Dark Night of the Soul: A Term Paper

Three Types of Moral People

1. What did you learn about the nature of the weakness of the will and the hidden heart as discussed in class?

Most Christians do not intend to sin. Yet, we still do.

Romans 7:14-15 says, "The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate."

Why is it that even Christians - who have been supposedly cleansed by the Holy Spirit and unchained from the evils that once bound us - still struggle with our sinful nature? Why can we not become the virtuous individual we aspire to be?

According to Dr. Coe, there are three types of people:

First, is an incontinent person: someone who knows good, desires good, but doesn't do good. Philosophers, psychologists, and theologists have seen this pattern in humanity for some time. We probably see it in ourselves daily.

Then there is a continent person: someone who knows good, desires good, does good, but has no joy. If you're anything like me, this doesn't sound like a bad thing. Joy isn't always necessary to follow a command, right? As long as it helps for the flourishing of mankind, who cares what feelings bubble up in the process?

The objection to this, however, is that according to Christian tradition, joy was considered to be the proof that virtue had been deeply absorbed into the soul. And although following commands without feelings may work for a short time, eventually, the discipline will break and the individual will go back to incontinence.

The last person - the person we are all trying to become - is the virtuous person. The virtuous person knows good, desires good, does good, and has joy while doing those things. Most of us - I assume - would like to fit in this category (although there are plenty of chaotic people who would rather not bother with the work that involves). However, we never seem to reach the goal.

Why is it that we want to do good, but can't do it?

The human heart is magnificently complex. I like Dr. Coe's explanation that "the heart is the nexus of the will, ethic, and intellect." In our hearts, we carry a set of beliefs and desires, usually which match with the ideas of a virtuous individual.

But at the same time, we have a deep, hidden heart that has collected our habits and thoughts that are contrary to that of a virtuous individual. There are sins, wounds, and true beliefs deeply hidden away in the darkest corners of our heart, and unknown to us, our unseen heart and our seen heart are constantly at war. Sometimes the seen heart wins. Sometimes the unseen heart wins, but we don't understand why.

Ephesians 4:23-24 says, "...let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."  

Easier said than done. Isn't that what we've been trying to do since we became believers? We pray, then we sin directly after our confession. We read our Bibles in the morning and sin on the weekends. We go to church, and sin on the way home from service.

So why is it that even when we want to change, when we want to pursue virtue, we still end up acting out the very sin we were trying to avoid?