A few months ago while I was reading through Luke\u2019s Gospel I noticed how Jesus wrapped up a \u00a0statement that caused me to think, \u201cHuh, I never noticed that.\u201d To give some context, in this section of Luke 5:37-39, Jesus is cautioning his listeners about putting new wine in old wineskins, and at the end of his teaching he says, \u201cAnd no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, \u2018The old is better.\u2019\u201d The chapter ends.<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t reprimand those who prefer the old wine, he just acknowledges the reality of how humans work sometimes and goes on about his day. I believe this passage may point to \u201cfamiliarity bias\u201d, which is one of the many biases Pragya Agarwal discusses in her book, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias. <\/em>Agarwal says, \u201cWe are biased towards anything that is more familiar to us, as the repeated exposure is a sort of conditioning signaling about the lack of negative consequences and protecting against the fear of novelty.\u201d[i]<\/a> I know this happens with restaurants, brands, and people, so it is bound to happen with religious tradition. However, I could just be making this connection from an \u201cillusory correlation\u201d bias which perceives connections between variables where none exist![ii]<\/a> No wonder some post moderns believe truth is forever evading us.[iii]<\/a><\/p>\n I have to acknowledge the unsettling feelings that come when your reminded, yet again, of just how much our unconscious minds are running the show when it comes to our judgements, emotions, and desires. Pragya Agarwal, Daniel Kahnman,[iv]<\/a> Danial Lieberman,[v]<\/a> and even Jim Wilder and Marcus Warner in Rare Leadership <\/em>drive home the point that we are not as objective and do not have as much control as we would like to think we have.[vi]<\/a><\/p>\n However, our reading material never ends there, in fact one of the main points of Agarwal\u2019s book is that we have a responsibility with not only our explicit biases, but our implicit prejudices and stereotypes as well. The biases that are subtle, unseen, and deeply ingrained into our unconscious either by birth or social conditioning. Agarwal argues, \u201cIt isn\u2019t of value to debate whether implicit bias is more important than explicit bias, but what is crucial to acknowledge is that it exists, and that it can be more dangerous and harmful than overt forms of discrimination because often people who claim to be unbiased can also partake in discriminatory behavior without sometimes even being aware of it or considering it to be discriminatory.\u201d[vii]<\/a> I am actually going to pull sort of a \u201cparaprosdokians\u201d which bends expectations according to Agarwal.[viii]<\/a><\/p>\n One might expect me to talk about my race and ethnicity and the prejudices I\u2019ve encountered growing up as a person of mixed race in a small country town and even how that shaped unique biases in how I stereotyped others in return, but I\u2019m not! I am actually going to discuss the judgements I\u2019ve felt as a pastor and the stereotypes I\u2019ve assumed in other ministers. I am aware that this \u201cministry\u201d stereotype pales in comparison to many of the biases mentioned in Sway<\/em> that revolve around gender, race, and sexual orientation. Especially when it brings harm, but Pragya makes a good point when she says, \u201cIn essence, stereotypes of any sort are bad-even if they are positive-because they lead to group-based biases, and they give out the message that people can purport to know everything about an individual based on their group.\u201d[ix]<\/a><\/p>\n It is not uncommon for many of us pastors in Southern America to avoid or hesitate telling people we are ministers because of the stereotypes involved. Some assume we are judging their actions, are close minded, anti-intellectual, and despise this \u201cwoke\u201d culture. There have been countless times during a conversation with a stranger or when reacquainting with an old friend that something observable changed when the ministry cat was out of the bag. Their language changed, they usually apologized for \u201cswearing earlier\u201d, and they assumed all kinds of things about my worldview and beliefs if<\/em> the conversation continued at length. To be honest, I\u2019ve been guilty of doing some of the EXACT same things with other ministers I\u2019ve met. I\u2019ve stereotyped and assumed things about them because they were ironically associated with the same group, I am.<\/p>\n What is the remedy to all our biases?<\/p>\n According to Pragya, the remedy to our implicit biases is awareness, reflection, diverse relationships, education, and effort. Bias is something that effects everyone, <\/em>all races, political parties, cultures, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. I don\u2019t see us putting forth the necessary effort to take responsibility for our implicit biases, since it truly is work and can be uncomfortable without a certain type of love ethic. I admire Jesus\u2019 ability to break people\u2019s biases about Rabbi\u2019s through his actions and his willingness to bring \u201cnew wine\u201d that would not fit within prevailing stereotypes about religious leaders and systems in his day.<\/p>\n I am asking myself what this looks like for 21st century religious leaders in the nitty gritty. Pragya Agarwal believes, in general to name a few, it means changing language and attitudes, positive discrimination, and criticisizing microagressions which I know is considered unreasonable for some and perfectly reasonable for others. I think many of these are valid suggestions and others I am still processing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Agarwal, Pragya, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/em>, London: Bloomsbury Sigma, 2021, 185.<\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> “Conversation with ChatGPT.” Chat with AI<\/em>. March 14, 2024.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> Hicks, Stephen Ronald Craig. Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault<\/em>. Expanded edition. Redland Bay, QLD: Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd, 2019.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em>. 1st pbk. ed. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> Lieberman, Daniel Z. Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind<\/em>. Dallas, TX: BenBella Dooks, Inc, 2022.<\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> Warner, Marcus, and E. James Wilder. Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead<\/em>. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2016. 19.<\/p>\n [vii]<\/a> Agarwal, Sway<\/em>, 398.<\/p>\n