To Troublesome to Accept
There has not been a time that I can recall when I was unaware of Jesus, sin, and forgiveness. I was born to “bush missionary” parents in rural Alaska and am the youngest of three siblings. Though we moved from Alaska to Montana shortly after I was born, my earliest recollections are still of my dad as a pastor of a small rural church. I attended public school for the first three years. Before fourth grade started, we moved to Oregon, and my parents placed me in a private Christian school. From that school, I graduated as the sole graduate of the class of 1997. Following that awkward experience, I attended a Christian college to obtain my undergraduate and MBA degrees. It is fair to say that I “grew up Christian,” and most of my adult employment has been with Christian organizations.
This personal history left me heartbroken and confused after a particular conversation with a man named “Frank” who lives halfway around the world. Frank is a follower of a different religion. It is a relatively small and obscure religion that believes in the forthcoming immaculate birth of a messiah and reincarnation. Frank and his wife lived alone as their children were older and had left home. He was, and to the best of my knowledge still is, a kind and gentle man. I was part of a small group of four that had the privilege of visiting his home. Many of the homes in the area needed simple repairs and a coat of paint. After hearing of Frank’s specific needs, we were happy to assist with his small project. Within an hour or two, we finished painting the rusty metal fence with a fresh coat of the neon green paint he had requested.
Upon finishing, he invited us to his front lawn for an opulent lunch at a table overflowing with hospitality. Frank invited us inside for coffee after a customary dessert of dried fruits.
As we sat in his living room, we shared pleasantries through an interpreter, and eventually, he said, “My new friends, you have traveled far. What brought you here today?”. I shared with Frank that we were followers of Jesus the Messiah, and His teachings and actions make it clear that He loves people. Through the interpreter, I went on to share, “We are here today to show that love to you in any way we can, even if it is as simple as painting your fence”. You could see the tears start to swell in his eyes. He paused as he contemplated his words and spoke softly through the interpreter. “I believe your words and your kindness helps restore my hope in humanity. I have heard of your Messiah before. I want to believe that he embodies all I could hope for in a messiah. But my adult son was a follower of our religion. He was killed in an act of violence before hearing of your Messiah.” Holding back the tears, he continued, “Thank you for coming here today, but I cannot accept your Messiah. If I were to do that, I would be sentencing my own son to hell”. At that moment, I was heartbroken and confused. Having grown up in the Christian faith, I struggled to reconcile his reality and the implications of his statement.
My mind continually returned to this experience as I read the book Meyer and Lund edited, Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding. Frank had run head-on into a wall of troublesome knowledge constructed by a threshold concept.[1] In this situation, Frank’s gain would have become his son’s loss.[2] The core concept of a god was perfectly acceptable to Frank. Still, the expanded understanding that Meyer and Lund associate with troublesome knowledge related to a threshold concept was too much for him. Accepting the knowledge of an alternative messiah would have been transformative, irreversible, integrative, and troublesome.[3]
As I contemplate threshold concepts, I can’t help but begin applying the framework and the ramifications to my doctoral adventure. In doing so, a multitude of emotions swirl in my head. I am anxious regarding the unknown. What troublesome knowledge will I encounter? Do I see myself on the other side of this threshold?[4] What if my articulation and writing don’t improve?[5] What if the persistent curiosity necessary to progress out of liminality moves me into pessimism and pushes me farther from who I want to be?[6] Leaving me stuck, knowingly or unknowingly, in perpetual liminality. [7]
Ultimately, I must choose to rely on and trust Jesus. I must seek His wisdom to discern what healthy questioning looks like, accept an accurate self-image through who I am in Jesus, and depend on Him to cope with difficult knowledge.
[1] Meyer, J., & Land, R. Threshold Concepts in Practice. Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice. Vol. 68. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2016. 6.
[2] Meyer, J., & Lund, R. Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge. New York: Routledge, 2006. xiv.
[3] Meyer, Lund. Overcoming Barriers. 7.
[4] Meyer, Lund. Threshold Concepts. xiv.
[5] Meyer, Lund. Threshold Concepts. 167.
[6] Breaking Through: Threshold Concepts as a Key to Understanding. Robert Coven . TEDxCaryAcademy, 2018, 8:29 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCPYSKSFky4.
[7] Meyer, Lund, and Flanagan, Threshold Concepts. 153.
About the Author
Darren Banek
7 responses to “To Troublesome to Accept”
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Darren, Then same questions you have are swirling in my head. I desire for breakthroughs and “out-of-the-box’ thinking and knowledge but feel desperate for the Spirit’s revelation to even start on this journey. Will I just end up writing the same old thing everyone else has written. Will I find an unique angle? Are these even the right questions to ask?
Your story of the man and his son hits hard. I lived in Jordan, in the Middle East for many years. I came to have a group of Muslim, Arab women who are so close to my heart, some became chosen family. One of these friends had been barren and was in her late 40’s. Her husband stayed with her despite the cultural norm of a husband to divorce or take another wife if his wife cannot bear him children. As I heard her story I felt compelled to pray for a baby for her and told her the story of Sarah in the Bible. She got pregnant that night and had a beautiful baby girl whom she named Sarah from the biblical story. She was amazed at how wonderful our God was and she wished she could follow our God too. In my American mind where we can choose as we want and make those choices as an individual, I could not comprehend why she spoke like this (a threshold moment for me). In her Arab thinking, she does not have a choice. Though she wanted to follow my God, was healed by Him and would not stop telling others about what he did for her, she truly believed there was no option to choose him. She was born a Muslim in a collective culture. She is part of a family, tribe and nation and not a lone individual. It has been many years since this experience and we are still in contact and she still has no choice. We’ve studied the Bible, we’ve prayed in Jesus’ name, we laughed and cried together and she loves God. I believe that He knows her and that she is His and she will be in the kingdom of heaven with me. But I still can’t wrap my head around her collective thinking, though I believe it is exactly why Paul refers to the Church as the body. Collective and individualistic cultures affect how the entire world thinks, yet they are “troublesome thoughts” one to another. Will we ever understand and push through the threshold?
Jess,
I’m not sure whether you should jump up and down or cry for your dear friend. Either way, I thank God for the ways that He is revealing Himself to her. I’m also thankful that her story is not over yet.
Joff wrote a great post on Shalom and the threshold of our understanding in light of culture and language differences. It seems as though your two points of view are similar. Can we ever get out of liminality and across the threshold of something without experiencing it? I want to say, “Sure we can!” but I think I am deceiving myself. We may have to be content with the liminality of the threshold?
Darren, this is interesting. When I finished reading, I wonder where do you see are the difficult concepts for our culture today to accept Jesus?
Robert,
If I understand the question correctly, you’re asking what cultural aspect would prevent someone from accepting Christ in the United States?
If so, Freedom would be #1 on my list. Our individualistic mindset leads us to scoff at most things that come with a felt restriction of self-gratification.
Darren, I, too, am anxious about the unknown. I only take comfort in trusting the sovereignty of God. Trusting him was a space of liminality for me at one time. Yet, I still struggle with it.
You mentioned seeking “His wisdom to discern what healthy questioning looks like. . . ” I’m curious – what healthy questions are you asking now?
Mika,
Great question. For me, it usually boils down to “How does this fit in relation to what I know about God and His proven character.” I also tend to accept a statement made with confidence to be one of truth. Because of that, I am learning to be more cautious and ask respectful questions that dig at fact vs. perception.
Jess, I am sitting in a Coffeeshop in Fulday, Germany, awkwardly with tears running down my face your story drills down into my heart as a story of hope and tragedy. I think that if we ever get to a place where these testimonies of God’s powerful goodness without disturbing our emotional space, we are most to be pitied.
One of my problems with your story and the comments is that it brings an old Charlie Brown story way too close to home. One day, Charlie Brown and Lucy are lying on the side of a hill, watching the clouds. Charlie Brown says to Lucy, what do you see in the sky? Lucy says, “I see a herd of wild horses running feverishly across the wide open plains, racing to get to the river.” Lucy says to Charlie Brown, “What do you see, Charlie Brown?” Charlie Brown said, “I was going to say I see a pony.”