Loder and Life Transformation: How Does the Holy Spirit Work During Life's Changes?

　　One day in 2011 while talking to Dr. Andres Tang, he mentioned to me the name of an American scholar who was on the faculty in a theological seminary and who dedicated himself to integrating theology and psychology. When Dr. Tang preached a message in the Spiritual Formation Camp that summer, he once again mentioned this scholar. Intrigued by Brother Andres’ references to this scholar, I began to study his books. His name is James E. Loder, Jr. (1931-2001) whom I will introduce below.

　　Loder did a comparative study of Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) in his Ph.D. thesis. Since 1962, he taught Christian education at Princeton Theological Seminary for nearly 40 years, taking an inter-disciplinary approach to study Christian education and to examine transformation by means of humanities and theology. ¹

　　This article is divided into three sections. First, we look at the twists and turns in Loder’s life, and then explore how the transformation he talks about can serve to enlighten us. Finally, in the conclusion we will discuss the question: “How can we help other people grow?” The primary sources for this essay are a book by Loder and two other books about Loder’s works. ²

1. The Twists and Turns in Loder’s Life

　　On September 2, 1970, Loder was seriously injured in a car accident in which he experienced a spiritual life force that flowed through his body. This strange experience changed the course of his life. At first, he was reluctant to think too much about the implications of this strange experience, but after struggling with it for two years, he decided to think seriously about the role of the Holy Spirit both in his private life and in Christian education. Then the first change in his life occurred: he accepted the offer to be ordained as pastor of a Presbyterian church—a post he had refused to take up in the 1960s.

　　The second change he made was to begin discussing the work of the Holy Spirit in the academic circle by integrating godliness into his teaching and research studies. However, it was hard to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit within academic communities. He came across many difficulties and was often met with an attitude of cold detachment from people in the circle. In academia, when you mention your personal experience of the Holy Spirit, many will treat you with contempt and regard you as constructing a poor theology.

　　Through the study of scientific discovery, creative work in aesthetics and psychotherapy, Loder discovered an identical format—it follows the same path proceeding from conflict to resolution. He described the five steps of the process in minute detail and named it “the logic of transformation.” He considered human imagination and creative thinking to be most crucial. Loder’s questions are: How can scientists make new discoveries? How can artists create new works of art? How can therapists offer help to those who need help? It all begins when a person meets with difficulties and dilemmas. However, present theories and methods can neither explain nor answer these questions. Loder called this the “conflict-in-context.” By thinking creatively, not only can the problem be solved, but we can also break away from conventions to look at the difficulties and dilemmas from a brand new perspective. How can we have such an ability? Loder believed that the human spirit resembles the Holy Spirit which is the source of all our imagination and creativity.

　　This struggle Loder experienced when trying to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit in the academic circle enabled him to re-examine another encounter with the Holy Spirit in his own life. Early in 1954, Loder experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit for the first time. That year he was a first year B.D. student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Unfortunately, his father was diagnosed with brain cancer. Loder took a leave of absence to stay with his father at his family’s request. Nine months later, his father passed away. In the nine-month leave of absence, Loder watched his father die a slow death, causing him to suffer from depression. His father’s death coupled with his own depression led him to consider life as absurd and meaningless. Loder prayed to God but his prayer was unanswered. Consequently, one morning in a prayer, he angrily shouted to God: “Lord, if you are present, manifest your power to me!” God actually responded at once: a warm dynamic force, like a slight electric current, flowed from his feet up through his whole body and his depression was instantly cured. Loder knew for sure that this wonderful healing was not limited to the psychological sphere but could be transcended to the theological sphere as well.

　　As the leave of absence ended, Loder returned to study at Princeton. In the seminary, he did not know to whom he could talk about his experience. At last, he shared this strange experience with a visiting professor from Switzerland, Professor Hans Hofmann (1923-2007). Hofmann listened patiently and guided Loder to study Kierkegaard’s works. Since then, Kierkegaard became the focus of Loder’s academic journey. This was an important life-changing point for Loder. At that time in the 1950s, not many American theologians studied Kierkegaard. However, Hofmann, being from the European continent, led Loder into the world of Kierkegaard. What an amazing arrangement. After graduation from Princeton, Loder pursued graduate studies at Harvard Divinity School and Harvard University, studying under Prof. Hofmann. In 1962 after obtaining a doctorate degree, Loder returned to his alma mater, Princeton Theological Seminary, to begin his 40-year-long teaching career.

　　In Loder’s struggle to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit, there were several milestones. In December 1979, Loder entitled his professor inaugural speech, “Transformation in Christian Education.” In 1981, Loder’s most important work, The Transforming Moment, was published. It was reprinted in 1989 with two chapters and a glossary added. After that, he co-authored anther book with a physicist about dialogue between theology and science. Later, he also compiled his lecture notes into a book.

2. The Insight of Transformation

　　Loder emphasized that transformation is definitely not so simple as what we usually call positive change. His understanding of transformation was this: within any established frame of reference and experience, when transformation emerges, the continuity and meaning inherently hidden will be revealed. What is revealed will in turn change the appearance of the objects which seem to be real when viewed from the original frame of reference. As a result, the important elements in the original frame of reference will be re-ordered.

　　Loder borrows the concept of the figure-ground reversal in Gestalt psychology to explain this transformation from our daily experience. An especially famous example is the Rubin vase. It is a picture of what seems to be a cup in the middle of the picture. But when we focus attention on the background or the right and left sides of the picture, we will discover that there the sides of the cup are actually two profiles of faces. These hidden objects in the background suddenly appear before our eyes. In this way, we gain a new understanding and interpretation of this picture. We call it a transformation process. Loder applied this figure-ground reversal concept to the level of knowledge and life transformation. He himself said that he had been influenced by Michael Polanyi (1891-1976), who formed the central focus of Loder’s academic studies besides Kierkegaard.

　　Loder holds that the human spirit resembles the Holy Spirit because they both follow the logic of transformation. But there is a difference between general transformation (ordinary examples: mind games and games involving problem-solving or, examples of a deeper level: scientific discoveries, creative work in art, and the psychotherapeutic process) and the transformation of the Holy Spirit. To understand the difference of the two, we need to find out how Loder analyzes the being of humankind.

　　Loder looks at the being of humankind from four dimensions. The first dimension is “the lived world.” The second dimension is the self. These two dimensions are both in opposition and yet, united. Although Loder did not state it explicitly, we can still see from these two dimensions a kind of figure-ground relationship. The third dimension is “the void” which refers to all the negative things and appears in multi-faceted ways: absence, loss, shame, guilt, hatred, loneliness, wickedness, despair, and death. The void can nullify a man’s self and the lived world rendering oneself to be nothing and non-existent. But if this is so, why do “the lived world” and the self still exist? It is because there is a fourth dimension: the Holy, that is, the Holy Spirit, or the spirit of Christ. The Holy stands in opposition to the void, being able to nullify and transform the void. In the same way, although Loder did not explicitly say, we can also see from the perspective of these two dimensions the figure-ground relationship as exemplified by the hidden profiles in the Rubin vase picture.

　　Loder points out that these general transitions and the transformation of the Holy Spirit can have two important differences. Firstly, general transformation is dominated by the human spirit while transformation by the Holy Spirit is guided by the Holy Spirit. Secondly, although both follow the logic of transformation, the general transformation takes place in the first and second dimensions while the transformation of the Holy Spirit takes place in all of the four dimensions. In other words, general transformation is only two-dimensional whereas the transformation of the Holy Spirit is four-dimensional. Loder uses the Emmaus journey (Lk 20: 13-35) as an example to illustrate how the five stages of the logic of transformation take place in the four dimensions of our being.

　　If we link up these five stages with the four dimensions of our being, then we will discover the importance of the void. The void is conflict while the lived world is the context and conflict-in-context is the starting point of the logic of transformation. Transformation is initiated when the void intrudes into the lived world and the self. We often come across disappointments, whether big or small, in our lives which prove that the void exists in our being. However, this is a good starting point for transformation to take place: the experience of disappointment serves as the starting point of the conflict-to-resolution process.

　　It is said that in his last twenty years at Princeton, in every course Loder taught he always began with the void. He would describe to students his life after death: the world operates as usual just as he has never existed. He wanted his students to face the void because only then will they be able to face the Holy. Loder’s emphasis on the void is probably related to his own experience. He experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit twice when he would face death in both instances. On the other hand, this might also be due to the influence of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). The void gives people a negative feeling and as Loder highlights the void so much so that many people are inclined to talk about his logic of transformation at the expense of overlooking the four dimensions of our being. However, amongst the four dimensions, the study of the void, in particular, is perhaps the most highly-acclaimed in the theology of Loder. When we see the void and the Holy in the third and fourth dimensions in light of the figure-ground relationship, we can then see the importance of the void apart from its negative effects. We can even say that after having experienced the void, one can become more open to receive the transformation of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

　　How can we help other people grow? Since only the Holy Spirit can transform a person’s life, how does the Holy Spirit work in the transformation process? Loder would answer the question this way: through negating the void, the Holy Spirit transforms life. Since a Christian’s life is Spirit-guided, how do we help other people grow? Can we only wait for the Holy Spirit to work?

　　The Holy Spirit is like the wind which blows where it wills, and we can have no control. But if we agree with Loder about his discussion of the dimensions of the void and the Holy, we can approach the issue from the dimension of the void.

　　John D. Kuentzel, a student of Loder, wrote his Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of Loder. In an article written in memory of his teacher, ³ Kuentzel suggests what teachers should do: to lead students from the void toward wonder and then from wonder to go further beyond. Life does not stay unchanged and this often causes helplessness and anxiety but that can also give rise to curiosity and wonder. Wonder implies other possibilities which we cannot foresee or fathom. As a result, wonder is the source of all creativity and imagination. Moreover, wonder enables us to move beyond the self and the lived world. In other words, wonder will lead us into the dimension of the void and the dimension of the Holy.

　　Kuentzel recommend to educators two guidelines. Teachers must first make wonder part of their lives and only then can their teaching appeal to students. Next, educators should provide opportunities for students to experience wonder. A specific practice is to ask students questions and provoke them to wonder via different teaching environments (for example, debating in class, going on a field trip, listening to music, and showing movies). However, what teachers must guard against most is giving the answer too soon during the question-and-answer session so as to allow students space to explore and to think.

　　Kuentzel’s recommendation is indeed worth pastors or seminary teachers to ponder. How can we help other people grow? We can provoke their curiosity and sense of wonder through questioning and guide them to enter into the dimension of the void and the dimension of the Holy so that they will open themselves to receive the transformation of the Holy Spirit.

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^* This article is an excerpt from the writer’s article “Transition, Transformation and True Community: The Spirituality of Mentoring.” It has been revised for the sake of the readers of the HKBTS’s Newsletter. The article was originally published in Hill Road, vol. 15 no. 2 (December 2012), 135-159.

¹ James E. Loder, The Transforming Moment, 2nd ed. (Colorado Springs: Helmers & Howard, 1989).
² Eolene M. Boyd-MacMillan, Transformation: James Loder, Mystical Spirituality, and James Hillman (Oxford & New York: Peter Lang, 2006); Kenneth E. Kovacs, The Relational Theology of James E. Loder: Encounter and Conviction (New York: Peter Lang, 2011).
³ John D. Kuentzel, “The Heidegger in Loder (or, How the Nothing Became the Void): Provoking Wonder in Education,” in Redemptive Transformation in Practical Theology: Essays in Honor of James E. Loder, Jr. , ed. Dana R. Wright and John D. Kuentzel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 347-372.