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CS Lewis wrote:
If our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellant; for it will be precisely the puzzling or the repellant which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know….the truth we need most is hidden precisely in the doctrines you least like and least understand. Scientists make progress because scientists instead of running away from such troublesome phenomena or hushing them up, are constantly seeking them out. In the same way, there will be progress in Christian knowledge only as long as we accept the challenge of the difficult or repellant doctrines. A ‘liberal’ Christianity which considers itself free to alter the Faith whenever the Faith looks perplexing or repellent MUST be completely stagnant. Progress is made only into a resisting material.
This has been one of my favorite quotes, and actually applies to many things in the human experience, not just belief or religion.
I think as a general rule, resisting something that is repellent to us, is sometimes exactly what we need to grow and go to the next level.
In buddhist teachings, the Lotus Flower holds special meaning:
Quote:The lotus flower represents one symbol of fortune in Buddhism. It grows in muddy water, and it is this environment that gives forth the flower’s first and most literal meaning: rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment.
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The mud represents an importance in the meaning of the lotus flower in Buddhism. All humans are born in a world where there is suffering. This suffering is a vital part of the human experience; it makes us stronger and teaches us to resist the temptation of evil. When we banish evil thoughts from our mind we are able to break free of the muddy water and become one with the Buddha. The mud shows us who we are and teaches us to choose the right path over the easy one.
Source:
The Meaning of the Lotus FlowerSome people view a “faith crisis” as a negative thing. Some who haven’t faced it even think it is a sign of weakness or lack of faith. Some will run from it because it is painful, or just give up.
But to truly transform, from a seed in muddy waters, to a flower with enlightenment that shares it’s beauty with others, there is evidence that resisting the very doctrines that seem repellent to us, may be the very thing we need to learn in this life. It is how we progress.
Ah, what the heck. I’m already here, I might as well post. Thanks for your post Heber13. I enjoyed the quotes and your thoughts.
I simply want to add that while I do use the common term “Faith Crisis” because it is the language of our situation, I actually prefer the term “Faith Transition” for the exact reasons you mentioned.
On Own Now wrote:Ah, what the heck. I’m already here, I might as well post.
Thanks for your post Heber13. I enjoyed the quotes and your thoughts.
I simply want to add that while I do use the common term “Faith Crisis” because it is the language of our situation, I actually prefer the term “Faith Transition” for the exact reasons you mentioned.
I think I had both, OON. I did have a crisis – a real thing that really fits the definition of a crisis. During the crisis I lost a great amount of faith and belief. After the crisis I transitioned. I agree it could be argued that the crisis was really part of the transition, but I don’t really think that to be the case for me.
I had a faith crisis that kicked off my faith transition. The crisis was over long ago. I am still in a faith transition and expect to be for a long time to come. Thanks for sharing. I love metaphors and analogies, because it’s easier for me to remember and internalize, and I love the though of lotus flowers. 
I had a faith crisis. I know when it started and when it ended. A crisis in the medical field only lasts a certain amount of time before you go into the recovery stage or the worst case scenario stage. I’m glad I’m past the crisis stage and into the recovery/transition stage.
West wrote:Thanks for sharing. I love metaphors and analogies, because it’s easier for me to remember and internalize, and I love the though of lotus flowers.
I had a faith crisis. I know when it started and when it ended. A crisis in the medical field only lasts a certain amount of time before you go into the recovery stage or the worst case scenario stage. I’m glad I’m past the crisis stage and into the recovery/transition stage.
How do you feel about growth from it?Heber13 wrote:How do you feel about growth from it?
I think I know what you’re asking (if it’s obvious I don’t, feel free to clarify
Quote:The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. -Disney’s Mulan
Quote:A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there. -Unknown
Quote:The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. -Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
I’ve ventured out of my pleasant comfort zone. It was very stagnant there. And now that I’m out of it, I’ve grown more in these past few months than at any time for the past decade or more.
very powerful, West. Thank you! West – I love the Kubler-Ross quote. All of them are wonderful, but that one was for me today. Thank you. Quote:The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. -Elizabeth Kubler Ros
I’m glad it was here for you today. West – I love the Kubler-Ross quote. All of them are wonderful, but that one was for me today. Thank you.
Quote:The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. -Elizabeth Kubler Ros
I’d say worthy of useful quote of the day, and will make it so.
I really like that quote also. To me, it can be a reason God doesn’t want to intervene. In His wisdom, perhaps there were times when it was darkest for me and my family, and I needed to determine how I would struggle through the mud. Somewhere in my upbringing I developed an expectation my faith made me worthy to have help whenever I needed it most.
But I’ve learned so much during my trials. And much of it is that life will have mud to struggle through, and we can grow from it. God seems to be there, but does not need to intervene. So we can just get on with it. That’s not necessarily an uplifting story to inspire others in sacrament meeting, so I don’t tell that. But it is what I experienced and I’ve come to peace with myself.
Quote:Somewhere in my upbringing I developed an expectation my faith made me worthy to have help whenever I needed it most.
This seems to be such a common occurrence, and not just in the LDS church and culture, but inherently to organized religions. I and some people I know and have talked religion with have expressed that we internalized somewhere along the line that the bad things that happened to us was because we were unworthy somehow, like divine help was a switch that was flipped on and off dependent on our worthiness.For many people in my family, it’s worked out that way in relation to living the law of tithing, and I know that’s where my expectation developed. It’s difficult not to blame myself and my perceived worthiness even now when bad things happen to me. But I’ve been teaching myself more and more that these things must happen, and deep down, I am grateful for a God who does not attempt to be a “helicopter parent.” Sometimes, in the hardest times, I wish He was. And then I come out the other end of a dark moment, and I have learned how to overcome.
Another quote for this thread, this one from Quentin L. Cook and “The Songs They Could Not Sing.”
Quote:There are many kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our Father in Heaven’s overall plan. The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God.
CS Lewis wrote:If our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellant; for it will be precisely the puzzling or the repellant which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know….the truth we need most is hidden precisely in the doctrines you least like and least understand. Scientists make progress because scientists instead of running away from such troublesome phenomena or hushing them up, are constantly seeking them out. In the same way, there will be progress in Christian knowledge only as long as we accept the challenge of the difficult or repellant doctrines. A ‘liberal’ Christianity which considers itself free to alter the Faith whenever the Faith looks perplexing or repellent MUST be completely stagnant. Progress is made only into a resisting material.
There’s a difference between being puzzled and repelled by polygamy and being puzzled and repelled by the parable of the day laborers.
Sometimes the end result of seeking out an element of our religion that seems puzzling and repellant is that we determine that it’s okay for an element of our religion to be repellant to us. Maybe the thing that we were meant to learn by facing a troublesome issue with our religion is that we become free to transcend the limitations that religion has unintentionally placed upon our moral code.
I only mention this because the quote seems to imply that we should look at troubling issues until we find sufficient justification for them.
Quote:the truth we need most is hidden precisely in the doctrines you least like and least understand
I agree with this, but going along with my previous comments I’d amend the language ever so slightly. I believe this is only the case when starting with true doctrines. This attitude can have a damning effect when starting off with incorrect teachings that are merely
heldto be doctrinal… unless the takeaway eventually leads us to the conclusion that the “doctrine” is not true. That can be a very difficult conclusion to arrive at when the context is an aspect of our religion or our religious culture. Semantics. Please forgive the hair splitting.
nibbler wrote:unless the takeaway eventually leads us to the conclusion that the “doctrine” is not true. That can be a very difficult conclusion to arrive at when the context is an aspect of our religion or our religious culture.
Great thoughts…and this part is what I think I came to a realization of, and had to learn what that meant to me, and what I would
chooseto do about it. If the repellant doctrines make me see Joseph was a mixed bag, a true prophet revealing marvelous things (and I mean life changing things), AND also could be flat out wrong and teaching things he thought were revelations but may not have been…then…the very truth I need to learn is to let go of saying prophets are perfect, or our knowledge of doctrines we have now is perfect, or that it is OK to frankly say, “I hate polygamy. I do not believe it was of God.”
I can more clearly see truth in learning to discard some other things as not truth to me. When I allowed myself to let go of that, and allowed myself to doubt and not feel bad…a new view of things opened up my vision to my world and my view of religion and my life and the reality I’m in.
The mud is real. It is not to be explained away as “not really mud”, or “I just don’t understand yet how to see the beauty of the mud” … no…part of our reality is accepting there is mud in our religion and yet, we can resist staying in it, and sometimes find the puzzling doctrines have no other explanation than they are mud and I don’t believe it…and from that acceptance and the choice to overcome it…we can grow and rise above it, not explain it away. Some things will always be repellant to us.
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