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This is the second of seven New Perspectives in a series.  Please read Part 1 first.

THE ROAD "NOT" TRAVELED!
(Five Stages on the Spiritual Journey)

STAGE I: FANTASY AND PERSONIFICATION

Stage one is emotionally oriented.  It is the normal cognitive level for pre-school children.  Boys and girls at this age are very ego-centric and impulsive.  They think everybody is like them.  Their tendency toward pretense and make-believe prevents them from distinguishing between fact and fiction.  God and Santa Claus, as well as fairies and monsters, are all part of their inner world.  Personification is essential.  Everything from Teddy bears to angels are identified as "real" living entities.  The strength of
stage one includes its honesty of feeling and its vivid imagination. 

The weakness of stage one is its tendency toward illusion and irrationality. Civilization was at this stage during the time of the patriarchs of the Old Testament.  These primitive people operated by imagination, superstition and magical thinking.  This explains such phenomena as: Eve's talking snake; Noah's ark full of animals and Jacob's heavenly ladder.  Of course, the influence of this level of expression is noted throughout the Scriptures.

We must remember that these were honest assessments of reality at the time; but they won't be meaningful to us unless they are understood and interpreted symbolically.

The "Stage one" viewpoint is reflected in Scriptures such as these:  "The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden" (Gen. 3:8).
This description reveals a very simplistic concept of God.  It's obvious that He isn't regarded as omniscient or omnipotent, if mere humans can "hide" from him among the bushes.

"Jacob . . . took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.  Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted" (Gen.  30:37-39.

This strange explanation made sense in an era that was totally ignorant of genetic processes.  It's based on the old idea that fetuses can be "marked" by what the mother sees or does.

"Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?'   Balaam answered the donkey, 'You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.'  The donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your own donkey,
which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?'   'No,' he said" (Num.  22:28-30).

This is an example of "animism"; which attributes human like qualities and abilities to inanimate objects, plants and lower animal species.  Children accept bears that talk and birds that cook, without question.

"The sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day" (Joshua 10:13).

Belief in such a literal miracle isn't surprising in a pre-scientific age
that had no information about the universal laws of astronomy.

"So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman.  'Consult a spirit for me,' he said, 'and bring up for me the one I name.'  

Then the woman asked, 'Whom shall I bring up for you?'  'Bring up Samuel,' he said.  The king said to her, 'Don't be afraid. What do you see?'

The woman said, 'I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.'  

 'What does he look like?' he asked.  'An old man wearing a robe is coming up,' she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground" (I Sam. 28:8,11,13-14).

This type of sorcery to conjure up spirits is still considered possible by a few credulous individuals; but it was a prevalent practice in the ancient world.

"Stage One," with fantasy and personification, appeals to those who are very immature or those who have distorted thinking patterns.  People at this level are very susceptible to suggestion.  The delineation between imagination and reality is not clear, so they may move back and forth across the boundaries.   Sometimes such  outlooks and reactions result from childhood trauma, extremely strict teachings or an authoritarian background.
Some native tribes in isolated areas, as well as a few individuals with very limited knowledge and experience may still be at this stage.

Fanatics that engage in "snake handling," cults that expect comet space ships to take them away and fringe groups that "see" angels and demons, make up a rather small percentage of the modern population.   Nevertheless, elements of this stage are found in some charismatic, pentecostal and prophecy based doctrines.

Armageddon  battles, physical raptures, crying statues and visions of saints reflect stage one needs.  Ironically, among churches at this stage, there are not many splits and divisions because exact moral rules and specific beliefs aren't crucial aspects of their theology.

At "Stage One," interpretation of the major doctrines is very fanciful:

GOD is considered to be like an all-powerful parent or a fairy godmother.

PRAYER is not introspective.  Children merely repeat the prescribed words as they would chant a nursery rhyme or else they "talk" to God as they would to a friend and sometimes even expect an audible reply.

There is no concept of SALVATION other than an expectation that God can rescue us physically when we get into trouble.

As to SIN AND VIRTUE, evaluations of bad and good are based solely on what "hurts me" or "helps me."

IMMORTALITY is just assumed, since there is no real comprehension of death.

In order to minister to those who operate at this level, churches must:
1.  Tell and dramatize Bible stories;
2.  Use visual aids and demonstrations whenever possible;
3.  Repeat simple, meaningful rituals to illustrate significant doctrines;
4.  Provide wise mentors who can guide toward independence;
5.  Encourage warm relationships with patient, caring associates.

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(Word Count 1071)   To be Continued 02-07-05)

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This issue of NEW PERSPECTIVES  is from an unpublished manuscript ©copyrighted 2005 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THEM IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is
that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works.

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Miles E Wesner