Contradictions

The postmodern world is littered with contradictions and people are happy to hold two conflicting views at the same time. This idea is called cognitive dissonance and I promise this will be my last post on a big word for a little while.

A classic example of cognitive dissonance is the idea that a smoker who knows that smoking is bad for their health yet wants to live a long and fulfilling life. The problem is that we all hold these contradicting views. We only become aware of them when through an experience we are forced to realise that we hold contradicting views.

There is also frequently a dissonance between our words and our actions. We could think of these as our 'head theology' and our 'theology in practice'. An example of this is someone who says "I believe that God heals people supernaturally, we just have to ask" but then this person gets the flu and goes to see their doctor.

I don't think that this dissonance is necessarily a bad thing, in fact I think it has the potential to be a very positive thing. If we come to a situation where we realise that we have a dissonance we are forced to do one of three things.

1) Make our actions match our belief

2) Make our belief match our actions

3) Find a new way of belief and action

Sadly, most Christians when faced with this dissonance resort to the easiest application of the second option. "Jesus said sell everything and give to the poor. What he really meant was don't become attached to my possessions." All three options are potentials for growth. For me a key aspect of discipleship is to work through the areas of our life where our actions and our beliefs don't align.

What about you?