"Rumours of Another World" Notes: "Why Believe?" & "Earth Matters"

Well, for once in my life ~ OK, year then ~ I have finished what I set out to do...on schedule (even if said schedule had to be revised just a little)! Here are my latest notes, which cover Chapters 10 and 11 of Rumours of Another World.

Two-Faced

In tonight’s chapters, Philip Yancey hosts yet another foray into the murky depths of schizophrenia vs. sanity. This time, he shines the spotlight on the “two-faced” nature of reality – a coin, as it were, with two sides: the physical/natural and the spiritual/supernatural. Once again, he touches on what each of the three major views – schizophrenic world, schizophrenic church, and sacramental – has to say on the topic.

• Schizophrenic world view: On the one hand, any idea not based on the concrete here-and-now is suspect; no reasonable person should believe in ancient superstitions. On the other hand, the world is big enough for everybody’s beliefs; whatever you think regarding the existence of another dimension of reality can be right for you – just don’t start insisting that there absolutely is a “spiritual world.” That’s dangerous. (See pages 164-165 & 181-182.)
  
• Schizophrenic church view: Yancey barely even touches on this viewpoint, but shadows of it appear in both chapters. On the one hand, it emphasizes the division between the “two worlds” at the expense of the connection and loudly preaches about the “evil” of the “sinful” physical/natural realm (think of the superstitions perpetuated by the church in the Middle Ages). On the other, all too often, the church as represented in “First World” nations ignores the evils Yancey names as part of affluent societies that have forgotten God. (See pages 164, 167-168, & 186.)
  
• Sacramental view: This view acknowledges a double-edged reality containing two tragically separated yet mysteriously entwined facets, physical/natural and spiritual/supernatural. People of faith can see God at work in both; He seeks to make Himself and the spiritual side more visible to people focused on the physical side, and He wants to use us to fulfill this purpose.
  

How do these views inform your opinions about the following ideas/questions?

• On page 165, Yancey asserts, “Building a society on a myopic view of reality, one that does not take into account a spiritual world, to which we are accountable, can lead to catastrophe.” He then cites several examples – the Soviet empire, the Rwandan genocide, and the WWII prison camp, to name a few. Are symptoms of this “myopic” outlook always so violent and catastrophic? What symptoms do you (and Yancey) see in “civilized” modern nations that are more subtle, but perhaps just as deadly? Can you add to the list Yancey gives on pages 167 and 183-184?
  
• It’s very easy to fall into either the trap of seeing reality as just a one-note existence (the “schizophrenic world” view) or its evil twin, the trap of perceiving only two harshly divided worlds – spiritual (good) and natural (evil) (the “schizophrenic church” view). What effects can you (and Yancey) see (historical or present-day) of falling into one (or both) of these traps? How would people located in each “trap,” in addition to a person of faith, view such events as the Holocaust, the Soviet empire, etc., differently?
  
• What makes it so easy for us to fall into either of the “two evil traps” – especially the “schizophrenic world” one – and so difficult to believe in the sacramental view, according to Yancey? What are some of the rewards of choosing to see with “sacramental” eyes? Do you agree with Yancey that people will see only with the eyes they choose to see with? Why or why not?