{"id":34402,"date":"2023-12-01T08:36:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T16:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34402"},"modified":"2023-12-01T08:36:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T16:36:41","slug":"subjective-meaning-of-faith-and-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/subjective-meaning-of-faith-and-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"Subjective Meaning of Faith and Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/p>\n

“Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief” by Jordan B. Peterson is a fascinating book that digs deep into how our beliefs, the myths we hear, and our everyday lives are connected. Peterson shows us that myths are not just old stories but more like an ancient tool. He presents these narratives (myths) as a rudimentary yet profound form of technology (think Myspace, which made way for Facebook and all the social media technology); they help us make sense of the world and deal with life’s big questions and challenges. He challenges us to see that these stories from long ago still have much to teach us about living our lives today. I found many interesting ideas in this book, but nothing was more interesting than the meaning of things. Maybe because it speaks in some ways to my NPO project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The meaning of things.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peterson says two things that stood out to me about the meaning of things. The first one was, “The meaning we attribute to objects or situations is not as stable. What is important to one man is not necessarily important to another.<\/span>[1]<\/span><\/a>” His insights here strike a chord, especially when he notes this concept that our valuation of life’s components isn’t fixed but fluid, that it dances to the rhythm of individual perspectives (Jubi slide anyone?), is both liberating and daunting. It suggests that the tapestry of human experience is more subjective than we might care to admit. I have to say that this touches on my project and our idea of God but also terrifies me a little. I like it. It’s unknown and unstable but exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

God and our aspirations<\/span><\/p>\n

And when he says, “The meaning of things depends to a profound and ultimately undeterminable degree upon the relationship of those things to the goal we currently have in mind,<\/span>[2]<\/span><\/a>” it’s as if he’s inviting us to consider that our goals act like lenses through which the world reveals itself to us. Our aspirations, drives, ideas, and thoughts all color our world. This could apply to the spiritual dimensions of our lives as well. If we follow this thread, our understanding of religion and our grasp of the divine are also shaped by the goals that burn within us. This is a question I have been asking myself with my project. The idea that the sacred might be filtered through our ambitions and desires is intriguing and complex. It suggests that our spiritual journeys are not just about seeking truth in a vacuum but about discovering how that truth resonates with the inner narrative of our personal missions and visions.<\/span><\/p>\n

This perspective opens up a broader conversation about the role of individual purpose in our religious beliefs and practices (religion and politics?). If what Peterson is getting at rings true, then the spiritual truths we hold dear and the way we practice our faith could be as much about who we are and what we’re striving for as they are about doctrines and traditions handed down to us. It makes one wonder: How much of our faith reflects our innermost yearnings, and what does this say about the dynamic, ever-evolving nature of belief itself? Peterson says, “We presume that things have a more-or-less fixed meaning, because we share a more-or-less fixed “condition” with others \u2013 at least with those others who are familiar to us, who share our presumptions and world-views<\/span>[3]<\/span><\/a>“<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Peterson, J. B. (1999).\u00a0<\/span>Maps of meaning: The architecture of belief<\/span><\/em>. Routledge. Pg38<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Peterson, J. B. (1999).\u00a0<\/span>Maps of meaning: The architecture of belief<\/span><\/em>. Routledge. Pg38<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Peterson, J. B. (1999).\u00a0<\/span>Maps of meaning: The architecture of belief<\/span><\/em>. Routledge. Pg39<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction “Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief” by Jordan B. Peterson is a fascinating book that digs deep into how our beliefs, the myths we hear, and our everyday lives are connected. Peterson shows us that myths are not just old stories but more like an ancient tool. He presents these narratives (myths) as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2917,2455],"class_list":["post-34402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp01-peterson","tag-jordanpeterson","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34403,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34402\/revisions\/34403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}