The journey of constructive deconstruction and reconstruction: is it all in the mind? (part 1)

This post is for me vital as we grapple with forming/reforming our faith in post modern times [and why others seem untroubled and happy with the faith they've always had]. What lies behind the deconstruction of our christianity? How does it fit with how we learn, grow, develop? After the deconstruction what then - construction?

I find it is all too easy, especially with my more cyncical postmodern world, to celebrate deconstruction but don't we also need to celebrate reconstruction - in other words deconstruction for a purpose other than for its own sake. So how do we move between deconstruction/construction in a way that is healthy to us?

My plan is to put this into 3 posts:

1. looking briefly at the cycle of learning/faith and how the mind is wired to deconstruct before it reconstructs (what follows below);
2. how cognitive dissonance or being out of our comfort zone helps us grow and avoid getting too locked in to pattern thinking and its hidden blindspots; and
3. celebrating stuckness and other successes on the journey of faith, particularly how we can help each other as a communities of growth/experience.

Life cycle faith learning

Deconstruction is a helpful and healthy process in the cycle of faith - it fact it is something that educationalists like Fowler for instance suggest in his 6 stages of faith: simple/childlike => questioning/deconstructing => simple again.

In other words, churches (or other institutions) which try and keep people in stage 1 (try harder/believe harder/pray more/read your bible/trust God/don't rock the boat) will be trying to undertake a Canute like task for anyone who finds themselves moving into a questioning/deconstructing phase - it is a tide that cannot be turned back/fought against [conversely we can't force people to leave a simple faith stage and we can begin to understand why people in either phases misunderstand each other so much]...

What we believe we see...

Social cognitive theory, which i've had the chance to become into contact with over the last couple of days on a creativity course, suggests something similar. What we have engrained as the truth in our subconscious will be constanty reinforced by what we see in the world around us [an extreme example would be an anorexic girl who may be emanciated to the point of death but since she believes she is fat when she looks in the mirror she will see a fat girl looking back].

The experience that you might be familiar of talking to somone and wondering what planet they are on and vice versa, even whilst looking at exactly the same event/story is a result of this - you can both look at the same thing and see totally different things, depending on the world view of truth, values etc that you have inside you [the only way to see that person's pov is to enter that person's world, values, experiences .

[Which as an aside maybe why Jesus asks to believe in him, rather than just believe things about him and why repentance is about rethinking, learning to become like Jesus and spiritual disciplines are so vital: practice makes permanent]...

It is said that we therefore cannot believe in two completely opposite truths at once - so our cognitive system keeps us sane by always forcing us to accept one version of the truth. Those of you who have seen the Matrix may already be familiar with idea - you cannot be told what the Matrix is you have to see it for yourself. This clip is actually very helpful to try and explain more what i mean (in two languages as well!)...

I wonder if you could help me please with your thoughts on:

• what you feel about faith being a cycle of deconstruction and reconstruction?
• Where would you say you are in that cycle?
• how in your own journy do you resonate wth the idea that we can't be shown [told] a version of the truth of our reality but have to experience it?

Comments

[fernando]

It's very telling that a lot of people seem to be reconnecting with Fowler's ideas of the stages of faith. It's also worth noting that in his more recent work, he's taken a turn towards emphasising the role of religious traditions in the stages of faith.

That's an abstract way of saying that I think the decon/recon cycle is both accurate and important. There's a connection here with the way Brueggeman describes the cycle of most Psalms as Orientation/Disorientation/Reorientation.

Me? I'm Disoriented and Reconstructing.

As for the truth and reality question. I'm strongly on the side that actions shape beliefs more than the other way round. In terms of lifestyle changes, we become something "new" by "giving it a go."

One thing I'm finding as I get older is that it is sometimes harder to describe the world to people who have never travelled. In fact, I'm not sure I can really describe living in India to anyone who has never been and maybe I can't even do it for people who have only visited as tourists.

[Kamsin]

The deconstruction/ reconstruction idea makes sense in my own experience of faith. I do however think it's not always an easy process, and I would agree that in our postmodern world, and I also think it may be a tendency encouraged by our Western academic culture (ie. there's a constant drive to expand knowledge by challenging and rethinking what has gone previously), to deconstruct as an end in itself. I wonder if there aren't some circumstances where deconstruction is nothing more than something destructive.

But yeah, I guess Fowler's model is interesting because it is pointing to something positive, a fuller, wholer, more complete faith as the end point of the journey. I'm not 100% sure life or faith progress on quite such a linear model, with a steady journey from one stage to the next, but as a model it is none the less a useful way of thinking about faith.

Anyway, at the moment I think I'm in a process of trying to reconstruct having spent the past couple of years deconstructing how I viewed my faith. And yeah I think a person only really learns a thing by experiencing it. I also think it's only when you come up against some experience which challenges or contradicts the faith system you had previously constructed that you are forced to re-think. Perhaps many churches create an environment where people don't often come up against things which challenge the status quo.

[Paul]

Thanks F, that is really interesting to here about Fowler being used more and also the link with Brueggeman's comments on the orientation of the psalms.

I guess what I am trying to do here is say that if there is this cycle what are the healthy ways of experiencing it? How would your views on actions leading on belief tie in with one's theological/faith orientation?

[Paul]

Thanks Kamsin, that is a very good point about the process not being linear or indeed uplifting your whole faith through each stage - for me it can often be only one or 2 questions that are working away like a splinter of glass in my mind - the tension and struggle of trying to engage with them over a period of time affects other parts of my faith but maybe not the whole shebang.

And another great point about whether churches let us play and whether the fear is that broad is the path that leads to happy acceptance and narrow is the gate that leads to deconstruction - but is this deconstruction with a purpose?

What have you found healthy both in your own reconstruction and now as you start reconstructing?

[Duncan McFadzean]

I wonder if it's not more constant renewal, so that you are always having parts dying and other parts being born, with you constantly growing in your faith and understanding. I find that that as I deconstruct, that I realise how wrong I was before, it makes me less arrogant but also less willing to tell others of what I am going through - questions arise everywhere.

I'm not sure that deconstruction can be done on anything other than an individual level. I think deconstruction as a church would be quite hard, as everyone is at a different place.

To me, the mantra is now, test everything, question everything and renew that understanding. When things are true, this will reinforce it, when it's false it can just go. When it's debatable it should stop me being arrogant! Hopefully..........

[Paul]

Thanks Duncan. I think that is a very important part of the deconstruction process - learning humility. Altho that can be quite hard for me to hold onto when new beliefs begin to cystalise - the temptation to go aha! this is THE way is pretty much irristable. Any thoughts/tips on how to stay humble?

I agree that as a church you probably couldn't all deconstruct - but that brings challenges - how do you do church where you have people at different parts of the faith cycle?

[Joy]

Can I just go back and take the blue pill?

Is this crazy that this snippet from The Matrix has me in tears?

[Paul]

Hi Joy, i wish i could go back and take that blue pill too at times. So no, not crazy at all...