God and Nature Spring 2020
Empiricism and Christian Spirituality |
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By Jeremiah Gruenberg
The seminal empiricism of the Royal Society of London was recently described as “an open, collaborative experimental practice, mediated by specially-designed instruments, supported by civil, critical discourse, stressing accuracy and replicability” (1). Although the writers of this description, Charles Wolfe and Ofer Gal, express skepticism that those early scientists actually functioned in such an idealistic way, I think we may borrow this optimistic account and apply it to the Christian life in order to see how Christianity might be pursued empirically.
Open and collaborative
Christianity is a communal religion because it cannot be engaged solo. Jesus Himself states that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). We can't call ourselves followers of Jesus if we love God alone. Christians must be open and collaborate with our neighbors, both in the practical needs of human life and in the spiritual pursuit of God. We offer our hands of help to one another to cook meals or repair houses. We offer words of encouragement and edification in our seeking of God. As Hebrews 10:24-25 states: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The seminal empiricism of the Royal Society of London was recently described as “an open, collaborative experimental practice, mediated by specially-designed instruments, supported by civil, critical discourse, stressing accuracy and replicability” (1). Although the writers of this description, Charles Wolfe and Ofer Gal, express skepticism that those early scientists actually functioned in such an idealistic way, I think we may borrow this optimistic account and apply it to the Christian life in order to see how Christianity might be pursued empirically.
Open and collaborative
Christianity is a communal religion because it cannot be engaged solo. Jesus Himself states that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). We can't call ourselves followers of Jesus if we love God alone. Christians must be open and collaborate with our neighbors, both in the practical needs of human life and in the spiritual pursuit of God. We offer our hands of help to one another to cook meals or repair houses. We offer words of encouragement and edification in our seeking of God. As Hebrews 10:24-25 states: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
"While modern concepts of empiricism focus on tools of measurement, the idea of empiricism at its root is based on sensory experience..." |
Experimental practice
The Christian life is filled with practices meant to bring us into greater communion with God. It can be rather beneficial to think of these practices as “spiritual experiments” in which we attempt to discover God's truth in a deeper way. The devotional acts of Christianity allow us to interact with God and observe His speech and actions. Prayer, the reading of Scriptures, the Lord's supper, meditation, fasting, repentance, worship, and service are all activities which lead to a deepened relationship with God, a greater personal maturity, and an expanded sense of community responsibility. However, the fruit of these practices is highly variable. God uses them in a gradation of purpose. Christian spiritual practices are no different than any other human endeavor in that they require consistent practice to see improvement in their enaction as well as their productivity. In this way, all Christians are performing spiritual experiments any time they kneel to pray or open their mouth to sing in worship on a Sunday morning. The devotional life is a grand experiment in seeking Jesus Christ in the present moment.
Specially designed instruments
While the instruments of science are external to us, the instruments of Christian empiricism are our minds and hearts. But these are no less specially designed, although in this case by divine, rather than human, hands. Our hearts can burn with the truth (Luke 24:32). Our minds can be renewed into divine thinking (Romans 12:2). God can write His Word on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). God has endowed humanity with the ability to perceive and understand the created world. But more than that, He has endowed us with the ability to feel something about the created world. The stars and planets impart a sense of grand cosmology. The roiling ocean stretching blue to the horizon strikes awe in the one who stops to contemplate it. The ancient redwoods speak to the inspiring glory of the Creator. Our mind and hearts allow us to interact with God, with one another, with ourselves, and with the created world on both rational and spiritual levels.
Civil, critical discourse
However, these specially designed instruments of the mind and heart are not without fault. They must be consistently calibrated. They must be subject to continual upkeep, cleaning, and testing. The civil, critical discourse available within the community of Christ provides the means by which we can be sure we are pursuing our spiritual activities in a proper way. It is a safeguard to ensure that the spiritual experiences found in our devotional lives are truly of God. We can trade notes on how our spiritual experiments of prayer and repentance are going. The discourse should include encouragement, suggestion, collaboration, and correction.
Accuracy and replicability
These hallmarks of science are also found in Christian tradition. In biblical parlance, they would include such principles as confirmation, discernment, and judgment. In 2 Corinthians 13:1, Paul repeats the Old Testament idea that “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” When God reveals Himself in the course of our seeking Him—and He always will, in various ways—His message or direction must find confirmation among at least two or three in the community. In this way, the replicability of our spiritual experiments is held to a high standard in order to avoid false positives.
Empiricism is the use of measurable perception toward the generation of knowledge. Most often today it is associated with scientific inquiry. However, I believe that it can be used as a bridge between the scientific worldview and the Christian worldview. Why? Because empiricism is inescapably experiential. While modern concepts of empiricism focus on tools of measurement, the idea of empiricism at its root is based on sensory experience—that is, what can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, felt. However, I'd add to this our souls, our spirits, which can find communion with God in many ways. An empirical approach to Christianity is one which embraces rationalism in a holistic view of life. It allows for the exploration of Christian spirituality in a grounded way, not in the clouds of mysticism, but in the pursuit of confirmation and replicability toward the edification of other believers, and toward the communication of the Gospel in personal ways.
Reference
1. Charles Wolfe, Ofer Gal. The Body as Object and Instrument of Knowledge: Embodied Empiricism in Early Modern Science. France. Springer, 2010, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 978-90-481-3686-5. hal-01238121 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01238121/document
Jeremiah Gruenberg has a Ph.D. in Theology and hosts The God Experiment, a podcast which explores Christian spirituality. His research areas of interest include spiritual formation, ecumenism, Christian existentialism, and the intersection of science and faith. He can be reached here: [email protected]
The Christian life is filled with practices meant to bring us into greater communion with God. It can be rather beneficial to think of these practices as “spiritual experiments” in which we attempt to discover God's truth in a deeper way. The devotional acts of Christianity allow us to interact with God and observe His speech and actions. Prayer, the reading of Scriptures, the Lord's supper, meditation, fasting, repentance, worship, and service are all activities which lead to a deepened relationship with God, a greater personal maturity, and an expanded sense of community responsibility. However, the fruit of these practices is highly variable. God uses them in a gradation of purpose. Christian spiritual practices are no different than any other human endeavor in that they require consistent practice to see improvement in their enaction as well as their productivity. In this way, all Christians are performing spiritual experiments any time they kneel to pray or open their mouth to sing in worship on a Sunday morning. The devotional life is a grand experiment in seeking Jesus Christ in the present moment.
Specially designed instruments
While the instruments of science are external to us, the instruments of Christian empiricism are our minds and hearts. But these are no less specially designed, although in this case by divine, rather than human, hands. Our hearts can burn with the truth (Luke 24:32). Our minds can be renewed into divine thinking (Romans 12:2). God can write His Word on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). God has endowed humanity with the ability to perceive and understand the created world. But more than that, He has endowed us with the ability to feel something about the created world. The stars and planets impart a sense of grand cosmology. The roiling ocean stretching blue to the horizon strikes awe in the one who stops to contemplate it. The ancient redwoods speak to the inspiring glory of the Creator. Our mind and hearts allow us to interact with God, with one another, with ourselves, and with the created world on both rational and spiritual levels.
Civil, critical discourse
However, these specially designed instruments of the mind and heart are not without fault. They must be consistently calibrated. They must be subject to continual upkeep, cleaning, and testing. The civil, critical discourse available within the community of Christ provides the means by which we can be sure we are pursuing our spiritual activities in a proper way. It is a safeguard to ensure that the spiritual experiences found in our devotional lives are truly of God. We can trade notes on how our spiritual experiments of prayer and repentance are going. The discourse should include encouragement, suggestion, collaboration, and correction.
Accuracy and replicability
These hallmarks of science are also found in Christian tradition. In biblical parlance, they would include such principles as confirmation, discernment, and judgment. In 2 Corinthians 13:1, Paul repeats the Old Testament idea that “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” When God reveals Himself in the course of our seeking Him—and He always will, in various ways—His message or direction must find confirmation among at least two or three in the community. In this way, the replicability of our spiritual experiments is held to a high standard in order to avoid false positives.
Empiricism is the use of measurable perception toward the generation of knowledge. Most often today it is associated with scientific inquiry. However, I believe that it can be used as a bridge between the scientific worldview and the Christian worldview. Why? Because empiricism is inescapably experiential. While modern concepts of empiricism focus on tools of measurement, the idea of empiricism at its root is based on sensory experience—that is, what can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, felt. However, I'd add to this our souls, our spirits, which can find communion with God in many ways. An empirical approach to Christianity is one which embraces rationalism in a holistic view of life. It allows for the exploration of Christian spirituality in a grounded way, not in the clouds of mysticism, but in the pursuit of confirmation and replicability toward the edification of other believers, and toward the communication of the Gospel in personal ways.
Reference
1. Charles Wolfe, Ofer Gal. The Body as Object and Instrument of Knowledge: Embodied Empiricism in Early Modern Science. France. Springer, 2010, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 978-90-481-3686-5. hal-01238121 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01238121/document
Jeremiah Gruenberg has a Ph.D. in Theology and hosts The God Experiment, a podcast which explores Christian spirituality. His research areas of interest include spiritual formation, ecumenism, Christian existentialism, and the intersection of science and faith. He can be reached here: [email protected]