Rashomon Effect
Have you and someone else ever witnessed the same event and later realized you two ( or others ), although seeing the same thing, may have remembered the event in a different way? This is loosely referred to as the Rashomon Effect, named after a 1950 Japanese movie entitled Rashomon.
Sometimes only the color of certain things differ in the recollecting of more than one eye witness to the same event. Sometimes, more variables are contradictory. The disparity between accounts makes for an interesting blog topic for today ;)
I've had several of these experiences throughout my life and when I come to an odd point with someone else regarding an event we both saw and we differ in what actually happened, I begin to second guess my memory after firstly thinking the other person must be wrong... naturally, lol.
One historical event which depicts this phenomenon is in the following three recollections of the same event:
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
- Acts 9:3-7
( the men 'heard' the 'sound' but did not 'see' anyone )
“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘I am Yeshua of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.”
- Acts 22:6-9
( companions 'saw' the light but did not 'understand' the voice... )
“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“‘I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.
- Acts 26:12-16
( 'I' heard a voice... )
In the account of Paul's conversion, the companions of Paul experienced something alongside Paul which made them all fearful and fall to the ground... yet the companions did not hear the message distinctively while having heard a sound and seen a light.
Of course, this is an event which takes faith to believe it to have happened ( the gravity of the message as well as a scientifically improbability of seeing a vision and hearing a voice ). Yet, isn't this in line with the fact that no two persons see anything alike or perceive things in the exact same way?
Let us consider: just because those with Paul did not hear a distinct message themselves doesn't negate the message Paul received nor the experience Paul had. As some can attest Today as they experience their life unfolding for them, some are given greater responsibilities in what they experience, see and hear... and this is not to disparage others but simply call others to also believe not only what they personally experience, but also to believe the experiences of others.
Though the experiences of others may not be perceivable and sometimes dramatically unbelievable, this doesn't mean their experiences to be false or impossible... for what is impossible for God to accomplish? Isn't it our diminutive perception and lack of faith and understanding which puts limits on what is possible? Isn't it our perceptions and possibly also our religious programming which leads us to sometimes deny, detest or even disbelieve the experiences and vision others share with us?
It comes down to faith, not so much in being compelled or having to believe everything others tell you, but faith in the unlimited reach God has in your life and in the lives of others. God grants certain purposes for certain people and lays upon them certain responsibilities. Those who are not called to certain purposes with attached certain responsibilities should not doubt those who have such callings. Those without a magnanimous calling should not perceive themselves as any less important. Instead, the one struggling to believe what others have to share and say should strive to open their eyes further to what God is envisioning for everyone and what His message is beckoning... which is far and wide and well beyond the perception even of the most religious and most organized efforts of men.
Men are fallible and are a work in progress, let us strive to be more like Christ and less like others.
God is perfect and has always patiently worked through the failures of nearsighted men.
God isn't bound or limited by our perceptions.
It is our lack of faith which binds and limits our experiences of God.
Sometimes only the color of certain things differ in the recollecting of more than one eye witness to the same event. Sometimes, more variables are contradictory. The disparity between accounts makes for an interesting blog topic for today ;)
I've had several of these experiences throughout my life and when I come to an odd point with someone else regarding an event we both saw and we differ in what actually happened, I begin to second guess my memory after firstly thinking the other person must be wrong... naturally, lol.
One historical event which depicts this phenomenon is in the following three recollections of the same event:
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
- Acts 9:3-7
( the men 'heard' the 'sound' but did not 'see' anyone )
“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘I am Yeshua of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.”
- Acts 22:6-9
( companions 'saw' the light but did not 'understand' the voice... )
“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“‘I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.
- Acts 26:12-16
( 'I' heard a voice... )
In the account of Paul's conversion, the companions of Paul experienced something alongside Paul which made them all fearful and fall to the ground... yet the companions did not hear the message distinctively while having heard a sound and seen a light.
Of course, this is an event which takes faith to believe it to have happened ( the gravity of the message as well as a scientifically improbability of seeing a vision and hearing a voice ). Yet, isn't this in line with the fact that no two persons see anything alike or perceive things in the exact same way?
Let us consider: just because those with Paul did not hear a distinct message themselves doesn't negate the message Paul received nor the experience Paul had. As some can attest Today as they experience their life unfolding for them, some are given greater responsibilities in what they experience, see and hear... and this is not to disparage others but simply call others to also believe not only what they personally experience, but also to believe the experiences of others.
Though the experiences of others may not be perceivable and sometimes dramatically unbelievable, this doesn't mean their experiences to be false or impossible... for what is impossible for God to accomplish? Isn't it our diminutive perception and lack of faith and understanding which puts limits on what is possible? Isn't it our perceptions and possibly also our religious programming which leads us to sometimes deny, detest or even disbelieve the experiences and vision others share with us?
It comes down to faith, not so much in being compelled or having to believe everything others tell you, but faith in the unlimited reach God has in your life and in the lives of others. God grants certain purposes for certain people and lays upon them certain responsibilities. Those who are not called to certain purposes with attached certain responsibilities should not doubt those who have such callings. Those without a magnanimous calling should not perceive themselves as any less important. Instead, the one struggling to believe what others have to share and say should strive to open their eyes further to what God is envisioning for everyone and what His message is beckoning... which is far and wide and well beyond the perception even of the most religious and most organized efforts of men.
Men are fallible and are a work in progress, let us strive to be more like Christ and less like others.
God is perfect and has always patiently worked through the failures of nearsighted men.
God isn't bound or limited by our perceptions.
It is our lack of faith which binds and limits our experiences of God.
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