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| "The silver river in the night sky" photo by "matthewwu" courtesy of Flickr |
Unitarian
Universalist minister, the Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein*, has beautifully
encapsulated an important truth for our time from Paul Ricouer concerning what
the French philosopher referred to as “the second naïveté.” On her blog, Peacebang, she states:
“In Paul Ricouer’s
philosophy of second naïveté, we enter into the mystery of sacred stories not
with the naïveté of one who can’t think for themselves, but by choosing to
engage the poetic sensibility rather than leading with our critical,
intellectual faculties. More simply put,
when we have reached the maturity of second naïveté – a kind of chosen
innocence — we make a decision to abide together in wonder rather than to
dismantle sacred narratives in an insistent search for rational facts.”
What is
remarkable about her presentation is the story she tells from her own life to
illustrate her personal journey. She tells of an encounter she had with a taxi
driver in Romania, and in the telling, she sheds some light on what Ricouer was
getting at. In doing so, Weinstein helps us to better appreciate those moments
of encounter that may come our way. Her example shows us how we may find communion with a fellow traveler rather than separation
from those who may see things a little differently. We are, after all neighbors and kin on this plane of existence.
Dr. Weinstein shows
us how a rational human being living in the 21st century can
incorporate that healthy use of “second naïveté” to appreciate the wonder of
this life that we live.
Here is how
she begins her story:
Second
Naivete: The Mystical Way of Faith
By
Dr. Victoria Weinstein
It’s that magical, mythical time of year again.
Virgin births and super novas shining directly over a little barn, angels
crashing through walls to make shocking pronouncements, roly-poly men with
white beards in red suits flying through the sky in a sleigh pulled by
reindeer.
Said the little
lamb to the shepherd boy,
“Do you hear
what I hear?
Ringing through
the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what
I hear?
A song, a song
high above the trees
With a voice as
big as the the sea,
With a voice as big
as the the sea.”
Do you hear what I hear?
Well, sometimes the answer is just “no.” The word from researchers lately is that some
of us are genetically programmed to have a rational view of life, and others
are born with a gene that makes them more prone to a mystical experiences of
the transcendent. I hope this will come as good news to all of us, who join in
a free religious tradition that is not invested in our believing the same
things, but in seeking and creating together inner peace, higher consciousness,
intellectual challenge, compassionate community and spiritual depth wherever we
may find it, by whatever name we may give it… (Please continue Weinstein’s
story on her blog, Peacebang)
__________________
*The Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn, Massachusetts.
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