Thursday 31 January 2019

Metanoia

          When used in the New Testament this word metanoia means change of mind, and goes hand-in-hand with regret and remorse. This was the message of both John the Baptist and Jesus when they called people to repentance. In the Old Testament, repentance appeared to mean something quite different. Interestingly I feel, this change of meaning between the two Testaments also reflects a radical change in the understanding of the nature of God. But discussion of that consideration is beyond this post.
          Repentance as used in the Old Testament is a subject much loved by low church, moralistic, bible-thumping, protestant preachers. The Roman Catholic Inquisition......well let us not dwell on their methods of restoring sinners and backsliders to orthodoxy. Of course, bullying people to recant their heretical urges is not, and I suppose never was, the prerogative of the religious. How would party politics for example survive otherwise?
          One of the essential outcomes of changing one's thinking, in essence admitting one can be wrong, is that one acquires a very different and broadening outlook on life. When one's mode of thinking has become addictive, a state which I fear afflicts most of us in one form or another, that change in thinking, which Jesus continually exhorted his listeners to adopt, can cut to the very heart of psychological denial. For me, that is the essential value of repentance. It requires experiencing regret and remorse, not difficult when that denial is displayed in the glow of enlightenment, because those twin experiences serve to aid the necessary change.
          Once the habitual way of thinking has been broken, regret and remorse will have served their purpose and can be dispensed with. To persist in indulging in them does nothing for the individual except run the risk of slipping into other dysfunctions such as self pity. And this process of metanoia will still need to be continued, for one does not become a perfect as the result of a once and forever act.

10 comments:

  1. Methods of controlling backsliders to orthodoxy in the church came quite naturally to the founders of that ‘universal’ church. The Roman Empire was, after all, their nursery. Once they invented hell it was so simple.
    Those who control the language can manipulate the thoughts of the population who speak it. Discussion of important ideas can be limited in such a way that the conclusion is pre-determined. Nobody knows this better than a woman in a group of men, by the way.
    This understanding that repentance for Jesus was a revelatory experience changes so much. It changes the process from empty pleading to some higher power, into an active search for meaning in our behaviour. Forgiveness by some authority outside into self-forgiveness, which is the power to move ahead in one’s life. And yes, moving ahead does include dispensing with old regretful thoughts which might keep you from continuing the process of self-examination.

    A wonderful post Tom!

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    1. And a heartfelt response, Halle. It's good to talk.

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  2. Yes. I'm wholly in tune with this post, Tom. To forgive one's self can take many forms. Metanoia can be simply a stepping aside and suddenly realising that the critical voice which has been endlessly nagging that we have not found our 'real' self and ought to be doing that, is a delusion. And that we ARE our real self. To really experience this is a radical and positive change of mind.

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    1. I think there is something to be said for the idea that when we observe our egoistic virtual/false self it is like looking into a mirror which generates virtual reflections. But it is the Real, authentic self that is doing the observing.

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Sorry Lindsay, I have accidentally deleted your comment. I would still like to say that your comment on repentance is interesting. In my experience the removal of old habits resulting from an awareness of my denial, was a process which took place below the level of consciousness. Finally, I had found a solution to a problem which had grown since childhood and never been resolved.

      Again, I'm sorry about my inadvertent deletion of your comment.

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    2. Hi Tom,
      No problem at all, it’s easily done.
      What I think I more or less said was that in the NT texts repentance is never linked exclusively to revelation.
      Rather, as you have posted, the revelation is a new way forward, appealing to the inner self and ushering in a more tolerant and freer form of existence. That means old habits may be cast aside in the light of a new way of being. The repentance aspect might precipitate, in extreme cases, attempted restitution where practical.
      I reason I have attempted to recast my earlier comment is I’m not sure what you mean when you say, in my experience the removal of old habits resulting from an awareness of my denial, was a process which took place below the level of consciousness.
      Do you mean as you think differently, the realisation dawns on you later on those prior habits increasingly have held no sway or have fallen away without realising it ?
      Best wishes

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    3. I don't wish to preempt my next possible post, but in my experience when one has started a course, certain things occur which are not consciously initiated. Something, some other presence, takes a hand. I hope that is a satisfactory response.

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  4. Look forward to it. As you might also agree, knowing about things comes down to being able to have a conversation about it, but in the process we don’t have to be alawys guardians of rationality - because mystery has its place. Best wishes

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    1. Indeed, mystery does have its place. Thank you Lindsay.

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