The Power of the Paradigm
I’ve been in Singapore for the last few days visiting my dear friend and collaborator, John Samuel. Some years ago John contacted me regarding the research he had collected about innate characteristics in human behavior. The result of that fortuitous encounter was the book Living in Your Zone and the subsequent refinement and expansion of the model John discovered. I provide this background so that you will understand that John and I see eye-to-eye on some significant things. But in other areas, we are as far apart as night and day.
John is Indian, grew up in a missionary home and has devoted his life to serving the Church. I am American, grew up in a religious environment in a middle-income home and did most of my theological study in respected Christian academic institutions. John’s cultural background is the soil of Christian missions in a land dominated by Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim faiths. My cultural background is middle class American where attending church and being a good boy was the expectation, along with the mandatory “conversion” experience of giving one’s life to Jesus.
John’s research work and seminal ideas on the management of human behavior challenge everything about the standard paradigm in leadership and management. In this arena, John is a pioneer. But when it comes to religion, John is thoroughly evangelical, standard replacement theology. In his view, Paul preached a “new” faith, one that did away with the old Jewish law, and embraced the “church” established by Jesus in opposition to the legalism of Judaism. With regard to this paradigm, John is dead-center conservative Christian.
This makes for some very interesting conversations, particularly regarding the role and status of women and the place of the Torah. It goes without saying that John and I strongly disagree in these areas. John follows Piper and Grudem. God established a hierarchy in marriage. The man is the head of the home and the head of his wife. He is to be respected and obeyed, voluntarily of course, but nevertheless as an outworking of the divine design. Essentially, men come first, women come second, not because men are superior but because God said so. As you know if you have read any of my work in this area, I couldn’t disagreed more!
The interesting part of this ongoing dialogue between us is the obvious role of paradigm. John simply reads the Bible according to the replacement theological paradigm of the conservative evangelical Western church. It is useless to go to the text because the text is interpreted by the paradigm. John and I read exactly the same words but come to radically different and incompatible conclusions. John’s explanation of this phenomenon is that he is being led by the Spirit of truth. That is essentially the same as saying that one day I will see that I am wrong and will come to his side of the argument. Since I do not read the text as he does, the implication is that I am not being led by the Spirit of truth in this area. John has hope for me (Thank you, my friend). Frankly, I don’t. Since I see these differences in terms of paradigms, not in terms of the “evidence” of the text, I view the argument quite differently. I see the discussion not in terms of what the Bible clearly says but rather in terms of how pervasive and fortified the traditional Christian error really is. For more than 1800 years the Church has taught the view that John embraces. Why would he think that this view is incorrect? When I point to the works of Ruther, Sanders, Eisenbaum, Gager, Young, Davidson and others, he dismisses them with the phrase, “I read Paul. Some day these others will have to answer to Paul too.” Herein is the power of the paradigm. We read what supports what we already believe, convinced that those others are simply wrong because the “Spirit” is guiding us to the right material.
I believe that the Church as we know it today was the creation of certain Gentile men with prior Greek philosophical tendencies, deliberately constructed to oppose the Jewish way of life in an effort to provide self-justification for a new religion that could assimilate Roman cultural behaviors. I believe that the real history of the Church demonstrates this conclusively. I believe that the edicts, behaviors, doctrines and dogmas found in the historical material between 135 CE and 385 CE show a consistent pattern of replacement theology at odds with everything taught in the Jewish Scriptures of the Tanakh and the apostles.
I also believe that historically and theologically the Church has undermined the role of women as designed by God and revealed in the Genesis account. I believe that exegetical mistakes and deliberate Church policy based on Platonic ideas created a self-serving male dominated environment where women were viewed as little more than possessions. In fact, even today the standard Church marriage service symbolically transfers the ownership of the bride from the father to the groom, a pagan practice that in every way opposed the equality of the roles in Genesis.
But none of this matters in conversation with someone who holds a different paradigm. It is nothing more than “your beliefs.” And it is impervious to challenge. Why? Because whatever does not fit the paradigm is dismissed as either error, confusion or obstinacy. In other words, no progress will be made in resolving these tensions until both people agree that the real issue is the paradigm, not the evidence. Then it might be possible to actually consider how much of the “evidence” depends on one’s particular point of view and stop claiming that my view is the only correct view because the “Spirit led me to it.”
I offer this little essay to encourage all of you who have dear friends and family whose point of view allows no serious discussion. Don’t despair. It’s not a problem with your presentation of the “facts.” It’s a problem with prior belief systems that must remain unchallenged in order to create the illusion of security. Threat and fear are the real enemies here, not your words or your evidence.
In the meanwhile, John and I remain faithful and true friends. I delight in seeing him and we have fruitful conversations in areas of agreement. We even have intense discussions over these other things, all with smiles and hugs. Someday I hope he sees that I am not outside the “Spirit’s leading,” but if that day never comes it will not diminish my love for this man.
In a world where there is a “Skip” frame of reference and “John” frame of reference:
Alternatively put “Hebrew” and “Greek”…
I am (trying to be) Hebrew in mind and my wife is Greek (or trying to be).
Her theology sounds exactly like John’s…
I do not know anything because I am not “spirit filled” / never had the “experience”.
(I see myself as being reborn from my Greek past into the Hebrew “Kingdom Promise”)
But I would disagree with Skip: I understand it as more than a Paradigm issue, I postulate that it is a “spirit” issue or spiritual unmediated problem.
Furthermore “it” is a severe / rigid / unkind / relentless / powerful (GEBURAH) “religious spirit”.
“It” is a “female” (in characteristics) spirit. For me this is the spirit of the “Anti-Christ”, “it” scares me to death and give thanks that the loving kindness (CHESED) of the Father seems to have protected me from ever being filled with her so far.
As a medical scientist I am rational and sceptical about things but what I have seen and experienced under the name of this spirit convinced me to stick to TORAH and to read Paul as the consummate Hebrew teacher that he is.
The Greek distortion of Paul occurred to advance the Church (religious spirit) agenda.
Arguments will not move the “possessed”, prayers and deliverance is the only way to intercede for them.
Keep teaching TORAH, Skip, and pray for your friend.
Since I know John well, and know that his heart is completely turned to YHVH and that he does all he can to serve the Kingdom, I certainly do not consider this an example of the “anti-Christ.” For me it is an epistemological issue. Where does your evidence come from? How do you justify what you believe? What counter-examples do you allow, and what do you dismiss? I have spent too many years dealing with arguments from “evidence” to think that evidence is ever really the issue. Most often it is upbringing, culture, tradition and FEELINGS that we ascribe to “higher powers.” But in the end, it is simply reading the evidence the way we want to.
Actually, it may be simpler than any of these examples. It may just be the makeup of the human adult brain. When I was doing my Master’s degree at Univ. of SC, we were shown a video called “The Problem of Paradigms” to help us understand the difficulty of educating any adult. From a shuffled deck of playing cards, we were shown five cards, one every three seconds; and we repeated what we had seen. No problem. Then every two seconds. No problem.. Then one second, and again no problem. But a new deck of cards was shuffled, and shown at one-second intervals, and nobody in the room could repeat them. They tried at two-second, then three-second intervals, but still no successful repetition by any of us. Then they displayed the five cards, side by side on the screen. The hearts and diamonds were black; the spades and clubs were red. In a room of about 80 adult educators, there was no paradigm in our thinking that allowed us to recognize these cards with their reversed colors. So it just confirms that “unless we become as a little child” we may cease to learn anything, regarding God or man, no matter how clear and obvious the facts. . Sad…
What a great example. Thanks. And now perhaps we realize how difficult it is to learn anything when we think we already know something.
I have a quick question: The writer of this comment describes “it” the religious spirit as having feminine characteristics. Why pick on women? What are the female characteristic that he is referring to; faithfulness, motherly love, tenderness? Is this more of the Jezebel spirit fallacy thinking? The comment seems misogynic. Yet the commenter is describing a religious system that is fueled by male privilege and hierarchy.
Amen. Fear freezes.
At some point, it might be instructive to consider asking WHAT FEAR is driving this compulsion, this desire, to believe this paradigm?
If we could speak to the fear, instead of just run from the oppressed and thank YHVH we are not like them, perhaps we would not fall so easily into the same trap of fear ourselves, under another guise. Religious spirits are more devious than any of us have the ability to cope. What I know is that I am susceptible to anything I feel like accusing another of. the fear that drives that accusation is what opens the door to my own vulnerability. At that point, even public stoning won’t protect me from infection. I am already infected!
I want to get to a point that I can actually help. To do that, I must stand shoulder to shoulder, and see from that point of view. That kind of security is only going to come from my own victory over my own fear, first. The beam in my own eye keeps me from that compassion. This is what I am seeking! I am not truly free until I can get those around me out of prison, too! Halleluah!
“There is no one word in the biblical text that expresses this idea of man’s responsibility to his fellow man. The rabbis adopted tzedakah to describe it. Another closely related and widely used word is chesed. Chesed is frequently translated as loving- kindness, and it is used widely in the biblical text to refer to physical aid or lending assistance of one kind or another apart from giving money or food to assist the poor and needy. Unfortunately, we have been guilty of equating righteousness ( tzedakah and/or chesed ) with holiness, or spirituality, being in a right relationship with God. We have never quite understood that in order to be in a right relationship with God, one must first be in a right relationship with his fellow man.”
Mishnah and the Words of Jesus Dr. Roy B. Blizzard Copyright © 2013. by Bible Scholars, Inc. Kindle edition, loc 128
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks recently wrote:
“…humans are destined to conflict so long as contending groups each claim to have a monopoly of the truth. The only way they will learn to live at peace is by realising that they, finite as all humans are, will never in this life achieve truth as it is in Heaven. For us, truth is always partial, fragmentary, the view from somewhere and not, as philosophers sometimes say, ‘the view from nowhere’…”
“…Given the choice, when it came to interpersonal relations the sages valued peace over truth, not least because truth can flourish in peace while it is often the first casualty in war…”
http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CC-5775-Vayechi-When-is-it-permitted-to-tell-a-lie.pdf
Thanks Roderick. This is wonderful!
thank you skip another insightful dialogue. I even questioning a faith group that I grew up in as a teenager and believed with all my heart and soul ,until I searched and found more truth to add to my faith I am so thankful that I believe in God Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit I love to search find where people were manipulated and how other areas of our faith movement developed it amazes me what people did to proclaim and push what they believed to be the truth or needed to push to be the truth well anyway as the cigarette commercial advertised skip we’ve come a long way baby from your living room and the Ailes living room where we first started to study the book of Genesis you have helped me to continue the search at 80 years old be blessed my friend in all your travels and my best to Roseanne
Thank you, Olive. I think of you often and miss those days.
Skip I have to agree with Pieter on this issue. I feel the this is an instance of the spirit of antichrist having an influence over John’s thinking. I can remember well my own personal discomfort and actually breaking out in a sweat when I made the decision to embraced the paradigm that you teach. It was tough that day and it has been tough every day since then, because as an active participant in a church I encounter John’s attitude continuously. Many of the people I am around resist any different inturpretation of early Christianity vigorously. They are so sure of their position that they refuse to even consider another reading of scripture. To me, it was like a veil had been pulled over my mind preventing me from being able to understand the truth of your work, and it seems to me like there is a veil over their mind allowing them to dismiss another paradigm without even giving it a thought. I am not a spiritualist, but I am also aware that there is a spirit presence out there that desires my obedience. Remember chap 3 of Genesis when Eve believed a lie even though she walked in the presence of God daily. “Ye shall not surely die” the spirit of evil said. You may have developed your beliefs so gradually that you no memory of a sudden realization of a new paradigm. When it is thrust on you in a short period of time, and you weren’t expecting the mental trip you were going to take, it is a shock to your system. The majority of people are not able or willing to make the discovery of another paradigm.
Jn 3:19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
Are we not all in danger of loving darkness rather then light? Light exposes us, it reveals our error, our sin. It requires repentance and change. Even a quick look at the sabbath question makes a person realize that they might be wrong in observing Sunday as a day of rest. Devoted Sunday observing Christians know this would rock their world. So to stay safe, and as guilt-free as possible, they do not ever study into this question, and they avoid communication with those who believe differently then they do. I ponder whether I should bring up the subject, in various areas of darkness, when I know they would rather not see. But the greater question I have, is to myself, will I allow the light of truth to shine in all areas of my life, or am I too afraid of what I will see, and what will be required of me. Judgement begins at home.
Lisa, Thank you …this is my experience too! I think they know. they have been touched by the sabbath and other messages of torah, but their election is to stay away from any “new truth” They might have to give up some cherished beliefs!
Skip wrote: In fact, even today the standard Church marriage service symbolically transfers the ownership of the bride from the father to the groom, a pagan practice that in every way opposed the equality of the roles in Genesis. I credit Skip with opening my eyes to this fact. So what would be the right way for the wedding to be conducted? I’m interested in hearing ideas. I saw a video of a Jewish wedding where the bride walked down the aisle and had her moment of glory, with her parents behind her. Then her groom met her half way (he was standing there waiting for her) and they both walked the rest of the way together. I really liked that. What a better picture.
Yes, Heather, it is so beautiful to see something vastly different from the customary ways we have accepted, something more meaningful, more aligned
to ABBA’s ways.
Here’s a link to such lovely weddings, and there are quite a few too-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM3_Jgvy2ME
Skip is a wonder, bringing such truths we have missed for so long.
Shalom to you!
My 86 year old mom is the typical evangelical! For quite some time after my paradigm shift, (praise be to YHWH!) we could not chat about spiritual things because she was and still is convinced that I am wrong in observing Shabbat and following Torah. Even with the simple question I asked her of “where in the Scriptures did the Sabbath get changed to Sunday? If you find it let me know and I will go back to Sunday.” She has never answered that question. I know she loves YHWH with all her heart! I have recently come to the conclusion that HE has not revealed many things of the Scriptures to her just like HE has not revealed many things to me! HE alone was the one that opened my eyes, I can not open hers. I would like to think I had a seeking heart because so many things just didn’t add up all of those Sunday years, but in the end it is YHWH and HIS timing. So, as Skip said, “Someday I hope he sees that I am not outside the “Spirit’s leading,” but if that day never comes it will not diminish my love for this man.”, I echo that sentiment, …it will not diminish my love for my mom!
Happily Ever After
His prayer for all believers? –
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; (John 17.20,21)
In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity
“May we agree to disagree?” I believe (read 99.99% know!) it is the will of God (His good pleasure) that we, His children be “one!” Hear O Israel, the LORD your God is One.” There is but one God and that One God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God (not a god) of the Jews.
Our Bible, often [rightly] called the Word of God or the word of the LORD, is in [inspired, God-breathed] written form, basically a story. As all books do, it has a beginning, a middle and an end. It is a three-part book, (yesterday, today and forever!) though having two “testaments” or covenants. It is all, also – (lest we forget) “God’s Book.”
And yes, we must also know and remember, it is a book written by humans and for humans. This Book of books, though written by men is “God-breathed.” “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Ruach HaKodesh, the “Holy Breath or Wind,” – the Holy Spirit.
I must stop here and become a beggar. I must beg this very same God, the One and only God, the Living God, to “inspire” me, for “it is written,” – without Me (Carl, or any other created creature – and that is who we are) *you, (sir, or m’am) can do – “nothing.” With Him- “success.” Without Him, vanity, emptiness, – failure. I will fail as a father, I will fail as a son, I would fail as a brother and as a friend. It is absolutely impossible for me, (or any other created creature, – Jew or Gentile, black or white, male or female) to love one another- as He (our Father) would want us to, – without Him.
Christ, the living and the resurrected Messiah, now lives in every twice-born believer. This, is the gospel truth. It is imperative, crucial, life-imparting for each of us to know: Jesus (who is the) Christ, (the One now) living in the Christian believer is our hope of glory. It is one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. How do we know these things? May this ever be our “paradigm,” – listen again (for the first time?) to His words: “it is written..”
“Comfort (strengthen, encourage) one another..” (How?) – with these [His] words.” (1 Thessalonians 4.18)
May we return to the scene of the crime? O Adam!! If only… !! (and) What if?.. The question of the Tempter was cleverly framed.. “twisted” if you will.. Just an ever so slight, ever so cunning “rearrangement” of the (Yes, instructions) of Elohim. The question? “Has God said?” (Genesis 3.1)
The [right] answer? O Adam! – If only!!
Outside of the guarded Garden gate, I am almost positive Adam heard these words repeated far too often! Oh Adam! If only you had (rightly) answered the Tempter: YES!! God DID say!! Remember? “As I recall,” – those were the clear instructions of the One who made us!!
But somehow, (was Adam distracted?), He failed to remember, and He failed to speak. The rest… ? is history.. Until? God’s unveiling of the second Adam!
Now that! – is another (Happily Ever After) story!!
It seems impossible to talk to anyone because of their paradigm shift they have. I once had it too till I met you DEAR SKIP. To this day I have strong emotions toward you for all the patience and love you have for guys like me that you helped us unwind the presuppositions that we thought were truth. Thank you Skip for letting me see how this happens to you. I appreciate you for loving and trying with everyone. I wish I had just half of your mental faculty to approach others in Biblical truth. But I can see that still doesn’t matter with this paradigm situation. Emotionally I get frustrated and unhappy over this. I don’t know if that means I am prideful or something bad but I’m trying to enjoy the ride of life through it all as you instructed me to when I was your pupil at Divinity. It seems hard when we are all alone in our Hebraic (biblical) belief system.
I take copies from your daily post and show some people and tell them to go to your site because I know they think I’m a nut job on some of this. Even when I tell them who you are as a Christian professor it still does not matter.
General theological Christianity was a very easy sell back in the day. Now who can here this today?
Hi Skip
I also thank the Father for John. What an amazing man, and he has meant so much for us in the last couple of months. We pray that one day the veil will be lifted. I’m sorry i missed you over the weekend.
Skip, thank you so much for this. The “John” in my life is my husband. I love him dearly and truly believe he loves the Lord, but no amount of talking to him about paradigms will change how he views the Word. I have to make a point not to get tangled up in discussions about it with him.
I don’t see how it promotes truth to cry, “anti-Christ!” over every person who hasn’t (yet) shifted their paradigm. None of us knew it until we were taught. God does not move in our lives because we have the “right ideas” about Him. If He did, He’d never move. Not one of us has cornered the market on the totality of the truth of who God is and why he does what he does. He was every bit as active in my life when I was an atheist as He is now. Why? I was his enemy! So? He’s not afraid of me. I happen to think he gets a real kick out of sending his goodness and grace coursing and pulsing through the world through the most unlikely people. I think many are returning to Torah. Some never will. They love God, they love Jesus, they cling to the Word, but they won’t see it. And they are every bit as precious and useful to God as the most devout follower of Torah. He decides who and what He uses and how. Individually, we need to be the salt of the earth. We need to be light in this world. We need to walk according to what He has allowed to be revealed to us. To him who much is given, much will be expected. We need to pray for truth to shine forth. We need to be humble. We need not be divided. We need to remember that we all came in through the same door.
I agree. Only the most unusual cases are based on epistemological obstinacy. Most people don’t see it simply because they already assume they have the answers, not because they deliberately reject an alternative.
Thanks Skip, it has taken me years to start being able to have these conversations across opposing paradigms without my adrenaline going through the roof and my peacefulness ending up in tatters.
Two years ago I went back to our Church home cell from 5 years prior and shared what we had learned and left a book. Disheartened by the subsequent rejection, I began to avoid the conversation generally, rationalising that unless people really wanted to hear, we would just end up at old.
And then recently the phone rang and one of the cell members, bubbling with apologies and excitement explained how 3 families had reconsidered and shifted paradigm. I felt ashamed at how hard it had been to love them as much as i had before the rejection – to simply love as before and not withdraw.
They had me over last week for Sabbath dinner. What a joy, what an encouragement.
Awesome! And on another note, so nice to hear from you again. Will you be around when I am in SA in March?
Lisa – Why does the Sabbath have to be observed on SATURDAY? Could it not be on Wednesday for instance if my cultural circumstances were different from the Hebrews? If I observe it every 7 days what would be the problem?
“Someday I hope he sees that I am not outside the “Spirit’s leading,””
You are definitely NOT outside of The Spirit’s leading, Skip. Paradigm and women’s roles are specifically your domain in ministry, beside your invaluable insights into yetzer ha’ra/tov. Such teachings and TWs are very much appreciated, to say the least.
Paradigms are a huge issue, and having the patience to guide folks to the right path is rewarding too.
HalleluYAH! What a blessing you are. Brachot, Skip.
TO ALL:
Here is the point of this real-life example (that so many of you also encounter). Differences in paradigms should not become (hopefully) reasons for separation. IT ISN’T THE EVIDENCE that is in question. Both parties see the “evidence,” they just interpret it differently. Since friendship and community is not based on TOTAL AGREEMENT, we need to take a very loose hold on the “evidence.” After all, we just might find out that we are wrong too. That was my experience after years of theological certainty. I was wrong. I needed to change. I might have to go through that again, but it won’t prevent me from engaging in real fellowship.
Do you remember those pictures that were popular awhile back that could be viewed two very different ways? It would require some kind of brain-eye shift to find the less obvious picture. Over time it would become easier to see that “other” picture. I think of that often when you talk of paradigm shift.
Neither my love for my family will die, who think I have completely lost it, am following gross error, am judaising, am becoming a Jew, etc. etc. etc. They are just afraid to loose their certainty of salvation and are not willing to investigate even the possibillity they might read in the Greek paradigm. Paul is their apostle, and I have fallen from grace in their eyes. That makes me sad, but I know YHWH is capable to take the veil from their eyes in an instant. So I rejoice in HIM!