Questions and Answers

Here are some of the Questions from my listing on AllExperts.com and the answers I gave. In some cases, the wording has been changed slightly to better suit this site. At this point, most of these questions came from my "atheism" listing so that is why the questions are skewed toward that issue.

QUESTIN: Republican and Atheist?

ANSWER: This is an interesting issue. My sense is that:

1) many or most atheists and agnostics are at the "critical distance" stage of spiritual development, as described and named by Paul Ricoeur. For a simplified explanation of this see: http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/Paul-Ricoeur.html on my website. You can read more about this level at: http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Rational.html.

This means they have moved beyond the need for the "Faithful" type of religion: http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Faithful.html. Now maturing past the "Faithful" level would have nothing to do with politics, but rather more to do with life experiences, religious and family background and possibly level of reasoning skills.

2) Now, pardon me for what may sound like biases but, in recent years it seems the Republican party has been "taken over" by very vociferous people who are either: a) almost militant members of the Faithful level, who have no awareness that the Rational level exists (they think everyone who is not religious must be at the "Lawless" level: http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Lawless.html and thus in need of conversion or management by the Faithfuls) - OR - b) they are implicitly or explicitly aware of these levels and wish to gain power for their party by convincing others that those at the Faithful level of religion are better than everyone else. (thus suppressing the power of those at all the other levels.) Where they are wrong about this is that while SOME people who are not at the Faithful level are Lawless, there are many, many others at the Rational level, and there are a few at the Mystic level.

Now, the piece of logic that would tie all this together is worldview. We are speaking in very broad generalities here but as a rule, the Lawless individual is ego-centric in worldview (only interested in his own concerns.) The Faithful person is generally ethno-centric (focused on his own group - here is why you have Faithful level Republicans making so much noise about how everyone else but them is wrong, evil, etc.) Then the Rational level individual has a somewhat broader worldview. (He no longer limits his concerns to his own group, but would also care for the poor, the unfortunate, the sick...can you see how this fits in better with Democratic ideals?) But - the Mystic goes even broader than the Rational. He is universal in worldview - looks for unity in all people and does not like to see divisions.

So spiritual development spirals from a very limited worldview, to continually broader worldviews, and alternating positions of religious belief of a superficial nature (Faithful level) frequently to non-belief (Rational level) and then back to a more authentic type of spirituality that does not have such a specific, anthropomorphic god and probably does not have so much to do with an institution (Mystic level.)

So in very, very general terms, a political party that spouts out Faithful level ideals will attract more ethnocentric people, and a party that promotes worldcentric ideals will attract more people at the Rational level.

I think there are probably a lot of people with a socially worldcentric worldview (would care for those outside their own group)- but who otherwise hold conservative financial ideals ( don't want to see taxes increase, want to keep government out of their lives, etc.) I suspect you and your wife are "moderate" Republicans. Other moderates on both sides are keeping pretty quiet these days - again because they don't have a ready "tribe" to join up with. If there are any authors or "noteworthy figures" from your faith stance and political leanings they are probably keeping their mouths shut on these issues, as they are probably confused too.

I don't know about you, but I am old enough to remember a time when the average Republican was much more moderate. In recent years, there is so, so much more divisiveness between the parties that there is little room for those in the middle (the atheists who may lean Republican or the traditional believers who may lean Democratic.)

As there are more Republicans in (or speaking out from) the Faithful group, and more Democrats in the Rational group, your people who are confused by your stance as Republican and atheist don't have a nice, neat pigeon-hole to put you in. I imagine this frustrates them - and it may be frustrating to you, as you don't have a "tribe" that matches your ideals exactly.

While I do not have a solution for you, I hope this at least might shed some light on the reasons for what you are experiencing. I wish you good luck in reconciling this confusing situation.

Question: Someone in India was asking:

Many Christian I know personally are good people, yet they are also claiming that God talks to them.

ANSWER: Let me take your question one part at a time.

First: Christians claiming the Lord talks to them.

This is the phenomenon of spiritual or mystical experience. Such experiences happen to people of all religions, not just Christians. In fact they even happen to non-believers. It is not always “the same” Lord who is speaking but as I understand this, people tend to interpret an experience like that in a way that fits in with their culture and beliefs.

It is even possible that the image that appears or the voice they hear is something shaped by their mind into an entity that person can recognize. Ken Wilber made an interesting contribution on this topic – I think it was in his book Integral Spirituality. He said people can have what he calls a “state change,” which is his word for a mystical experience, at any level of belief (or from any religion or from non-belief,) but the person will interpret the experience according to the stage he is at, or the particular religion he is.

Newberg and D’Aquili were two brain scientists (Newberg is still alive and still writing) who did a lot of research on this by studying people’s brains – Buddhists and Franciscans -- as they were having experiences like this, trying to find out if there was a spot in the brain that caused mystical experience. I believe their results were inconclusive but their book “Why God Won’t Go Away” is a very interesting read.

Obviously, this is a very complicated topic and there are no black and white answers. The trouble comes along when someone has a mystical experience of some sort and then, without considering all the possibilities, (the complexities of the human brain, the similar experiences of people in different religions and people who don’t believe at all) concludes that the experience has proven their own beliefs. Sadly, this sometimes causes such people to go out and try to convert others on the basis of that experience.

Mystical experiences are obviously way broader than any one religion and are certainly not the sole province of Christianity. We are well-advised not to jump to any quick or easy conclusions about their meaning.

2)Faith healing – another interesting topic. Being able to heal others with touch, prayer, chanting, whatever is also common in many different cultures and many different faiths.

The crazy thing about it is that no matter which type of healer you talk to, each is usually convinced that HIS particular way of healing is THE only way of doing it and somehow proves his “God” is behind it all. Because the healing seems to work, such people often claim that as proof of the existence of God.

Well, how would you explain a Wiccan ritual that the Wiccans are convinced healed someone? I don’t know if you are familiar with Reiki. That is a form of healing that can be done by believers and non-believers alike - no “god” involved. Trust me, it works. Or, I should say, though I was incredibly skeptical when first introduced to it maybe fifteen years ago, it has always worked for me. So, there is no God involved in Reiki, though it is a sort of spiritual practice.

Why would Reiki work if only God could effect healing? My explanation is that all forms of prayer, faith healing, Reiki, etc. that are designed to heal someone “work” ----and they are all forms of the same thing but the details are different. They are all ways by which we humans can intercede on behalf of someone else through our intentions.

Now, there is a strong caveat here when you say something “works.” The “work” that happens may not be the cure the healer intended but it will work to the “Greater good.” See my article on that at http://beliefstagesandgrowth.com/blog/on-intercessory-prayer-reiki-and-the-greater-good/.

3)Good people. The fact that someone is a “good” person need not have anything to do with their faith. There are good atheists, good Christians, good Muslims, good Buddhists.

This is something fundamentalist-type Christians are especially mislead about. They go around saying if you don’t believe in THEIR God you can’t be a good person. Well, that is just wrong. There is a lot of research that says people who have risen in their spiritual development past the need for that type of religion are more self-regulating and therefore do not need rules of a religion or the threat of punishment by God to keep their behavior in line, like some people in religion seem to do. In this sense, people who have moved beyond the need for a religion to threaten them into doing the right thing are more “good” because they are good from within themselves and do not need external threats to be good.

4)How does all this relate to whether God exists?

A lot of this debate centers around our definition of the word God. Many people today can agree that the image of God put forth by most of traditional religion is not an actual literal possibility. People who believe that literally are said to be less “mature” spiritually than those who don’t believe it in the literal sense. Those who don't believe it in the literal sense fall into two categories of people: a) Those who don’t believe in God at all – see http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Rational.html for more about them. b) Those who may or may not use the word “god” but do not believe in a literal Being (in the sky, with a beard, who judges our every action) but they do hold some type of spiritual values. Speaking very generally, these people are found both in churches and out. They are considered to have the most “mature” type of spirituality. See http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Mystic.html for more about them. A major point of confusion in our society is that no one bothers much to make the distinction between these Mystics (point b above) and the people whose God is the literal, anthropomorphic (human-like) who is has human foibles like jealousy and anger. See http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Faithful.html for more about that latter group. Part of why I have volunteered for this site is that I feel it is important to begin spreading knowledge about spiritual development beyond the academics who have studied it and to the average person. We will never know for sure whether there is any type of god up there (literal or otherwise) but I believe if spiritual development theory can help us understand WHY people believe so many different things, we can be more accepting and less suspicious of those who don’t believe the same things we do.

Question about Atheism and Depression

ANSWER: Hey, but thanks for visiting my website and for the good wishes with my book!

I am not qualified to make specific recommendations about psychological issues like depression - or to counsel anyone religiously for that matter. But since you have been reading stuff on my site, let me see if anything I can suggest might help you. From what I understand, some specialists in the field of psychology tend to overlook the spiritual underpinnings that can determine a person's psychological well-being. This leaves an incompleteness to any treatment they can give you. I got this notion from reading M. Scott Peck. He was a psychiatrist who started writing books about spiritual growth and how it related to psychology. If you are interested, start with "A Road Less Traveled." You might find some perspective that helps you understand your depression - IF it is in any way related to your spiritual stance.

Totally off the record, from my understanding, if you want answers, and want "a guide" you are probably at what my site calls the "Faithful" level, yet you say you dont' have any religion to be faithful to. This is immensely more complicated than it sounds and I should not be generalizing this way. Yet I can certainly see where this would be a difficult problem. Have you considered bringing up the spiritual issue with whoever you are seeing or have seen about your depression? Have you considered seeing a therapist who has special interest in spiritual issues?

Please do not think that if I said you are at the Faithful level, that means anything bad. Just as someone may be naturally more talented at say chess, it does not mean they are a better person, and the same with level of spiritual development. People don't all start out at the same place, so getting farther in spirituality is not so important. What is important is feeling comfortable with the level you are at.

You say you spend a lot of time analyzing things and don't do much. It seems to me if you had an answer either way - either you believe or you don't believe, you would not have to spend so much time analyzing. It seems any answer would be better than none. If you are disinclined to work with a therapist about your depression as it might relate to spirituality, what about visiting all kinds of different churches to see if any "fit?" Might I even dare to suggest something like a Unitarian church, where they are not so definite about dogma - but might assist you in what they call a "responsible search for meaning." Just a thought.

Again, as a disclaimer, I do not want to give you the impression I am qualified to give you specific advice on religious or psychological issues. I am repsonding to your comments simply as someone who might be able to lend some perspective to your belief issues.

Good luck with your son. I have raised two of them and know what it takes. There I CAN give you good advice! Let Love be your guide!

Question: What Do Atheists Believe?

ANSWER: Hey - thanks for the interesting question!

Since, unlike religion, atheism is not a group of people with relatively unified beliefs, there is no way to say what atheists as a group believe.

I have a special affinity for this issue because it relates directly to my book topic. Having studied former believers from many different religions who have moved into atheism, nearly all of them did so as a result of their own reasoning process. At a certain point, the person would realize some discrepancy between good logic and some tenet or other of their birth religion. Usually the person would try to fight this "realization" for a time in effort to hold on to their religion but eventually the forces of logic and reason would take over. They would conclude, for example, there is no way Jesus could have literally been born of a virgin. Once they accepted that one thing in their religion was not true, they could go on to address other tenets that also would not stand up to rational inspection. Eventually, they would conclude nothing about their religion was true.

In a story I was just working on yesterday, the man began to notice great similarities between the folk superstitions his Italian grandmother believed and the religion his church was teaching him. After many years of intense struggle with this, reason finally "won out" in his view and to his great relief, he was able to dispense with what he considered the "superstitions" of his childhood - both kinds.

What atheists of this type lack is "faith." Faith is the ability to accept something for which there is no logical explanation, no proof and no certainty. "Faith" is different from "belief."

If you absolutely "believe" that everything your religion tells you is literal fact, and never question any of it at all, then you are just looking for easy answers, not taking personal responsibility for your spiritual path and not leaving room for any mystery. You may have "beliefs" but not "faith."

It is this type of "beliefs" that the kind of atheist* I described above is rejecting - the literal tenets of their religion. In this sense, many experts who have studied this feel, these atheists are more "right" (and have taken more personal responsibility for their beliefs) than those who just easily latch on to everything their religion teaches and don't question anything.

But - there is another type of religious or spiritual person, who most likely has gone through a period of some type of questioning their religion, and may have spent some time as an atheist or agnostic. When and if this person comes to accept religion or spirituality after the questioning stage, then what they tend to have is not so much BELIEF - but FAITH.

"Faith," in the way I am using the word, means the person has decided that - despite the fact that a lot of what religion says cannot possibly be literally true - and almost none of it can be scientifically proven - and most of it defies reason - AND we really have no way of knowing FOR SURE who, if anyone created us or who created matter - they still choose to hold on to some type of religious or spiritual values. Rather than needing answers about "who created matter," they bask in the beauty of the mysteries of our existence.

According to spiritual development theory***, being able to move away from the need for definitive answers about our existence is a sign of spiritual maturity. Atheists who have moved away from the need for an answer about who created matter can be seen as being more spiritually "mature" than those who "need to know for sure" who created us. Those**** who can accept that we will never have that answer for sure, but can still find their way clear to participate in spirituality without the answers can be considered more mature than the atheists.

This of course is just my view but I have been studying spiritual development for many years and have given it a lot of thought. I have read the work of many of the theorists and have interviewed lots of people about how they arrived at atheism or faith and this is what I understand about it so far. I of course, do not have any definitive answers either!

Please forgive me if this does not properly answer your question but it is an immensely complicated topic, and the vocabulary with which to discuss these matters is seriously missing in our society. Please feel free to discuss this further or send follow up questions if desired. Best of luck to you in your faith journey if you are struggling with this personally at this time!

*There is another type of atheist to be sure. Those who have never really attached themselves to any religion in the first place and never really cared about what they believe may also call themselves atheists. (For more on this group, see http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Lawless.html)**

**(In contrast, the first type of atheist I discussed is more fully explained here: http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Rational.html)

***For more on this, see my site http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com.

****http://www.exploring-spiritual-development.com/The-Mystic.html

Question: What Should I Believe?

ANSWER: Since you say you were not educated in this department when you "should have" I think you mean you feel you "should have" had some religious education as a child. While this may have made things easier for you at some points in your life, I want to point out two things you may want to consider.

1) even people who were brought up in a religion often go through a period of questioning what they were taught. Some of them will reject what they were taught and will go on to either become atheists, find some other religion to believe in - OR develop some other way in which to approach their spirituality. In fact, there are some people who have studied faith development who say the step of questioning what you were taught is necessary to forming a mature spiritual stance (be it religious or atheistic.) So even if you had been "taught" about religion as a child, to become mature, you would still have to go through a period of figuring out for yourself what you see as the truth. And what you decided may not be the same as what you were taught.

2) even if you were not taught anything about religion, it is never too late to start studying and truly figure out what YOU believe. Obviously, no one really has a definite answer to what we should believe or not believe. (so I can't tell you the answer about whether there was a Jesus and Mary, and a god or heaven and hell*) I would not so much worry about what to say when someone asks you about this. What is important is whether you have a belief system - or atheistic stance - YOU can trust. The only way to get this is to study and figure it out for yourself.

When someone asks you what you believe in, why don't you tell them you are trying to figure that out. Then ask them to explain how they arrived at their beliefs. Believe me - whether they are atheists or religious, many will be very happy to do so! If you listen to what a lot of different people tell you, you may find you can agree more with some of them than with others. Ask those people for ideas on what books you should read or groups you can visit to learn more. Sooner or later, you will find yourself with a definite feeling for what you are "supposed to say" when someone asks. But more importantly, you will feel better for having done all this work. With some idea what you personally believe or don't believe, you can go forward in your life with greater stability and sense of purpose.

* But - if you ask me, I personally do not hold that there was a literal Jesus as the son of God and a literal Mary - especially not a literal virgin! But there may have been a prophet named Jesus, who had some very good ideas. And of course, he would have had a mother of some sort, who may or may not have been named Mary. I mean, I sort of doubt they have the name "Mary" in that part of the world! And I do not believe God is a bearded old man in the sky, just waiting to send us to heaven or hell depending on whether we followed all the rules of our church. I am pretty sure there is no actual place in the sky called heaven and no place deep in the earth called hell. (Wouldn't the geologists and astronomers have discovered these places by now?)

But I do feel there is an overall connectedness in the universe that is Good. And a lot of people who have questioned and rejected the religion they were brought up in use the word "god" (the small "d" is intentional) when they talk about this - even though they don't believe the capital "G" God exists....