rational christian thinking primer

Every so often I like to run back through Rational Christian Thinking. I originally got this material from Equipping Ministries International but it doesn't look like it is available anymore. I'm going to quote some of the material in this and in future posts.

The basis of the material is that we need to separate and deal with four "segments" in our thoughts/emotional process.

A - Activating Event; a situation that occurs either in the outer world or in the inner world of the mind (memory, imagination, decision). When this happens, we more often than not become aware of particular feelings.

B - Belief System; we make evaluations and draw conclusions based on our perceptions of Activating Events. The Belief System is the reservoir of our values, opinions, wills, desires, attitudes, memories, self-talk, thoughts concerning things, etc..

C - Consequential Feelings; feelings that seem to be spontaneous with an Activating Event. They often envelope us, capture our attention, and can seem to victimize us. Because of these feelings, which may sometimes appear to be uncontrollable, we decide to behave in inappropriate ways. Sometimes these feelings are not strongly evident, but still result in inappropriate behavioral decisions. Behaviors can be the results of decisions made below the level of awareness.

D - Decisive Behavior; specific actions performed as a result of experiencing Consequential Feelings. They may appear to be spontaneous with the Activating Event.

Neither Decisive Behavior nor Consequential Feelings are spontaneous at all. They both spring from thoughts and beliefs which are part of the Belief System. Too often people try to control Activating Events (circumstances, others, etc.) and fail because obviously the world around us is out of our control. Others often try to control the Feelings or Behavior but this has only limited success and often results in a "blow-up" because it isn't addressing the real root cause.

More to come ...

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