Dec 15 2008
Avert Thine Eyes from Your Lord
Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (Nehemiah 6:6)
When interacting with your god, or simply “standing in his presence,” you may want to look away, preferably down. Why? To show him that you know your place. As a youth attending Catholic masses, I did not have to be taught to close my eyes and look down when praying. It was modeled for me. To a degree it may also have come naturally. It seems common that when in prayer the tendency is to look away/down, or perhaps even better — to close your eyes. Out of curiosity I recently conducted a search of PowerPoint clipart for “pray.” I encountered 53 images with discernable faces. Of those 53, 38 had a clear downward tilt (72%). Of the 24 images with visible eyes, 20 of them had their eyes closed (83%).
But this is nothing new to those familiar with religious rituals.
In his book on biological influences on religion, Walter Burkert noted that (thanks to a prominent brow) bowing breaks eye-contact and eliminates the possibility of full-faced staring. (21) Staring and even “facing” an individual can be threatening and/or insubordinate behavior. To reassure a dominant individual, the subordinates will show signs opposite to those of threat and domination. Instead of staring, they will look away. Instead of standing tall, they will bow down, etc. “In humans, submissiveness is manifest in glance aversion, general unobtrusive behavior, and conventional bowing.” (22)
As in interesting tangent, consider that “‘expressions of shame’ described in the literature, or those of guilt (Tomkins 1962; Izard 1971), are best (and easily) understood as submission behaviors: head bent, glance downward, (or upward from the bent head), hands hanging in explicit inaction.” (23) During my years as “a Christian” (24), I was taught that human beings bear the burden of “original sin.” I now see this as a doctrinal means of eliciting feelings of guilt and shame and thus encouraging submissive behavior in adherents.
Across the globe there are more than one thousand million followers of the Islamic religions. (25) Relevantly, “Islam” means acceptance of and/or submission to God. Closer to (my) home are the many Christian houses of worship. Their black manuals contain many verses that more than hint of the importance of social hierarchies to our kind.
Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. (Genesis 42:6)
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10)
When Araunah looked and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. (2 Samuel 24:20)
Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. (1 Samuel 24:8)
A video clip on nonverbal communication I show my general psychology students contains a segment consisting of a military sergeant disciplining his troop. He yells at individuals while standing close enough for them to feel the heat of his face. He stares at them while they face forward in their line, looking down.
Sure, while singing to a god, or inviting him to join you, go ahead and look up. But if you feel a god’s presence, be suitably humble. The Bible makes this clear. Read it one thing becomes immanently clear: you have your position, god has his.
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you.” (Genesis 17:3)
I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown. (Ezekiel 44:4)
Even in our modern civilization, when people speak to their god silently in prayer, whether kneeling in church or at bedside or at a dinner table, they tend to bow their heads and close their eyes. Why? They are primates with primate instincts. In religious contexts, submissive gestures and feelings are equated with piety. Yet there is nothing transcendental about the phenomena.
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(21) Burkert, W., Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1996, p. 88
(22) Frijda, N., The Emotions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986, p.27
(23) Frijda, N., The Emotions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986, p.27
(24) I wasn’t really “a Christian” anymore than I was “a turtle,” and somehow morphed into something else. I was a human being that thought and acted in a manner that is described as Christian. Religiosity consists of thinking and behavior. Which is subject to change. I “am five foot eleven” — sure. I “am an atheist” — not really. Sure, for political purposes that may be the case. But if we want to be accurate, it is not.
(25) http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
