Loder, J.E. (1998). The logic of the Spirit: Human development in theological perspective. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

OVERVIEW

As the fixed and mechanistic Newtonian view of the universe has given way to a more dynamic Einsteinian perpsective, so rationalistic social science (as well as theology) begs a relational foundation. James Clerk-Maxwell viewed creation and science, not according to the mechanical model of Newtonian physics, but after a more relational model. "…in contemporary physics, the hardest of sciences, it is recognized that the observer is an irreducible part of what must be accounted for in any scientific investigation." (p. xi)

Scientific empiricism may try to find the ultimate purpose, meaning and uniqueness of human beings through strict empirical method (inductively from objective observation and experimentation). For Loder, however, "distorting the object of inquiry to fit the method is surely bad science." (p. xii)

While studying and lecturing on human development, Loder became increasingly aware of the its spiritual dimension. For it is impossible to consider development without some end in mind, some purpose of development and therefore meaning to life.

In the course of doing lectures as an introduction to human development for seminary students, the theme of the human spirit surfaced repeatedly in both its power and its perversities. This spirit seemed to have a logic of its own that could be called into focus and given definition by theological understandings, which in turn redefined the meaning and purpose of human development. (p. ix)

The author is not embarrassed by theology’s intrusion into social science. "Like it or not, theological issues permeate both the student and the study of human nature…The issues of purpose and meaning are so central to human nature they cannot be bracketed, even in empirically designed studies." (p. xi)

As to the existence of a Creator: "Forced by our finitude to bet our life on the existence or nonexistence of God, the odds favor God’s existence." In Kierkegaardian fashion, Loder sees both the negative absurdity of life (its "tragic futility" and "ultimate meaninglessness") and the positive absurdity of faith (that a self-revealing God has become human to redeem human history) as reasons to believe. In a universe fifteen or so billion years old, anyone’s life can only "be called a predeath experience… ‘a striving after wind,’ ‘a mere breath,’ ‘signifying nothing’—the negative absurd." (pp. ix-x) Driven by nature to find meaning in what is otherwise meaningless, our minds find wholeness only with a plan from the Great Designer.

It is always instructive to consider the uniqueness of human birth and death. Loder quotes the Spanish philosopher, Miguel de Unamuno, that "what distinguishes human beings from other creatures is that humans have a unique practice of burying their dead. We speak words over the dead body. We will not let death have the last word…Death stops the heartbeat but does not quench the human spirit; its inherent logic tells us there is a way to transcend and transform death….Even in the pathetic cry of the abused child, ‘If I die, then will you love me?’ there is transcendence that wants to make use of death to achieve a higher end." (p. 4)

What is stake in this study is the integrity, the hidden wisdom, and the frequent genius of the human spirit alongside its groundlessness, contaminations, and frequent perversities. To understand the human spirit is to gain entrée to the central driving force of human development that separates humanity from the rest of nature. Many studies of human development are preoccupied with demonstrating how human beings are the same or similar to other creatures and aspects of nature, but it is vitally important to study human uniqueness; otherwise the act of studying itself, a uniquely human enterprise, would not make sense. This quest for human uniqueness leads us into a study of the human spirit. (p. 4)

Loder notes many conclusions of modern science begging, if not demanding, ultimate design and order in personal form. But these indications still cannot prove to the modern or post-modern mind that God exists; that will always take simple trust or a leap of faith.

This is not to establish once and for all the existence of God; only God can do that. But it is to demonstrate that, according to the logic of the spirit, by which an intelligible comprehension of this inherently relational universe is constructed and human personality itself develops, there is an ultimate ground for the human spirit; it is not an accident doomed to wander aimlessly in the universe endlessly crying out ‘Why?’ in the still darkness of empty space…The logic of the human spirit will always point beyond itself…My argument, then, is not primarily one for the existence of God; it is for the human spirit itself; for its reality, its legitimacy, its remarkable genius, its genuine but blind longing for the Spirit of God—and its tragic end when that longing is not satisfied. We need to find in our theological understanding of what it means to be human the divine response to the outcry of the human spirit. (pp. 9, 10, 12)

This writer returns to the negative argument from the absurdity of life without transcendence. Shakespeare was very much aware of the dilemma in which human beings are caught—especially as their face their own death. After his wife’s death and confronting his own, Macbeth spoke these words—as did King James I, for whom the play was written. Loder quotes these tragic lines of the unredeemed life:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps on in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more; it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. (p. 14)

Professor Torrance was lecturing on "the expanding vastness of the universe of which we are an integral part…the endless range of galaxies, the infinite depth of black holes, the mystery of dark matter, and the comparative insignificance of that pale blue dot—planet earth (note the film "Powers of Ten"). Hearing it all, a young woman in the class gasped, " ‘That frightens me!’ "

The professor responded, " ‘Don’t be afraid. That’s how much God loves you!’ "

Loder concludes: "it takes a universe and more to create a child, and it takes a ‘love that surpasses knowledge’ (Ephes. 3:19) to cast out the fear that reverberates between the internal emptiness of persons and the vast emptiness of outer space." (p. 15)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Is this too religious an article for most people today? Or is there a growing desire for spiritual reflections?
2. What most impresses you with this review of the first part of Loder’s book?
3. What questions does it raise or what disagreement do you have with this thinking?
4. Loder’s book has a central argument about the logic of the human spirit. It also presents pictures (some not mentioned here) of a very difficult child-birth, of the film "Powers of Ten" (which moves from a sleeping couple in a park to the vast universe and then back to them and in a reverse direction to the smallest components of matter), of a Shakespearean play, and of a lecture. Which of these is more effective for you, or how do they interplay in your mind and imagination?
5. Do you gain spiritual insight from this article? Are there others with whom you could have profitable discussion around this article?
6. Where does this article leave you, and where would you like to go from here?

IMPLICATIONS

• Many factors, including the turn of the millennium, have contributed to a general rise in spiritual interest—especially among young people.
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• Few people will read this whole book, even though it is very profitable to do so. We should look for ways to introduce young people to Carl Sagan’s movie "Contact" or book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1996) (or some of Stephen Hawking’s quest) alongside Loder’s The Logic of the Spirit.

• It is possible to become spiritually bitter, spiritually numb, almost spiritually dead, but many are spiritually open and looking to discuss spiritual things.