3 Stages of Faith and the Victorian Era, Modernism, and Today



"The desert of criticism is akin to being in the midst of a
blinding sandstorm, where you are forced to lean into the
wind and take one step at a time without a clear view of
where you are going." - Brett G. Scharffs
Photo by Greg Carlstrom

 I recently put up a bookmark on Diigo about a BYU devotional talk given 12 May 2009 by Brett G. Scharffs, a BYU professor of law.  I highlighted some of the good parts and I will include them in this post because they are so good.  I then want to relate Paul Ricoeur's three stages of faith that Scharffs recounts and relate them the way the world has developed in the industrial and post industrial age.  The three stages of faith that will be spoken of in Scharff's address are:

• Childlike Faith - Like standing on top of a tall mountain
• Desert of Criticism - A blinding sandstorm with limited view; walking by faith becomes difficult
• Post-critical naveté - A smaller mountain were some of our childlike faith is reaffirmed

Each stage relates to the following historical periods respectively and I will explain how at the end:

• The Victorian Era
• Modernism
• Today

Here is the excerpt from Prof. Scharff's address:

As a freshman at Georgetown University, I took a required course, The Problem of God, from a wonderful professor, Dr. John F. Haught. This Catholic theologian became one of my most influential teachers and mentors.

One day toward the end of fall semester, Dr. Haught introduced theologian Paul Ricoeur’s concept of the three stages of religious faith.

The first stage, childlike faith, may be likened to the clear, unimpeded view that one enjoys standing atop a tall mountain. As children, our faith is simple and uncritical, and we can see clearly in every direction. There is something quite beautiful about this stage of faith. To me it is exemplified by hearing a chorus of Primary children sing “I Know My Father Lives.”

The second stage Ricoeur calls the desert of criticism. At some point, often during adolescence, we descend from the mountain of childlike faith and enter the critical world. We might label this world “high school” or, better yet, “college.” Here we find that others do not share our faith. In fact, some openly disparage what we hold dear. We learn that the very idea of faith is thought by many to be childish or delusional. We may become skeptical, perhaps even cynical.

The desert of criticism is akin to being in the midst of a blinding sandstorm, where you are forced to lean into the wind and take one step at a time without a clear view of where you are going. Walking by faith becomes difficult. Some of our former beliefs cannot survive the desert of criticism.

Ricoeur did not malign the desert of criticism, for some childish beliefs are incorrect and should be abandoned. As the Apostle Paul says in his discourse on faith, hope, and charity, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Furthermore, it is only in coming down from the mountain that we are able to enter into the world and engage others who are different from us. To a great extent this is where life is lived and where we can make a difference in the world. Some people never leave the desert of criticism, and in time the memory of their childlike faith may dim. After prolonged exposure to the desert of criticism, some even lose their faith altogether. Ricoeur maintained that once one has entered the desert of criticism, it is not possible to return to the mountain of childlike faith. It is a little like leaving Eden. Something has been lost; life and faith can never be quite so simple again.

But he held out the possibility of a third stage of religious faith. On the other side of the desert of criticism lies another mountain, not as tall as the mountain of childlike faith, with views that are not quite as clear and unobstructed. But we can, as Dr. Haught explained it, remove ourselves periodically from the desert of criticism and ascend this somewhat less majestic mountain. Ricoeur calls this possibility of a second faith “postcritical” naveté or a “second naveté.”¹¹

Here the truths and realities of our childlike faith can be reaffirmed or revised. Although the view is not completely unimpeded, and the storms of the desert of criticism remain in view, and some of our childish beliefs may be left behind, we can emerge from the storm and reaffirm our faith. Our faith will not be as simple as it once was, but it need not be lost. In fact, I believe our faith may become more powerful than before, for it will have weathered and survived the assaults of the desert of criticism.

So...

Image by EscapeTheClouds.com

The Victorian Era / Romantisim is like childlike faith because it had a view of the future.  People had a grandious view of the future and were optimistic that society would continue to progress.  Romanticism especially espoused this idea since it focused on the sublime, and imagination.  Imagination of a better world, purer, and more connected with nature.  Just like childlike faith, though valid in some respects, Victorian views did not fully recognize (or perhaps acknowledge) the dangers of the industrial age.  The future seemed bright and all things were possible.  (quick side note: a lot of Victorian era depictions in film are not so bright an optimistic.  Consider: Sherlock Holmes, Steampunk, Howl's Moving Castle)

A WWI Tank - Industry used to mechanize killing

Then people began to realize (or acknowledge) the dark side of progress.  This became known as modernism and was an awakening to the realities of the industrial era.  This awakening was particularly poignant during WWI where all of the "glories" of industry were now being used to wage war and mechanize the destruction of human life.  Modernism was humanities way of entering the desert of criticism.  Faith and progress and industry was lost as their results became more apparent.  William Butler Yeats succinctly describes this point in his poem "The Second Coming"


"...Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, 
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere 
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; 
The best lack all conviction, while the worst 
Are full of passionate intensity..."

Image by Dave Rutt

Finally, the world today has reached some what of a post-critical naveté.  No longer are we skeptics and criticizers of industry, nor are we full supporters.  The world has left some of its false views behind and is now constructively thinking about the world.  We are no longer blinded by the sandstorm of technological criticism.  We are now able to more objectively look at technology and see its benefits, its disadvantages, as well as its limitations (something which we learned in class today).