Editor’s note: Recently, an animated discussion on faith and emotion took place in an online forum mostly comprised of Chinese house church pastors and Christian leaders. During the conversation, Grace, who teaches and does biblical counseling across China, shared her perspective on the intersection between theology and emotional understanding. Her thoughts were initially compiled for a video course she recorded for the Chinese counseling and research center, Tree of Life.

This is the first of a two-part series.

“Holy Affections”

Seeing all this discussion about emotions and the Reformed movement, I would love to share a bit of my own personal learning and understanding. These are my own observations and reflections.

In the modern Reformed church, the Puritan tradition is one of the most important. Among Puritan leaders, Jonathan Edwards was one of the most important. Edwards said that “true religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.” In other words, if a person is accustomed to ignoring their affections, or to suppressing or repressing their emotions, that person may not even know if they have been saved and born again. Why is this so?

When we were created, God gave us the “function” of emotions and affections. Emotions are not just a way to express oneself. They are also, importantly, a way or a tool which we use to understand the world.

Human beings bear the image of God. They also have a dignity given by God. When we were created, God gave us the “function” of emotions and affections. Emotions are not just a way to express oneself. They are also, importantly, a way or a tool which we use to understand the world. Our feelings and sensations are not just emotions; they are a way for us to recognize and know what is going in with ourselves or our surroundings.

Not only that, our feelings often allow us to recognize and realize what is happening both in our surroundings and to ourselves and others. A lot of times, our emotions help us reach this sort of understanding more quickly and accurately than our rational minds are able to do alone.

Feeling versus Reason

For example, if there is a light on in the room you are in right now, then:

-What is the way you “know” a light is on in a room?

-Is the light on because your rational mind delivered an essay to you about it? Or because your logic taught you about the light so you understand it?

Our feelings often allow us to recognize and realize what is happening both in our surroundings and to ourselves and others…more quickly and accurately than our rational minds are able to do alone.

-On the other hand, do you “know” the light is on because you see and “feel” that the light is on?

-If your rationality and reasoning are unable to tell you how the light is on, then does that mean there is, in fact, no light on in the room?

-Should you wait for your rationality and reason to make sense before you are able to make a judgment and know if the light is on or not? Or do you already know the light is on, no matter whether logic and rationality are able to follow?

-Maybe, you perceive that there is a light on in the room. But someone, a person whom you think knows, loves, and cares about you, is very good at using clear and logical arguments to tell you that the light is broken and is not working.

In this case, is the light on, or off? Is there something wrong with either your perceptions or your lucidity because you are not able to explain about the light clearly and rationally, like the other person did?

-If a person relies solely on logic to judge whether the light is on or not, if that person refuses to listen to or even suppresses what their senses are telling them about the light, then are they behaving rationally, or irrationally? What is the result of ignoring your senses? Will the result of this suppression of “feeling” be more or less in line with the actual situation?

-Suppose a Christian husband, citing Scripture and theology, tells his believing wife: “The Bible says I am the head. You should submit to me, and you should obey me in everything I command.” The wife may not be able to reason against her husband, and she may not be able to quote any Scriptural references against what he is saying. But does that mean that her “feeling” that what her husband said is not right is factually incorrect or even unbiblical?

I am not advocating here that we should follow our feelings. Instead, I want you to honor your feelings! Your emotions are God-given, and they are there for a reason, whether you like them or not.

I am not advocating here that we should follow our feelings. Instead, I want you to honor your feelings! Your emotions are God-given, and they are there for a reason, whether you like them or not. We need to hear, understand, and comprehend what our emotions are trying to say. Then, we bring our feelings into the light of reality and the Bible, and look to see whether they are wrong or right. Instead of minimizing, ignoring, or suppressing our emotions, we first need to listen to them.