Was Paul Liberal?
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.”[1]
The apostle Paul certainly was not afraid to highlight some of his shortcomings. Actually, he was not afraid to highlight the shortcomings of others either. At some point in our lives, we have all asked similar questions, “Why am I doing (fill in the blank)?”
In their book, The Molecule of More, by Lieberman and Long they too, ask a similar question. “Why do I do the things that I do? Why do I make the choices that I make?”[2] What Paul attributes to his sinful self, this book attributes to the molecule of dopamine. Was the apostle simply chasing more and more dopamine hits? Was dopamine the cause of his sinful self? Lieberman and Long write, “We make choices that are not in our best interest, but we feel powerless to resist. It’s as if our free will has been compromised by an overwhelming urge for immediate pleasure.”[3]
While some critics have argued that the book is too speculative,[4] I found the simplicity of their claims easy to understand even if the ending of the book becomes a bit Orwellian.
The premise of the book is simple. “The dopamine motto is, ‘More.'”[5] They compare the idea of abstract thinking which is dopamine based to the more concrete thinking of the here and now, or what is directly in front of us. “Abstract thinking is one of the primary functions of the dopamine system. Abstract thinking allows us to go beyond sensory observation of events to construct a model that explains why the events are occurring.”[6]
But what does all of this have to do with Paul being liberal?
Paul was the conservative of conservatives. He was the pharisee of pharisees. Trained under a very conservative leader, Paul followed the law to exact measures. He was conventional and followed the traditions. He was educated but primarily through scripture memorization. He knew what was right and what was wrong. Followers of the Way were wrong but pious Jews were right. In essence, he had a fixed mindset, until one day he met Jesus. A fixed mindset is defined by psychologist Carol Dweck as, “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone – the fixed mindset – creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.”[7]
Paul’s encounter with Jesus changed everything.
It took him years to develop a growth mindset and begin to understand the ways in which Jesus fulfilled the very Scriptures he had memorized. “This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.”[8] Developing the growth mindset took every bit of grit Paul could muster.[9] Paul was very deliberate in his training and preparation to share the gospel of Jesus to people all around the Mediterranean.
The gospel of Jesus was salient to Paul. Lieberman and Long define salience as, “Things are salient when they are important to you…Things are salient if they have the potential to affect your future… Things are salient if they trigger desire dopamine.”[10] Dopamine hits kept coming to Paul. Dopamine was there when he was shipwrecked. Dopamine was there when he was bit by a snake. Dopamine was there when he preached in Athens. When he was chased out of cities – dopamine. When he was writing abstract letters to churches far away – dopamine. When he penned the creative and thoughtful letter to the Romans – dopamine.
Did the sinful self of Paul cave into the dopamine hits that kept coming his way? Certainly, it is conjecture but Lieberman and Long separate the two, the dopamine response and the here and now response into divisive camps.
So, was Paul liberal? Did his conservative ways and his fixed mindset give way to a more liberal personality with a growth mindset? We will end with this quote, “On average, liberals are more likely to be forward thinking, cerebral, inconstant, creative, intelligent, and dissatisfied. Conservatives, by contrast, are more likely to be comfortable with emotions, reliable, stable, conventional, less intellectual, and happy.”[11]
[1] Zondervan, NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, ed. Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton, Illustrated edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019), Romans 7:15-17.
[2] Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, First trade paperback edition (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 2019), 28.
[3] Lieberman and Long, 46.
[4] Richard Cytowic, “A Book Review by Richard Cytowic: The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race,” accessed November 19, 2024, https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/molecule-more.
[5] Lieberman and Long, 16.
[6] Lieberman and Long, 172.
[7] Carol Dweck, Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential, Revised edition (London: Robinson, 2017), 6.
[8] Dweck, 6–7.
[9] Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, First Scribner trade paperback edition (New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Scribner, 2018).
[10] Lieberman and Long, 113.
[11] Lieberman and Long, 161.
About the Author
Adam Cheney
I grew up in California, spent five years living along the beautiful coast of Kenya and now find myself working with refugees in the snow crusted tundra of Minnesota. My wife and I have seven children, four of whom have been adopted. I spend my time drinking lots of coffee, working in my garden, and baking sourdough bread.2 responses to “Was Paul Liberal?”
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Adam, this was one of my favorite blogs you’ve produced. Great job. It was a fun read.
How do you think Paul’s threshold experience meeting Jesus, which led to his personal transformation, impacted his ability to adapt to different cultural contexts when interacting with diverse groups? How much influence do you think dopamine had in pushing him to go into uncomfortable places?
Thanks Jen,
I think that Paul had a threshold moment on the road when he met Jesus. He began to see the world in color rather than black and white. This would have challenged his perception of the other cultures and non-Jews.
I also think that dopamine was a huge factor in pushing him into the challenging or uncomfortable places. As you trace his story through the Acts of the Apostles it almost seems like in each city he needs a bigger hit of dopamine.