I often find that in helping shape a viewpoint or a mindset, look to the dictionary as a starting point. This I did as I considered the topic of “moorings.” Sailors and aviators immediately would be drawn to this word. Merriam-Webster provides us our first two definitions:
Moorings:
1: an act of making fast a boat or aircraft with lines or anchors
2a: a place where, or an object to which, something can be moored
b: a device (such as a line or chain) by which an object is secured in place
But it is their third offering that captures my attention in this age.
Mooring: an established practice or stabilizing influence.
Grabbing from the other two definitions, we should include these words: Making fast. Anchors. Secure. Those all contribute to creating that stabilizing influence.
I’ve wondered and shared with friends the puzzlement I find with the number of mass shootings we witness in more recent years. Add to that the number of suicides. The discontentment with not just work but the very idea of work. The addition to technology that often robs us of time better spent with others or in something that advances our knowledge. The lack of authentic friendships. And among the more bizarre, the inability to sort out human sexuality and even failing to define “woman.”
Where do moorings come from to keep us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy? Where do we seek wisdom that will anchor us so that we are secured in place? Why do we allow voices we should not trust to guide us into new ways of thinking and tear us away from our safe harbors?
The moorings of the historical Christian faith have seen plenty of slippage. Detecting the source of trouble here is not so difficult. Seminaries have allowed the drifting away from historic creeds that were battled out to point us to truth. Educational degrees do not bestow wisdom but reward academic achievement.
As just one example of the church's neglected moral slippage, a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that half of Christians say sex between consenting adults who are in a committed dating relationship is sometimes or always acceptable. And better than half would say casual sex is OK. (Lower numbers were found among evangelical Protestants.)
No college degree—or even high school diploma—is needed to read the most basic book on what is appropriate in the areas of human sexuality. The teachings of the Bible are as clear as they come. The mooring on what to believe is established. Spiritual convictions of dissenters have weakened. Relationships have suffered.
A more important loss of foundation has occurred about the believability of the Scriptures and in God. The latest Gallup Poll reports that belief in God in our country dipped to 81%, down 6 percentage points from 2017. That’s the lowest since Gallup first asked this question in 1944.
Why the drop? Ryan Burge, assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, believes much of it has to do with those disconnecting from churches. In his words, “Belief is typically the last thing to go. They stop attending, they stop affiliating, and then they stop believing.”
In other words, they have become untethered from their mooring. They have lost their core spiritual identity.
Jesus of Nazareth gave a word picture of our spiritual moorings. He said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)
Words of Jesus. The wisest teacher ever. Divinely inspired since He is the Divine.
More secure moorings we have never known. Grab hold!
I’ve wondered and shared with friends the puzzlement I find with the number of mass shootings we witness in more recent years. Add to that the number of suicides. The discontentment with not just work but the very idea of work. The addition to technology that often robs us of time better spent with others or in something that advances our knowledge. The lack of authentic friendships. And among the more bizarre, the inability to sort out human sexuality and even failing to define “woman.”
Where do moorings come from to keep us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy? Where do we seek wisdom that will anchor us so that we are secured in place? Why do we allow voices we should not trust to guide us into new ways of thinking and tear us away from our safe harbors?
The moorings of the historical Christian faith have seen plenty of slippage. Detecting the source of trouble here is not so difficult. Seminaries have allowed the drifting away from historic creeds that were battled out to point us to truth. Educational degrees do not bestow wisdom but reward academic achievement.
As just one example of the church's neglected moral slippage, a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that half of Christians say sex between consenting adults who are in a committed dating relationship is sometimes or always acceptable. And better than half would say casual sex is OK. (Lower numbers were found among evangelical Protestants.)
No college degree—or even high school diploma—is needed to read the most basic book on what is appropriate in the areas of human sexuality. The teachings of the Bible are as clear as they come. The mooring on what to believe is established. Spiritual convictions of dissenters have weakened. Relationships have suffered.
A more important loss of foundation has occurred about the believability of the Scriptures and in God. The latest Gallup Poll reports that belief in God in our country dipped to 81%, down 6 percentage points from 2017. That’s the lowest since Gallup first asked this question in 1944.
Why the drop? Ryan Burge, assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, believes much of it has to do with those disconnecting from churches. In his words, “Belief is typically the last thing to go. They stop attending, they stop affiliating, and then they stop believing.”
In other words, they have become untethered from their mooring. They have lost their core spiritual identity.
Jesus of Nazareth gave a word picture of our spiritual moorings. He said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)
Words of Jesus. The wisest teacher ever. Divinely inspired since He is the Divine.
More secure moorings we have never known. Grab hold!
That’s Forward Thinking.
You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?
For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com
Articles of interest:
https://religionnews.com/2022/06/21/poll-americans-belief-in-god-is-dropping/
