In Love Your God with All Your Mind, author J.P. Moreland asserts that the American culture has become filled with people who are characterized by what psychologists refer to as the “empty self.” He describes this condition as being dangerous to the Christian because it is “constituted by a set of values, motives, and habits of thought, feeling, and behavior that perverts and eliminates the life of the mind and makes maturation in the way of Christ extremely difficult.”
It’s hard to cover all of Moreland’s points about the “empty self” on a blog post short enough for anyone to read, but I am attempting it, minus his well-presented support for each point (for that, you’ll need to read the book, and I highly recommend it). And contrary to what my husband believes, my post IS shorter than Moreland’s actual chapter in the book. 
1) “The empty self is inordinately individualistic.” – We act based on self-interest rather than our commitment to God or a community of others whom our actions would affect. We may even choose good things, but we do them with ourselves in mind.
2) “The empty self is infantile.” – We need to be comforted, soothed, and instantly gratified. We are controlled by our desires to be “made whole by food, entertainment, and consumer goods.” Being happy and satisfied is what matters most, and being bored is unacceptable.
3) “The empty self is narcissistic.” – We focus on our own fulfillment and agenda to validate our own self-worth and see value in things such as education merely as a means to an end (e.g., education solely for the purpose of getting a good job).
4) “The empty self is passive.” – “We let other people do our living and thinking for us: the pastor studies the Bible for us, the news media does our political thinking for us, and we let our favorite sports team exercise, struggle, and win for us. From watching television to listening to sermons, our primary agenda is to be amused and entertained.”
5) “The empty self is sensate.” – We base our decisions on things that can be perceived only by our senses, rather than using “abstract reasoning in assessing the pertinent issues.”
6) “The empty self has lost the art of developing an interior life.” – “In the last few decades . . . the self has come to be defined in terms of external factors – the ability to project a pleasurable, powerful personality and the possession of consumer goods – and the quest for celebrity status, image, pleasure, and power has become the preoccupation of a self so defined.” This is contrary to traditional “internal traits of virtue and morality . . . honor and reputation . . . and character.”
7) “The empty self is hurried and busy.” – We have lives filled with full schedules, activities, and noise. Moreland quotes Philip Cushman, who describes the empty self as “filled up with consumer goods, calories, experiences, politicians, romantic partners, and empathetic therapists . . . . [The empty self] experiences a significant absence of community, tradition, and shared meaning, . . . a lack of personal conviction and worth, and it embodies the absences as a chronic, undifferentiated emotional hunger.”
Moreland concludes “A society filled with empty selves is a morally bankrupt, intellectually shallow society. . . . Moreover, a church with largely empty selves is an immature, dysfunctional church. . . . If the interior life does not really matter all that much, why spend the time reading and trying to develop an interior, intellectual, spiritually mature life? If someone is basically passive, he or she will just not make the effort to read, preferring instead to be entertained. If a person is sensate in orientation, music, magazines filled with pictures, and visual media in general will be more important than mere words on a page or abstract thoughts. If one is hurried and distracted, one will have little patience for theoretical knowledge and too short of an attention span to stay with an idea while it is being carefully developed. Instead, there will be a rush to get to the bottom line, an overemphasis on practical application and how-tos, a Reader’s Digest approach to sermon evaluation or reading selection. And if someone is overly individualistic, infantile, and narcissistic, what will that person read, if he or she reads at all? Such a person will read Christian self-help books that are filled with self-serving content, many slogans, simplistic moralizing, a lot of stories and pictures, and inadequate diagnosis of issues that place no demand on the reader. . . . What will not be read are books that equip people to engage in “destroying speculations . . . raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5), develop well-reasoned, theological understanding of the Christian religion, and fill their roles in the broader kingdom of God for the common good and the cause of Christ.”
As I read about the empty self phenomenon, it caused (and now daily causes) me to pause and consider how much my “empty self” is in control of my day-to-day life. Can you relate to any of these? Do you agree with Moreland’s assessment of the effect of the empty self on society and the church and the danger it poses? Why or why not?
Donna, I’m glad your husband didn’t deter you from writing in length about this 😉 You have certainly whetted my appetite for reading the book.
When I was a missionary, I remember us working with a small group of brand-new believers in the southern region of Malawi. They were so excited about the good news, and couldn’t wait to go on missionary trips themselves. We were at first hesitant to send them out, but they were rearing at the bit and then a small contingent went across the border to Mozambique. They shared the good news in a village, and were leading people to the Lord, when maruaders came upon them and one of the missionaries was killed. We were horrified, and guilt-ridden for sending them out too early. We thought the villagers in Malawi would send us packing. But the opposite happened. The missionary efforts into Mozambique grew by leaps and bounds, and people from the entire southern region in Malawi came to seek God in earnestness. I’ll never forget their hope and their joy, in contrast to their devastating poverty and to the tragedy. They were standing strong and maturing in their walk with the Lord.
When I came to America, I couldn’t figure out how people who had so much in terms of religious freedom and material goods and opportunity, could be so discontent.
Then I realized that the adversary probably just used the well-being and wealth in this society to lull people and quietly rob them of the true joy and satisfaction that there is in Christ. And your synopsis of this book explains it well.
Of course I don’t say we must become poor and persecuted in order to really be mature, contented believers. But we will be unwise not to recognize that the trappings of our society, which may produce this “empty self” or whatever else one wants to call the prevailing superficialtity and narcissism, could be the very weapons wielded by the one who wants to steal, kill and destroy. May we walk circumspectly, and with our eyes wide open.
I just don’t see what’s in it for me, and besides, it takes too long. Could you just sum it up for me in, like, a cool bumper sticker? Oops, I’m late for an appointment to get my car detailed. Gotta run. 😉
But seriously, I wholeheartedly agree. Looking at Moreland’s list of the features of the empty self, I find in myself evidence of some more than others — especially #7 (hurried and busy). As Dan so often says, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy…”
The effect on the church could be devastating. It’s bad enough when you have a church body that can’t think for itself, but look how far it’s gone: you have pastors selling pre-baked sermons! (see also this blog)
See also Doug Groothuis’s wise advice on reading: Part 1, Part 2.
That quote makes me chuckle because the more I write (and read) the more I see the wisdom in it.
Kidding aside, I think this section of the book is a great example of why Moreland is such a good teacher and writer. In a book about the life of the mind, you might expect dry, disconnected, academic platitudes. Instead, Moreland applies his careful thinking to provide penetrating insight into some of our deepest and most entrenched experiential problems. He is connecting our thought-life to our sin.
Wow! Donna,thank you so much for answering the question I had previously asked about this topic. Can I relate? Absolutely! While reading these points again this morning, I was struck with a deep conviction of how natural it can be to go with the way of culture. I think #2 convicts me the most. We live in a time of “fast” food, credit cards, and quick pain medicine. It revolves around us getting comfort and getting it fast. Waiting on the Lord can be unthinkable. If God isn’t moving fast, then we may question His love or worse yet His ability to act. I printed off these points and I hope to read them from time to time to remind me of the dangers and to keep my mind in check with a healthy way of thinking.
Yes, Donna, thank you! What great discussion we’ve had going through this book together; it has been so thought-provoking and convicting, as well. Thank you for leading us in this book study and discussion! It is amazing how subtly things can go with the way of the culture, as you said, Vicki. As I was listening to JP Moreland on the audio (I think you linked to it, Donna),
he gave a great illustration about doing things for self-interest. He was at a drug-awareness type assembly and he commented to the folk sitting next to him to listen to the reasons the children would present for not “doing drugs”. He was convinced that the overwhelming majority (if not all) of the children would say they would not do drugs because it would hurt their grades, ruin their sports career, etc., but not because it was wrong! I confess that as a teacher many years ago, when my students did their drug prevention program, I was probably very pleased with those types of responses. How important it is for us to be aware, and to be able to identify that “shallow” morality. Thank you, Donna, for initiating this coversation; thank you, JP Moreland, for such a wonderfully insightful book; and thank you, God, for guiding us to the truth!
Thank you all for your insights, encouragement, and transparency! Although, I struggle with some of these more than others, I confess that I struggle with all of them much more regularly than I ought. Worse still, I sometimes don’t struggle at all. Rather, I live quite comfortably diving in to these empty traits, and bathing in the comfort that they seem to bring me, while not even realizing I’m drowning in them. Sometimes, it takes someone throwing out a life jacket (that seems bulky and uncomfortable), as Moreland does, to jar me into realizing my dangerous state. Without regularly studying the Scriptures diligently and listening to and reading godly material and counsel to challenge my intellect, I am persuaded that I will remain in this state of barely treading water and trying not to drown.
Sadly, I’m sure I’m not alone. As Americans in a land of plenty, it is difficult for us to not remain stuck in this pattern of shallow and narcissistic living. I am persuaded that only by living disciplined (that’s the hard part) lives of submission to the Lord (another hard part) and truly being “followers” (and still another) of Christ will we resist this hold that is on us. Still, as Paul struggled to do what he ought to do and not do what he ought not do, we can expect that we will constantly battle our empty selves . . . our flesh. Only by His Spirit (Thank You, Lord!) will we be able to move beyond this empty place and move towards maturity.
Sandra, your story is such a great contrast to the picture of the empty self that so entrenches our culture (and sadly, the Church). What a beautiful picture of the power of Christ working through those who have truly been set free and are looking to their Savior to give them meaning and hope. May we strive to love God with all our minds, that we will be able to deny our empty selves and press on towards spiritual maturity for the glory of God and for the advancement of His Kingdom!