I remember how my brothers and their friends from our fundamentalist church were great fans of pro wrestling growing up. They talked about it as real. I tried to entertain the possibility seriously, and engage with it sincerely. But it seemed impossible. They insisted it was real. Insisted, over and over. It was important that you believed that they believed.
I looked around me at the congregation on Sunday morning, as my father preached from the pulpit. It was a church with "Fundamentalist" literally in the name. I could tell they weren't acting like they would act if they believed the things they were saying. But the thing is, my father could tell too. Tears would stream down his face as he begged them to have a revival of the spirit. There were tent revivals and altar calls which seemed impressive in the moment. These things were performed in front of each other. That was all that came of it.
Finally my father left the pastorate and took us to another fundamentalist church.
I went to Bible college, and it was the same. People around me were making words come out of their mouths, but they didn't act like they acted when they believed literally any other thing in their lives, such as the phrase "I'm hungry," in which case they changed their actions by seeking food. They were making those sounds for an unknown purpose, for a cryptic activity. Maybe some believed partially, some totally, and some not at all, but one could never quite tell who. What was ... important ... was ... that you _believed_ that they believed!
Very gradually, it started to dawn on me, that perhaps many people are doing something other than what I think they are doing when they state propositions. But I was incapable of articulating that at the time, even to myself. It remained inchoate for decades.
It’s messy when, as in the case of the jihadists, people try to bring their behaviors into line with their insane-sounding stated propositional ideas. But yes, getting concepts to understand that this isn’t all or most of what we’re doing made a huge difference for me.
I remember how my brothers and their friends from our fundamentalist church were great fans of pro wrestling growing up. They talked about it as real. I tried to entertain the possibility seriously, and engage with it sincerely. But it seemed impossible. They insisted it was real. Insisted, over and over. It was important that you believed that they believed.
I looked around me at the congregation on Sunday morning, as my father preached from the pulpit. It was a church with "Fundamentalist" literally in the name. I could tell they weren't acting like they would act if they believed the things they were saying. But the thing is, my father could tell too. Tears would stream down his face as he begged them to have a revival of the spirit. There were tent revivals and altar calls which seemed impressive in the moment. These things were performed in front of each other. That was all that came of it.
Finally my father left the pastorate and took us to another fundamentalist church.
I went to Bible college, and it was the same. People around me were making words come out of their mouths, but they didn't act like they acted when they believed literally any other thing in their lives, such as the phrase "I'm hungry," in which case they changed their actions by seeking food. They were making those sounds for an unknown purpose, for a cryptic activity. Maybe some believed partially, some totally, and some not at all, but one could never quite tell who. What was ... important ... was ... that you _believed_ that they believed!
Very gradually, it started to dawn on me, that perhaps many people are doing something other than what I think they are doing when they state propositions. But I was incapable of articulating that at the time, even to myself. It remained inchoate for decades.
Fascinating example — thanks for sharing!
It’s messy when, as in the case of the jihadists, people try to bring their behaviors into line with their insane-sounding stated propositional ideas. But yes, getting concepts to understand that this isn’t all or most of what we’re doing made a huge difference for me.
I need to read more
Please are you continuing this series? Loved all 3 of your videos.