The Introvert Hangover

I did a quick Google search for the term -- there's not much out there.  So either I made it up myself or overheard it elsewhere.

The introvert hangover is the feeling that introverts get after having interacted with a large number of people they don't know.  It is normally accompanied by intense urges to simply be quiet or alone.  Further interaction with others requires even more effort than it typically would otherwise -- only by sheer force of will.  Physical symptoms may accompany this as well -- headaches, a feeling of numbness, and fatigue are all common.

To compare it to an alcohol-induced hangover, such as one would experience after a night of heavy drinking is perhaps overstating the case.  But it is no less real.

See also:  Caring for your introvert

Intellectual Dishonesty in Atheism

I was an atheist for about 8 years. During that time, I argued about religion -- a lot. Since then, I've become a Christian, however, I still think a lot about conversations regarding the topic in the past. Today, I thought I'd share one of the ways in which I argued for atheism that was particularly effective, but wholly disingenuous.

First, we have to define the exact scope of the term atheism.

Scope #1. Consider the etymology of the word "atheism." The prefix "a" means "without" and the word "theism" refers to a system of belief in God. The word atheism thus means "without a belief in God." An atheist is not necessarily someone who disbelieves in God, merely he is someone who is without a belief in God. This is a subtle, but crucially important distinction. The lack of belief is not belief.

Scope #2. Frame atheism in the context of secular humanism. The atheism of #1 is joined with a materialistic philosophy, some belief in human rights, and the idea that humanity is progressing forward via smarter thinking and better organization of society. Secular humanism is kind of hard to pin down. There are a bunch of manifestos written on the matter, but it's not clear there's a strong degree of cohesion or leadership as a movement.

Here's the strategy, as an atheist, I often employed:

• For anything positive having to do with atheism or negative to do with religion, go to the 2nd view of atheism. Talk about the advances of modern science. Science equals progress. Superstition and religion equal bloodshed.
  
• For anything negative about atheism, go to the first view. The response is simple: how can the lack of belief in something do... anything? Particularly helpful here is a constant refrain of "you clearly don't know what atheism is."
  

It's very easy to argue in this way, but it is neither consistent, nor sincere. Either atheism prescribes nothing (#1) or it does (#2) -- atheists can't have it both ways.

Arguing from either position is valid, but muxing the two together is intellectually dishonest.

Identity

I've been thinking a lot about identity lately. Folks at my church have been talking about it for the better part of a year. A more through treatment is given to the topic in Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, but in slightly different language.

What exactly is identity?

• That which you pour time, energy, and resources (to use a more Christianese term, it's what you "worship")
  
• That which gives life meaning and purpose
  
• That which, if it went away, would cause the most despair
  

When talking about identity, it's usually pretty easy to come up with a list of places where we put our identity. I like to think of them as coming from one of three buckets:

• Things: job, hobbies, sports, travel, experiences
  
• People: (girl|boy)friend, spouse, family, friends
  
• Ideas: causes, politics, art, music
  

Why does this matter? Christians believe that the only identity that will bring lasting joy (and that which pleases God) is an identity in God himself. Ecclesiastes is a fantastic book on the matter. Here's Solomon talking about identity in ideas (wisdom):

When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. (Eccl 9:16-17)

Enough with the background. None of this is really new. I had an epiphany over my recent holiday, and I thought I'd share it. Here's the big idea: the lack of an identity in some thing can be an identity itself.

So let's unroll what I mean be the lack of an identity. I don't mean simply lacking an identity, but actively disassociating one's self with an identity, typically joined with an identity that is opposite in character. Let's call this an anti-identity. Here are some examples:

• I'm a Democrat... and I'm not a Republican
  
• I'm married... and I'm not single
  
• I live in the city... and not in the country
  
• I'm a Christian... and I'm not an atheist
  

The anti-identity is "I'm not ____."

What is it about the things we identify with that makes them so pernicious? It's that as we are drawn to them, they do not draw near to us. It's an asymmetric relationship: generally speaking, the more we put into these, the less we get back. They consume the mind and our time, making devotion to God an ever more difficult endeavor. Having an anti-identity does a similar thing -- yet normally it's not that we get less back, it's that we go into identity debt.

Only focusing on that which we positively identify with, and ignoring those things that we actively don't identify with is only getting at half of the idolatry in our lives.