Only when the two come together, inner and outer authority, do we have true spiritual wisdom. We have for too long insisted on outer authority alone, without any teaching of prayer, inner journey, and maturing consciousness. The results for the world and for religion have been disastrous....(from the Introduction to Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality by Richard Rohr)
Socrates, the great teacher, called what he did "midwifery," as he believed he was merely delivering the baby that was already inside the person. The reason the Scriptures resonate so strongly with the human spirit is that they articulate our deepest hopes and intuitions. In fact, since the secrets of our hearts are not accessible to us through reasoning, knowledge, or scholarship, the only "way in," so to speak, is the recognition -- the "naming" of the unknowable--- that Scripture gives us. We recognize with a kind of shock the truths that lie so deep within us that we cannot find them out until there is a guide to Truth, someone or something along the way that points out and "names" what we know to be true, but what we cannot name for ourselves.
People who refuse to make the journey inwards are often content with "religion as requirements," a starting point for all of us as spiritual infants and children. But until we reach the point of knowing "religion as transformation," we will remain in fear of God, of punishment, of hellfire for failing to keep the commandments and the laws. The laws are made for kindergarteners -- do not slap your neighbor; do not steal his crayons; listen to the directions of the teacher; do not spit in your neighbor's face when you are angry. I teach 11th grade students; these rules are not for them. Because they have long ago internalized the "rules," they do not have to be afraid that I will catch them doing something illegal, immoral, or "unclean" in my classroom. We are able to enjoy one another, to converse freely, to share insights and understandings. Even if I occasionally see a cell-phone pulled out of a pocket, I trust them to "come along" in a moment -- I do not need to make up a new "rule" to regulate their behavior. Nor do I need to remind them of the commandments of classroom civility. We are all here for the same purpose, and they are "enlightened" enough and mature enough at this age to understand for the most part "how things work," and to contribute their own gifts to our common search for wisdom and understanding.
None of us arrive at this point except in stages. I do not expect even a 9th or a 10th grade student to be ready for my classroom, to take up his/her own search for wisdom and truth, aided with all the resources I can bring to the table. A 10th-grade girl is called a "sophomore" for a reason; that is her stage of life, and nothing more can be asked but that she be at that stage. Eighth and ninth-grade boys are perhaps the silliest creatures on earth, and I do not expect them to take seriously much about a "spiritual quest." But sooner or later, we must all give up what St. Paul calls "our childish ways," and begin to grow spiritually, just as we have grown physically and intellectually and emotionally.
It is amazing that the classic divisions of the Jewish Bible -- the TANAK -- parallel the normal development of spiritual consciousness and growth in the human being. The word TANAK is a composite word that stands for "Torah," "Nevi'im," and "Ketuvim" -- or Law, Prophets, and Wisdom.
We all need to begin with "Law," instruction, teaching, guidance from the outside. None of us is wise enough to choose our own way from infancy. Those who are left to their own guidance, without boundaries and teaching, soon become known as "brats," "uncivilized animals," etc. They are not fit for social interaction, and they do not even develop their own innate talents and skills, but waste away in a field of video-games and mindless drifting. Tradition, manners, law and order all communicate the rules of civilized and rational behavior: "This is the way we do it," in our family, in our culture, in our country, etc.
"Law," as the Jews understand it, is not only rules and regulations, but guidance, instruction, wisdom handed down from God Himself. He would teach them; they would infect the pagan cultures around them... He had to teach them not to toss their infants into the fire as a sacrifice to pagan gods, for example. They in turn would by example show the pagan world that Yahweh blesses them, not because of infant sacrifice, but because He loves them. What the Law does is "hold the boundaries of behavior" so that something more serious and in-depth can happen inside. I can tell you that when I do have a student who still needs "Law" to regulate his behavior, I can teach him nothing -- he is not ready for any depth of wisdom and understanding.
Robert Frost wrote what appeared to be "free verse" in a very modern and creative way because he adhered to strict guidelines, or boundaries. He had no respect for "free verse" per se because he called it "playing tennis without a net." In the same way, if we were to view the work of the 14-year-old Picasso, we would swear it was the work of one of the Old Masters. There is perfection of human form, of color, of light in his earlier work. But at some point, because he had so perfected "the Laws" of painting, he was able to break free and to create something from his soul, something no one had ever before seen or done.
If we as human beings do not have a solid container, we are not held in place long enough to go deep. Sooner or later, we will all rebel against the "rules," because there is something in us longing to break free, to grow beyond the boundaries. But if anyone has watched the tv show Breaking Amish, it should be apparent that even when we "break out," we still struggle against the values of our families, or our culture, of our religion. The values, the meaning of the law, must be so internalized in us that we know how to break the law. We must know and respect the rules before we can break them.
I always told my English students that they must be so familiar with the rules of grammar that they know how to break them effectively -- as do professional writers. Otherwise, they simply show their ignorance of the conventions of writing.
Tomorrow, God willing, I will go beyond a discussion of the Law to "the birth of criticism" -- the Prophets. There are many today, as there were in ancient Israel, who would be prophets -- rebels, critics, "freedom-fighters," etc. But the difference between true Prophets, those sent by God, and those who "prophesy" out of their egos, is that the true prophet understands and loves the meaning behind the Law, and knows that "obeying the Law" is never enough until the heart, mind, and spirit is engaged with Truth. Those who follow the whims of nature, the fantasies of their own minds, or the "charisma" of others will never be prophets. It would be better for a man to be held in check by the Law all the days of his life than to follow one of these false prophets --- but even then, that is not the life God has dreamed for us, for the Law cannot bring us into fellowship with the One Who gave it. Such a life would be comparable to a child growing into adulthood still obediently following the "rules" his parents laid down for him as a 5-year-old, never becoming a Person in his own right, and thus never becoming capable of friendship with his elderly parents, who guided him at first with rules, but later with love and affection and shared values.
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