Exploring Psychology and Christian Faith by Paul Moes & Donald J. Tellinghuisen

Author:Paul Moes & Donald J. Tellinghuisen [Moes, Paul and Donald J. Tellinghuisen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL050000
ISBN: 9781441246448
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-07-16T16:00:00+00:00

11

Trust Your Feelings!

Emotion

Chapter Summary: Emotions have had a bad reputation for the past two thousand years—thanks in large part to the influence of Greek and medieval philosophers, who valued reason above emotions. Christians have also downplayed emotions, and many psychologists seemed uninterested in studying emotions, since they were viewed as too “messy” to measure and too much a sign of human weakness. However, in recent years, psychologists have rediscovered how essential emotions are to our basic nature. This chapter examines the embodied nature of emotions and how they are integrated into our whole being. We also explore how emotions illustrate our image-bearing quality and how they allow us to relate to God and others in ways that go to the core of our being. Finally, we also stress that we are responsible limited agents who can engage in emotional self-regulation, despite the limitations of our situations or physical existence.

Indulging in unrestrained and immoderate laughter is a sign of intemperance, of a want of control over one’s emotions, and of failure to repress the soul’s frivolity by a stern use of reason.

Saint Basil, On the Vice of Laughter

I have a Bible study that my friends and I go to here in L.A. I go to church every Sunday. I’ve always been a believer. I love singing. I don’t have the best voice—I just love getting my emotions out.

Tweeted by actor Kellan Lutz

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:9–10

Perhaps you sang this little “ditty” when you were young:

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

These “complex and deeply moving” lyrics go on to describe additional happy actions (e.g., “stomp your feet”). Despite its painfully simple message and annoyingly catchy tune, the song captures two profound ideas. The first idea is that one can experience emotions either consciously or unconsciously (“if you’re happy and you know it”); the second idea is that when you experience emotion it is expressed in automatic body responses (“your face will show it”) and overt actions (“clap your hands”). One other interesting element about the song is that it is always sung in a group setting. The song is sung with others because, as we believe, emotions are meant to be shared and are very much a part of our relational nature.

These ideas provide a partial answer to a question that may have never occurred to you: Why should we have emotions at all? We asked a similar question earlier when we asked why we need bodies. When we ask students in our classes what they think of emotions, we get a large variety of answers. Students will say emotions have negative connotations. They say that emotions are untrustworthy, cloud judgment, hinder problem solving, make us think and act irrationally, disrupt relationships, pull us down (e.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.