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Lou
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Hi, guys —
- What is a person to do if they have emotions towards God that are unorthodox?
- Are one's attitudes and feelings towards God meant to reflect their actions towards Him, or
- Are we to display obedience and reverence regardless of what our emotions and logical faculties are telling us?
- For example: If my friend were to insult me unjustifiably, and I see it and believe it to be unjustifiable, I would be right to respond accordingly?
- Are we to act in the same way towards God?
- Are our actions to reflect our emotions towards God in the same respect that we do towards one another?
To me, this seems to make sense because this is the way that interpersonal relationships work, and if one is to have a personal relationship with God, one would have to act according to the paradigm of personal relationships.
- Considering your answer to the question above, how ought a person act towards God if their attitudes towards Him could be classified as misotheistic?
To summarize my questions:
- Ought one's actions towards God reflect one's feelings for Him, or ought one act in reverence, regardless of how one feels?
- In respect to the answer to question 1., how should a misotheist act towards God?
- Should a misotheist act on their hatred for God if it is indeed genuine?
Thanks for your time, and your answers.
Lou
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What is a person to do in the case that they have emotions towards God that are unorthodox? }
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Paul replied:
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Dear Lou,
My take on this is twofold:
- One's feelings are usually not a good indicator of how one should choose to act toward another — regardless of who that someone is. We are called to charity in our actions;
but feelings are often disordered and it could be disastrous if we acted upon them.
We must always follow reason, not necessarily emotion, when choosing to act.
- There are different levels of formality as well as obedience within relationships, depending on who the relationship is with. For example, a child should not act upon his feelings to tell a parent off because he feels deprived of freedom from a 9 PM curfew. A student should not tell a teacher her dress looks inappropriate, although telling his sister might not be a bad idea.
Putting these two thoughts together, it seems that one may tell God his or her thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, but in a respectful way that a child would tell a loving parent; one, in this case, that is perfect in all ways.
We must begin with continuous awareness that our very being is contingent upon God's love for us, that everything we are and everything we have is an undeserved gift from Him, and that He is all-knowing, all loving, and all powerful, so that He knows what is best for us much better than we do ourselves.
If we begin with this proper humility in our relationship with God, we should be fine in our communication with Him. And we fall short of the appropriate love, adoration, and obedience owed to God our Creator and Father, there's always the merciful Sacrament of Confession.
Peace,
Paul
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Lou replied:
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Hi Paul,
Thank you for answering my questions with such haste. Your answers are very respectable and,
for the most part,
I agree with them. I only have a few objections.
You said:
- ... We must always follow reason, not necessarily emotion, when choosing to act.
I agree with this statement, for the most part.
You said:
- There are different levels of formality as well as obedience within relationships, depending on who the relationship is with.
I have an issue with this statement, as it seems to contradict the first statement of yours that
I quoted.
- If we are to follow reason when we choose to act, then why should formality and obedience differ when it comes to who we are exchanging with?
My objections do not lie with any of these claims, but rather work in conjunction with them.
I believe that, while we must act in accordance with reason, we must do so with respect to emotion. Ultimately, our reason exists to serve our emotions.
I was with you until your last phrase. I would say reason exists serve God, certainly not to serve emotions. God is Logos as St. John states, which means Word and Reason in English. We follow reason because we follow Reason; not in order to satisfy self or emotions.
I do believe that I act within reason, and I can say with confidence that my emotions reflect the conclusions brought to me by reason.
With that said, I do not believe that God is all good. I believe he is either deceptive or vainglorious, or both. I also believe that he owes us more explanation, regardless of his being responsible for our existence. I have several objections to the argument that God is exempt from criticisms because of him having created us. I do not see the link between his actions being universally justified and his creating us.
- With all of these things, in mind, would one be justified in treating God in a manner that appears to be justified by reason?
Lou
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Paul replied:
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Thanks for the feedback Lou.
You said:
I only have a few objections.
You quoted me saying:
- ... We must always follow reason, not necessarily emotion, when choosing to act.
I agree with this statement, for the most part.
You quoted me saying:
- There are different levels of formality as well as obedience within relationships, depending on who the relationship is with.
And replied:
I have an issue with this statement, as it seems to contradict the first statement of yours that I quoted.
- If we are to follow reason when we choose to act, then why should formality and obedience differ when it comes to who we are exchanging with?
This is easy. Because it is reasonable to have varying amounts of reverence and honor in various relationships [and unreasonable not to have them]. This is not because some people are better than you, but because of the status of the relationship. I don't tell my boss what to do, but he tells me. I wouldn't tell a 3 year-old my deep-seated problems, but I might tell my counselor, etc.
You said:
My objections do not lie with any of these claims, but rather work in conjunction with them. I believe that, while we must act in accordance with reason, we must do so with respect to emotion. Ultimately, our reason exists to serve our emotions.
I was with you until your last phrase. I would say reason exists to serve God, certainly not to serve emotions. God is Logos as St. John states, which means Word and Reason in English. We follow reason because we follow reason; not in order to satisfy self or emotions.
I do believe that I act within reason, and I can say with confidence that my emotions reflect the conclusions brought to me by reason.
With that said, I do not believe that God is all good. I believe he is either deceptive or vainglorious, or both. I also believe that he owes us more explanation, regardless of his being responsible for our existence. I have several objections to the argument that God is exempt from criticisms because of him having created us. I do not see the link between his actions being universally justified and his creating us.
This contradicts both divine Revelation and human reason.
You said:
- With all of these things, in mind, would one be justified in treating God in a manner that appears to be justified by reason?
Lou, there's a difference between a rational argument and a sound argument.
A rational argument may begin with a false premise, and with very reasonable argumentation bring it to a false conclusion.
A sound argument begins with a true premise and argues reasonably to a true conclusion.
I believe you are seeking just a rational, rather than a sound, argument. If you begin with the premises you gave about God then it would be logical that there would be disrespect and anger in speech toward Him.
Since I believe your premises are false I would never suggest you follow them with reasonable argumentation to its conclusion, but instead to try to understand where these premises came from and why you hold on to them. From afar it sounds like there may be much unresolved anger in your life. Of course I could be wrong, but do ponder this question with an open heart and mind.
Paul
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Lou replied:
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Thanks for the reply Paul.
Your objections are compelling. I am always looking to find someone who is well versed in logic. Perhaps I can finally come to some sort of solution to all of this.
You objected to one of my premises, and then gave the explanation that a sound argument could not be made from a false premise. This is true in all respects. The only problem is, I do not see my premise as being faulty, and you gave no reason other than:
This contradicts both divine Revelation and human reason.
I would be compelled to agree with you if you could explain what this means, and how it refutes my premise.
As to your assumption, it is mostly true. I feel as if there is some sort of purpose that I need to be seeking, but I feel entirely angry and disconnected from God, and cannot bring myself to make peace with him.
Through all of that, I somehow feel as if there still exists a personal relationship, even though it very much resembles that of enemies.
Lou
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Paul replied:
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Lou,
RE: This contradicts both divine Revelation and human reason.
I said that for several reasons.
- First, I believe it to be self-evident that being is good; it is infinitely better than
non-being. (This is one reason why contraception is so unimaginably evil. It takes the act that God made for the creating of human beings and turns, a potential human being, into everlasting non-being.)
- Secondly, evil, as Augustine taught, is not something, but the lack or privation of good; and since all being is good, evil is a lack or diminishment of being. Having said this, since God is the fullness of Being, infinite and eternal being with no definition or boundary, He is infinite goodness and love. God loves His creatures with perfect divine love, especially those made in His image (human beings).
This understanding comes through Scripture, Tradition, and the gift of human reason.
You are partially correct in as much as our relationship with God is at times similar to that of an enemy. However, we are the ones that make ourselves God's enemy, not vice-versa, and that happens every time we seriously sin. We distance ourselves from Him by not doing His will, which is the true and the good.
Often anger remains in us after experiencing injustices from others, particularly from those that may have had authority over us. Try to remember that, besides Jesus and Mary, no one is perfect, and we all hurt others along the way, even when we don't realize it.
Try to work with God in healing this bitterness you may still have inside. With time He can do this. Again, the sacrament of Confession is a great place to start. After that, receiving the Eucharist regularly will help a lot, with Confession whenever you may fall.
Peace,
Paul
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Lou replied:
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I think I may have some kind of reflex against getting close to people emotionally.
It is safe to say that I am emotionally challenged in some ways. I can't handle emotions very well, and I am often overcome by negative ones. However, I usually feel as if these emotions are based in reason, which makes them all the more confusing and infuriating.
Lou
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Paul replied:
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Lou,
Each personality is different, and each is person is wounded in a different way, which manifests itself differently in everyone.
I offered a bit of philosophy in my last reply to show why I understand that God is all-Good and that living, especially as God's image (a human being), is an amazing gift and privilege.
Be patient with yourself. We all go through times when:
- things don't seem to make sense, or
- anger seems like the reasonable response, or
- when we want to just move to a desert island and forget about the rest of mankind.
Life is a journey with peaks and valleys, but it usually gets better — especially if one keeps faithful to God and His Church, even when it's not easy at the time to do so. If we are faithful to Him, our persevering spirit will be richly rewarded.
Peace,
Paul
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