April 7, 2009 · 5:50 am

Some more thoughts on the roots of evil


Continuing my reading about the tragedies in Rwanda, I’m now following the writer Jean Hatzfeld–thanks to my colleague Carol King. He has written a few books on the genocide in an attempt to give voice to both surviving victim and killer. “Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak” is a chilling mix of interview of 10 “killers” from the district south of the capital and background information

[FYI, for those following this blog for some time, my trip to Rwanda has been delayed until at least July. Pray that it happens then!].

For most of the world, Rwanda was a quiet, tiny country that exploded into Tutsi genocide in 1994 after their Hutu president was assassinated. One day it is calm, the next an entire population of Hutus begin systematically destroying their Tutsi neighbors. Even soccer teammates killed each other, with no remorse.  

But dig a little and you find out that this is not so. Despite living and working together, Hutus (the majority) felt the minority Tutsis (treated as the upperclass by Europeans in the formation of Rwanda) had too much power. Much radio and media did comic portrayals about the killing of cockroaches (the Tutsis). Apparently, they were so funny that even the Tutsis listened and laughed.

It looks like this is what happened:

1. Conflict between groups, fanned by leadership (read pp 52-58 for how it happened).
2. Use of both comic discussions of killings plus occasional actual killings going unpunished
3. Lots of free beer, food (many ate meat every day when normally they only ate it at weddings), and promises of rewards
4. Threats of violence to Hutus if they do not follow outsiders orders. These outsiders “apprenticed” farmers into killers.
5. A large group involved (100% involvement) with lots of camraderie so as to defuse guilty feelings.
6. A simple task ordered: kill.
7. The abandonment by the white individuals in the country and so gave the sense that the world didn’t care and wouldn’t hold them accountable.

This is quite a chilling book (because thus far there is no apology or blameshifting in the book by those being interviewed). Here’s one especially difficult passage:

For my part, I offer you an explanation: it is as if I had let another individual take on my own living appearance, and the habits of my heart, without a single pang in my soul. This killer was indeed me, as to the offense he committed and the blood he shed, but he is a stranger to me in his ferocity. I admit and recognize my obedience at that time, my victims, my fault, but I fail to recognize the wickedness of the one who raced through the marshes on my legs, carrying my machete. That wickedness seems to belong to another self with a heavy heart. The most serious changes in my body were my invisible parts, such as the soul or the feelings that go with it. Therefore I alone do not recognize mysefl in that man. (p. 48)

Tomorrow I will post one more on this topic: the pattern of running away from and then back to the Lord as seen in Judges. Or, how we stop seeing our sin and forget to cry out to God.

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April 6, 2009 · 5:03 am

Connecting the dots: porn and rape


A few days ago a young woman/teen was found partially clothed and semi-conscious under a Philadelphia bridge. At the time I am writing this post, it is assumed (nothing too outlandish here) that she was assaulted and raped and left for dead. Whether or not this turns out to be the exact situation for this injured woman matters not for the rest of the post. What does matter is that we know that rape happens.

How does one get to the place of treating another human being like an object and caring nothing for that person’s feelings, interests? We’d like to believe that rape, murder, slavery, trafficking, and the sort are different sorts of animals than the wee little sins we commit. But such heinous acts have exactly the same roots as “normal” objectification.

Take porn for example. On first blush, there is not any interpersonal crime in looking at a pornographic image. The assumption goes that the individuals in the pictures have voluntarily allowed themselves to be photographed and are happy with what they are doing. Of course, we know that these two assumptions are not always true. But even IF we accept the assumption, we must also accept that the viewer of the pictures cares nothing about the person in the picture. They exist for one reason only–to provide pleasure for the viewer. They have no feelings, they are only objects on a page.

The one dimensional image allows the viewer to begin the process of not seeing the other and not seeing their abuse of the other. And we are well aware of the common path of porn use. Start with a scantily clad image, move to complete nude, then to more and more dramatic pictures of sex acts which often include bondage, pain, or other grotesque acts.

Most people would have trouble watching a friend or a loved one engage in such an act, much less act out such activity on someone in pain. Most of us couldn’t just rape a stranger–at least at this point. But the root is the same: ignoring the personhood of the person in front of us. The person who is able to rape, traffick, or enslave has just been more successful in protecting themself from empathy, putting themself in the shoes of another, etc. We haven’t yet gone that far but notice that we begin such activities by our ability to objectify people on television or even in our everyday life. We murder (in our hearts) the incompetent bagger at the grocery store. We care little about his or her life. I’m not putting a passing hateful thought on par with rape but when we fail to recognize the person on the other side we begin to make it possible to deny the humanness of the other, whether a victim of a crime or the perpetrator.

Reminds me of Miroslav Volf’s quote in Exclusion and Embrace (p. 124): 

“Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners.”

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April 3, 2009 · 5:53 am

Physiology Phriday: Your brain and your food


We all love certain kinds of foods and when we eat them, our pleasure quotients increase dramatically. Some recent work in brain imaging suggests that women with propensity for bulimia show “greater activation of key reward regions of the brain” after tasting a chocolate milkshake. These same individuals may also experience decreased activity in parts of the brain that control self-regulation and impulse control (as reported in the April 2009 Monitor on Psychology, pp. 48-49).

This area of research is new and so the results need replication plus interpretation. Does the brain function this way after years of bulimic behavior. Or, does the brain instigate or tempt such behavior (strong reward response plus increased impulsivity) with it’s prior functioning?

Of course, the individual struggling with bulimia cares only a little about the why. They really concern themselves with the what. How do I eat with moderation? How do I not eat for emotional reasons? Unlike alcoholics who can always avoid alcohol, everyone has to eat, and eat everyday.  So, what to do when your brain responds the way it does to food? Here’s a couple of practical ideas to start you down the right path:

1. Get a “coach” or counselor who you will be completely honest with. This coach will help you construct an eating schedule and an array of responses to eating or purging temptations.

2. Construct a realistic eating schedule that avoids avoiding food. Keep a food journal. Be honest. Keep troubleshooting with your coach until you find something that works best for you. Remember to check out your schedule (times and foods allowed) with a nutritionist.

3. Construct and use an array of behavioral responses to eating temptations. These include distractions, connections with others, ways to make the moment better, crisis call opportunities.

4. Develop mindful techniques to focus on eating, on stopping eating, on other forms of pleasure God has given you–even on the difficult emotions that you feel.

5. Identify controlling automatic thoughts and lies in your “script” that drive you in particular emotional and behavioral directions. These can be about your body image, about your relationships, etc. Begin responding to them with truth from God’s point of view. Make sure your coach and others know what truthes you are trying hard to believe.

6. As you recognize triggers, temptations, etc., also identify “ways of escape” offered you by God.

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April 1, 2009 · 11:44 am

No April Fool: Faculty meeting cancelled!


Folks, many of us faculty dreamed about being teachers. But, I guarantee that few of us dreamed of attending faculty meetings. So, when we found out today that our dean cancelled the meeting today, I suspect there was a private “woo-hoo” in every office–after making sure it wasn’t an April fools joke. If you are not a faculty member let me tell you a bit about this thing called faculty meetings. What I say is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but make no mistake, these are actual beliefs that we hold.

1. Every one of us believes that these meetings should determine the direction and activity of the school. We are the esteemed thinkers; purveyors of truth and therefore should be listened to when we deliberate on best practices of teaching, educational content, assessment of students, and setting the overall direction of the school. Never mind that almost no professor has any training in pedagogy other than watching their own teachers. We are specialists in our field but want to shape the entire school.

2. Faculty meetings are where we discuss these matters. There are faculty ranks (full profs, associates, assistants, lecturers; chairpersons; deans, etc) but in the meeting, every faculty member has an opinion and feels free to share his or her nuances regarding the comments made already.

3. Because of the democratic nature of faculty meetings, our personalities really shine. Those of the “just do it” mentality tend to want to move on quickly. Those of the more conservative personality are much more inclined to check and recheck for possible unconsidered danger in a particular venture.

4. As a result, faculty meetings are a bit like a meeting of Ents. It takes a long time just to say hello. You want to decide something? Well, that will take two or three hours.

In fact, Biblical Seminary faculty meetings aren’t as horrible as I am depicting. We do discuss very important matters. We do pray and frequently do work in the Word together. Furthermore, listening to each other and discerning the will of God does take time. Hurried decisions almost always problematic later on.

The challenge I have is knowing when to say when. I tend to be a contributor to the conversations. I think I have something of merit to say that hasn’t been said yet. I need to ask myself: Are my comments necessary? Will I later wish I had made my voice heard? Did I speak in a way that honors Christ? Did I listen well before jumping in? When commenting, do my colleagues recognize my characterizations of their positions? When I listen to the report of a committee do I first seek to learn from them or to question the basis of their work and thinking as if I could have done a better job.

The work of faculty at a seminary is invigorating. Faculty meetings are less so, but still important. Thanks Todd for cancelling ours today so that we can do some other things.

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March 31, 2009 · 5:42 am

The Value of Psychological Testing


My friend, former teacher, mentor, Ed Welch, has posted a blog on the CCEF website on the topic of psychological testing and how biblical counselors might view it. You can see his blog here as well as my comment on their site: http://www.ccef.org/psychological-tests-are-you-or-against#comment-28

Ed, as you will see, isn’t really against testing, recognizes value in it, but doesn’t really think they are all that special–no more so than a really good interview. And, in part, he is right. A really good counselor/interviewer and learn a lot. In my mind, though, testing provides confirmation of what you are learning about the counselee PLUS uncovers subtle data that you might not get quickly or at all (especially through the more objective forms of testing).

It seems people think about testing in one of two ways: either they think testing uncovers secrets that couldn’t be gotten without a test or they dismiss it as pure theory. It is neither. Good testing provides a response profile that one can look at and compare to either the general population or a specific population. That, in itself, isn’t all that helpful but when combined with a specific assessment question, the examiner can interpret the data and build good hypotheses to direct future counseling and intervention.

I love to do psych testing. I find that interacting with test results and counselees provides dialog points that wouldn’t have been as easily discovered or talked about without the data in front of us. For example, if someone takes a personality test and one of the scales suggests that they are approaching the test in a manner consistent with those who are trying to look better than they really are, that provides an opportunity to discuss an pattern in their life that we might not have had the chance to do so easily.

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March 30, 2009 · 5:51 am

Readings for Christian Psychology


Had a prospective student in recently asking about good readings to start with before beginning the Masters degree. My answer? It depends on your background and interests. So, I’m going to post a few of my recommendations today for the student with a college/university/grad background in psychology but who wishes to be more informed about the Christian world of counseling theory and practice.

Historical and Theoretical Foundations

Eric Johnson’s massive tome, “Foundations for Soul Care” (IVP 2007). At over 600 pages, you might be intimidated but you should try out Part 1 (ch. 1-3) which gives you historical and theoretical backgrounds. The rest is great too (check out p. 172 for a good illustration). Also, the Appendix 1 may help as well.

Eric also edited “Psychology & Christianity: 4 views” (IVP). You can see 4 different stances to christian counseling. The book isn’t the best because it does not, in my opinion, allow each model to be well represented. However, the first chapter does provide historical background and you can see the failings of each of the four views in their debates with each other.

Examples of Christian Counseling

Anything written by David Powlison or Ed Welch (www.ccef.org) will do just fine. Ed’s “When People Are Big…” book is a good start. More recent editions such as his book on addictions and depression are popular reads but helpful. David’s writings are best contained in their (now defunct) Journal of Biblical Counseling or on their website.

If you haven’t read anything by Larry Crabb, one of the most well-known Christian counselors, you might start with his “Finding God.” He has a dozen or more books to choose from but that one may be his best.

Want someone who best illustrates the integrationist model? Try Mark McMinn’s “Integrative Psychotherapy” (IVP). This book may be the most comprehensive effort to articulate both theory and practice by any Christian counselor to date. Or, look at any of Mark Yarhouse’s work. You can find his writings at www.regent.edu or http://psychologyandchristianity.wordpress.com/.

Want more of a theological foundation? Consider C. Plantiga’s “Not the Way its Supposed to Be” (Eerdmans).

There’s way more but that will get you started. If you really need more check out www.christianpsych.org for its lists of good books.

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March 27, 2009 · 10:03 am

Physiology Phriday: Hormones and Behavior


Sex hormones influence our mood and memory as well as a things like sexual desire. It is fairly clear that women with decreasing levels of estrogen (during their cycle or in perimenopause) have a higher propensity for depressed affect. It seems estrogen has an impact on the serotonergic receptors in the brain. Further, menopausal women suffering from low sexual desire report increased desire when given testosterone patches.

Clearly, our bodies are designed to function at their best with the right mix of hormones. But, given our fallen, less than perfect, bodies, men and women have to deal with mood, memory, and behavior challenges when hormones are “off.” This does not mean we are controlled by hormones and unable to function well if they are suboptimal. But, it does mean thinking and responding well may be more difficult.

Consider this hypothetical. A 15 year old challenges a 43 year old, out of shape, man to a game of one-on-one basketball. At that moment, testosterone fires through his body. He is more likely to accept that challenge and play beyond his conditioning so as to crush that 15 year old (to prove his male superiority to the 15 year old and to prove to himself he’s still got it, whatever it is.) in a best of 3 series. He gloats in victory only to cross the street and be unable to move for some time because he overextended himself and is experiencing severe ozygen deprivation.

How did testosterone work here? I don’t know but I’m looking for something to help me look less stupid 🙂

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March 26, 2009 · 5:42 am

Further thoughts about conflict


Whether we are two fighting 10 year olds or 60 year olds, we have a propensity to fight unfairly. Yesterday I mentioned the habit of character assassination. Today, I want to go a little further with these techniques (tongue inserted in cheek).

1. Make sure to start out telling the story in such a way that will emphasize your righteousness (overlooking your own sins) and equally emphasizing the other person’s sins. Be sure to read any and all possible data about the other’s motives in the worst possible light. Never give the benefit of the doubt.

2. If you are defending someone else who has done something wrong, be sure to protect them facing justice.

Some of these thoughts came to me during this week’s sermon on Judges 20. Note how the Levite tells the story about the awful Gibeah men but fails to point out his complicity in allowing his woman to be abused to death. Notice, as my pastor pointed out, how he generalizes from some people’s behavior to a whole people group. Notice also how the tribe of Benjamin fails to hold their own people accountable but closes rank to protect their own. These things are habits we easily engage in if we are not careful.

Or, how about a better way. Follow the model of dealing with conflict by first seeking personal assessment and repentance before pursuing the sins of others.

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March 25, 2009 · 5:43 am

The fine art of disagreeing


Ever noticed that some people can disagree with you to your face but do it in such a way that you are neither threatened nor feeling the need to go to the mat over the matter. What do these folk do differently?

First, they are willing to voice their disagreements. This is preferable to those who agree to your face but tell others they disagree with you.

Second, they do it in such a way as to not diminish you as a person. I’ve noticed that some people are expert in making others feel important–even as they may completely disagree with an idea. They validate you as a person. They assume you mean well and are authentic in your ideas and beliefs.

On the flip side, those who approach the fight looking to drag character into the matter, who assume you are duplicitous or have a hidden agenda, get our defenses up. It is a sure way to kill a relationship (marriage, work, family, etc.) to start a conversation challenging someone’s honesty and accusing them of not being upfront.

I think we are most likely to do this if we have been meditating on some real or perceived unfairness in the relationship.

But what if you really think the person isn’t being honest with you or themselves? Should you bring it up? It is my experience that the more attention to pay to their concerns (whether obvious or partially hidden), the more likely you can have a worthwhile conversation and either the dishonesty will reveal itself or it will become less of an issue. Of course this isn’t always true, but often, in most relationships.

So, if you can honor 1 Corinthians 13 in your disagreements, you will enrich your relationships with others and master the fine art of disagreeing with others in love.

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March 24, 2009 · 5:35 am

Fantasy vs. Desire?


Been thinking about these two words. How are they related, if at all? Does one precede the other? Do you need the ability to fantasize to build desire? Or vice versa?

The reason why I’m thinking about these words is because I’ve been working on some writing regarding the bible’s take on desire. Fantasy, per se, isn’t discussed in the bible but seems so much a part of desire.

Not to dismiss fantasy, but seems to me that when we fantasize, we passively engage in pleasure-seeking. But when we talk about desire, we often think about active attempts to satiate desire.

Any clarifying thoughts?

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