Jan 17, 2010 Spiritual Types - Brain

Today is the first in a series of four sermons looking at different spirituality types.  This morning I will tackle the rational, the intellectual, or brain approach.  This approach looks first at the written word. We believe that through thoughtful study, our knowledge will grow and our understanding will evolve.  We like the certainty of the written text, we like the comfort of familiar liturgy, we participate in Bible study classes, we like structure.  In our reading from Timothy, we are told to study to present ourselves well before God.  In the Book of Sirach, we are told that the one who studies, seeks out the wisdom of the ancients, he is concerned with prophecies, he penetrates the subtleties of the parables and he seeks the hidden meanings of proverbs.

 I read a story about a number of theologians who set out to do a new translation of the Bible using the original Greek and Aramaic texts.  One afternoon a loud, anguished cry came from one of the rooms and the Catholic priest came running out with tears in his eyes.  He cried, “The word is not celibate - the word is celebrate!”  So much for the certainty of the written text. Actually, the word celibate does not appear anywhere in the Bible.  So why are Catholic priests, nuns and the Pope not allowed to marry?  While several references in the New Testament, Matt 19:12, I Cor 7:28, affirm the value of celibacy, it is not Biblical.  Celibacy became a part of the discipline of the Catholic Church in the 4^th century.  It has remained a part of the discipline because it was written down.  The point here is that once something appears in written text, it is stamped with a badge of legitimacy and institutions will often grow around that text as it is studied by generations of scholars.  As “brain people”, we study the written word.

 To illustrate, I want to take you on a short tour through Ancient Greece to look at the importance of the development of the written text and then to analyze why so many of us require structure, why we place so much emphasis on study and on writings.

 The study of ancient Greece is a study in Western philosophy, government and culture.  Beginning as early as 1600 B.C., significant amounts of information exists about the early Minoan culture on the island of Crete.  This information comes from archeological excavations and from the written Linear B texts.  But between the 11^th century and the 8^th century B.C., the written text disappears.  During this period, history and legend exist only though verbal poems referred to as Homeric Epics, or poetic memory.  We can envision oral poets traveling throughout Greece telling Homeric stories about the Trojan War and the return of heroes afterward.  I can imagine a traveling poet arriving in a small village to give a recitation.  He would contact the local political leader for a place to stay, for some food to eat and to see if that person had any ancestors who fought in the great Trojan War.  The poet would then weave that story into the performance.  In some villages, there were no connections to the heroes of the war but the villagers wanted to be a part of history and so the poet would fabricate a connection.  The stories were constantly changing.

Then in about 725 B.C., somebody wrote down a Homeric poem for the first time and from that point forward, the story, for the most part, remained unchanged.  These early writings, known today as the Iliad and the Odyssey, begin to take on the status of a “sacred text.” Both are attributed to Homer but most scholars believe Homer himself is a myth and the works credited to him are a compilation of writings from many different people over the centuries.  But what we do know is that these two writings were not just stories but became for the Greeks a code of moral behavior. This written Homeric code of moral behavior would define honor, virtue, strength and steadfastness as the basis for the development of the Great Greek Culture. 

 A short example.  The Iliad is a story of war.  But the real hero is not the Athenian Achilles who becomes a maniac in his killing sprees.  The real hero is Hector, who is a Trojan.  We know throughout the poem that Hector is going to die.  In one place, Hector comes home from a battle, still bloody and covered in gore, and he goes to his wife, Andromache.  When she suggests he should stay out of battle for a while, he says, “look, I know that Troy is going to fall.  I know that one day all of the men here will be slaughtered, and you will be dragged off to Greece to be someone=s slave.  When that happens, I only hope that I will be dead and people will say of me that I fulfilled my duty; that I fought and did the best I could.  There is no notion that his fighting will change the outcome of the war.  Really, the story is about honor, duty, virtue and steadfastness.  These themes in the Homeric epics would define the development of the Greek culture and became their moral code.  Why?  Because it was written down; it became a “sacred text”.  The “Brain” spirituality type requires a sacred text; a firm foundation that will not change.

 And now a transition.  I want to compare Socrates who died in 399 B.C, with a man who came 400 years later - Jesus.  These two great men invite comparison as two of the greatest teachers in history and as seminal figures in the development of Western Civilization.  Both were true philosophers who were lovers of wisdom and who lived and died as witnesses to the truth.   Both Socrates and Jesus were concerned with the individual=s soul: Socrates taught freedom of inquiry while Jesus taught freedom of the individual from sin and death.  Socrates turned from the study of science to the study of the soul while Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within the soul of each individual.  The teachings of both Socrates and Jesus are aimed at leading the individual to make proper ethical and moral decisions. These are intellectual pursuits. 

 We have these two great teachers.  How else can we truly learn from the greatest teachers in history except through study?  Their teaching methods demand that each individual learn but then look within themselves and come to their own ethical and moral decisions.  

 A further comparison.  Their teaching styles were truly unique - not only in their time but even today.  We are familiar with learning through the Socratic Method.  Socrates did not lecture; he asked questions and drew answers out of his students.  Jesus was almost evasive and rarely answered questions directly.  He would look back to the student for answers - he wanted people to reach their own conclusions.  For example, Jesus was asked, what is the Kingdom of God?  He answered, well, it is as though you are throwing out seeds, and some fall upon barren ground and do not grow at all; some are eaten by birds; some are overcome by weeds; and only a few grow and produce.  He was pressed by his Disciples for a straight answer and he said, I throw out these ideas and some people don=t listen at all, and others, the cares of the world like the weeds crush them out, but a few listen and grow and nurture.

 The Disciples said, “yes, but we still don’t know what the Kingdom of God is”.  So he replies, well, you plant a mustard seed, and you watch it and some day it is a big tree and the birds come and make their nests in it.  Or, it is like leaven which a woman takes and hides in flour until all of it is leavened.  He called on the individual to discover the Kingdom of God.

 The ambiguity in the teaching styles of both Socrates and Jesus requires the individual to look within and not simply to recite the conclusions of the teacher.  Jesus, through his parables, causes us to think as we explore the concept of individual salvation.  Remember again our reading from Sirach where the one who studies is able to “penetrate the subtleties of the parables”.

 One of the most interesting comparisons between the teaching of Jesus and Socrates is that neither ever published.  Isn=t it interesting that the two greatest teachers of the Western World would not succeed in a modern university?  Neither had proper credentials, neither taught in a classroom, neither received pay for the work they did, neither gave any kind of exams and neither published.  We have no writings from the hand of Jesus.  As we saw from the writing down of the Homeric Epics, publication is an act of finality.  It suggests that you know the truth.  But the truly great teachers are always searching for the truth and in this search there is no earthly finality. 

 And of course, there is also similarity is in the trials of Socrates and Jesus.  Socrates was charged with blasphemy, treason and poisoning the minds of young men.  He was accused, tried before a jury of 501 Athenian citizens and found guilty.  The jury gave him a chance to save himself by agreeing to cease his corruption of the young and to accept the gods of Athens, but Socrates refused and so he received the sentence of death through the administration of hemlock.  Jesus was convicted of blasphemy before the Jewish Sanhedrin and was found guilty of treason for claiming to be king of the Jews before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.  Jesus too could have saved his life by denying he was the king of the Jews, but he would not and was sentenced to death by crucifixion.  Both of these great men were lovers of wisdom who lived and died as witnesses to the truth.

 A final comparison; we find that both men proved even more powerful in death than in life.  For both, this posthumous impact could be achieved only by institutionalizing them.  We know about Socrates through the writings of Plato and Aristotle and through these writings the foundation of Western civilization was laid.  We know about Jesus through the writings of Paul and through the Gospels.  St. Paul interpreted the message of Jesus in a form comprehensible to Greeks and Romans and laid the foundation for the Christian church.  With Jesus, we move from the Greek moral code grounded in the Homeric Epic to the Christian moral code grounded in individual salvation, the Grace of God, living life abundantly, holding high the commandment of love and valuing the sanctity of life.  It is only through our study of the Gospels and Paul that we begin to understand the foundations of this moral code through the teachings of Jesus.

 But without the written text, we are lost.  Study of the text is crucial.  The “brain” side of us seeks the comfort of the written text.  We want to sing the same Hymns over and over again.  We want to hear prepared and organized sermons and prayers.  We recite the Lord’s Prayer every week.  We seek the comfort of the familiar through structure.  Contrast this intellectual and structured approach to the story Rev. Blaine told last week about the Mountain Climber who died from exposure on the side of a cliff because his fear took over and he refused to “let go”.   Remember, that climber was only 12 feet off the ground.  Rev. Blaine suggested that through faith we should let go and trust in God.  That is a story of faith.  But today is the study of reason and intellect; not of faith.  I am reminded of a similar story about a young man who was stranded while climbing a cliff and was hanging from a rope.  He too was lost in a storm and could not see the ground.  He closed his eyes and prayed: “Is there anyone up there?  Help me.”  A loud voice boomed: “Let go!  A short pause, and the young man replied, “Is there anyone else up there?”  That is the brain speaking.

 When we follow the teachings of one of the world's greatest teachers, then study is essential. We know that Jesus was first and foremost a “brain” person.  We recall the story in Luke 2: 46-47.  At age 12, Jesus was found in the Temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  “And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”  By age 12 Jesus was already well studied and was an intellectual.  This firm foundation was essential to his later teachings.

 But, of course, not only for Jesus but for us as well, study is not the end; it is only a means of exploring our relationship with God.  We are spirit people and our spirituality is built on faith, not on facts.  In the play, Man of LaMancha, Don Quixote says, “Facts are the enemy of truth”.  Today we are bombarded by an overload of facts; but are we any closer to the truth? 

 Throughout the ages, many philosophers have tried to “prove the existence of God” through logic and facts.  But each argument is based on logic and none constitute an absolute proof because experiencing God is more than an intellectual exercise.  The problem of experiencing God intellectually is illustrated by the philosophy of Rene Descartes, one of the most important Western Philosophers of the past few centuries.  His philosophy is summed up in the Latin phrase: “Cogito ergo sum”.  “I think, therefore, I am.”  One time Descartes was at a bar and the bartender asked if he wanted another drink. He replied: “I think naught,” and he disappeared!

 I have good news today.  As Christians, we do not need scientific proof. We are spiritual believers.  We know in our soul and we know from personal experience that God exists and that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  The New Testament is not a science book with logical proofs and irrefutable theorems.  Pythagoras proclaimed that the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sums of the squares on the other two sides.  We can empirically test that theorem and show that it is true.  We cannot do the same with Christianity.  So we look to the other three elements of the spiritual circle to expand on our study.

 As we look at the spiritual wheel, we must incorporate all four spiritual types for growth. The Spirituality Wheel is designed to draw our spiritual portrait.  We follow the footsteps of Jesus who started with intellect and study, he taught us prayer and to see God revealed, and he taught us to be people with open hearts.  Contained within the circle are the elements that make for spiritual wholeness and health.

 It is interesting that I talk on the topic of study.  About a month ago I began thinking about today=s text.  I came up with what I thought was a great idea and I was really excited about developing the theme.  Understand something; the only reason I am able to stand here before you is because I have my own Bible scholar who guides me.  She has taught me so much about the Bible and about who I am spiritually.  Without Winona=s knowledge, I could not do what I am doing today.  I shared my idea with Winona; she remained silent for a few moments and then said, “You can=t say that.  Your idea is creative but it is not Biblical.”  I said, “Sure it is.”  She turned, walked to the dining room, picked up the Bible and within less than a minute had in front of me the controlling text.  She read the passage - I have to tell you, I was crushed.  I thought I knew that passage.  Doesn’t it irritate you when someone proves you wrong with facts?