Q: Have you ever had success in helping another person see their biases?
Dave
When I was on the staff of a large suburban Manchester church I was invited to speak at one of their dance warehouse-style alternative worship events, aimed at Manchester’s student population. I prepared a short scripted message delivered over a timed piece of music. The music came from the band Iona and I spoke about one of the early Celtic followers of Jesus.
One of the regular features of these sessions was a sort of message board where people were encouraged to write prayer requests and comments about anything that struck them during the worship.
I was shocked by the number of comments that could be summed up as, “were the Celtic saints even Christians?”
So, whenever I had the chance to mix with any of our students, or spoke at any of their gatherings I was careful to fill in some of the background on early Christianity in Britain and Ireland. I discovered that anti-Catholic bias was still alive and well, and did my best to educate and enlarge people’s frame of reference. Many years later, when working in the Scottish Borders, I was amazed at how Reformation attitudes were alive and well, and how saints like Columba who carried the light of Christ far and wide in 7th Century Scotland were largely unknown.
An edited and incomplete understanding of the history of Christianity, which sees “real” faith beginning in the 15th Century misses so much. Add to this our theological biases which we read into scripture and you have the twisted images of God that Craig refers to below. As he says, in turn this always affects the way we view certain people, usually people who are different to us by virtue of race, denomination, religion, culture and all the other useful labels we apply to people. We all need to humbly pay attention to our biases before we can help others recognise theirs with integrity.
Craig
The reason we’ve been looking at biases in a series on discernment is because our biases affect the way we interpret the signs we see and the signals we receive. I think of Peter in Acts 10 who, on waking from a shocking dream which completely contradicted the theology he had based his life upon up to this point, declares out loud: “Surely not, Lord!” Peter has to decide whether or not his own cherished ideas are going to be reformed or whether he is going to find himself opposing God. I’m not sure it is an internal battle Peter fully resolves.
I suspect that in my preaching and teaching I have been successful in helping people examine and review their biases, but I’m no longer expectant that a change of mind necessarily leads to change at the fundamental core of our being where biases often hide. There are a few times when I can definitely say I’ve helped others to recognise their biases, and that has only happened when I’ve been invited to hold up a (metaphorical) mirror that helps them see themselves more clearly. If I have contributed any negative judgement of any kind, or when holding up the mirror is my initiative, not theirs, very little has been achieved.
The occasions I’ve seen people examine and challenge their own biases nearly always involve situations where the person I am talking to is already experiencing some distress. In other words, they are already on a journey where they feel motivated to review how their beliefs are working for them.
I think Dave’s example is very helpful, because it illustrates the degree to which the image we have of God can either help us, or be a stumbling block. If I think of the occasions when I have helped people examine their biases, and where they have been either racial or cultural, I have found that it is those who have a faith in God who often feel most able to challenge their core assumptions.
If we know somewhere in the core of our being that God is caring and trustworthy, I think it is easier to summon some faith in the possibility that there is timeless wisdom embedded in the core teachings of Jesus. So when the Spirit who indwells us brings challenge at that deep level where biases hide, we may be more likely to listen and take heed.
Simon
When it comes to helping other people overcome their biases, the first word that comes to mind is safety. If people feel that their identity and belonging are on the line, or that they are under attack, being open to admit to bias is almost impossible. I think that’s why people who are already on the edge of church after being excluded suddenly find themselves doubting almost everything they’ve believed: they’ve been bottling it all up for so long in order to remain part of the group that it suddenly overflows like a champagne bottle.
This means that a person who is attacking us is never going to be open to discover their biases: they are already defending their position. It may not be possible to get them to a place of safety, so in many conversations it is about working on our own mental state so that we don’t slip into fight-or-flight mode. However, there are circumstances where folk might feel safe with us, at which point it can be a great blessing to adopt an ‘I’ll show you mine, now you show me yours’ approach.
Faith can be described as a conscious bias to see God in things that others see as purely physical. If you are learning to be a listening person then hopefully over time you will get better at working out when someone feels safe in your company and maybe sometimes they will open up and ask you an exploratory question without you having to lead them to it. This is the best kind of evangelism for me.
Speaking of which, when someone becomes a Christian, they are often having to leave a world behind, and it’s vital that we are a safe community for them to be part of. That safety will need to change though, as they learn and grow, otherwise we will become just another group reinforcing our biases through fear of rejection. So the other word that comes to mind for me is openness. I’m not going to say more about that now because I think it will come up later in the series.
