Within what we have chosen to give our attention – we have already chosen to give some measure of assent. John Henry Newman, in his seminal work The Grammar of Assent, unpacks all of the many ways we move towards what we choose to believe, and what we give our attention to, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, has a cumulative effect on what we value and choose to believe. But in the same way that giving assent is more complex than a simple act of cognition – how we give our attention is also far more complex, requiring us to thoughtfully unpack what it really means to give our attention.
The temptation is to equate attention with focus, assuming attention to be an attenuation of our concentration. This is likely why books about communication place so much value on listening – as if we simply hear what someone is saying, we can then understand what they are saying . . . but we all know communication is far more complicated than that. Now, it may be true that focused attention can be used for apprehending information, but that information can’t be comprehended apart from a contextualizing attention – much of which doesn’t actually involve a cognitive process . . . given all of the nonverbal and circumstantial aspects that are invariably being communicated.
We experience this dynamic with the stories that we read. As our eyes lift the words off the page, we give attention to the characters and circumstances of the storyline – unconsciously, we begin to contextualize the story by imagining people and places we have already experienced. Then we begin to anticipate what the characters will say and where the story will go next. It is in this peculiar symbiosis between writer and reader that allows us to inhabit the story as a unique experience. In this regard, our attention to written words allows us to be pulled into a world we know to be fictional – still, we feel invested all the same in the narrative.
By our very nature, we are attuned to narrative – it is essential to how we place ourselves in context with reality. In this regard, the narratives we give the most attention to inextricably become formative of what we most value and believe. But there are many competing narratives about the very nature of existence. So, when I hear an atheist or agnostic explain what they can and can’t believe – what I’m actually hearing them recite is the narrative that most occupies their attention – a narrative they’ve chosen to inhabit. Which is to say, imagining a contrary narrative to them seems alien and completely implausible — because they’re only able to give assent to what they’ve already given their attention . . . as this is the very nature of faith.
In this regard, there’s an innate metaphysic to what we give our attention – an attention that invariably catalyzes our faith beliefs. And the way in which our faith is being catalyzed is profoundly formative of what we value most. For the Christian, creation exists to God’s glory, and it’s on this bedrock ontology that our faith narrative begins to take shape. It is a narrative where we discover ourselves as the beloved of God, which in turn contextualizes us to the rest of creation . . . and more particularly, to one another. So let us fully attend to this sacramental narrative – so that we might fully inhabit the story that God is making of each of our lives separately . . . and together.
So let us be glad as we enter His house . . .
This is an updated post originally published on Still Chasing Light
Featured Image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay
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