NSoC 34: The Wrong Flame

See Notes on this series...

Merton warns against misguided emotion, or what he calls "sensible intoxication," here. These "indifferent" emotions can be used for good or bad, he says, but they are a hindrance to contemplation until they can be ignored.

The problem is that these "burst[s] of spiritual exuberance" are no better than other physical stimuli for long-term effect, but spiritually and psychologically they are dangerous because of our tendency to legitimize the religious experiences that we feel them attached to. First comes a spiritual sentimentality, then a hunger for visions, and ultimately the stigmata.

This desire for experience, states Merton, has shipwrecked many a would-be contemplative. This rocky coastline exists even within the cloistered communities.

What to do? Realize the fruitlessness of these emotional episodes, knowing that they do not provide worthwhile information about God or one's self. They do not nourish or provide holiness but deceive and lead astray. Passions are not to be avoided outright, but they must be "pure, clean, gentle, quiet, nonviolent, forgetful of themselves, detached, and above all when they are humble and obedient to reason and to grace."

Quaff:
Wow. How many evangelical pastors would be out of work if they had to rely on methods other than stirring up emotions? How many people have "walked the aisle" while "sensibly intoxicated," and what happened to them when the buzz wore off? I've heard pastors preach that the church shouldn't be out of control but it should be out of coma. Where is the middle ground? I suspect Merton is on to something, simply by the truth that the passions of eros are not able to sustain a marriage relationship long-term. Until a relationship is governed by will instead of emotion it is on shaky ground. I know that any religious experience of mine that is dependent on emotion for fuel is doomed. But that's just me.

Quibble:
I've known some evangelicals who strove for emotionalism in their spiritual life but I've never known one to desire a stigmata. Must be a Catholic thing.