Some other contexts for the surrender philosophy are:
- everyone knows God anyway; in your current state, you know God, but merely pretend not to know Him, so all you need to do is be honest and you can surrender to God;
- you are bad, therefore, you need to surrender to that which is good.
I think actually your example of the angry Muslim is nor far off an underlying reaction many religious people and leaders have when someone has 'negative' emotional reactions and 'negative' cognitive reactions to events or people. We are told implicitly or explicitly to go with the flow, not judge, see the lesson in it, see it as a trial or test sent from God, and so on. IOW our resistence is the problem, not the unpleasant event or person. Often the word 'surrender' is not used in the context, but the underlying critique of we who do not get it is the same and I think their is a connection to the surrender concept.
Technically, there is also what I would call "placeholder surrender" or "placeholder God": in this case, surrender and God needn't be further defined or understood, but function as abstractions and moving goalposts, placeholders that the person fills in as their spirituality develops.
Good point and one I think you emphasize with good reason. The mystification of this, clearly important, concept is very damaging. The individual then gropes their way to some kind of solution - since often they are to some degree shunned if they display their ignorance - and this solution may be even more damaging than how others interpret this 'rule'. In addition there is always some uneasiness. And in addition to that, since there is no clear bench mark, one can always feel one did not surrender
enough. Once again showing how little psychological insight those who accept God miraculously also show despite their 'goodness'.
I also notice that a lot of people get empowered by their sense of having surrendered. And in unsavory ways.
It's a bit like in 12-Step philosophy: One surrenders one's problems to the Higher Power, without having much clue what this Higher Power is - but simply the concept of "higher power" is such that it warrants that one's problems be surrendered to it.
I am more positive about this one. It has generally not worked for me, but there have been moments when I passed on a problem and it felt good. It felt like an act of stopping torturing myself. The honest statement that I don't know how to do X, am confused and feel helpless and asking for help - even without a clear sense of whom I am asking - has felt good to me. I cannot make this a regular practice, but on occasion it has felt right and a relief to me. I am not giving myself and my will over to something and letting it have power over me, but making, essentially a plea for help that reflects more accurately my experience. Walking around feeling I should be doing better and blaming myself as if I feel like I am in control - but just not being disciplined enough or whatever - has been more like a lie. I recognize the parallel epistemological issue, but for me, this hasn't felt abusive.
What do you find cruel about it?
In extreme
examples telling some teenager who has been systematically sexually abused and has problems that they need to surrender to God - with the implicit judgment that their problems are caused by their battling God - is to repeat their abuse, in many cases if not all, by put it on a spiritual plane.
You are the one doing something wrong. You need to open up your boundaries and let God in.
When, of course, any remotely intelligent God would understand that this kid understandably may wonder how sane or loving God is given what he or she experienced.
I think the pattern of abuse in the suggestion is the same in less obvious cases.
