In my thread entitled "Christian Anarchism" in the Contraversial Christian Theology Forum here in CF a fellow poster has requested that I write my testimony. I will quote his post.
Brother Agallagher wrote: "Brother Norman, what is your testimony which brought you closer to God, and when was the first time you stumbled upon realizing that it was about relying on God rather than fallible man and the ways that they propose is the right way which led you to realizing about the notion of the term Christian Anarchy?"
This could be quite a task. I am very lazy but I did write something in one of my essays submitted when I was doing a Masters degree in education, so I will dig it out of my files and re-type it here. I will need to add a little more as the experience described in this essay occurred when I was 30 years old, in 1972. I gained my MEd degree in 1994. The title of the essay was "Theory- laden observation in the learning and teaching of science: implications for individual spirituality". I therefore feel obliged to quote the introductory paragraph to my testimony in this essay before I described my experience. I do not want to bore any of my readers with academia, but I was on an MEd course, which I gained. My tutor, Dr. David Hay, gave me an "A" grade for this essay, and this paragraph indicates the amount of reading I had to do during this course. To quote (readers can skip this if they wish!):
"Before I begin my account of the observational experience which began my conversion from (this) naive empiricism, I will again refer to Paul Feyerabend for the purpose of introducing two questions which which I want to consider. The lengthy quotation in the (my) introduction was taken from a paragraph in his Philosophical Papers which began with a premise to adhere to 'the pragmatic theory of observation'. He was referring to the pragmatics described by Jary and Jary (Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 1991) as that 'subdivision of linguistics concerned with the use of language in context', for Feyerabend went on to say 'we must carefully distinguish between the causes ...... and the meaning of the (observational) sentence ...'. The two questions which I want to consider are firstly what caused my observations, and secondly to what meaning should they be attached and to do this I will now describe, in 'observational sentences', what I believe was a spiritual experience."
"Such experiences were elucidated from PGCE students in research conducted by Dr. David Hay (Exploring Inner Space: Scientists and Religious Experience, 1997) and I believe my experience moved me in a fundamental way from my naive empiricism to the acceptance of theory-neutral observations in science. It was also a humbling experience. The occasion was during my teaching career when I had taken on the responsibility for 40 school-children aged 12 to 13 on a week's excursion to Holland, accompanied by three other members of staff. It was Easter time, 1972 and I was 30 years old. One of the arranged visits during the week was to Brugge, the 'Venice of the North'. I was finding the privileges afforded to me as organizer of the trip and teacher-in-charge of the party somewhat exhilarating, but as I leaned on the balcony at the top of a tower in Brugge and talked to one or two of the children, I had an overwhelming experience of not only myself in charge of the trip, but myself, extending from that point in time and space both into the infinite past, the infinite future, the infinite distance, and also the infinite world of sub-atomic particles.
"Everything appeared to become extremely clear, myself, my life, my work and my politics. I became more aware, far more clearly than I had ever noticed before, how society was structured, ordered and coerced into conformity. I remembered the words of the deputy headmaster of the school where I worked not only describing me as a non-conformist, but also as the most, honest and unhypocritical if not practicing Christian he had ever met.
"I did not become a confirmed Christian for another ten years and even now the dogma of much of Christian theology gives me great cause for concern. Also the difficulty at the time was to provide for myself an explanation for my observations, and I could not. This was an experience out of the blue, without foundation and with no theoretical backing to it which might have been built from earlier observations. I continued to teach science as I had always done, but it did make me far more aware of the possibility that children might not, perhaps never, observe what I was observing and perhaps wanted them to observe. It was a clear example to me of an observation that was not, and could not have been, theory-laden. This experience had a profound effect on my teaching, but not immediately on my life.
"Without any recourse to hallucinatory drugs or devotional prayer something beyond myself, outside of myself and yet part of me, had communicated to me that although I was only a tiny part of what is an infinite time and space, my place in it was central to my existence. If I go, it goes, and if it goes, I go, and since I believe that when I die it remains, I therefore remain even when I die."
The essay goes on to say: "my later conversion into the Christian faith brought me to transpose 'it', the universe, infinite time and space, and every other aspect of my experience, into a deeper understanding of God". If this was revelation, I experienced it. I feel now that I know God exists, rather than just believing that He does. When I met my wife and we married in our fifties, my interest in Christianity developed, encouraged by my relationship with her who was a strong Christian believer, and particularly reading some of C. S. Lewis. His little book "Surprised by Joy" gives an account of his acceptance of God so very similar to my own, and the knowledge that Christianity is the only religion which makes complete sense, I accepted Jesus into my life more through reading rather than any emotional experience. Again this was so similar to the accounts by Lewis. During these early years, before and after my marriage, my reading of Tolstoy' s "The Kingdom of God is Within You" brought me to connect anarchism with Christianity, but I kept quiet about this since my wife was not, and still is not, enthusiastic about the use of the word anarchy. I continued to teach science, mathematics and drama until my complete retirement at the age of seventy, praying constantly with my wife and reading the Bible, which has many Scriptures which are in line with Tolstoy's thesis. My commitment to God through Jesus became supreme when I married my wife, in 1993. This was, of course, no stumble! I have had no difficulty in rejecting the corruption in this world and man's inhumanity to man, and realizing that only through our acceptance of Jesus as our supreme Lord and Saviour will we lay open the world to His Second Coming.
Brother Agallagher wrote: "Brother Norman, what is your testimony which brought you closer to God, and when was the first time you stumbled upon realizing that it was about relying on God rather than fallible man and the ways that they propose is the right way which led you to realizing about the notion of the term Christian Anarchy?"
This could be quite a task. I am very lazy but I did write something in one of my essays submitted when I was doing a Masters degree in education, so I will dig it out of my files and re-type it here. I will need to add a little more as the experience described in this essay occurred when I was 30 years old, in 1972. I gained my MEd degree in 1994. The title of the essay was "Theory- laden observation in the learning and teaching of science: implications for individual spirituality". I therefore feel obliged to quote the introductory paragraph to my testimony in this essay before I described my experience. I do not want to bore any of my readers with academia, but I was on an MEd course, which I gained. My tutor, Dr. David Hay, gave me an "A" grade for this essay, and this paragraph indicates the amount of reading I had to do during this course. To quote (readers can skip this if they wish!):
"Before I begin my account of the observational experience which began my conversion from (this) naive empiricism, I will again refer to Paul Feyerabend for the purpose of introducing two questions which which I want to consider. The lengthy quotation in the (my) introduction was taken from a paragraph in his Philosophical Papers which began with a premise to adhere to 'the pragmatic theory of observation'. He was referring to the pragmatics described by Jary and Jary (Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 1991) as that 'subdivision of linguistics concerned with the use of language in context', for Feyerabend went on to say 'we must carefully distinguish between the causes ...... and the meaning of the (observational) sentence ...'. The two questions which I want to consider are firstly what caused my observations, and secondly to what meaning should they be attached and to do this I will now describe, in 'observational sentences', what I believe was a spiritual experience."
"Such experiences were elucidated from PGCE students in research conducted by Dr. David Hay (Exploring Inner Space: Scientists and Religious Experience, 1997) and I believe my experience moved me in a fundamental way from my naive empiricism to the acceptance of theory-neutral observations in science. It was also a humbling experience. The occasion was during my teaching career when I had taken on the responsibility for 40 school-children aged 12 to 13 on a week's excursion to Holland, accompanied by three other members of staff. It was Easter time, 1972 and I was 30 years old. One of the arranged visits during the week was to Brugge, the 'Venice of the North'. I was finding the privileges afforded to me as organizer of the trip and teacher-in-charge of the party somewhat exhilarating, but as I leaned on the balcony at the top of a tower in Brugge and talked to one or two of the children, I had an overwhelming experience of not only myself in charge of the trip, but myself, extending from that point in time and space both into the infinite past, the infinite future, the infinite distance, and also the infinite world of sub-atomic particles.
"Everything appeared to become extremely clear, myself, my life, my work and my politics. I became more aware, far more clearly than I had ever noticed before, how society was structured, ordered and coerced into conformity. I remembered the words of the deputy headmaster of the school where I worked not only describing me as a non-conformist, but also as the most, honest and unhypocritical if not practicing Christian he had ever met.
"I did not become a confirmed Christian for another ten years and even now the dogma of much of Christian theology gives me great cause for concern. Also the difficulty at the time was to provide for myself an explanation for my observations, and I could not. This was an experience out of the blue, without foundation and with no theoretical backing to it which might have been built from earlier observations. I continued to teach science as I had always done, but it did make me far more aware of the possibility that children might not, perhaps never, observe what I was observing and perhaps wanted them to observe. It was a clear example to me of an observation that was not, and could not have been, theory-laden. This experience had a profound effect on my teaching, but not immediately on my life.
"Without any recourse to hallucinatory drugs or devotional prayer something beyond myself, outside of myself and yet part of me, had communicated to me that although I was only a tiny part of what is an infinite time and space, my place in it was central to my existence. If I go, it goes, and if it goes, I go, and since I believe that when I die it remains, I therefore remain even when I die."
The essay goes on to say: "my later conversion into the Christian faith brought me to transpose 'it', the universe, infinite time and space, and every other aspect of my experience, into a deeper understanding of God". If this was revelation, I experienced it. I feel now that I know God exists, rather than just believing that He does. When I met my wife and we married in our fifties, my interest in Christianity developed, encouraged by my relationship with her who was a strong Christian believer, and particularly reading some of C. S. Lewis. His little book "Surprised by Joy" gives an account of his acceptance of God so very similar to my own, and the knowledge that Christianity is the only religion which makes complete sense, I accepted Jesus into my life more through reading rather than any emotional experience. Again this was so similar to the accounts by Lewis. During these early years, before and after my marriage, my reading of Tolstoy' s "The Kingdom of God is Within You" brought me to connect anarchism with Christianity, but I kept quiet about this since my wife was not, and still is not, enthusiastic about the use of the word anarchy. I continued to teach science, mathematics and drama until my complete retirement at the age of seventy, praying constantly with my wife and reading the Bible, which has many Scriptures which are in line with Tolstoy's thesis. My commitment to God through Jesus became supreme when I married my wife, in 1993. This was, of course, no stumble! I have had no difficulty in rejecting the corruption in this world and man's inhumanity to man, and realizing that only through our acceptance of Jesus as our supreme Lord and Saviour will we lay open the world to His Second Coming.
