_
Some thoughts, applying the psychological principles of the
article below to the more appropriate pneumatology of those who have
had their new spirits made free of soul worship (Heb 4.12,Luk
2.35) by the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
One.
For those begotten again (John 1.12-13; 3.3,5;1John 5.3-5) in Christ
Jesus the “True Self” relates to the “new man”
(Eph 2.16,Eph 4.24,Col 3.10), the new man now living (Rom 6.11) in
the kingdom of the Son of God's love (Col 1.13), the one being
conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom 8.29, quoted above),. The
“True Self” is no longer the “old man”, The old man
has been crucified (Rom 6.6) and its is only his habits (Rom 8.13)
and the memory of his deeds (Rom 7.5,23,25) that he continues to be
bothersome (Eph 4.22) as the remnants in the flesh (Rom 8.9;Gal 5.24)
of the now inoperative body of sin (Rom 6.6).
Two.
A “False Self” encompasses the characteristics that we assume in
order to be acceptable to others. In its best, Christian,
form, the “False Self” is “being made all things to all men,
that I might by all means we save some” (1Co 9.19,22). In
this form it is not false. It is rather a presentation of true
aspects of our True Self in Christ Jesus. These aspects are selected
in that love which is poured out in our hearts through a holy spirit
given to us (Rom 5.5).This Christian form of the False Self is
a true communication of the True Self. It is designed in
truth and love to take into account the situation of the hearer.
(Scripture is the archetype of true communication,
prophetically designed as a living word which meets the situation of
every reader and hearer and of every reading and hearing. -
Heb 4.12-13)
Three.
Among those gathered in His name, a type of the “False Self” is
ubiquitous. In its general form, it is conformity to tradition. There
are local, denominational, and central historic Christian traditions.
Traditions are providentially given so that believers may
readily show to all that they are of one heart and one soul
(Acts 4.32). Traditions,
properly communicated by believers are true communications of
Truth..The celebration of the Lord's supper is such a
communication.
Four.
Much of the conformity to tradition is neither true nor good nor
loving.. The protection of a “False Self” is used by both the
rescued and those in need of rescue to evade the confession of
helpless sinfulness (Rom
3.23; Rom 5.14) whose only remedy is the unmerited favor and mercy of God
(Rom 9.15-16). The familiar name of this “False Self” is
hypocrisy. For believers the remedy is only boasting in the
Cross (Gal 6.14). For unbelievers the only remedy is receiving Christ
(Joh 6.24).
Five.
Hypocrisy
is of great value in this world. It is the tribute that
vice gives to virtue. The vaunting pride of life (1Jo
2.15-17.) causes us to pretend to be just as good
if not better than the best of men. Such pretension
necessarily includes the doing of much that is of temporal value.
Six.
The too much neglected Dr. Winnicott, (great book
on mothers and babies) expounds a central psychological truth as
explained below. He was also the mentor of another of my psychology
gurus, also not a household word, the great expounder of
interpersonal attachment.
True
self and false self
en.wikipedia.org
[/] http://j.mp/0Winnicott [/]
or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_self_and_false_self
True
self and false self are concepts introduced into psychoanalysis in
1960 by D. W. Winnicott.[1] Winnicott used "True Self" to
describe a sense of self based on spontaneous authentic experience,
and a feeling of being alive, having a "real self".[2]
"False
Self" by contrast Winnicott saw as a defensive facade[1] — one
which in extreme cases could leave its holders lacking spontaneity
and feeling dead and empty, behind a mere appearance of being
real.[1]
Characteristics[edit]
Winnicott
saw the True Self as rooted from early infancy in the experience of
being alive, including blood pumping and lungs breathing – what
Winnicott called simply being.[3] Out of this the baby creates the
experience of a sense of reality, a sense that life is worth living.
The baby's spontaneous, nonverbal gestures derive from that
instinctual sense,[4] and if responded to by the motherer, become the
basis for the continuing development of the True Self.
However,
when what Winnicott was careful to describe as good enough parenting
— i.e. not necessarily perfect![5] — was not in place, the
infant's spontaneity was in danger of being encroached on by the need
for compliance with the parents' wishes/expectations.[6] The result
for Winnicott could be the creation of what he called the False Self,
where “Other people's expectations can become of overriding
importance, overlaying or contradicting the original sense of self,
the one connected to the very roots of one's being”.[7] The danger
he saw was that “through this False Self, the infant builds up a
false set of relationships, and by means of introjections even
attains a show of being real”,[8] while in fact merely concealing a
barren emptiness behind an independent-seeming facade.[9]
The
danger was particularly acute where the baby had to provide
attunement for the mother/parents, rather than vice versa, building
up a sort of dissociated recognition of the object on an impersonal,
not personal and spontaneous basis.[10] But while such a pathological
False Self stifled the spontaneous gestures of the True Self in
favour of a lifeless imitation, Winnicott nevertheless considered it
of vital importance in preventing something worse: the annihilating
experience of the exploitation of the hidden True Self itself.[11]
[...]
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