If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
Theology and the Latest Implications of ETAS Theory
By
Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof
August 11, 2013
Despite the whimsical title, I cannot think of a better combination of
metaphors than the Titanic and a particular story about Jesus for introducing ETAS
theory and its theological implications. ETAS stands for, Evolutionary Threat
Assessment Systems and refers to the physical structures in the brain that have
evolved to help us avoid harmful situations. According to Cognitive Therapist, Paul
Gilbert, “the most important question faced everyday by all animals, including
humans, is whether their immediate environment is dangerous or not.”1 Although it
was introduced just a few years ago, in 2007, by mental health researcher, Kevin J.
Flannelly, ETAS Theory is a branch of Evolutionary Psychology that’s arguably been
around since Darwin. Evolutionary psychology suggests the human mind, like the
body, has been shaped over eons by the drive to survive and reproduce. ETAS
Theory, in particular, suggests those neurological structures that help us evaluate
the potential threat in any situation, are the chief motivating factor in all we do and
think. It implies, like all creatures, we are driven by the survival instinct and,
therefore, go about our lives defensively, constantly responding to the question, “Am
I safe?”
Although this question is usually instinctive and unconscious, it is in the
background of most we think and do, and how we routinely respond to it, that is, to
the threatening nature of the world, is an indicator of our mental wellbeing. As
Flannelly explains, “A central feature of psychiatric disorders… is a primitive
concern about one’s own safety and the dangerousness of the world, with different
psychiatric disorders representing the response of threat assessment systems in the
brain to different kinds of potential threats.”2 In short, psychologists are now
looking at how we assess threat to explain the existence or emergence of certain
psychiatric symptoms.
Before discussing ETAS Theory further, let’s take a few moments to consider
the metaphorical significance of the Titanic. Everyone knows the story of the illfated cruise ship, the largest ship ever built, which struck an iceberg and sunk
during its maiden voyage on April 10th, 1912. But it has since become a symbol of
human arrogance, inasmuch as the ship was touted as being “unsinkable” by its
builders, so much so that its Captain ignored early warning signs that could have
prevented the tragedy. Indeed, its very name is a reference to the Titans of Greek
Flannelly, Kevin J., and Galek, Kathleen, Religion, Evolution, and Mental Health: Attachment
Theory and ETAS Theory, Journal of Religion and Health (2010) 49-337-350, Published
online, March 17, 2009, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2009, p. 340.
2 Ibid., p. 344.
1
If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
Mythology, those gigantic immortal gods that made up the first Greek pantheon.
Coincidently, when Zeus and his Olympians eventually overthrew them, the Titans
were cast into Tartarus at the bottom of the sea. So the colossal Titanic, it seems,
was even doomed by the same fate as the Titans for which it was named.
From a psychological perspective, when giants appear in our myths and
dreams they tend to represent some form of inflation of our fears, problems, or of
our selves. To inflate something is to make it seem bigger or more important than it
really is, just as a puffer fish blows itself up when threatened. Or, in ETAS language,
blowing things out of proportion is one of the ways we respond to danger, part of
our threat assessment system. Travel by sea has always been an unpredictable and
dangerous undertaking, for example, and the construction of the Titanic was a
response to this threat not unlike that of the puffer fish. The safety features of the
ship were blown way out of proportion, to the point there weren’t enough lifeboats
for all its passengers, and, again, signs of danger were completely ignored. So one
response to threat is to convince ourselves we are invincible, or else to enter into a
state of denial about the reality of the circumstances and our own helplessness. “I’m
too big, too important, too tough to get hurt.” In this sense, even narcissism, the
feeling that oneself is more important than anyone else, may be a threat response.
Of course, there are times we blow the threat facing us way out of proportion
too. This is where Jesus comes in. Although it’s no Titanic, there’s a delightful little
account in the Gospels about Jesus traveling in a boat with his disciples:
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was
nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples
woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died
down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so
afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other,
“Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”3
From an ETAS standpoint, this is an excellent anecdote about threat
assessment. On the one hand, you have Jesus’ disciples who seem to be in a constant
state of fear. First they feel threatened by the storm, but after it passes they’re still
afraid, now “terrified” of their own teacher. Jesus, on the other hand, is so calm that
he’s even able to sleep during the storm, and is only awakened by the unrest of the
others. Needless to say, this story is but another metaphor since it’s impossible to
calm storms with mere words or magical incantations. Yet we are all born with our
threat assessment systems turn on, and we can respond to them with calm and
reason, like Jesus does in this apocryphal tale, or with fear and terror like his
disciples. As a metaphor, then, the way Jesus calms the storm, the way he responds
to the sense of threat, might say something about the way we can all calm the
3
Mark 4:37-41
2
If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
emotional and psychological storms we so easily blow way out of proportion. It’s
easy to do because, again, like other animals, people are usually in a state of
hypervigilance, determining if our “immediate environment is dangerous or not.”
The first thing we notice in this story, then, is that Jesus doesn’t seem to be a
very anxious person by nature. He experiences the world from a place of trust, often
reminding his followers that there is no need to worry about tomorrow, that life is
abundant, and there is plenty enough to go around for everyone. “Can any one of
you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”4 He asked. It’s not that he was in
denial, or that, like everyone else, he didn’t assess the situation’s threat level, but
that he trusted the boat was seaworthy and that the storm would soon end (and
even if it did sink, he probably figured he could always walk home).
Although I obviously don’t take this story literally, it has long been so
meaningful in my life that, to this day, whenever I’m feeling anxious about
something, I tell myself, “the ship won’t sink and the storm won’t last forever.” It
reminds me, though there are storms in life that rock our boats, there are very few
Titanics, and the things that worry and upset me are manageable. It’s not that my
threat assessment systems aren’t turned on, but my response to potential threats is
often one of calm and reason, rather than inflating my fears out of proportion. So
when the storms do come up, when I’m feeling a little threatened, I can say, “Quiet.
Be still,” like Jesus, because I know, “the boat won’t sink and the storm won’t last
forever.” I’ll get through it.
Another relevant detail here is that Jesus attributes his relative calm to his
faith, and his disciple’s disproportionate response to their lack of it. Interestingly,
this isn’t far from what Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems Theory is also
realizing—that faith can play an enormous role in how we respond to fear. In one of
his earliest papers on the subject, Flannelly and his team of researchers found that
beliefs about the afterlife correspond with certain psychiatric symptoms. The first
thing he notes is that institutional religion, that is, simply going to church “exerts the
least influence on psychological well-being.”5 The level of personal devotion,
however, exerts a great deal of influence, which includes an “attachment to God,
intrinsic religious orientation, and personal prayer and devotion.”6 In short, the
more serious one is about their religion, the more it may influence one’s response to
threat, or, perhaps, be determined by one’s response to threat.
Hypothesizing that “pleasant beliefs about life-after-death would be
associated with lower levels of psychiatric symptomology, and that unpleasant
Matthew 6:27
Flannelly, Kevin J., Ellison, Christopher G., Galek, Kathleen, Koenig, Harold G., Beliefs about
Life-After-Death, Psychiatric Symptomology and Cognitive Theories of Psychopathology,
Journal of Psychology and Theology, Vol. 36, No. 2, 94—103, 2008, p. 95.
6 Ibid.
4
5
3
If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
beliefs about life-after-death would be associated with higher levels,”7 they
conducted a survey testing five pleasant beliefs about the afterlife and two
unpleasant beliefs. The five pleasant beliefs, including, union with God, peace and
tranquility, reunion with loved ones, a paradise of pleasure and beliefs, and, eternal
reward or punishment (the latter of which is considered positive assuming that
“most people would think of themselves as good people and would expect to be
rewarded in the afterlife.”8) The two negative beliefs about the afterlife include, a
pale shadowy form of life, hardly life at all, and, that individuals are reincarnated into
another form, something that is not traditionally desirable in those religions that
believe in reincarnation.
The national survey, which had nearly 2000 respondents from all 50 U.S.
states, found a correlation between these beliefs and paranoia, phobia, anxiety,
depression, obsessive compulsion, and psychosomatic conditions. All seven of the
beliefs examined were found to “have a statistically significant relationship with
symptomology in at least one of [these] six disorders.”9 As you might have guessed,
positive views of the afterlife are associated with fewer symptoms, and negative
views of the afterlife with more symptoms.
Given that death may be the biggest problem any of us face, it’s easy to turn it
into a Titanic issue in our lives. As the report points out, “Some… have suggested
that religion arose as means of providing a sense of security to early humans living
in a dangerous world. Presumably pleasant beliefs about life-after-death provide
this sense of security because they assure individuals that life goes on after death
and, moreover, that it is a better life.”10 This helps, the report goes on to suggest,
because, “belief in life-after-death may put one’s experiences in a broader context in
which one’s current life is only a small part of things to come. This, in turn, may
make common problems and even major traumas seem merely transitory. Naturally,
belief in life after-death has been found to decrease one’s anxiety about death, which
may also help to reduce other symptomology.”11
In another study, Flannelly and his team explored how beliefs about God
correlate with mental wellbeing. In addition to considering these beliefs from the
standpoint of ETAS theory, the researchers considered them in terms of Attachment
Theory too. Attachment Theory, also part of evolutionary psychology, suggests that
humans, like other creatures, are born with an instinct to stay close to those who
can protect us from danger, usually a mother figure. This time of year, for example,
we commonly witness newly hatched quail chicks running speedily wherever their
mother leads, especially at the sight of a person or automobile. Any perceived threat,
and they instinctively rush to mother’s wing.
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 97.
9 Ibid., p. 99.
10 Ibid., p. 100.
11 Ibid., p. 99.
7
8
4
If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
The same behavior is true of most warm-blooded animals. They instinctively
seek comfort and safety by attaching to a warm, protective figure. If young creatures
don’t get this kind of comfort, they can end up having all sorts of issues. Remember
the rather cruel experiments of psychologist Harry Harlow who raised infant
monkeys in isolation chambers for two years, from which they emerged severely
disturbed. He also famously raised some with surrogate mothers made out of wire
and wood, and others that were covered with cloth. Those with the wire wood
mothers clung to them only long enough to feed, while those with the cloth
surrogates spent a lot of time clinging to her. This explains why human children
experiencing separation anxiety often attach to a stuffed animal or security blanket,
and it probably healthy to let them do so.
According to Flannelly’s report, the same may be true for many adults. As the
report states, “Much like an infant’s primary caregiver, God may serve as a secure
base and as a safe haven of safety and comfort for believers.”12 But it’s not just
having a belief in God that correlates with one’s mental wellbeing, but what kind of
god one believes in—a wire and wood god, if you will, or a cloth covered god?
Flannelly and his team compared the relative mental wellbeing of those who believe
God is close and loving, God is Approving and Forgiving, and that God is Creating and
Judging.13 “A meta-analysis of these studies,” the report says, “suggests that feeling
one has a positive relationship with God is associated with better psychological
adjustment, whereas feeling one has a negative relationship with God is associated
with poorer psychological adjustment.”14 In brief, those with beliefs in a Close and
Loving God have fewer psychological symptoms in general; those with a belief in an
Approving and Loving God have less social anxiety; and those who believe God
mostly as Creator and Judge have more psychiatric symptoms. This explains why
fundamentalists, in particular, who often proclaim a Hell, fire and brimstone God,
also have an apocalyptic orientation—an extremely exaggerated fear that the whole
world is coming to an end.
For those nonbelievers among us who are feeling a little left out, Flannelly’s
team published another report just this year that looked at the correlation of
psychiatric symptoms with those who believe in a Benevolent God, a Punitive God,
and a Deistic or Absent God. “In general, the research has found that belief in a
benevolent God is associated with better psychological well-being, whereas belief in
Flannelly, Religion, Evolution, and Mental Health: Attachment Theory and ETAS Theory,
ibid., p. 342.
13 Flannelly, Kevin J., Ellison, Christopher G., Galek, Kathleen, Koenig, Harold G., Beliefs about
God, Psychiatric Symptoms, and Evolutionary Psychology, Journal of Religion and Health,
(2010) 49:246-261337-350, Published online, March 27, 2009, Springer Science+Business
Media, LLC, 2009, p. 246.
14 Ibid., p. 248.
12
5
If Jesus Had Been Aboard the Titanic,
Would He Have Walked Away?
a punitive God is associated with poorer psychological well-being.”15 As for the
deists, which is as close to a study of nonbelievers as we currently have, the
research found “no significant association between belief in a deistic [or absent] God
and any of the five psychiatric conditions”16 examined. Or, as the report puts it,
“belief in a deistic God neither inhibits or facilitates threat assessments and,
therefore, has no effect on psychiatric symptoms.”17
What these studies do indicate however, is that those who have a positive
view of humanity tend to also have less symptomology. Deists tend to be humanistic
given that they believe, at most, that God is absent from human affairs and it’s up to
us to make the world a better place. “…people who believe human nature is basically
evil,” the report concludes, “have higher levels of general anxiety than those who
believe human nature is basically good…”18
So, in response to the question, If Jesus had been aboard the Titanic, would he
have walked away, we can only say that his beliefs in a close, loving, and benevolent
God, along with his trust in the goodness of the world and his belief in humanity’s
ability to create Heaven on Earth, would have, at least, made him better equipped to
remain calm and rational in such a crisis. The larger lesson for us, whether we are
believers or nonbelievers, is that our beliefs share some kinship with our overall
wellbeing. We may not know which comes first, the fear or the faith, but, in light of
these studies, it seems prudent to at least foster a positive outlook about the world
and other people. True, the world remains a dangerous place, and our threat
assessment systems always remain vigilant, but let’s not blow the threat level out of
proportion by making mountains out of molehills, or, more apropos, by making
Titanics out of rowboats.
Silton, Nava R., Flannelly, Kevin J., Ellison, Christopher G., Galek, Kathleen, Beliefs about
God and Mental Health Among American Adults , Journal of Religion and Health, (2013)
Springer Science+Business Media, New York, p. 2.
16 Ibid., p. 8.
17 Ibid., p. 9.
18 Flannelly, Beliefs about God, Psychiatric Symptoms, and Evolutionary Psychiatry, ibid., p.
249.
15
6