From Wikipedia:
"Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".[1] Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be.[2] While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, impostor syndrome has been recognized to affect both men and women equally.[1][3] Impostor phenomenon is not a mental disorder, yet there is research describing various management styles for this internal experience."
Compare this to some verses of the Bible:
Galatians 2:20: For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Psalm 14:2-3: 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
Psalm 22:6-7: 6 But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
Isaiah 64:6 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
In talking with many fellow Christians, I have also noticed a lot of tendencies towards extreme self-effacing. For example, a Reformed acquaintance of mine managed to talk down a person in the midst of a mental breakdown and one step away from suicide. When others around him saw what he did, they of course praised him for saving someone's life. His response was to say that God did everything, and he himself did nothing. In some segments of Catholic and Orthodox spirituality and monastic practice, self-reproach is rather common as a way to avoid becoming prideful, often to some extreme extents, where any sort of praise or congratulations offered to a person is returned with something along the lines of "Oh, that's nothing" or "Oh, if you knew anything about me, you would know that there's nothing praiseworthy to see here." Attributing successes in one's life to God's grace and a total avoidance of crediting one's own hard work, practice/study and determination is another common theme.
But does all of this conclusively point to Christianity potentially (and rather often) fueling Imposter Syndrome? What are your perspectives and experiences?
"Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".[1] Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be.[2] While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, impostor syndrome has been recognized to affect both men and women equally.[1][3] Impostor phenomenon is not a mental disorder, yet there is research describing various management styles for this internal experience."
Compare this to some verses of the Bible:
Galatians 2:20: For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Psalm 14:2-3: 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
Psalm 22:6-7: 6 But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
Isaiah 64:6 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
In talking with many fellow Christians, I have also noticed a lot of tendencies towards extreme self-effacing. For example, a Reformed acquaintance of mine managed to talk down a person in the midst of a mental breakdown and one step away from suicide. When others around him saw what he did, they of course praised him for saving someone's life. His response was to say that God did everything, and he himself did nothing. In some segments of Catholic and Orthodox spirituality and monastic practice, self-reproach is rather common as a way to avoid becoming prideful, often to some extreme extents, where any sort of praise or congratulations offered to a person is returned with something along the lines of "Oh, that's nothing" or "Oh, if you knew anything about me, you would know that there's nothing praiseworthy to see here." Attributing successes in one's life to God's grace and a total avoidance of crediting one's own hard work, practice/study and determination is another common theme.
But does all of this conclusively point to Christianity potentially (and rather often) fueling Imposter Syndrome? What are your perspectives and experiences?
