Rev. 3:16 has Jesus saying to the church in Laodicea, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth,” which is popularly taken to mean that it’s better to be all in or all out, but if you’re only partly committed to God, you’re distasteful.
The actual message is probably that Jesus wants them to be useful, since both hot and cold beverages are useful, while lukewarm beverages are not. (Here is an interesting explanation on why lukewarmness was particularly relevant to Laodicea.)
But this article seems to fit with the common interpretation.
If I’m reading it right, it says when you compare commitment to God and anxiety, the less anxious people are the ones on the ends — i.e., those who are fully committed or “avoidant.” It’s the people in the middle who are anxious.
A lukewarm bath is pleasant. The extremes, hot and cold, are unpleasant. I always took that as the key to understanding the metaphor. Given that understanding, there should be an absence or minimum of anxiety in the middle. But I confess that I haven’t spent much time pondering the text in question.
The verse is a distraction, really. The main point is the claim (from the article) that people who are strongly connected to God and people who are strongly “avoidant” with God have the least anxiety.
It’s an interesting idea. People who are strongly connected to God can think about passages / concepts like “cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you,” etc. So I can see how that could reduce anxiety.
In my experience, people who don’t care much about God also tend to have a “don’t fret that sort of thing” attitude towards many of the small things that cause anxiety. (An exception being the Woody Allen type.)
Perhaps the people in the middle have it the worst. They can’t as easily set aside anxious thoughts with either mechanism.
That reminds me a bit of the following quote from Bertrand Russell: “The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”
QUOTE: The verse is a distraction, really.
Despite being a distraction, your interpretation of the verse was accurate and germane to the content of the post.
QUOTE: The main point is the claim (from the article) that people who are strongly connected to God and people who are strongly “avoidant” with God have the least anxiety.
Given verses like Isaiah 26:3, it makes sense why people who are strongly connected to God have little anxiety. It’s a bit more curious as to why those who don’t have any affiliation with God have little anxiety. Is it because they feel they are in control and there’s nothing to fear?
Or is it because they don’t experience human emotions in a normal way?
What do you mean?
You said, “It’s a bit more curious as to why those who don’t have any affiliation with God have little anxiety. Is it because they feel they are in control and there’s nothing to fear?”
It’s my experience — and I’ve seen evidence to support this, although I admit the possibility that I’m only seeing things that support my prejudice — that people who don’t believe in God are deficient (to some degree) in their ability to process inter-personal relationships.
That’s interesting…I’ve never noticed that dynamic within non-believers. In my experience, they come in a variety of emotional strips just like the general population. I’m not sure the study you referenced can be applied to the general population. But, I appreciate you sharing your insights.
How does that square with the fact that the divorce rate among evangelicals is through the roof?
Weird question. Before we go around laying down norms about how to experience human emotions, let’s try a simple non-normative explanation.
I would simply say that those without any affiliation with God are living without doubt. As long as one doubts, one is in a state of anxiety.