Dependency–Independency. Healthy religion fosters a harmonious balance between these two polarities in such a way that permits the development and maintenance of one’s individual identity yet encourages the experience of a sense of oneness with others.

Control–Freedom. Healthy religion will encourage a spontaneity, creativity, and self-direction that is tempered by inner discipline and a sense of responsibility toward oneself and others. Overemphasizing one extreme or the other can lead to either a judgmental legalism and an unhealthy constriction of affect, cognitions, and behaviors or to a blurring of Christian distinctives and a lack of accountability to others.

Self-Denial–Self-Acceptance. Steering between the extremes involves recognizing the unconditional p 1030 acceptance Christians have in Christ Jesus as the basis for self-worth without developing an exaggerated sense of self-importance and demands for one’s rights at the expense of others.

Stability–Change. A healthy religious group, sensing the amount of change it can tolerate over a period of time, establishes an equilibrium between the constancy it maintains and the amount of change it encourages, thus permitting growth and avoiding stagnation while still appreciating the immutable truths of Scripture and religious practice.

Finiteness–Transcendence. Humans were created as finite creatures by a sovereign God, and human limitations are necessary to fulfill fully the purpose of glorifying God, even as human nature yearns to extend beyond itself to a superior Being. As evidenced by reactions to life’s events, people with a healthy religious perspective realistically accept the normalcy of humanness (e.g., hurt, discouragement) while still manifesting in themselves and encouraging in others an underlying hope and sense of purpose in all happenings.