confession of a poor pietist
well, here's the blog i was going to do before. i am a terrible pietist. this is a hard thing when you have grown up with pietist parents and work for a pietistic denomination. i don't read the Bible devotionally very much; i don't pray on a scheduled basis; i surely don't practice many spiritual disciplines except study... i have found that being a person tending to introspection does not lend itself to being a good pietist. it either leaves me looking far too much at myself or defeated when not being the good pietist i'm supposed to be. so, i think, for the most part, i've given up my pietism. not intentionally...as though i'm starting today, but unintentionally neglecting piety over several years has brought me to where i am. and i don't think i mind it....except for my besetting sins.
irony: a person complaining that pietism leads to too much self-awareness, and then blogging about their rejection of it.
irony: a person complaining that pietism leads to too much self-awareness, and then blogging about their rejection of it.
posted by Aaron Perry at
10:49 PM
6 Comments:
I think I somewhat resonate with you, AP. I don't want to turn this into a "my life story" so I'm just gonna leave it with this. Lving a similar life, with less success. I've had to come out of the self-defiated tendency. It's been friends such as yourself, who have brought me along this journey.
indeed...i also resonate with what you say.
and you know what...it's not that bad, not being so pietistic. it's kindof refreshing.
...except for all the friggin' screwed up parts in me, but i had those when i was pietistic too so i don't think it makes much difference.
p.s. is being cynical a sin? ha.
p.p.s. enjoy the journey. we're in it together.
Irony? indeed. Hubris? Maybe. Not for you AP, but so much pietist (and I'm-a-former-pietist)seems to me to be rooted in the felt need to be the centre of attention.
It may well be as old as Augustine's Confessions--though I doubt it. I'm inclined more to understand it as some Christianized version of the "look-at-me" Oprahfication of popular culture.
I think 'devotions' are overrated.
The WAY that we follow Christ is a matter of personality in my opinion. It'll be different for everyone.
Spiritual disciplines, in my opinion, are a means to an end (or maybe part of a journey). But the means/part is less important that the actual end/journey.
Does it matter when/where/how long you read Scripture so long as you are learning to live by His Word? Does it matter when/where/how long you pray if you're truly living as one dependant on God?
Spiritual disciplines were meant to build us up, not tear us down. But I think in many cases that's all they've done.
In my experience, when spiritual disciplines have made me focus on myself, they have been unhelpful...but when they have helped me focus on God they have been a means of grace that is transformative.
I do think that the specific forms that spiritual disciplines take can be different for each person, but I would caution against throwing them out. I'm a pretty undisciplined person, yet I know that discipline is biblical and makes me healthier, physically and spiritually. It's just a pain sometimes.
John
this is one of the few posts that everyone gets what i'm saying...
i think some guy in mb has some insight here. what i may be reacting against is not piety but modern day "piety," or spiritual "list-iplines" (c)--thanks, jerry. we'll see. it would take more reflection than i care to give at the moment--and may bring me back to the very spot i want to avoid! :)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home