A Cognitive Approach to Christianity and TESOLLorin Friesen, Angelina Van Dyke

What is the relationship between Christianity and TESOL? Does one add

Christianity to ESL by using religious texts, referring to biblical

topics, and applying the Protestant work ethic? This paper examines

this question from a cognitive perspective and suggests that TESOL is

actually a partial expression of Christian doctrine and personal

transformation. We present the theory of mental symmetry, based in

Romans 12 spiritual gifts and originally developed through historical

research and observation of personality, provide neurological

evidence for this theory, and then use the theory to provide a

cognitive explanation for the Christian Trinitarian God and the

Christian path of salvation, as well as show similar elements that

exist within TESOL.

The Theory of Mental Symmetry

Our starting point will be a cognitive meta-theory known as mental

symmetry, which began as a system of cognitive styles based in Romans

12 ‘spiritual gifts’ initially described by Don Pickerell in 1974

(Harvey, 1976) and taught by Don and Katie Fortune (2009) and others

since the 1970s. Lane Friesen (Lorin Friesen’s brother) used this

system to gather qualitative data on 200 historical biographies,

leading to a vastly expanded set of personality traits (Friesen,

1986). The two brothers then realized that these traits are

expressions of simple underlying cognitive mechanisms which map onto

brain regions, resulting in the diagram of mental symmetry (Figure

1). This mapping is possible because the brain also appears to

organize functions based upon underlying similarities.

One can speak of both cognitive styles and cognitive modules. For

instance, ‘Perceiver thought’ describes a cognitive module present

within all minds (because brains are similar), whereas ‘Perceiver

person’ refers to a person with the cognitive style of Perceiver who

is conscious within Perceiver thought.

Figure 1 Diagram of Mental Symmetry

Looking at the big picture of neurology, it is well-known that the

left hemisphere is superior at language and sequential processing and

that the right hemisphere is superior at visuo-spatial processing

(Hellige, 2001). An equally fundamental distinction exists between

dorsal (top) and ventral (bottom) cortex, with dorsal handling

spatial and sequential relations and ventral involved in

classification (Borst, 2011). Finally, sensory information is stored

in the back of the cortex, while the frontal lobes handle planning,

goals, and executive functioning (Stuss and Levine, 2002). We suggest

that each of the four ‘simple’ cognitive modules (Teacher, Server,

Mercy, and Teacher) corresponds to a brain system with a ‘processor’,

‘data’ in the back of the brain, and an ‘internal world’ in frontal

cortex.

Name Server Perceiver Teacher MercyPrimary Data

Sequencesand movement

Facts, maps, andobjects

Words and theories

Experiencesand non- verbal communication

Label attached to data

Confidence and certainty

Belief and certainty

Emotion oforder-within-complexity

Good vs. bad emotion

Brain Processor

Left Hippocampus

Right Hippocampus

Left Amygdala

Right Amygdala

Core Brain Regions

Left parietal and dorsolateral frontal

Right parietal and dorsolateral frontal

Left temporal and orbitofrontal

Right temporal and orbitofrontal

Table 1 Simple Styles and Neurology

For the Teacher and Mercy, the processor is the amygdala, which

functions emotionally (Buchanan, 2001). For the Perceiver and Server,

the processor is the hippocampus (Papanicolaou, 2002). This mapping

is summarized in table 1.

Cognitive Styles and Neurology

One does not normally associate spiritual gifts with brain regions.

Therefore, we will back up this assertion by looking briefly at the

relationship between the seven cognitive modules and neurology.

Words and theories play a major role in Teacher thought and

substantial work has been done relating the various aspects of speech

to different areas of left inferior cortex (Teacher thought),

summarized by Friederici (2012). Teacher thought generates emotion

based upon order-within-complexity; when faced with a complexity of

items, Teacher thought is emotionally driven to find order, resulting

in general theories. The result is a natural tendency to

overgeneralize, because a general statement feels good, and

overgeneralization is probably the most widely noted feature of child

speech (Slobin, 1973).

Mercy thought deals with experiences. Consistent with this, Bonelli

(2010) states that visual memory is in the right temporal cortex

(Mercy data). The Mercy person finds it difficult to understand

speech that lacks concrete examples, and the right temporal lobe

provides the experiential context for speech (Vigneau, 2011). The

Mercy person often asks ‘Who are you talking about?’ and the right

temporal lobe plays a major role in personal and biographical memory

(Olson, 2013). Finally, the Mercy person is highly sensitive to non-

verbal language, which Ross and Monnot (2008) relate to regions

within the right inferior cortex (Mercy thought).

Server thought works with sequences. A single region in the left

parietal cortex (Server data) handles both sequences of physical

movement and sequences of words (Heim, 2012). The Server person is

always doing something and is naturally talented at copying actions;

the left parietal cortex both remembers and copies sequences of

movement (Niessen, 2014), and is also required when encountering new

or unusual verbal sequences (Peyrin, 2011).

Perceiver thought works with connections and maps. A single region in

the right parietal cortex (Perceiver data) handles spatial maps,

temporal maps, and social maps (Parkinson, 2014).

One can see on the diagram of mental symmetry that an arrow runs from

Teacher to Server, indicating a flow of information. Server thought

looks for repeated sequences in the flow of Teacher words, leading to

syntax. More precisely, research into dyslexia suggests that Server

thought (left parietal cortex) is required when encountering new or

unusual sequences whereas Teacher thought (left temporal cortex) is

sufficient for recognizing known sequences (Peyrin, 2010). Similarly,

Perceiver thought looks for repeated connections in the flow of Mercy

experiences, leading to object categorization. More precisely, the

right parietal cortex (Perceiver data) is required for visuospatial

manipulation (Sack, 2012), but the temporal lobes (Mercy and Teacher

data) are sufficient for recognizing objects and assigning verbal

labels to objects (DiCarlo, 2012).

The diagram of mental symmetry shows an arrow leading from Exhorter

through Contributor to Facilitator (the three ‘composite’ styles). A

similar three-stage circuit exists within the brain leading from the

cortex through the basal ganglia, through the thalamus, and back to

the cortex.

Looking at this in more detail, basal ganglia functioning is driven

and modulated by dopamine, and the traits of the Exhorter person that

were discovered by studying biographies correspond with attributes

associated with dopamine: goal-directed motivation, prediction of

reward or loss, emotional ‘highs’, orientation, novelty, and learning

(Arias-Carrión, 2010). The diagram of mental symmetry shows that

Exhorter connects Teacher and Mercy, and Teacher and Mercy regions of

the cortex control dopamine producing neurons via basal ganglia

‘striosomes’ (Crittenden, 2011). The Exhorter person tends to

exaggerate, indicating the underlying presence of Teacher

overgeneralization, and he sees the potential in situations and

people, showing a focus upon emotional Mercy experiences. The

Exhorter person is a natural ad-lib speaker and is often the ‘instant

expert’ who uses buzzwords to convey the impression of expertise.

Contributor thought lies at the center of the diagram of symmetry and

is quite complicated. Looking at neurology, the basal ganglia chooses

between options provided from the cortex (Redgrave, 2011), performs

cost-benefit analysis (Hwang, 2013), and promotes optimal control of

action (Graybiel 2005), all primary aspects of Contributor thought.

Unlike the Exhorter, Contributor persons are not natural ad-lib

speakers but prefer to ‘sit down and have a talk.’ The Contributor

person is driven subconsciously by Exhorter energy, but dislikes

failing or losing control to Exhorter thought, consistent with a form

of thought that is being driven and modulated by dopamine. Unlike the

Exhorter, Contributor persons are not natural ad-lib speakers but

prefer to ‘sit down and have a talk.’

Finally, the Facilitator person is a natural observer who mixes and

adjusts between people, groups, concepts, and sensory input.

Similarly, the thamalus mixes and adjusts cortical functioning

(Malekmohammadi, 2014) as well as adjusting relative levels of

sensory input (Briggs and Usrey, 2008). Facilitator thought is aware

of everything within the current context. Anything which falls too

far outside of the current context will be instinctively rejected as

unreasonable. When the context is uncertain, then the Facilitator

person feels muddled. However, if there is no freedom to experiment

or if a subject has been fully learned, then the Facilitator person

will lose all interest.

Three Forms of Thought

The two diagonal lines on the diagram of mental symmetry are labeled

‘concrete thought’ and ‘abstract thought’. Wang (2010) compared these

two and concluded that concrete thought activates perception circuits

while abstract thought activates language circuits. Mercy thought

experiences the world, while Server thought moves through the world,

making these two modes of thought naturally concrete. Teacher thought

handles language while Perceiver thought looks for facts that lie

behind experiences, causing these two to emphasize abstract thought.

Perceiver thought limits Teacher generalization by pointing out

errors—facts that do not fit. Consistent with this, the right

dorsolateral frontal cortex (Perceiver internal world) is active in

competent math students when detecting math errors (Ansari, 2011).

Perceiver thought also expands Teacher generalization by coming up

with new contexts. For instance, when telling jokes with incongruous

endings, left inferior cortex (Teacher thought) will try—and fail—to

understand the sentence. Right dorsolateral frontal cortex (Perceiver

internal world) will then expand the context, allowing Teacher

thought to understand the incongruity (Marinkovic, 2011).

Both abstract and concrete thought can operate in one of three ways,

which we call normal thought, technical thought, and mental networks.

Normal thought is the metaphor-based thinking described by Lakoff and

Johnson (1980), which uses partially known Perceiver facts and Server

sequences and is motivated by a variety of Teacher theories and Mercy

goals. Frontopolar cortex (the most internal part of Perceiver and

Server internal worlds) finds analogies that cross contexts (Watson,

2012) and damage here makes multitasking difficult, especially in the

absence of external cues (Volle, 2011). This paper is an example of

frontopolar thought, because we are examining dissimilar fields for

common patterns, guided by a cognitive model rather than empirical

data.

Technical thought emerges when Contributor thought (which ties

together Perceiver and Server) restricts thinking to a limited

context of carefully defined Server sequences and Perceiver facts,

and the Contributor person is naturally talented at using technical

thought. This restricting of thought can be seen in the functioning

of the basal ganglia, which selects cognition and behavior by letting

in relevant information while keeping out distracting information

(Koziol, 2014), in contrast with frontopolar cortex (normal thought),

which keeps ‘distracting information’ in mind by considering and

evaluating alternative plans (Boorman, 2009).

Because Server thought handles both sequences of actions and

sequences of words, there is a concrete form of technical thought

that connects Server actions with Perceiver facts and an abstract

form that connects Server syntax with Perceiver facts. Business and

games illustrate concrete technical thought, because some

experiential Mercy-based goal is being pursued, guided by the rules

and allowable actions of some limited ‘playing field’. Consistent

with this, dorsolateral frontal neurons (Perceiver and Server

internal world) encode rules of behavior (Mian, 2014). Logic and

mathematics are examples of abstract technical thought, which uses a

limited set of carefully defined terms guided by the Teacher theory

of some paradigm. Consistent with this, abstract reasoning uses both

left and right parietal as well as right prefrontal cortex (Server

and Perceiver thought) (Brzezicka, 2011). Technical thought excels at

learning more about some limited context and finds the analogies of

normal thought scattered and non-rigorous. Academic research

emphasizes abstract technical thought, which explains why Thomas Kuhn

(1962) refers to abstract technical thought as ‘normal science’. The

problem emerges when technical thought is applied to a field that

extends beyond technical thought. For instance, one can see an

overextension of technical thought illustrated by Grice’s (1989)

conversational maxims, which use the characteristics of technical

thought to explain implicature. In contrast, we suggest that

implicature is an expression of mental networks (MN). Going further,

if technical thought is only one aspect of mental functioning, then

it is inappropriate to use only technical thought to analyze or

describe the mind. Instead, one must include the analogical thinking

of normal thought as well as the emotional thinking of mental

networks.

We saw earlier that Mercy experiences come with emotional labels.

Similar emotional memories will connect together and turn into mental

networks (MN). In general terms, we suggest that Piaget’s schemata

(1972), Fairclough’s member resources (1989), Jonathan Edwards’

affections (1812), Swedenborg’s ruling loves (1763), Theory of Mind

(Premack, 1978), ‘Type I’ thinking of Dual Process Theory (Evans,

2013), and cognitive science of religion’s ‘agency detector’

(Barrett, 2004) are all describing aspects of MNs from different

perspectives. An MN remains dormant as long as no memory within that

network is accessed. It remains dormant if no memory within that

network is accessed. However, triggering one memory within an MN will

activate the entire network, which will then use emotional pressure

to impose its structure upon thought and behaviour. If an MN

continues to receive incompatible input, this will lead to a growing

sense of unease and threaten the integrity of the MN. Providing a

threatened MN with compatible input will remove this sense of unease,

while continuing the incompatible input will eventually cause the MN

to fragment and revert to being merely a collection of disconnected

emotional memories (Friesen, 2012). One can see these various stages

in the making and breaking of a habit. When more than one MN is

triggered, then each will attempt to impose its structure upon the

other, leading to an emotional hierarchy in which core MNs impose

their structure upon lesser MNs.

Because both Mercy thought and Teacher thought function emotionally,

there are two kinds of MNs, Mercy mental networks (MMN) and Teacher

mental networks (TMN). MMNs are composed of emotional experiences,

and the right orbitofrontal cortex (Mercy internal world) plays a

major role in remembering emotional events (Kumfor, 2013). MMNs form

easily because embodiment programs Mercy thought with emotional

experiences, and most of the descriptions of MNs referenced above

assume that all MNs involve emotional experiences. Teacher emotion is

generated by order-within-complexity—when many items fit together.

When a person continues to use a theory or work within some

structure, then a TMN will form. Consistent with this, the left

orbitofrontal cortex (Teacher internal world) is activated when

evaluating theories using intuitive hunches (Horr, 2014). More

generally, Zeki (2014) has found that mathematical beauty activates

the same brain region (medial orbitofrontal cortex) as visual beauty,

musical beauty, and moral beauty, but only in trained mathematicians

who have learned to recognize mathematical beauty. This explains

Kuhn’s (1962) observation that a scientist who continues to use

technical thought within some paradigm will become mentally trapped

within that paradigm and will automatically reject competing

theories, because using a theory causes a TMN to form which then

imposes its pattern upon thought. Dreyfus’ five-stage model of skill

acquisition (2004) describes the transition from technical thought to

MN: action is initially guided by the deliberate rule-based thinking

of technical thought and then becomes driven by MNs as a person gains

expertise within some specific field and starts to respond

emotionally, quickly, and efficiently.

Implicature and Childhood Development

Returning to implicature, one can see how a few words can trigger a

MN and bring an entire context to mind. We suggest that MNs can also

explain the social aspect of implicature, described by Sperber and

Wilson (2002). People and animals live in physical bodies, generate

experiences, and emote. Therefore, emotional experiences with living

beings will lead to the formation of MMNs, causing the mind to

represent self and other living beings as MMNs. Going further, both

living beings and MMNs respond with emotional distress if not treated

as integrated units; both want freedom to express themselves; both

expect to be ‘fed’ an appropriate ‘diet’; and both will ‘die’ if they

are starved of input. The set of MMNs that cannot be ignored will

define personal identity, and culture will emerge when a group of

people have similar MMNs. Consistent with this, ‘neuropathologies of

the self’ are associated with right frontal damage (Feinberg, 2013),

and the medial frontal cortex (adjacent to orbitofrontal) compares

and evaluates mental concepts of self and others (Flagan, 2013).

Thus, we suggest that most ‘social interaction’ is actually occurring

internally as MNs that represent people are interacting within the

mind of each participant. However, because memories of other people

are being stored as MMNs that behave like people, it feels as if

direct social interaction is occurring between individuals. The

internal component of social interaction becomes apparent when a

loved one dies, because the physical person is gone while the MMN

that represents that person continues to exist.

Saying this more generally, because MNs combine emotion with

structure, Theory of Mind has an ‘affective’ side that is guided by

Teacher and Mercy ‘internal worlds’ as well as a ‘cognitive’ side

which is guided by Perceiver and Server ‘internal worlds’ (Abu-Akel,

2011). The structure of an MN guides implicature and classic Theory

of Mind, while the triggered emotions guide social interaction and

politeness. Piaget’s schemata and Fairclough’s member resources

emphasize the cognitive side of Theory of Mind, while Swedenborg’s

ruling loves and Edward’s affections focus upon the emotional side.

Childhood Development

We now have the pieces that are needed to examine Christian doctrine

and personal transformation, and we will start with the concept of

embodiment. Lakoff and Johnson (1999) asserted that all thought is

based in metaphors rooted in concrete thought programmed through

embodiment; however, Meteyard (2012) concluded that research does not

support this concept of strong embodiment. Concrete language may be

rooted in embodiment, but as we saw earlier (Wang, 2010), abstract

language relies heavily upon the linguistic system in Teacher thought

(Sakreida, 2013). This suggests that it is possible to use language

and Teacher thought to move beyond a mind that is based upon pure

embodiment. The very fact that a person can learn a new language and

enter a new culture implies that words and understanding can help

transform the mental content acquired through embodiment. Because

neurology can only observe how the mind is functioning, we suggest

that a cognitive model is needed to analyze how the mind could and

should operate.

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development tell us why it is necessary

to move beyond embodiment. Stated simply, embodiment leads to a mind

that is controlled by MMNs. Examining the preoperational child as

described by Piaget, emotional experiences from the physical world

that occur together will form MMNs, leading to ‘transductive

reasoning’, which assumes that experiences which occur together are

related. Emotional experiences with objects will form MMNs, leading

to ‘animism’, in which a child treats objects as if they are alive,

and a child may have social interaction with inanimate objects, such

as a beloved teddy bear. The child ‘centrates’, focusing attention

upon the current active MMN, which may temporarily determine personal

identity, causing the child to pretend, for instance, to be a fireman

or an airplane. The child cannot think outside of the current MMN,

leading to ‘egocentrism’. Finally, the child practices

‘artificialism’, assuming that the external world is also governed by

MMNs (Piaget, 1972). Restating Piaget’s observations in moral terms,

a mind that is governed by disconnected MMNs practices idolatry,

because it is ruled by MMNs that are formed by emotional experiences.

It is hedonistic, because MMNs want to be ‘fed’ when triggered. It

practices denial, ‘moving on’ in order to prevent unpleasant MMNs

from being triggered. It worships people, because it is governed by

MMNs that represent people. It struggles for power, attempting to

impose its MMNs upon the environment and other individuals. It

practices escapism and faddism, allowing the current MMNs to

determine identity. And it is xenophobic, rejecting those who have

different MMNs. Summarizing, embodiment provides the initial mental

content but also leads to what Christianity calls a sin nature. The

problem is not mental structure, but rather the mental content

acquired through embodiment. Thus, we suggest that it is cognitively

accurate to say that a person is ‘born in sin’. This does not mean

that all childish MMNs are flawed, rather that core MMNs are flawed

which will impose their flawed structure upon lesser MNs. Simply

choosing to ‘act in an adult manner’ will not solve the problem,

because free will can only be used to suppress lesser MNs. Core MNs

must be changed by playing one MN against another, which is

illustrated by Paul’s discussion of ‘the flesh’ versus ‘the spirit’.

Embodiment and Education

Embodiment is also an opportunity because of the role it plays in

education. Habermas’ stages of societal development (1991) explain

the relationship between embodiment and education. Habermas described

these as social stages; however, we have just suggested that most

social interaction is occurring within people’s minds. Therefore, we

will interpret Habermas’ findings from a cognitive perspective.

Europe before the 18th century was ruled by ‘representative

publicity’; each lord would overawe his subjects with an aura of

majesty as he proclaimed truth to the public. Cognitively speaking,

Perceiver thought was being overwhelmed by the emotions of MMNs into

accepting proclaimed facts as truth. Similarly, Young (2012) noted

that the right amygdala (Mercy processor) is hyperactive and that

there is reduced parietal and dorsolateral frontal activity

(Perceiver and Server thought) in ‘math anxiety’. Because MMNs rule

the childish mind, Perceiver thought in the child will naturally be

overwhelmed into accepting the facts of authority figures as absolute

truth. This makes rote learning possible because adults can use their

emotional status to impose truth upon the childish mind, it makes

rote learning inevitable because the childish mind will accept facts

from emotional sources represented as MMNs, and it makes educational

abuse possible, because the childish mind has no way of evaluating

information acquired through rote learning.

During Habermas’ second stage of the ‘bourgeois public sphere’, the

rule of law replaced the monarch’s edict, demonstrating that

Perceiver thought was being applied to MMNs rather than being

manipulated by MMNs. Trade, travel, news, and an independent press

all provided facts for Perceiver thought, while Perceiver thought

learned to handle emotional pressure in coffee house debates

(Habermas, 1991). Consistent with this, disrupting the right

dorsolateral frontal cortex (Perceiver internal world) alters moral

judgment (Tassy, 2012).

Summarizing, blind faith uses emotional pressure to continue

overwhelming Perceiver thought, perpetuating the method of rote

learning, while critical thinking uses Perceiver thought to evaluate

information acquired through rote learning, by looking for

connections that occur within many different contexts—facts that

apply to many situations. Thus, rote learning teaches ‘absolute

truth’ while critical thinking searches for ‘universal truth’. One

can see this transitional form of learning in Piaget’s second

concrete operational stage. Perceiver thought is beginning to

function, because the child can classify objects, think logically,

and distinguish self from others, but this still occurs within the

context of a concrete mind guided by MMNs.

When Perceiver thought discovers universal facts, this provides the

raw material for universal Teacher theories. Instead of merely

pointing out flaws in Teacher understanding, Perceiver thought can

expand the context, leading to more general Teacher understanding. A

theory that turns into a TMN provides an emotional alternative to

childish MMNs making it possible for the mind to be guided by

understanding rather than ruled by authority figures. Similarly, the

child who reaches Piaget’s third formal operational stage is capable

of using abstract thought independently of concrete thought.

TMNs of understanding will struggle with MMNs based in authority

figures and defining experiences. Science attempts to avoid this

struggle by remaining objective and removing personal bias, thus

building TMNs in areas where MMNs do not exist. In contrast, as Bonny

Norton (1997) has pointed out, L2 educators must deal simultaneously

with the TMNs of language and the MMNs of culture and identity.

Likewise, Christianity involves both theology and personal

transformation.

The mind uses MMNs to represent people. But a general theory can form

an MN, which will also tend to be viewed in personal terms—unless

this theory explicitly avoids dealing with the subjective. Thus, we

suggest that a universal theory that applies to personal identity

will lead to the mental concept of an invisible, universal person who

lives in words and theories outside of the finite human world of

space and time. In other words, whether God exists or not, a concept

of God will emerge whenever a sufficiently general theory applies to

personal identity. A concept of God automatically creates a struggle

between the TMNs of universal understanding and the MMNs of personal

identity. If MMNs of identity impose their structure upon TMNs of

understanding, then this will form a ‘God in my own image’, while

submitting MMNs of identity to TMNs of universal understanding will

lead to the concept of a holy God who requires moral behaviour. As

Kant’s concepts of the categorical imperative and radical evil

suggest (Kant, 1993), childish identity with its focus upon specific

emotional experiences will naturally act in a way that violates

universal understanding.

Fairclough says in Language and Power (1989) that independent TMNs do

not exist. Rather, power groups based in MMNs use their dominant

status to displace alternative structures, leading to a monopoly that

gives the appearance of universality. He adds that those who believe

in the TMNs of universal structure should recognize that they are

being fooled and should respond with social struggle. In contrast, we

suggest that Fairclough is accurately describing a mindset driven by

the sin nature, and that the solution is to advance cognitively to

Piaget’s formal operational stage by building TMNs upon universal

structure that is independent of MMNs. We suggest that such universal

structure can be discovered externally through science and internally

by searching for universal cognitive mechanisms. While free will may

be insufficient to transform basic nature, we suggest that personal

transformation can be achieved by playing a language-based TMN rooted

in universal structure against the MMNs of embodiment.

Rote learning and Critical Thinking

Love and Guthrie (1999) compared several systems of cognitive

development. These systems all agree that knowledge begins with blind

faith and rote learning and is followed by a crisis of knowing or

‘great accommodation’, in which a person questions Perceiver facts

that were imposed by childhood MMNs. We suggest that the postmodern

era is in the midst of a similar crisis of knowing that is affecting

many fields including Christianity and TESOL.

How does one make a transition from MMN-driven rote learning to TMN-

driven understanding? First, the content being taught must describe

universal truth. It should be possible to confirm truth proclaimed in

a holy book with evidence from other sources. Similarly, one reads of

ESL students traveling abroad and discovering that international

English is quite different than the English that they learned in

their classroom. Second, the content must permit rational

understanding. A holy book will not survive critical thinking if its

content is inconsistent and incoherent. Similarly, if pragmatism

becomes the defining standard of TESOL, then integrated understanding

will automatically be rejected. Third, instructors must believe in

universal truth. For instance, if theologians insist God’s nature is

incomprehensible, then how can the student of Christianity learn

critical thinking? Likewise, if TESOL experts assert that personal

identity is irreducibly complex (Norton, 2000), then how can one

study identity? Fourth, instructors must teach that truth is

universal and not absolute. For instance, Fairclough says that only

absolute truth—based in some authority—exists and that truth only

appears to be universal. Similarly, Christians need to teach that the

Bible is accurate because it describes universal truth, and not that

truth is absolute because it is contained in the Bible. If these

principles are not followed, then we suggest that an attitude of MMN-

based power struggles will warp the universal message. Instead of

focusing upon the universal characteristics of a monotheistic God,

the emphasis will be upon the specific doctrines of some specific

group or denomination. Similarly, the focus will shift from

preserving the universality of international English to creating a

version of English that reflects local culture.

The native speaker (NS) has an advantage when it comes to fluency and

accent. However, he also has a disadvantage when it comes to

associating English with universal TMNs, because he mentally

associates English with the MMNs of his culture. Kumaravadivelu

(2012) says that the non-NS has no problem distinguishing his local

culture from international English, whereas the NS usually has to

travel to other cultures in order to learn how to mentally

distinguish English from local culture. Similarly, Barrett (2004)

found that Christians will describe God in theologically correct

terms as a TMN-like universal being when given time to respond, but

will intuitively treat God as an MMN-type superman when forced to

respond quickly.

Two Benefits of Understanding

We have suggested that the goal of education should be to develop

abstract thought. The first benefit of abstract thought is that a TMN

provides an alternative emotional core to childish MMNs.

Acknowledging Perceiver facts is difficult, especially when honesty

makes the MMNs of personal identity feel bad. However, if facts are

placed within the framework of a general understanding that turns

into a TMN, then the pain of personal honesty will be balanced by the

joy of understanding. This will eventually result in a mental concept

of God that has been constructed and not just proclaimed or asserted.

As Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with

all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind;

and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27-28 NASB).

The second benefit is that Teacher understanding leads to the

development of Platonic forms. For instance, when one imagines a

circle, one does not think of any specific circle, but rather of a

simplified, idealized circle that embodies the essence of all real

circles. Cognitively speaking, Perceiver thought organizes ‘round

things’ into a category, Teacher thought comes up with a general

theory of round things, this theory causes Perceiver facts about

circles to be adjusted, which leads in Mercy thought to the imaginary

image of a perfect circle—the Platonic form of a circle. If Teacher

thought develops a universal theory, then this will indirectly unify

all Platonic forms into what Plato called the ‘form of the good’,

which we suggest is a concept of the Holy Spirit. This concept is

‘holy’ or separate because it comes indirectly from a mental concept

of God rather than directly through embodiment. Using theological

language, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and not

the first.

Platonic forms can turn into MMNs that provide a framework for

rebuilding the MMNs of childhood. Using Pauline language, the spirit

provides an alternative to the flesh. As Kanno and Norton have

pointed out (2003), imagined communities can act as a motivation. For

instance, the ‘invisible church’ is a Platonic form that forms when a

TMN concept of God idealizes facts about existing churches. The

invisible church provides a goal to which real churches aspire, while

real churches express the Platonic form. Similarly, the ‘American

dream’ is a Platonic form to which real societies aspire. When truth

is viewed as absolute rather than universal, then Platonic forms will

tend to become mentally divorced from reality, leading to a mindset

that is ‘so heavenly minded it is no earthly good’. If one external

expression of a Platonic form becomes societally dominant, then, as

Fairclough has pointed out, the external expression will tend to be

regarded as the same as the Platonic form. For instance, because

America is the world’s dominant economy, there is a tendency to

equate the American dream with living in America. Similarly, because

the Catholic church was the dominant Western religious institution,

there was a tendency to equate the invisible church with the Catholic

Church. Those who grow up in a dominant institution will be most

prone to this cognitive fallacy.

Relating this to Higgins’ possible selves (1987), we suggest that the

‘ought self’ is mentally driven by MMNs that represent emotionally

significant people and institutions. When any of these MMNs are

triggered, they will attempt to impose their structure upon personal

identity, making the ‘ought self’ dependent upon the social context.

The ‘actual self’, we suggest, is based upon the Perceiver facts and

Server skills that accurately describe identity, but acknowledging

this information requires personal honesty. Because Perceiver and

Server thought look for information that does not change, the actual

self is stable. Finally, the ‘ideal self’ is based upon the Platonic

forms that relate to personal identity and it contains the ideals to

which the actual self aspires.

Third Culture Kids (TCK) illustrate what happens cognitively when

MMNs are guided by a TMN. A TCK spends childhood years in more than

one culture, leading to fragmented, incompatible MMNs of culture and

identity, and most TCKs are also subject to the TMN of a ‘sending

organization’ that provides for their needs and regulates their

behaviour. Pollock (2009) notes that TCKs exhibit ‘uneven maturity’.

Peripherally, they are developmentally advanced global citizens who

think cross-culturally, make friends easily, and enjoy traveling,

illustrating flexible MMNs. 81% of American TCKs earn at least

bachelor’s degrees, compared with 21% of the general population

(Cottrell and Unseem, 1993), demonstrating the prominent role played

by TMNs. TCKs form a meta-culture independent of the specific

cultures in which they were raised, indicating the mental presence of

Platonic forms that have formed MMNs. However, core MMNs of childhood

usually remain fragmented and hidden. TCKs typically feel like

‘chameleons’ who lack a sense of personal identity, and they often go

through a ‘teenage rebellion’ in their 30s or 40s. Pollock emphasizes

naming the TCK background and recognizing that it is shared by

others, illustrating the therapeutic benefit of placing childhood

MMNs within the structure of the TMN of a general understanding.

Understanding and Identity

Any general theory that applies to personal identity can provide

emotional comfort to personal identity. The easiest way to form such

a theory is through overgeneralization. Perceiver facts limit Teacher

generalization, therefore disabling Perceiver thought will allow

Teacher thought to overgeneralize without restriction. As

demonstrated by mysticism, this can create the feeling of becoming

personally united with the universal. However, because living in

reality requires mental content whereas the concept of a mystical God

results from a lack (or denying) of mental content, a mystical

concept of God is incapable of providing more than the feeling of

being one with God.

Another possibility is to gain an understanding of personal identity.

This will cause a person to feel good about who he is, but will not

transform the core of childish identity, because the TMN of

understanding is being based upon the MMNs of personal identity. For

instance, the ATCK is an adult who grew up as a TCK. He may

understand his background, but he is still defined by the MMNs that

were acquired as a TCK.

Incarnation and Rebirth

We suggest that what is needed is a combination of Teacher theory and

Contributor plan. We saw earlier that technical thought emerges when

Contributor thought controls the mind and that Contributor thought

can function in either concrete or abstract mode. Adding more detail,

concrete Contributor thought improves some MMN, as illustrated by the

businessman who provides some product or service in order to improve

a bottom line, while abstract Contributor improves some TMN, as

illustrated by the scientist or mathematician who, in Kuhn’s words,

‘solves puzzles’ within some paradigm (Kuhn, 1962). When concrete

action becomes integrated with abstract understanding then this will

unify Contributor thought, leading to a mental concept of incarnation

that bridges the MMNs that represent specific people and situations

with the TMNs of general understanding. The interrelationship between

science and technology provides a partial illustration of

incarnation, because science improves understanding while technology

improves personal experience, and a core concept of science is that

the abstract syntax of math can be used to analyze the concrete

‘actions’ of nature. Using theological language, incarnation performs

Server actions that are consistent with the words of God the Father

(John 5:19,20).

Returning to the problem of childish identity, what is needed is a

Contributor plan that goes beyond merely improving MMNs to one that

transforms them by tearing them apart and putting them back together—

a plan of rebirth. But a person will only be able to survive the

Mercy pain of personal transformation if it is balanced by

significant Teacher pleasure, and universal theories provide the most

Teacher pleasure. Putting these two pieces together, Teacher thought

must take the Contributor plan of rebirth and regard it as a

universal theory. In theological language, the name of Jesus (which

means salvation) is above other names (Phil. 2:5-11). Normally,

Contributor thought uses technical thought to improve some limited

realm and then becomes emotionally trapped within this realm when an

MN develops. Kuhn (1962) depressingly observes that it is usually the

next generation of scientists who adopt a new paradigm. Therefore,

adopting a plan of rebirth means embracing a TMN of understanding

that is radically interdisciplinary. In theological language,

incarnation must submit to God the Father in order to carry out a

plan of rebirth (Luke 22:42).

The School of Salvation

School provides a partial example of a general plan of rebirth,

because it uses education to turn a child into an adult, and a school

curriculum partially illustrates incarnation. The educator views the

curriculum as a TMN-based organized system of knowledge, while the

student views it as a sequence of concrete steps to follow, guided by

the MMNs of passing exams and pleasing teachers. School also

illustrates the need for Contributor plans to submit to Teacher

understanding, because the tendency is to focus upon the technical

details of following the curriculum and to forget the general purpose

of using understanding to transform the child. Using theological

language, following the plan of salvation should occur within the

general context of living in God’s love.

Going further, we suggest that the Christian ‘prayer of salvation’

can be viewed as mentally ‘enrolling in a school of salvation’. The

MMNs of childish identity are incompatible with a TMN-based concept

of God because they are chaotic and lawless. The prayer of salvation

addresses this problem by placing personal identity within a

combination general Teacher understanding and Contributor plan of

rebirth. ‘Asking Jesus into my heart’ mentally connects the MMNs of

personal identity with Contributor incarnation, while ‘making Jesus

my Lord’ submits personal identity to the Contributor plan of

rebirth. Using the school analogy, a person enrolls in a school and

submits to the plan of the school. ‘Praying in Jesus’ name’ asks

Teacher thought to regard personal identity as a student in the

school of incarnation, which leads to ‘justification’ in which

Teacher thought sees the generality of the school curriculum rather

than the chaos of personal identity. Theologically speaking,

justification is juridical, because personal identity is officially

transferred from one domain to another (Col. 1:13). As long as

personal identity remains enrolled in the ‘school of salvation’,

Teacher thought will regard childish identity positively as a

‘student of the school’ rather than negatively as a fragmented,

lawless urchin. A person then becomes gradually ‘sanctified’ by going

through the school, allowing TMNs of general understanding to guide

the actions of Server thought (Col. 1:9-10) and Platonic forms to

motivate the goals of Mercy thought, just as 2 Cor. 3:18 describes

personal identity becoming more like the ‘glory of God’.

A physical school with physical teachers provides a partial solution

because people can only regulate physical behavior and must use

Theory of Mind to guess about MMNs. Transforming MMNs requires

enrolling in an internal school taught by a mental concept of

incarnation based in a mental concept of God. Whether such a God or

incarnation really exists or not, cognitive mechanisms will sustain a

mental concept of God and incarnation. And if one wishes to help a

child to transcend childish MMNs, then one must use the personal

language of submitting to an invisible ‘person of Jesus’, because the

concrete operational child is incapable of independent abstract

thought and interprets everything in terms of personal MMNs.

Looking now at TESOL, the typical L2 learner who is acquiring the TMN

of a new language in order to live within the MMNs of a new culture

is actually undergoing a form of rebirth. Going further, the EIL

student is acquiring the TMN of an international language in order to

live within the meta-culture of the international community. If one

focuses just upon the language of English, then one will conclude, as

Fairclough does, that it is an artificially imposed standard, because

every language is an artificial structure. Instead, we suggest that

English is international because it is the language of international

learning and commerce, which itself is an expression of the universal

theories of science applied to technology. Unfortunately, science is

an incomplete understanding of universality because it is objective

and empirical. Thus, it does not address the personal, internal

transformation that the L2 learner is experiencing. Lepp-Kaethler and

Dörnyei (2013) describe how regarding the Bible as a ‘sacred text’

can cause a potent ideal self to form that motivates second language

acquisition. We suggest that regarding the Bible from the universal

perspective of a TMN can cause an even more potent ideal self to form

that will motivate a person to seek a more complete version of what

both the EIL student and Christian L2 student are seeking. Just as

the EIL student enrolls in a school in order to become a citizen of

the international community, so the Christian enrolls in the internal

school of salvation in order to become a citizen of the heavenly

community. As Hebrews 11 says, the Christian leaves his existing

country in order to ‘seek a better, heavenly city with foundations,

whose architect and builder is God’.

Nonphysical Realms

Turning briefly to the topic of nonphysical reality, if one wishes to

move beyond scientism without embracing irrationality, one must

approach the nonphysical in a rational manner. We have seen that the

concept of God that emerges when one pursues mental wholeness

corresponds to the Christian Trinitarian God, leading to the

hypothesis that a real God exists who is like this mental concept of

God. Using religious language, it appears that man is made in the

image of God. Similarly, just as concrete thought is compatible with

the structure of physical reality, so there may be a supernatural

realm that is compatible with the operation of abstract thought and a

spiritual realm that is compatible with the operation of mental

networks. Framing this in cognitive terms makes these various domains

discussable and suggests that mental wholeness is required to

interact in a healthy manner with these various domains.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we suggest that one does not add Christianity to

TESOL, rather one recognizes that TESOL is a partial expression of

Christianity. One does not attempt to smuggle the absolute truth of

Christianity into the TESOL classroom, rather one acknowledges the

universal truth that lies behind both TESOL and Christianity, and one

learns how to apply this universal truth to specific situations and

specific individuals.

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