large extent, academia in the USA has demonized these substances because of widespread abuse and a lack of factual information)...
Thanks for the space you have created for dialogue on this blog. This type of conversation is exactly what people are in desperate need of.
Sincerely,
Paul
I read but rarely comment. Thanks for your consistent and thought-provoking posts.
Peace
what little I have read has made me think. but please don't look at one questioning religion as an attack. I have a scientific mind ,more atheist leaning,and will always follow the data. However, I believe Jesus to be a great role model and follow his teaching as best as possible.
Richard,
I met for the first time an "old" colleague and friend of yours -- Mark Love at Rochester College. He did say you'd gotten him in trouble a couple of times -- and like to see you do it again up here in Michigan!
I've been following this blog for two years now and it is great.
Just thought I'd mention I preferred the old blog design. The new one is a little too corporate. But the articles are great as usual. Keep up the good work!
I can't believe I've only just found this blog. Fascinating, challenging stuff, and I find myself wishing for a week's worth of time to read, mark, and inwardly digest each post. I will be back.
I just stumbled across your blog a week or so ago and have appreciated both the substance and the tone of your writing. I will be back often.
Hi, I wish to traslate your Attachment to God Inventory in Italian and to applied it togheter with Kirkpatrick and Shaver typology.
I'm a psychology of religion researcher at Milano-Bicocca University (Italy)
Could you please provide a 'Flollow' link for this blog. Thanks :`)
GR,
Yes, feel free to translate the scale. People have translated it into a couple of different languages but not Italian. Let me know if I can be of assistance in your research.
L8o,
I added that widget. It's at the bottom of the sidebar.
Hi Dr. Beck. I have followed your blog for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. I try to share it with as many people as I can. There are some posts that someone I had shared it with was hoping to read that I no longer see on the blog. Have you, for the sake of space, deleted some old posts?
Hi Heather,
I have pulled a post or two (for a variety of reasons). What posts were you looking for? (They are easy to republish.)
Love the new blog design! Is this one a keeper?
Hi Mr. Beck.
You posted, "Second, many of the essays you will find here are theological experiments, exploratory and provisional essays that do not necessarily represent my views on matters of faith or ethics."
Why do you not post essays on your views on matters of faith or ethics?
Curious,
Laura Leigh from Fairview, TX.
Hi Laura,
I do post what I believe all the time. The note is that a given post does not "necessarily" represent my views.
The reason for this is that I use this space to think, well, experimentally. For example, I might take an idea or proposition and then work it as far as I can go to see if, in the end, the idea breaks down or leads to new insights. A recent example was my series on Malthus and Original Sin. In that series I set myself the task of thinking through Original Sin as an extrinsic condition. By the end of that series, if you look at the comments, I had experienced some success but I also kicked up a lot of problems (i.e., theodicy questions about why God made the world this way). So that whole series was an extended thought experiment, not a statement about what I believe.
In short, people should know what I do here. I think experimentally. I'm not, generally, telling the world what I think. I started this spaces to be a laboratory. Not a pulpit.
Thanks for the question!
Richard
Dear Dr. Beck:
You're welcome. I needed further clarification and you gave it - thanks, to you.
LL
Edited for typo.
A friend on Facebook posted a link to your blog and recommended it. My respect for him brought me here. Your work has kept me coming back. I have learned a lot in my few weeks of visiting. I'm trying to work my way through your back issues. Please keep up your good work.
Hi Dr. Beck,
The posts I was wondering about were about issues of sexuality. I was telling a relative about them and then went on the blog to find them/send them to him and couldn't find them. In specific the topics: homosexuality, masturbation. If there are reasons (and I can imagine there might be) for not publishing them on the blog, you could send them to me via email as well. I'd like to pass them on. They were very sensible and interesting.
Dear Dr Beck. I have quoted you at length on our site at http://churchrewired.org/index.php?page=how-sound-are-your-sound-bites Thank you for your thought provoking articles. Andrew Prior
Hi Richard
I have been a constant though irregular UK visitor to your site. Irregular, because visits often seem to generate born again moments on my spiritual journey, and these require careful nurturing.
Hope you like this YouTube vid which includes a poem by Anglican priest David Scott
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kIJ_qmpPGM
and THANKS for all the care and effort you
put into this site
Zaz
I love your blog! I'm a veteran on the non denominational Christian Church, now an Episcopal priest and social worker (these days I'm mostly home with kids, so the internet is a great source of information and intellectual stimulation). All I can say is wow!
I'd love to know more about your process, how you were formed in the faith, etc. I realize that isn't the topic for this blog but I'm very interested.
Hello from an old student! I've read your blog for quite some time and have always been intrigued; it's certainly produced some brain-jamming sessions for me! Keep up the interesting stuff (I love the winter christian, high nfc stuff btw!)
If you get a chance, I've been blogging about some stuff that might interest you as well, although it's from a bit more of a philosophical perspective than psychological:
AbrahamReasoned.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Zack Robinson
Student extraordinaire circa 2005
I occasionally write about dogs and my son is a religious studies major so I guess it was inevitable that we would read about your dog, Bandit, on-line. We both have blogs and my son was the one who actually ran across your post first and forwarded it to me. I have always felt like dogs give us a glimpse of what unconditional love is all about. I'll even go so far as to say that God may very well have been trying to enlighten man by allowing him to create dogs from wolves and mold them into so many different breeds with the intent of mutual benefit. No other animal has been molded by man the way dogs have been. However, the way you related grace to Bandit is so eloguent. I just love your article - especially because you were not a dog lover to begin with. I am a dog lover but I have friends who have never known the love of a dog who will tell me "I just don't get it". It's really pretty simple: dogs appreciate us and deep down we all want to be appreciated. Being appreciated makes it easy to give and receive love. That's why people love their dogs so much.
richard, i stumbled upon your site while doing some research on the psychology of doubt. i enjoyed reading section 9 and hope to be able to use some sort of similar technique.
someone very close to me is struggling with his doubts about his religion and has been most of his life. he says that he must be christian since his parents are christian. it comes in waves, one day he is fine and the next he breaks down because he doesn't feel "good enough". he puts a tremendous amount of stress on himself to appease his family who really just want him to be happy, but i think it is a perceived disappointment that he feels and refuses to talk about it.
i am pretty open with him when it comes to my own beliefs (though i feel that we can never really have it all figured out), and when i attempt to engage in a conversation about it he makes up excuses to not talk.
so i am left with a wonderful man with a big heart who is searching and reaching out for guidance, yet when it is right in front of him he sees it as being too easy so it must not be right. he is so on the fence about whether he is truly a christian and it is causing unwarranted depression.
any advice???
regards
-k
Hi K,
I don't know how much help this will be. The problem sounds complicated.
First, I think there is a difference in being a follower of Jesus and the experience of forgiveness. So when he says he doesn't feel like he's a "Christian" you might need to get some clarity on that. If you are trying to imitate Jesus in your life, trying to be a servant, peace-loving, standing up for the weak, then, in my opinion, you are a Christian. If the struggle is about if God loves him or accepts him then we are talking about a psychological experience of grace. If so, I'd point out that Jesus didn't talk about anything remotely like that. The people in the gospels aren't asked to accept Jesus into their heart and experience a warm glow of forgiveness. They are, rather, simply asked to "follow him." That is what a Christian is, a follower of Jesus.
This analysis also holds for doubts. Any given day one might doubt or believe. But that's irrelevant. The issue still is, are you a follower of Jesus? Do you adopt his life as your life? That's the relevant issue. (And let's note that we are not talking about the "church life" but following Jesus which has little to do with "church life" in America today.)
For example, look at the final verses in Matthew:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
See? The issue isn't if the disciples believe or doubt. They did both. The relevant issue is if they follow Jesus into the world.
It's all about following.
thanks richard!
i'm curious how you might define "following".
how is it then, that one is able to dicern between being a follower of jesus and the "experience" of forgivenes? if one strives to be "forgiven" in the sense that they will be accepted into heaven by following things such as the ten commandments and yet they feel unworthy because in their eyes they are still living in sin, how will they find that forgiveness and be content within themselves? does jesus not want his followers to be happy with their own lives? or is the afterlife the only true goal?
it seems, with the different interpretations of the bible, one could get easily confused as to how/when/and why their path is "revealed" to them. i don't necessarily fully agree with revelation because if something is revealed by god to one person and they go and tell someone else, that persons faith is not in god but the person who told them, so it is difficult for me to be understanding of this notion.
when we go to church i see the sermon as being that one pastors take on the readings for that day. i hear everything he is saying and try to not only see it for what it is, but also apply it as best i can to what is happening in my life. engaging in conversation with this man is nearly impossible. how can i approach the subjects of the sermon in order to get him to talk about it?
this really is helping! i don't claim to be christian, but i do believe in god and the teachings of jesus and his disciples. i do not, however, fear god nor do i feel threatened by him. i believe love is the greatest gift we can give each other, and with that comes understanding, patience and kindness.
cheers
-k
Hi K,
I define "following" as trying to put the Sermon on the Mount into practice. Or, even more concisely, living by Parable of the Good Samaritan. As best I can tell if you live by these things, the teachings of Jesus, you are "a Christian."
Good stuff, Dr. Beck. You were on this briefly in class today (I think it had a baby video or something on it), so I decided to check it out and am very impressed with not only the quality of work (mind-blowing and bending and reforming), but also the sheer quantity of it all. I will enjoy reading much of it, I am sure. The Calvin and Hobbs stuff especially.
Dear Dr. Beck,
I just discovered your blog via Hugo Schwyzer and now I doubt that I'll get any work done for the foreseeable future, since I want to read it all! I've been struggling with faith lately (that old mercy-versus-purity dynamic makes Christians act in disappointing ways) and your post on the Isenheim Altarpiece reminded me why I became a Christian. Thanks for bringing much-needed psychological sophistication to theology. My husband's a Buddhist and often I feel that they have more understanding of how the mind works than most Christian inspirational authors.
I blog about literature, spirituality, and gay rights at www.jendireiter.com in case you are interested. Thanks again!
Howdy, Richard,
Found your blog via the Friendly Atheist, who linked to your August post about spend "less time" working on your relationship with God.
Do you remember me? Looks like you're doing very well. Makes me smile. Say hi to the fam for me.
~Justin McKean
Hi Richard
What an enlightening read - you are now a firm must read on my Google reader.
Thanks for the insight!
Stacey Hudson
South Africa
Hi,
I'm an atheist who studies psychology of religion, and I stumbled aross your blog. I'm deeply impressed by your combination of insight, humour and decency. If more religious people were like you, there'd be a lot less arguing and fighting. Keep up the good work!
I had the best time reading all over the place here this AM. Thanks for your work. I'm Unitarian Universalist, finished my M.Div. now doing CPE and loving it. I live in Seattle, WA.
Hi Dr. Beck:
I am so enjoying reading your materials. They are intereseting, insightful, and comforting to me - the mercy v. sacrifice segment was truly wonderful. Your perspective is giving me fortitude to keep returning to church despite my misgivings about doing so. I am afraid to be disappointed and alienated by my experience at church. I'm going to keep reading you and keep going. Thanks!
Dr. Beck,
I am a student in experimental psychology who is interested in doing a senior project on why PostSecret is having such a positive impact. Is there any way I could have access to your Symposium papers on the subject in order to cite them in my paper? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks!
Found this site doing a Cognitive Behavioral exercise that I have extended to include prayer and a question I create then research on the web to try open my mind to greater understanding. The question that found this page is: I wonder why negative feelings create bad thoughts that are persuasive?
I am glad to have found this site because I too am interested in theology - psychology interfacing.
Thank you.
Error in above: the phrase 'Cognitive Behavioral exercise' should read: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy exercise. Thanks again, I've had a bit more of a look around the site Dr Beck and I am grateful for your work.
Post a Comment