THE UNCONSCIOUS AND THE CONSCIOUS
©  John Armstrong
The Church of God in Williamstown
WEB SITE: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~sanhub/index_.htm

HUMAN UNCONSCIOUSNESS
As humans, we are unconscious (not aware) of most of what we do and why we do things. While this might seem a surprising statement, most people are even unconscious about their own unconsciousness! Who understands his inner thoughts (Ps 19:12; Jer 17:9)?

Our unconsciousness affects many areas of our lives. For instance, how we develop our tastes for music, literature and art, what attracts us to certain people or pursuits, on what basis we choose our friends or even our spouses; and what influences our decision-making, how we raise our children, and even the way we drive. This can be readily understood by asking people why they do things in certain ways, where did which come from, what would be superior or inferior to current practices, etc. Usually people will offer invalid, illogical, imagined explanations for what they do, or repeat what they have heard others say, or say, "It's just the way I have always done it."

The fact that people are largely unconscious to what is behind much of what they do is well known to the field of psychology. It also helps explain the practices of a massive persuasion industry - called advertising, marketing, the selling of ideas and desires - that banks on the reality of widespread unconsciousness. In fact, these experts are probably laughing all the way to the bank. Specialists in these fields of modern life know that people do not really know what they are doing, and can be manipulated to do things (e.g., buy things) in ways they are not fully aware of and can therefore be manipulated.

THE NEED FOR CONSCIOUSNESS
To change our behaviour, whether it be with regard to sin or devaluing other people, or controlling our thought patterns, or overcoming some addiction, one would need to be fully conscious of what these problems are - and what it will take to address them. While this may not make an awful lot of difference in trivial matters (like which side of the face you start shaving on), our unconsciousness to important realities in our lives is critical to overcoming. And overcoming is critical to our eternal salvation.

Yet, what we commonly see is that we tend to consciously judge the unconsciousness in others. Seeing and acknowledging it in ourselves is much harder, is too self-confronting, so denial is more comfortable. What does God say we need to do with this pervasive problem? Why is it that we are generally unconscious about own behaviour and motivations? Well, a number of widely accepted reasons exist - but I only have time to discuss one today that I think is the most relevant to our circumstances.

PRETENCE AND AWARENESS
And that is: there can be an awareness of conflict between what we really want to do and what we know we are supposed to do. Knowing this we are in a better position to start to deal with the problem. We can appear to go along with things, but in our hearts, we'd prefer to take another course of action. This might mean that we are succumbing to our environment as the shaper of our conduct - we do what we are supposed to do, because we want to be accepted or liked or just desire to fit in. It is easier and 'natural' to conform to the social and cultural environment. Thus our conduct can be a pretence and not really come from well-founded beliefs, deep and considered commitment, or godly faith.

Some might describe this as the difference between "the rhetoric and the reality". We've all heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." Good actions, originating from the depths of the Spirit-led person, overcome the 'words' and 'noise' of this world (1Jn 2:15-17).

If we harbour thoughts, sentiments, motivations, etc., that we know to be reprehensible to the values we pay lip-service to, instead of these being removed and eradicated, they are driven or repressed into the unconscious or subconscious mind. Here, they continue to exist and affect our behaviour (even the content of our dreams), while we pay lip service to our "higher ideals."
Notice this concept expressed in Prov 26:23:

Can we remain unconscious to the reality of evil inclinations, and even deny that we could harbour those things? For example, a person may have grown up in an environment that taught him to despise immigrants, but currently lives in a community that contains many people of migrant origins, presently supported by the surrounding population. The person's sentiments aren't permitted to be expressed openly - and are driven or repressed into the unconscious. These might suddenly emerge, if the political climate or circumstances change and people start to publicly criticize and question certain policies. Someone like Pauline Hansen makes a speech in Parliament that fuels or agrees with the pre-existing hidden ill-sentiments and suddenly racial prejudices are revealed in outbursts of bashing Asians, abuse in the streets and gross rudeness in shops. And it can come so rapidly that we may be shocked that such bitter and irrational animosities exist. History frequently bears witness to this (e.g., Nazi Germany, Rwanda-Burundi, apartheid in South Africa, Koreans in Japan, untouchables in India).

Some authorities on anti-Semitism (e.g., Daniel Goldhagen, author of Hitler's Willing Executioners) believe that anti-Semitic leanings exist within many cultures, but cannot be openly expressed in the prevailing value climate that pretends to be tolerant. But if a major political or value shift were to occur that agrees with unreasoned pre-existing prejudices, then this permits and even encourages the open and full expression of those previously secret and unconscious sentiments - with disastrous consequences for the victims and the moral climate of society. Northern Ireland is a constant witness to that as is the PLO and modern Israel situation.

A self-contradictory mental state, a mix of some good and evil, coherence and incoherence is set up when a person believes one thing, but feels compelled to act in another or at least false or contradictory way. The inner conflict between the rational and irrational inevitably leads to terrible results. On the one hand, we are supposed to express certain sentiments, values, beliefs and practices (e.g., equality, fairness, justice) - but on the other we have motivations of the heart that we desire but they stand in contradiction to our external masquerade presented to the world (Mk 7:21; Prov 21:8; Jer 17:9; Rom 8:7). The part that is judged as reprehensible by supposed external values is driven or repressed into the deeper unconscious.

This can't be just pushed down and out of existence. It's more akin to a pot on the boil where the steam must escape, and similarly the real sentiments of the heart seek expression. And if it cannot be let out directly, because one does not want to be publicly censured for doing so, it will come out disguised - symbolically, so as not to be easily recognisable.
For example, municipal councils often provide land for nursing homes that end up being located next to cemeteries (Warrnambool, Eltham), in dead-end streets (numerous locations), garbage tips (Epping), the edge of town (numerous), in mangrove swamps (Townsville), next to sewerage plants, etc. There may be much fanfare and self-congratulation yet the locations disclose real intent. One might even proclaim how concerned one is for the welfare of the elderly.

Symbolism is less obvious to most people so it softens the obviousness of ones intent - even for the perpetrator. We can also surround an action with pleasant sounding language and images. This has been referred to as 'detoxification' - that is, taking the 'poison' out of something. For example, a manager of a service for adults with disability might proclaim, "We treat everyone here as adults and with dignity." (He then turns around to the people in question and says): "Don't we boys and girls." The apparent intent was to treat these disabled adults with dignity, but the unconscious and real belief is that these people are really children, and so this is expressed symbolically. Euphemisms are another form of this. Proponents of abortion don't call it killing, but refer to it as "the removal of protoplasmic waste," or "upholding the rights of the woman." Because the unborn has no voice it has no rights? Was the woman sexually responsible? We don't give electric shock treatment, but "administer anti-depressant therapy."

We could even consider the role of "politically correct language." It reduces people's comprehension of reality and is quite probably a way of distorting harsh realities to make them more palatable. For example, a murderer might be referred to by the detestable but seemingly neutral term: 'a mortality technician,' or 'not responsible because of momentary insanity,' meaning complete loss of emotional control.

THE ARTFULNESS OF PROPAGANDA
Furthermore, it's something Empires, as well as individuals, do all the time, namely to represent reprehensible intentions as acceptable, appropriate under the circumstances, necessary, for the common good, scientific, economically wise, even beautiful and eternal. So by surrounding a reprehensible action or desire with pleasant sounding or at least neutral language, we can live with ourselves, while paying 'lip service' to the high ideals we claim to promote. Advertising and marketing propaganda deals with different kinds of truths: half truths, limited truths, truths out of context, distortions of truth. Propaganda is used with guile whether marketing perfume, persuasion into political ideas, preparation for war, reporting of war, advertising fish products, mobile phones, or rock stars. Propaganda seeks to stimulate or provoke certain responses, or to defuse or deactivate possible responses. It deals with ideas, feelings, desires, prejudices. If propaganda tolerates or encourages lively discussion it is because it anticipates the results as desirable for the propagandists and managers of "public opinion."

"Propaganda seeks to induce action, adherence, and as little thought as possible. According to propaganda, it is useless, even harmful for man to think .... Action must come directly from the depths of the unconscious ..... This is the basic condition of the political organisation of the modern world, and propaganda is the instrument to attain this effect. An example that shows the radical devaluation of thought is the transformation of words in propaganda; there, language, the instrument of the mind, becomes "pure sound," a symbol directly evoking feelings and reflexes. This is one of the most serious dissociations that propaganda causes. Propaganda sometimes deliberately separates from man's real world the verbal world that it creates; it tends to destroy man's conscience" (Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, [Vintage Books; 1973]; pp 180-1).
Amazing words, are they not? Additional recommended reading is the classic work by Vance Packard, Hidden Persuaders.

This of course all adds to our level of unconsciousness about what we are doing - and allows us to go on living with ourselves, thinking we are actually living in consistence with our own, or God's, ideals.

BATTLING THE UNCONSCIOUS
Let's consider then, Romans 7, in the light of what we have covered. We've perhaps tended to view these passages as an 'out'. "See, Paul experiences what I do, and if he can sin, then its not so bad for me." But let's take a closer look.

Are we conformed by outward pretence while our hearts remain untouched by God? Are our sins just symbolic representations of what our hearts truly harbour? Can we hide our hearts from God (Ps 139:1,4; 17:3: 19:12)?

We know that a transformation has to be taking place (Rom 12:1), or we are not sons, but only illegitimate (Heb 12:8) if we do not seek to allow the word of God, grasped by the Spirit of God, to pierce deep inside, discerning and separating out the inner drives, motives, intents of the deceitful heart (Heb 12:4; Jer 17:9).

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