Five Qualities of Religion that Appeal to INTJs

Hey, everyone.

So, I posted the question of which topic people would like to see next on my blog, but no one voted for anything so I had to make a decision. I decided to cover the topic of being both religious and an INTJ because I thought it would be the most interesting one to delve into, especially since INTJs are the least likely of all the types to be religious. But after I realized that the answer was one of two things, either because I choose to or because I was indoctrinated so well that I don't realize I have been and think that I choose to, I realized that that answer sucks.

The question I should really address is why would an INTJ be religious? What qualities would a religion need to have in order to appeal to an INTJ? That makes for a far more interesting blog post, as well as an easier one because people are sluts for lists. Seriously, how much more likely are you to watch a vid or read a post because it says the top 10, 7, or 5 things or reasons for whatever the hell?So, here are five qualities of religion that appeal to INTJs. (I'm sure there are more, but these five are the most relevant to me.)

1. Theology Based Off Faith and Reason

If you were to ask me why I like Catholicism so much and why I think other religions, including other branches of Christianity, are weak-sauce, the first thing that would come to my mind is Catholic theology. Catholicism has an extensive and complex theology. Don't believe me? You've obviously never picked up a copy of the Catechism, and that's just the start since the Catechism is an abridged version of multiple documents called "dogmatic constitutions" as well as theses like Aquinas' Summa Theologica. And while INTJs like things extensive and complex, that doesn't necessarily make those things likeable. So what is it about that extensive and complex theology that appeals to me as an INTJ?

Well, Catholic theology is based off two things: faith and reason. It takes the belief "God exists," and then breaks that down into rational thought to discover the truth of it. While I admit that if you can't accept the premise, then you're not going to have any thoughts or discover any truth about the statement. However, Aquinas did take the via negativa (negative way) to uncover the truth behind certain theological precepts including the existence of God. He looked at why God couldn't exist first, proved them wrong through common perceptions, and then came to the conclusion that God did.

I know it's easy to get down on the Catholic Church these days and say it isn't rational what with all the sex and pedophiliac scandals, but I would argue that anyone who indulges in such behavior is not of Christ's body (which is the Church), and that being the case, you can't waggle your finger at the Church to shame her since they're not a part of the club--they just pretended to be and lied to everyone about it. That's one of the problems with having a Faith based off reason--it, like all academia based off reason and thought, can be taught. Since the theology is treated like fact, it's taught like fact, and so anyone who touts it expertly is accepted as a representative or evangelist of the Church by those outside it. But I digress...

One of the issues I have with some Protestant faiths, as well as Californian-based "religions" made up by a guy that could professionally qualify as a "dude," is that they seem to be based off feelings or accepting the Bible at face value. That's not the Catholic Church. We're often seen as a guilt-ridden Faith or that we don't want people to have fun. We don't want people wallowing in sin, true enough, but wallowing in guilt and shame can be just as bad. The truth of the Faith is that we want people to think about the Faith, think about God, and think about His will and choose to do it.

The first part of that is an act of reason and the second part is an act of faith, which when applied to an INTJ take the forms of thinking and intuition. That's what I was getting at. Catholicism, when done right, is a religion built by NTs. This is probably news to a lot of you since the message of the Faith is often watered down so it can be easily understood by all. It's also often made more digestible so we don't lose parishioners to more digestible beliefs. It's actually a very academically intense religion, which tickles NTs pink. INTJs can be religious, they can be faithful, but they need a rational reason to do so.

2. Admittance of/to Free Will

One very interesting thing that I've been hearing about a lot lately is that love is a choice, not a feeling. Romance or eros is a feeling, but to love someone, to put their needs before yours, even when you don't want to or even when it may cost you something dear, that's a choice. And in order to have that ability to choose, you must have free will.

INTJs don’t like feeling out of control. We don’t believe in destiny or fate, and things are compounded further by the fact that INTJs have a “my way or the highway” kind of attitude. It’s very important to us that we do things our way. Even if we make a mistake, as long as we did it our way, that still grants us some satisfaction, especially when we can own up to it because many people cannot.

So, although many religions tend to drive this idea of trusting in God’s will and being subservient to it, Catholicism still admits to the existence of free will, of choice. We can choose to do what we want, whether those are good or bad choices, and God does not interfere. People, and especially INTJs, don’t like being forced to follow someone else’s will, especially when it counters our own on a very fundamental level. So the fact that the greatest power in the universe, the one who is responsible for our creation, is perfectly willing to allow us to make our own decisions, we respect that. And because respect is shown to our abilities and desires, we are more likely to respect God's abilities and desires.

3. Strict Moral Code

Like I mentioned above, INTJs get a certain kind of satisfaction from owning up to their mistakes; we enjoy certain disciplines, rules, and rigidity. One of the things I can get behind about Catholicism is its moral code. True, it’s not always easy to live up to, but INTJs do sometimes falter according to their own codes of honor. We don't often admit it, but we do. But anyway, I respect the morality of the Faith. I believe it has my best intentions at heart, especially since I have mostly lived according to it all my life, and I don't have many of the problems that some people do. I attribute that to being brought up with the proper morality, and to some extent, many secular types would deem me to be an honorable man. Both not having problems and the respect of others appeals to me. 

4. Forgiveness for Failure and Recognition in Our Trials

Like I said, honor and morality is not always easy--we falter. And although INTJs are not very self-forgiving, God fortunately is. True, God does judge us, but He does so from a perspective of mercy, and INTJs, although we don’t like to admit it, we need someone in our lives to show us mercy. (Just like how we need someone in our lives to hug us, even though we don’t like to admit to that either.)

The other thing is that God recognizes our trials and attempts--He likes to see us try. Some may think that strange, but I mean, who isn’t flattered when someone we like makes an attempt to please us or tries to get to know us better? If God truly loves us and desires to have a relationship with us, then He should be pleased with our attempts to live according to His will, right?

5. It Challenges Me to be Perfect

Although many people see the Ten Commandments as buzzkills or only exist as some sort of devious plot to manipulate us, I believe the Commandments exist to make us more like God. After all, God’s purpose is to make our souls perfect. And speaking of perfection, INTJs f*cking love it. We pursue it nigh relentlessly, and despite the pressure we feel from that, the fact that there’s a religion and a deity out there that wants the same thing we do, we can support that. INTJs are not looking for the easy way out. Maybe the most efficient way, but not the easy way. We know that in our heart of hearts that we are meant for greater things, and religion teaches us that God believes that also. But we must become great in order to do great things.

Conclusion

Now, admittedly there are qualities of religion that don't appeal to us like always trusting in God or having faith that He's there because sometimes it feels like He isn't, and sometimes He doesn't do things the way we'd like them to be done. But these are all issues that everyone has. Not to mention, life does seem easier, in some regards, when you live according to His will, almost like that saying "God helps those who help themselves" is true.

For me, the good things about religion infinitely outweigh the bad things. So, in those moments when I feel despair, in those moments when I think God has abandoned me, and in those moments where I feel like saying "f*ck it!" and committing every sin in the book, I still (re)turn to the Faith because it has several good points that keep me coming back.

***

Well, I hope that was insightful, and did the job I wrote it for. I rebel quite hard against the stereotypical INTJ qualities that don't match myself, and hopefully this post explains why the not being religious one doesn't match up to me. And if you want to see more of this type of thing and never miss a beat, please join my mailing list, or really show me the love and please consider supporting me on Patreon. Even $1 a month will prove that you love me.

For next week, I'm going to cover INTJs and sex. It will actually be a reflection on dating troubles and why INTJs have them. It won't be in-depth, but I did have a few revelations when I was thinking about my own girl troubles recently. Until then...

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

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Flash Stories & Poetry Day 33: Reflection "The True Meaning of Christmas, Part II"

 

Hey, everyone.

So, I'm still feeling down and out over my problems. I was originally going to write a second part to the whole true meaning of Christmas, but I can't for the life of me remember what I was going to write. It sounds like a horrible shame, but the thought I had was barely there to begin with so it's no wonder it only took me two days to lose it. But, if the wheel gives me reflection again, I'll try to reclaim it.

Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!





Today's genre is... Reflection.

Huh. Well, then. So, I just reread my last reflection to see if it would kindle anything... it might have. Let's see.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go.

So, I did write something originally, but it wasn't any good. So, I just did some elementary research and restarted my time. According to what I found, the simple answer to the true meaning of Christmas is that God gave Himself to us out of His great love. But, the part that intrigues is the part about how God made Himself manifest into a living body and was born. God, the Word Eternal, as Great and as Mighty and as Terrible as He is and can be, humbled Himself to our level for the sake of our salvation.

This is an interesting thought because how many of us would humble ourselves in such a way? How many of us would become dogs to save them? Well, probably a bunch of us. A lot of people would do whatever they needed to if it meant saving their beloved pet. So, what about insects then? Perhaps that's a better comparison. When you compare the greatness of a human, everything we are and everything we can do, are we not like gods to insects? And would not compressing ourselves down into their form with their puny minds be a humble act? It definitely would be for one as arrogant as me.

Is this the true meaning of Christmas then? To humble ourselves before God? Jesus did lead by example; the Son became one of us to show us the Way. Seems like it; even the Catechism of the Catholic Church, at paragraph 526, says "To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little."

There's a passage after that that is quoted from the Liturgy of the Hours. The part that interests me is "We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity." God shared his divinity by sharing in our humanity. Humanity and divinity. Sharing. The dual nature of Christ, both fully man and fully God. Is this the true meaning of Christmas? The sharing of our humanity and God's sharing of his divinity? By getting into and sharing the Christmas spirit, we are sharing both human and divine behaviors? After all, we can't say we're sharing our divine nature since we aren't divine, we aren't gods, but if God shares his divinity with us, does that not make us divine to some small extent? After all, Jesus told us to forsake this world for his work, to pick up our cross and follow him. Can the word "divine" be applied to all beings in Heaven? Can "divine" be used in reference to the work that we carry out and the spirit we carry during Christmas? I don't know. I feel like I might be committing sacrilege here.

But, to share the divine and the human, that seems to be the reason of the season. Find God's divine meaning in ourselves and then sharing that with everyone else. It reminds me of a song called "The Mundane And The Magic." It's by a melodic death metal band called Dark Tranquillity (< and no, that is not a typo). There's a lyric in the song that goes "If I could merge the mundane and the magic / we'd forge a new unknown." ...I think that might be it.

***

 

Well, I would say stop the clock, but what with trying this over and then already stopping it before I even made the last few lines, it really has no meaning. Well, I don't know if what I wrote is sacrilegious and completely crazy, but I do feel like I touched the ethereal barrier and that I may have come closer to solving what this whole religion business is all about. It is something that has cross my mind before; the purpose of religion, the meaning of religion, and what it's supposed to mean. All too often, people say a religion should do "this" because that's just the way of the world, but that's not the point of religion. Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter when he told them he was going to be crucified and Peter said he wouldn't allow it? Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan! You're thinking as man does, not as God does for the ways of man are not the ways of God." Yeah, keep that in mind next time you go criticize Christianity. Anyway... 

 

That's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

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Flash Stories & Poetry Day 5: Flash Fiction "The Pugilist Priest"

Today's the fifth day and I feel reasonably well. Hopefully that'll mean a good piece of writing. Let's find out.

Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!





Today's topic is... Fiction--Religious. Oh, boy. Now, while I am a practicing Catholic and my book Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens is pumped full of religion meaning that much of its world building is based on Catholic doctrine, religious fiction always has the added of challenge of making it so that it doesn't sound contrived or like you're beating people over the head with a particular religion's beliefs. But, I think I may have a story idea in mind. This is actually an idea I have for a movie, but there's no reason why I can't explore it here. It's called The Pugilist Priest. Let's get started.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go.

In the city of Detroit, Michigan near the parish of Ste. Anne de Detroit, you'd never expect to find a street known as "Vatican Town." It's much like Detroit's Mexican or Greek Towns, but instead of the focus being on the people's heritage, the focus on this street is on the people's religion which in this case is Roman Catholicism.

Now, you may have some preconceived notions about Catholics, but let me assure you that most of them are plain wrong or overblown. But whether you believe me or not is irrelevant; just take it from me that you don't want to take those preconceived notions into Vatican Town especially if you think Catholics are huge pushovers. The runners and shakers in Vatican Town are anything but. One such force is Vatican Town's gangs. Look out for the Crusaders and no one ever manages to expect the Spanish Inquisition, but the one to fear out of them all is the Chaldean gang. They drive around in their low-riders pimped out with the Lord's good name written on their doors and hoods. Gang members walk around with gold crucifixes and diamond rosaries hanging from their necks. They roll deep in their crews giving everyone else including the other gangs the stink eye, but despite their dispositions, gang violence is relatively rare but I wouldn't dare push their buttons; The Boondock Saints happens to be all their favorite movie.

After you've managed to dodge the Catholic gangs, you'll come to a bar called Holy Smokes. Inside you'll find a dank place poorly lit with the air clogged by smoke. You look to your left and you'll find the Little Sisters of Holy Persecution shooting pool. Be careful of those old nuns; they stand around all day smoking cigars, drinking beer, and rattling their giant rosaries as menacingly as possible. And there's always one or two brandishing a yard stick like a baseball bat. Word of the wise: they're not the ones who suffer persecution.

To the right you'll find the bar itself, but I wouldn't sit and drink there. Some of the students from Blessed Virtue High School sit at that bar to do their homework. But even if you don't sit down, you'll still have to suffer their judgmental gaze. Those kids are spirited, but their sticklers for proper dress code, so if you're a man, make sure your hair is combed, your face is shaven, your shirt tucked in, your shoes polished, and your pants are held up with a belt. If you're a woman, you must be especially careful because any woman with a skirt that stops higher than two inches above the knee will certainly be in danger when the PSB, Plaid Skirt Brigade, show up. They'll whip out a ruler and two young girls will restrain you while a third takes measure. If you pass, they'll let you go, but if you fail, they all whip out rulers and chase you from the bar. The boys on the other hand will turn the men over to Brother Fist, a muscular priest who is six feet by six feet and always ready to go fifteen rounds of bare-knuckle boxing to straighten out any sinner who wanders.

Once you get past the bar, you'll come to a little room with a small round table. Behind that table sits the man that they all call the Pugilist Priest. How did he get that name you ask? Well, the Reverend Father is an exorcist, but rather than reciting a few prayers over the afflicted, he does literal battle with the possessed. Armed in each of his gloves and in each of his shoes is a St. Benedict holy medal which wards off evil and demons. With every punch and kick, he exorcises the demons and delivers their just punishments.

Okay, and that's time! I actually finished this with ten minutes to go and went back and edited it. It's not as funny and as well written as I would like, but hey, it's thirty minutes worth of work. I'd like to see you do better! But, the scene I wrote here is more or less the scene in the movie where and how I want to introduce the Pugilist Priest. I want to give a strict but comical heir to all the thing. Hopefully it worked.

But anyway, that's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. See you tomorrow.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar