Chaplain's Corner

W.I. Thomas, an American sociologist in the first of the 20th century once wrote “If people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences.” If we ponder this statement, we begin to understand why it is so important that we be very careful when we decide whether something is real or not.

There are extreme illustrations of this maxim like the ancient practices of any number of pagan religions that came to believe there was a direct correlation between having a good crop and the sacrifice of a first born child to their deity. Somewhere in the culture this was defined as real or true and for years parents made the horrible decision to offer their first born children to the deity so that their community might have a good harvest the coming year. The consequences of this “perceived reality” were very real and very tragic. We now know just how absurdly false this definition of reality was. Anthropologists have documented case after case of this happening. But we don’t have to dig back into the annals of ancient paganism to realize the truthfulness of this maxim.

There are also silly illustrations of this maxim. Let me use myself as an example. When I was a young man I owned a 1969 Ford Torino GT. It looked good, it had a powerful 350 cubic inch engine, but I had nothing but problems with it. It just about broke me. Since that day, I have decided that Fords are nothing but trouble and I have owned many makes, but never a Ford. I recently drove a 2012 Ford Focus while my car was in the shop having some repairs and I didn’t like it. I am quite certain that I didn’t like it simply because back in the early 1070’s I defined Fords as bad cars. The consequences of that definition remain to this day; I will never be able to have confidence about driving a Ford. (I hope you Ford fans will forgive me.)

Now, this is of little consequence. I can make it nicely through life without ever owning or driving another Ford. But there are other issues in which we have defined truth and falsehood where the consequences are dire. This is especially true in the realm of spirituality. We live in a time when in the area of spirituality we are being told there are no absolutes. We are being told that there are absolute truths such as 2+2 being 4, or the earth revolving around the sun, or about the make up of the human genome, or even about evolution being the means by which our earth became populated with millions of organisms; but there is nothing absolute about spiritual matters except that everything is true. This maxim about spirituality is widely held. Spirituality has become defined as an individual reality which no one has the right to challenge.

This “new reality” has far reaching consequences not just for this life but for the life to come (of course, that is if you happen to have defined “a life to come” as a reality).

“If people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences.” This statement helps you and I understand why people live their lives, by “defined truths” that other judge to be absurd.

Orthodox Christians (not the denomination but Christians adhering to the Christian faith as expressed in the early Christian ecumenical creeds.) have for nearly 2 millennia defined the deity of Jesus Christ as “real”. They have defined the existence of heaven and hell as “real”. They have defined salvation as a gift given by God to those who trust completely in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of their personal sins and their sinful condition as “real”. If you are a member of an orthodox Christian church and personally embrace it’s teachings, this “defined reality” has had real consequences on the way you life. You have attended church services, you have behaved according to God’s direction in the Bible, you have prayed and trusted God in every situation of your life. Your life is radically different because you have defined the teachings of orthodox Christianity as “real”.

Yet others judge those of us who live this way as deluded. The atheist who has defined God out of reality, sees such a lifestyle and patently ridiculous. But, if those of us who have defined the teachings of orthodox Christianity as ”real” are honest, we too view the convictions of the atheist as ridiculous.

Now, according to cutting edge attitudes and definitions of reality in regards to spirituality are concerned, both the orthodox Christian and the atheist (and everybody else for that matter) need to simply take a deep breath and redefine their reality. This new reality that we are being encouraged to embrace is: every personal conception of spiritual reality is for the person who embraces it real. If such a conception were to be widely embraced, then at least in theory, all the strife created by opposing spiritualities would come to an end and we would emerge (evolve) out of a state of begrudging religious tolerance into a new state of spiritual oneness, not “defined” by a common “theology” but “defined” by as common suspension of the possibility of absolute truth in the realm of spirituality.

There is growing interest in this becoming the predominant spiritual attitude. But WAIT A MINUTE. Are we to totally suspend logic when it comes to spirituality? Embracing this “new definition” would indeed require just that. The rules of logic, when applied anywhere else, demand that something always be true. In mathematics logic demands that 2+2 always equal 4. The entire scientific method depends on this basic rule of logic. This is what allows us to declare absolute truth in many realms. So why are we being asked to imagine that this same rule of logic has no place in matters of spirituality. Logic demands that if we conclude that “everything is “real” (true) in spiritual matters, then absolutely nothing is “real” (true) in spiritual matters.

Or in language everyone can understand. If there isn’t absolute truth in spiritual matters, then there is no truth and Karl Marx was right, religion is just an opiate for the masses; a delusion used to keep people in a state of induced sedation so that they can be more easily controlled.

I believe W. I. Thomas, was onto something when he wrote, “If people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences.” That is why it is absolutely critical that when we come to defining something as “real” that we are absolutely certain that the belief is absolutely true. For if our “reality” is an illusion, the consequences will be that our life will be lived chasing an illusion and in the end, our life will have been wasted.

When a person comes into hospital with a life threatening illness, or when a doctor diagnoses a life ending, terminal illness, a person’s definition of “reality” that has controlled their life (the consequence of defining something as “real”) faces the ultimate challenge. If a person concludes that they have defined “real” correctly, peace is often the consequence – even in the face off impending death. But when there is doubt about the “real” that has directed a person’s life, a serious spiritual crisis ensues which when not resolved results in the tragedy of a tormented death which in our present day paradigms leads to increased pain control to ease the persons struggle but not resolve the existential torment of the persons questioned “reality”.

This is where the present conception of modern say spiritual care comes into conflict with the convictions of a chaplain who holds to the orthodox teachings of any particular religion, but in my case orthodox Christianity. So what is a chaplain like me to do in such a situation? It’s simply stated but difficultly executed:  I respect each person’s inherent right to “define” what is “real” for them, but when their “real” fails them in the hour of crisis and the person reaches out for guidance, I point the person to the ultimate reality, the author and source of everything that is real – Jesus.