I was twelve years old when I attended my first Basic Seminar. My parents had to get special permission due to my age. I believe I was much too young to attend, but I was hungry to learn, eager to be an adult. The Basic Seminar has been likened to taking a sip from a fire hydrant, and I eagerly soaked it all in like a parched, sandy desert.
The first day of the seminar focused on causes of conflict and the Principle of Design. Four hours of furious note taking dedicated to "understanding the specific purposes for which God created each person, object and relationship in my life and living in harmony with them."
Looking back as an adult, this concept seems like a given, and innocuous enough, but to a twelve year old having tremendous identity issues this was agony.
The basic premise of this principle has been reiterated by parents for years. "God don't make mistakes." and "Everything happens for a reason." While these two things are true, there was, for twelve year old me, an undercurrent of defeatism held in those words. My purpose was planned and there was nothing I could or should do to change it. There was only one plan... a son or daughter could look forward to ministry, marriage and more ministry. Even this early in the seminar there was emphasis on ministry over career, marriage over career. Great lengths were taken to reinforce the social and gender strata of the 1950's and earlier.
We were taught that there were ten unchangeables that we must accept to receive God's blessing.
These unchangeables were:
1. Our Parents... who we could not choose(and subsequently they couldn't really choose us either...)
2.Our Gender... again with the God makes no mistakes rhetoric... You are either a boy or a girl, this is a fact that could never be changed... (funny no mention of the multitude of varieties of intersex characteristics. How can you be either or if you are both?)
3. Our Physical Features... yes that includes the schnaz... but more importantly it includes those things that are considered "non-life threatening deformities" that can be surgically corrected to improve ones quality of life.
4. Mental Capacity... Somewhere in here is hidden the idea that you can't change stupid...That each person can only learn so much... That individuals with disorders like Downs' Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders are not intelligent and should never try to be.
5. Race/Nationality... Ok, so one cannot change their ethnicity, but why is this even coming into the picture? especially since many individuals issues with their own race comes from classism and stereotyping.
6. Birth Order....because how many kids there were before or after you determines what your character is... in exactly the same way that being born under a certain astrological sign does (ok, maybe they do, but while birth order seems to be the holy grail in this system, astrology is evil incarnate.)
7. Brothers and sisters... yep, we can't choose that...but this system looked down on my parents because they were unable to bear more children... how is that congruous with this teaching?
8. Time in History...So, I must accept that I was born in the 70's... by recreating the 50's?
9.Aging...I will agree with this... we cannot control the fact that our bodies age, but we can control the speed at which it ages and the degree to which it breaks down.
10. Death... yeah, the final act... death reaches us all.
There is an idea within the confines of the Institute that mirrors basic occult teaching (which is in and of itself ironic since the Institute decries anything vaguely and remotely "occult" except maybe birth order and spiritual gifts...) that a persons' name is powerful and can intentionally or inadvertently direct their life. Part of the principle of design, though not taught directly is that the name given to an individual by their parents is God's choice of name for that person. This ties directly, as do all of the other principles to the principle of authority...which we will get to later. There is implication, if not direct teaching that an understanding of the meaning of one's name can alter the course of one's life...with many anecdotal illustrations given to support this idea.
I think that many of these ideas were well intentioned, but to my twelve year old mind this principle was not the empowering guidepost it should have been, rather it bred in me a form of nihilism that I have fought since that day.
"Why try?" is a question I have asked myself too many times to count.
As an adult, sitting here trying to sort out the mess of my past, I have to ask myself "What is this principle all about?"
Today my worldview is decidedly different. Today I do not claim a particular religion or spiritual path, so if I use the term God it is for simplicities sake. I mention this because at it's core IBLP is a Christian organization, but many who have experienced these teachings have moved to other faiths or none at all. I may use many different terms to denote the concept commonly referred to as God.
I believe the purpose of the concept of the Principle of Design is to empower the individual. This principle speaks to all six of the basic human needs: significance, certainty, uncertainty, connection, contribution and growth. That each individual has a purpose, a goal to strive for, a personal journey of growth or what some would call enlightenment is the take away truth of this principle.
The signpost of the principle of design is to embolden us to seek our purpose, to give us the confidence to make choices that are in harmony with that purpose and give us the ability to see every circumstance and relationship of our lives as being preparation and proving ground for the successful fulfillment of the purpose we have found.
The late Joseph Campbell once said "Follow your bliss." This statement has confounded me for years until I heard a message by Rev. TD Jakes about living on purpose. He said that everyone has a gift, and you know you are operating out of your gift when you lose all track of time. When I heard that statement my heart echoed "Follow your bliss!" and I realized that finding your purpose is as easy as losing track of time.
I have come to realize that many of the things I was taught about this principle were simply one man's understanding and my misunderstanding of this truth. I see now that social constructs of position and gender can in many cases help one find their purpose, but that there are those who must, like Bilbo Baggins, leave the shire to fulfill their destiny.
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