Behavior
“While St Paul uses language which distinguishes between the ‘spiritual’ human and the ‘natural’ or ‘carnal’ human, he still holds to a biblical theology which rejects dualism of any sort. He sees all humans, whether of a spiritual or carnal nature, as still being part of God’s one creation. Some people are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, while other humans are full of themselves and led by their own desires. So one can actually see a difference in the behavior of these two distinct types of human beings. The carnal people according to Paul are visible wherever there is “envy, strife and divisions.” One assumes that the spiritual people, rather, work rather for peace, reconciliation and unity. We are all human and share in the same human nature, all descendants of Adam and Eve, but some humans are oriented towards God the Creator and the rest have adopted other ‘gods’ of their own making to lead them.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“The dire need for approval, as in the case of other irrational beliefs, dis-affirmative emotions and faulty behaviors, lead to a cascading domino of untoward problems. Such need for approval undermines being able to overcome obstacles to attain desirable goals and very often leads individuals to set high standards that are so perfectionistic as to be practically unattainable all with accompanying increasing dysfunctional emotions…We are being told today that somehow public approval validates wrong behavior.” (Father George Morelli, Adrian Rogers)
“Habitual behavior is hard to change, and it is easy to get disheartened. And then the feeling of failure makes me even more vulnerable to giving in to temptation, as the demons whisper into my mind that giving in will make it all feel better . . . and it doesn’t matter if I do it just one more time….Both ancient ascetics and cognitive therapists agree that healing requires both behavioral and cognitive interventions, that cognition can be altered by modifying behavior, that it is easier to change behavior than to change cognition, and that behavior should be addressed first in a course of treatment.” (Andrew Williams, Bishop Alexis Trader)
“At one time I would have dismissed all this as superstition and empty ritual. But I had been dabbling in neuroscience and was aware that the latest research shows that rituals and habit-forming behaviors (especially when they involve the body) hone our affections and instill a vision of the good life that is often unconscious and precognitive. The latest science even suggests that how we understand the world largely depends on the rituals we perform with our bodies.” (Robin Phillips)
“…Christianity requires our behavior to be congruent with the attitudes we hold, the inclinations of our hearts, and our manner of thinking. Every aspect of our being is to be in agreement, functioning with “one accord” (Phil 2:2). For this reason both the Old and New Testament scriptures warn against hypocrisy, double talk, and acting in ways inconsistent with the gospel. For Saint Paul, “conduct . . . worthy of the gospel” means that we Christians should “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (vs. 1:27). He begs us to keep watch over our thoughts and actions, and cleanse ourselves of every taint of “selfish ambition or conceit” (vs. 2:3). We are to treat others better than ourselves (vs. 3), never allowing our actions to run counter to our own attitudes or to the best interests of other Christians.” (Dynamis 11/1/2024)
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