How Aim, Faith, and Thought Intersect in Biblical Stories

This article explores the profound connection between thinking, faith, and the biblical narratives, arguing that true faith is not a mere belief in facts but a commitment to an upward aim and a willingness to act according to one's conscience.

The Nature of Thought and Secularized Prayer

The author posits that thinking, at its core, is a form of secularized prayer. Before the formalization of thought by Greek philosophers like Socrates, human interaction with the world was inherently religious. There was no concept of a "faithless" person; everyone operated within a religious framework.

Thinking begins with humility: admitting one's ignorance. It requires acknowledging a problem that perplexes or bothers you, accepting it as your own responsibility, and then proclaiming your lack of a solution. The process of thinking, of conjuring solutions from seemingly nothing, remains a profound mystery, akin to the inexplicable origin of dreams. Just as dreams are not voluntary, thoughts often emerge without a clear causal sequence.

The Genesis of Scientific Hypotheses and Revelation

Scientific inquiry, despite its objective facade, often mirrors this process. Scientists, when publishing, frequently construct a narrative of logical progression from existing literature to their hypothesis. However, the reality is often a "leap of originality," an intuition or insight that approximates a revelation. This insight arises from admitting ignorance and being open to something new. The language used by great scientists to describe their breakthroughs often carries religious connotations, speaking of being "struck by a realization."

This aligns with Christ's injunction in the Gospels: "knock and the door will open, ask and you'll receive, seek and you'll find." This implies a genuine intent and desire to know. When this intent is present, something appears in the "theater of your imagination." This is a more accurate description than simply "thinking it up." Attributing this to the "unconscious mind" merely replaces one mystery with another. The author suggests that the biological and the divine dovetail, and even a bottom-up approach to revelation, like Jung's concept of the implicit unconscious, treads on religious ground.

Testing the Spirits: The Importance of Aim

However, receiving a revelation is not the end of the process. As the New Testament advises, one must "test the spirits to see if they're of God." This means critically evaluating the insights received, as they might come from a "wrong spirit."

Consider resolving an argument with a spouse. If one aims for the highest good – reestablishing harmonious peace and a playful spirit – and sacrifices everything to that end, the spirit that responds will be aligned with the divine. This "sinless aim" orients one towards a "microcosm of the Garden of Eden," leading to messages that move one closer to a "kingdom of heaven."

Conversely, if one harbors resentment and aims to insult, gain a petty victory, or assert intellectual pride, then a "lesser devil" will respond. This spirit will craft cynical, sarcastic, and bitter words, inspiring the use of power instead of invitation, and leading to a "Pharaonic tyrant" mentality. This "misalignment of aim" is what the term "sin" originally meant: to miss the target.

Aim as the Structure of Perception and Character

Your aim determines not just what you think, but literally what you see. It dictates which pathways open, what constitutes obstacles, and who your friends and enemies are. Your aim is the structure through which you perceive the world, and your character is a sequence of these aims. This is evident in movies, where a character's aims define their world and allow the audience to emotionally identify with them.

Therefore, getting your aim right is crucial. When preparing for a lecture, the author first identifies a genuine problem he is wrestling with, one he believes is worth sacrificing for, pursuing, communicating, and contemplating. This is a "genuine question."

Faith as Willingness to Abide by Conscience: The Story of Elijah

The author then delves into how faith should not be conceptualized. It's not about belief in a set of facts, but the precondition for observing the facts that matter. God, in this view, is ineffable, beyond categorization, and of a higher order than objective reality. Faith is not reducible to material understanding.

The story of Elijah illustrates this. Elijah, a major prophet, realizes that God is not found in the awe-inspiring forces of nature – not in the fire, the thunderstorm, the wind, or the earthquake. Instead, God is "the still small voice that calls within." This is a radical claim, suggesting that God is not merely subjective or psychological, as this inner voice operates autonomously and issues a force that compels without forcing. It informs and reveals but does not compel.

Faith, then, is the willingness to abide by the dictates of this conscience. Both listening to it and ignoring it are acts of faith, as the outcome of listening is not known a priori. True faith, as Christ indicated, is shown by the willingness to "do the will of the heavenly father." This God is ineffable, invites but does not command, and defines the "straight and narrow pathway forward" in relation to one's conscience. Faith is the pattern of decision that emerges from this encounter.

God as the Wrestler with Chaos: Genesis and Human Responsibility

Conscience is not the only way God manifests. The biblical stories offer various characterizations of an essential unity, representing what should be celebrated, aimed at, or related to for integrity and harmony.

In Genesis, God is portrayed as the victor over Leviathan, the dragon of chaotic waters. This primordial image depicts God wrestling with chaos and potential, extracting order that is good. Human beings are conceptualized as being made in this image.

The world is not a deterministic set of facts. Our consciousness deals with what is fluid and yet to be. We peer into the future, crafting strategies to navigate it towards our "promised land." This journey is an "endless wandering up Jacob's ladder," an attempt to reestablish the Garden of Eden.

Our anxiety and hope upon awakening are an apprehension of the potential that is our deepest reality. We have opportunities and obligations to shape this potential, either badly or well, bitterly or gratefully, aiming down or aiming up. Every word, breath, and glance is an act of wrestling with possibility and transforming it into either "hell" or an "improved representation of the earthly domain." Our conscience calls us out when we fail to perform this shaping and wrestling, this "subduing and naming" that was Adam's responsibility.

Adam and Eve walked with God in the eternal garden, an optimal balance of social structure and natural abundance, because they were "aiming up." This possibility exists for us if we truly aim up and make the necessary sacrifices. This "sacrificial path of expanding opportunity" is the establishment of the covenant between the chosen people and God, exemplified in the stories of Abraham, Cain and Abel, Exodus, and Jacob and Esau. Faith is the willingness to embark on this adventure, presuming an "up" in the aftermath of commitment.

The Flawed Heroes and the Upward Aim: Jacob and Jonah

Many Old Testament heroes are deeply flawed at the start of their transformative journeys, offering hope for all. Jacob, initially a manipulative "mama's boy," represents the spirit that "usurps and destroys." Yet, the stories assure us that even deeply flawed individuals can establish a covenant with what is highest and progress if they determine to aim upward.

The story of Jonah further illustrates this. Jonah is called by God (the voice of conscience) to warn the corrupt citizens of Nineveh. He rejects this call, fleeing in the opposite direction and falling into "blind unconsciousness." This refusal to speak truth puts the "ship of state" in peril. The storm that arises symbolizes the chaos that ensues when good people refuse to embody the "logos" – truthful speech – that extracts order from possibility.

Jonah's descent into the belly of the whale represents the catastrophic consequences of silence, where death becomes preferable to the horrors brought about by deceit. This resonates with the atrocities of totalitarian states in the 20th century, where widespread silence led to genocidal murder. Americans, rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, understand the self-evident truth that they are made in the image of God and are meant to be the voice that redeems the corrupt state.

Jonah's faith is his repentance in hell and his humble commitment to do God's will. He is then spat onto shore, goes to Nineveh, and delivers the message. The city repents and is saved. This mirrors Abraham's bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, where the presence of even a few righteous individuals can avert total destruction. The terrifying implication is that we are called to be one of those few, and anything less is an abdication of responsibility that stops hell in its tracks. Jonah's faith is not a proclamation of belief, but a "total commitment... to the pathway of good," a willingness to put himself "100% on the line."

Work as Sacrifice: Cain and Abel

The story of Cain and Abel reinforces this. They represent two patterns of work and sacrifice, which are fundamentally the same: sacrificing the present for the future. Work involves sacrificing personal whim for the stability of the community and the well-being of family.

Abel, a shepherd, offers the best of his flock, symbolizing his willingness to bring his best to the table. This archaic representation suggests that God, who inhabits heaven, can discern the intent and spirit of the sacrifice.

Cain, however, withholds his best, lacking faith in the necessity of exhausting himself for a proper relationship with the divine. He "buries his talents," falling prey to deception and pride. When one doesn't bring their best, they must lie to themselves and others. Cain's failure leads to bitterness, resentment, and vengeance. He blames God for his misery instead of taking responsibility. God tells Cain that his misery is not due to failure alone, but to his invitation of the "sin that crouched at your door."

Cain, enraged, kills Abel, his own ideal, to spite God. This act foreshadows countless events culminating in Christ's death. Cain's faith in his own deception leads to misery and failure. His punishment is to wander alone in the "land of nod," the domain of unconsciousness, embodying a pattern of sacrifice that makes him unfit for community. His descendants become increasingly murderous and genocidal, worshipping technology instead of God. This illustrates that refusing to make the highest offering and embracing bitterness not only corrupts the soul but leads the state down a path of catastrophic murder. The flood follows the faithlessness of Cain's lineage.

The Ultimate Faith: Job and Christ

Faith is a total commitment to the pathway of good. Jacob, after his ill-spent youth, decides to "aim up" in the desert, building an altar and establishing a covenant. Abraham, too, indicates his willingness to believe in the good and pursue it, shedding everything that stands in his way.

This culminates in the story of Job, who, despite losing everything and suffering immensely, refuses to lose faith in himself or God. He maintains his faith in the "utility of the upward aim" no matter what.

The ultimate realization of this is the Passion of Christ, a multi-dimensional catastrophe where the least deserving receives the worst betrayal, torture, and punishment. Christ's pathway is the faith to continue the upward aim that unites man and God, despite the utter catastrophe and malevolence of human existence. The crucifix, a symbol of voluntary willingness to bear this fate, signifies the understanding that through such sacrifice, the future is ensured, death is defeated, evil overcome, and community established.

The Call to Purpose

When asked how God reveals people's callings or purpose, the answer is: "By gripping your interest, assuming you're aiming up." If one removes the "beam from their eye" and aims upward, things in the world will elicit interest and enthusiasm. This calling will be reliable if the proper relationship with what is highest is established.

Moses, as a shepherd, is beckoned by the burning bush, the "tree of life that's on fire." This represents something intensely alive that captures imagination. Moses investigates, taking off his shoes to signify abandoning his current identity and treading on sacred ground. The "spirit of being and becoming itself speaks to him." This is how wisdom develops, leading to charisma and leadership. Moses leads his people from tyranny, both external and internal, because he has "got to the bottom of things" and speaks with compelling force. This is the "eternal story of proper development."

Regarding the question of an alcoholic father fearing having children, the author references the scouts sent to Canaan. Some saw only giants and despair, while others, like Joshua and Caleb, believed they could prevail with faith and an upward aim. God rewarded the faithful scouts, transforming them into leaders. The message to the alcoholic is to have faith, as seven years of sobriety, like Jacob's journey, is a testament to straightening oneself out. The adventure of faith, though terrifying, is "better than all the alternatives."