{"id":150,"date":"2019-11-13T21:43:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T04:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/randomchristianity.com\/?p=150"},"modified":"2019-11-13T21:43:55","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T04:43:55","slug":"conscious-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaiming-sunday.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/13\/conscious-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Conscious Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Without realizing it, many faithful servants of Christ are\nin fact striving to maintain an archaic practice of behavioral submission to\ncorporate expectation rather than experience freedom of expression in direct\nresponse to the Creator himself. Fear-based and controlled ideologies replace\nand distract the conscious mind in the traded effort to address the menial tasks\nof obtaining reward for basic and primitive survival. The following addresses how\ncorporate religion replaces higher-order freedom through faith in God with the\nlower-order distractions to accomplish behavioral deeds (seeking reward and\navoiding pain) using our basic survival instincts to control what and how we\nserve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to further support the case for separating a\nfaith-driven life from religious ideals, it is beneficial to explore the basic\nfunctioning of the human brain. Like our fellow mammals and other various creatures\nof the earth, our survival depends on the ability of our brain to regulate\nphysiological requirements and navigate impending environmental danger. The\nbrain is certainly impressive considering it ceases to take a break. It can\neasily be credited for the fact that  various\nheritages and lineages have survived for millennia through often challenging\nclimates, catastrophes, and plagues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans, unlike other creatures that we are aware of,\nfunction on a level beyond that of animals. Humans have the capacity to problem\nsolve within abstract capacities, prioritize our efforts, and even override the\ninstinctual functions of survival regardless of the benefit of the outcome. It\nis this higher-level brain that seems to be the focus of the Holy Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we consider the aspects of behavioral psychology, we observe\na distinct pattern of physiological responses to various triggers that entice\nthe brain\u2019s interest to survive; sustenance, avoidance of pain, sleep, safety-\nand even stimuli that tickle the reward center of the brain (the nucleus\naccumbens- located in the midbrain and can be as easily manipulated by the\nenvironment as our need to breathe).  The\nreward center serves in the interest of survival as it provides positive and\nemotional connections to our existence. For example, the rewards linked to\nbeing satiated, maintaining health, and sex; each feed into the need for a\nspecies to survive and thrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.F. Skinner<\/a>, a behavioral theorist, became known for his experiments that included observations tracking simple reactions in response to physiological survival and pain avoidance. By placing rats in an environment that required a learned response to alleviate pain or discomfort, he found that almost any desired behavior is easy to manipulate and choreograph when that behavior benefits the basic needs of the rat. A hungry rat doesn\u2019t take long to learn the necessity of pushing a lever to release a reward of food. The same goes for a rat that must learn to press a lever in order to relieve the pain of electric shock in another environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another theorist, Abraham Maslow<\/a>, the founder of humanistic psychology, provides us with a pyramid, or hierarchy, of needs organized by levels of necessities absolutely required for survival (at the bottom of the pyramid) to needs that- when realized- provide humans and the higher brain- the opportunity to experience the greatest fulfillment that human beings can achieve (the highest level of the pyramid). <\/p>\n\n\n\n