Internal Suffering and Christianity
by
Richard T. Nolan, Ph.D.
In
his classic The Psychology of Religion (Macmillan, 1958), Dr. Walter
H. Clark* included within the chapter entitled “Two Roads to Religious Growth –
Healthy-mindedness and Suffering” the following section “Suffering From
Internal Sources.”
SUFFERING FROM INTERNAL SOURCES
Temperament.
Some people
suffer because of their temperament. They seem to have been born that way. Mrs.
Gummidge in David
Copperfield was
always complaining of being a "lone lorn creetur," and "everythink
went contrairy" with her, particularly when
everyone else was having a rousing good time. Religion for this type of person
is apt to be a very mournful affair, and the subjects of death, sin, sacrifice,
and the high cost of church collections are just the things to fit in with the
mood. The cause here is in a sense internal, but it is pretty much a matter of
glands, chronic dyspepsia, and low blood pressure, clearly physical in nature,
for which the individual has little personal responsibility. Temperament in
this case may affect one's outlook on life as well as one's theology. Carlyle's
dyspepsia was noted for the influence it was supposed to have had on his
preoccupation with the sins of his contemporaries. Though there were other
roots as well, no doubt his temperamental cast was one of the sources of the
sufferings about which Carlyle groaned so eloquently during most of his
existence.
Neurosis.
The most
obvious type of religious suffering, the sources of which are intimate and
internal, is that which is neurotic. Strictly speaking, this is not religious
suffering at all but neurotic suffering. Yet neurotic suffering with a
religious reference is in part religious suffering, and we cannot close our
eyes to the fact that in the teachings of such people as Jeremiah, John
Bunyan, and George Fox, religion owes not a little to teachers who have been
neurotics.
Religious neurotic suffering may be of
various kinds, too numerous to be reviewed here. The most frequent is
recognized by the common man under the term "martyr complex." This
has elements of paranoid thinking - the tendency to feel that one is being
singled out for persecution - and also of masochism, the enjoyment of pain.
Like Elijah languishing under the juniper bush, 1 the prophet who feels he is preaching God's word is under the necessity
of justifying his opposition, and convenient justification involves the feeling
that one is the special object of other people's animus.
*
It was a privilege to study the psychology of religion with Dr. Clark at The
1Cf.
I Kings 19:10: “I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it
away.”
But paranoid thinking usually spurs one
to action, and provided it is not too marked, it may be a tonic to a wholesome
activity that will bring an end to miseries. Elijah did not enjoy his mood of
splendid despair very long, but soon was up and doing the Lord's work, with
happy results, as every good Bible student knows. Much less creative is
suffering in the form of masochism. Since the masochist, for various
complicated reasons, unconsciously enjoys his suffering, this is a
particularly harmful expression of the religious sentiment and may even be
subtly very dangerous in its effects on personality.
2
Masochism in its extreme forms may
involve deliberately inflicted privations, tortures, or even mutilations for
the sake of religion. James quotes from the autobiography of the Blessed Henry Suso, a fourteenth-century German mystic and ascetic, as
an example of pathological extremes. 3 Suso devised for himself such
comforts as an undergarment studded with a hundred and fifty brass nails, sharpened
and so fixed as to pierce his skin; gloves with sharp tacks in order to
discourage him from disturbing the noxious insects with which, by a sort of
invitation, his body teemed; a door to sleep on, and to make sure that this
should not be too comfortable, a cross with thirty protruding needles and nails
just under his body. In winter he slept on the bare floor of his cell and
froze, his body covered with scars and his throat parched with thirst. He
boasts that over a period of twenty-five years he never took a bath, and strove
to "attain such a high degree of purity" that he would neither
scratch nor touch any part of his body other than hands and feet. All these
torments he endured "out of the greatness of the love which he bore in his
heart to the Divine and Eternal Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ...."
While we cannot say that the luxury-loving culture of modern Christianity
is in every respect a gain over that of the fourteenth century, nevertheless it
is hard to see just how the sufferings of Suso were
turned to religious advantage. The tone of his autobiography makes it clear
that he took a good deal of satisfaction in his exploits, but we suspect that
the more wholesome fruits of his undoubted piety had other sources than his
masochistic urgings.
Some Characteristics of “Suffering
Christianity” and “Healthy-Minded Christianity”
Some
specific notions of spirituality and religious practices are found among
those whose religions are indeed characterized by internal
suffering, whether by temperament or neurosis. Such anguishing forms of Christianity
are usually preoccupied with guilt, sin, death and judgment, Good Friday,
martyrdom, certain types of fasting and self-denial, gruesome statues, and
other symbols depicting agony and torment. Moreover, uncomfortable in the
Creator’s universe, they yearn for an escape from physical existence into
ecstatic union with God or “Sacredness” – or an eternally stagnant “beatific
vision.” (Ironically, a sense of spiritual superiority creeps into the psyche
of many a sufferer.) This is not to suggest an utter absence of
healthy-mindedness among all interior sufferers; nonetheless, a lesser place in
their own emotional/spiritual lives allows for fully experiencing mercy and
forgiveness, their own innate goodness, everlasting life beginning now in
this world, Easter/victorious living, self-regard as well as neighborly
regard, symbols depicting joy and peace, and a maturing communion with God.
4
Jesus as Healthy-Minded
The
New Testament portraits of Jesus do not depict in him a religion of internal
suffering, even when he truly suffered! Additionally, his fasting seemed not
to be masochistic. Rather, his sufferings developed when he was victimized
by
external forces, not from interior dis-ease. Most
perceive Jesus as healthy-minded, not as one in existential torment.
2 One will find descriptions of paranoia
and masochism in any good text on abnormal psychology. For a particularly
thorough treatment of masochism, see Reik’s Masochism
in Modern Man.
3 Varieties, p. 301
ff.
4 See Cherbonnier,
“Biblical Faith and the Idea of Tragedy” at http://www.philosophy-religion.org/cherbonnier/tragic.htm .
Suffering Christian Clergy and Their
Congregations
One
would suspect that internally suffering types of Christian clergy would
generally attract similarly disposed congregants, unless their churches have
some overriding appeal: outstanding music, a “society” zip code, and/or a lack
of regional options. Parishioners who are not cultivated sufferers can simply
stay away from observances that accentuate (and celebrate?) suffering, or they
can try to tune out clergy negativity. 5
A
psychotherapist-friend recently offered these comments:
Some Good Friday people are victims of a chemical problem and live in a
state of mild depression. They might not even realize that they have a problem
– which a low dose of an antidepressant can usually help. However, some are
used to living that way and do not want to change.
Another
source can be unconscious guilt, folks who suck the joy out of everything
and spend much of their lives frowning. They are unaware of the deep
sense of guilt they experience in their unconscious, but which is manifested
in
self-punishing, self-denying, self-defeating conscious behaviors. These
individuals can benefit greatly from psychodynamically
oriented psychotherapy. Others, not so psychologically minded, can benefit from
work with a skillful cognitive/behavioral therapist.
The big problem with committed internal sufferers is that they have formed
elaborate religious rationalizations to defend and justify this way of
functioning psychologically. They usually dismiss psychotherapy as irrelevant
to their circumstances. Moreover, they have a deep and abiding faith in their
theologically “justified” interior suffering. Such sufferers reinforce
their circumstances with ritualized “I am not worthy” ceremonial along with
incorporating “sinner” within their most fundamental personal identity. Rather
than accepting the obvious, that no creature is automatically worthy of God’s
holy and awesome presence and that we all behave unlovingly/imperfectly,
they perceive and focus upon unworthiness and sinfulness as basic to their
spirit.
A word about original sin is appropriate. Although original sin, as I
understand it, is said to be purged via baptism, many Christian-based views of human
nature insist on retaining original sin’s dour effects. Even after
baptism, many assume that human beings are inherently atrocious creatures.
“That’s human nature” is said of the post-baptismal miscreant, especially, for
example, of the church treasurer who robs the collection plate. According to
this line of thinking, after baptism humans are still inclined toward evil.
(Interestingly, our most foul expletives are rooted in the bodily functions of
human nature.) Christian sufferers are thereby further justified in their
negativity, which is partially self-inflicted by means of sustained beliefs in
the languishing effects of innate original sin. It has not occurred to them
that it is not any genuinely real original sin which plagues them; instead, their
very convictions about their own inborn sinfulness is what creates their
darkness. 7
5 I recall being astounded during my one
year (1959-60) at the Berkeley Divinity School in New Haven when the professor
of preaching enthusiastically advised us, “The first
thing you do is to convict them of sin.” There is some truth to his statement,
but it was said so harshly that both his words and tone of voice has stayed
with me all these years. Moreover, are all sermons designed to “convict them
of
sin?” Is this the sole function of the Christian pulpit? Isn’t some good news appropriate to all
preaching?
6 See Cherbonner,
“Sin Misconceived As Intrinsic to Human Nature” in chapter 7 of Hardness of Heart at http://www.philosophy-religion.org/cherbonnier/hardness/chap-7.htm
.
7 A different understanding of original sin
proposes that all human relationships have become out of alignment with God’s
purposes for humanity. Whether in family relationships or business
associations, God’s intentions have been thwarted by human choices to live otherwise. Thus, all
individuals are born into societies/cultures with ungodly standards and goals,
and from birth, individuals are exposed to the conditioning powers of their
respective environments. This is not the same as believing that human nature
itself has an inherent inclination toward evil. Instead, individuals (in
fellowship with others) can choose, with strengthening power from God, to journey
toward the realization of God’s purposes (i.e.,
the
Some Saints and Leaders Are Not Examples
of Christ’s Way of Easter Joy
If
suffering is, as
Consider also the personal anguish of intellectual and ecclesiastical giants
like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Kierkegaard, various Roman Catholic Popes,
particular monks and nuns, etc. It is often difficult to distinguish between
neurotic and constructive suffering in such less than joyful lives.
Just Say No!
Internal religious suffering attributable to temperament and
neuroses (and dismal beliefs) will most likely not disappear from this world!
However, one can reject this course as praiseworthy or exemplary. We need not
respect such paths, just as we do not respect a sickness; nevertheless, we
would maintain a genuinely caring (and not condescending) disposition toward
the sick person. When clergy provide rituals and homilies that reinforce
internal suffering, a more healthy-minded person can firmly and confidently
“just say no.”
In
this regard, Lenten and Holy Week observances ought to be scrutinized
carefully. Are they explicitly within the context of Easter – the pivotal event
of the New Testament and the Christian life, or are they excuses to act out
personal suffering as if inner torment were somehow commendable? The same
measure may be applied to the various (allegedly) Christian “spiritualities”
made available over the centuries; are they Easter oriented or Good Friday
disposed, the latter an illness in the guise of solemn piety. If religious
observances or spiritualities are found wanting, perhaps detrimental, one can
with a clear conscience decline to participate. Christians are called to
healthiness, not sickness; to Light, not darkness.
Related
“Palm Sunday and Humility” within the
title index of the Reflections subsite.
Unit One “Human Nature” in the Catechism subsite.
Cherbonnier, “Humility,” “Idolatry” and
“Perfection” in the Cherbonnier subsite.