What society am I apart of or Who is my neighbor?
As I worked through this interesting and engaging – but dense and challenging work, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction by Anthony Elliot, my mind was racing with many questions (quite possibly to try and distract me from the hard work of processing all that I was reading).
One of the questions that kept coming back to me was this: So what – or to put another way – what difference does recognizing that social theory exists, and becoming conversant in it make in my life and in my work as a pastor? To be clear – this question isn’t meant as a slight towards the book or the subject matter, I was a sociology minor in undergrad so I am predisposed to this type of thought, rather as a means of highlighting its importance.
It is definitely true that one could live and die, having never become aware of the concept of social theory and it could be argued that they would not have missed it – and this person certainly wouldn’t have known they were missing anything. But in some ways that is the point of social theory: When properly understood and applied, it can help us understand the why and the how of our culture and society and our social structures.
I believe this is a critically important counterweight to our individualistic culture and ethos, in which we tend to see everything (for good and bad) from a personal perspective – if we succed it is because we ‘earned’ it, if we don’t it is because we are lacking in some way. There is an element of personal responsibility to our lives, of course, but knowingly or not, all of us participate in and are influenced by the soical structures in which we find ourselves.
When we endavor to understand those structures it allows us to both have a much clearer picture of the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of our own situations as well as larger societal issues that we might want to address. Undoubtedly, an understanding of the social structures and norms of a given community will also increase effectiveness in clearly communicating the message of the gospel to which we have been entrusted.
Karl Barth suggested that the pastor should prepare their sermon with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other….the point being that we can’t effectively preach the Word of God disconnected from the world and the people to which we are preaching (to whom this Word is the Good News!). In some ways, an understanding of social theory in another step in that direction.
So, the answer to the question of ‘why’ this book matters is simple: understanding social theory helps us understand the world ‘works’, and more specifcially how those of us in it relate to and interact with each other.
One note of caution here, born out of personal experience: as Elliot walks us through each of the different periods and major schools of (primarily continental European) thought on social theory, some will inevitably appeal to you more than others. You may be enamored of the Frankfort school and how it helps to explain or wrestle with the ‘dark side’ of our current culture (elliot, Kindle Location 1418) or you may really appreciate, and find engaging – as I did – Derrida’s deconstruction or perhaps Chodorow and her call for shared parenting as the only way forward from gender asymmetries (which Traci and I have been trying to model without even knowing it :)). This is good and important, but as you dive into these thinkers and their their theories are not complete by themselves…. each one either builds on the previous or is, at least in some way a critique of what has come before it, and to my understanding none of these theories can completely stand on its own as a complete conceptualization of our social structures and interactions. These theories can help us understand ourselves, our world and our interactions, but none of them can tie these things up in a neat little bow for us, packaged and easily digestible.
The other question that stuck with me as I read this book, was the question born out of the ‘story’ about Natalie that Elliot tells in the introduction. The question he asks is, ‘to what society does Natalie belong?’ He uses this story to illustrate the value and purpose of social theory and if he told the story slightly differently could also highlight Jameson’s postmodern theory that we can no longer discern or ‘map our place’ with our social systems because of the compounding effects of capitalism. (Elliot, Kindle Location 5729)
But his question about where Natalie belonged led me to another thought entirely, which I don’t think he intended. Could we see our faith, and the system of belief we have built around our faith in God as a social theory of it’s own. This thought occurred to me because asking about where Natalie belonged my mind immediately went to the familiar question Jesus asks, ‘Who is your neighbor?’
These questions of who we have to care for, what is expected of us and where we belong are at the heart of what social theory is trying to capture and they also happen to be central to our faithful response to God’s love and action in our lives. It is interesting, for me at least, to consider how we might think critically about our faith and our application of that faith through the lens of social theory.
About the Author
Chip Stapleton
Follower of Jesus Christ. Husband to Traci. Dad to Charlie, Jack, Ian and Henry. Preacher of Sermons, eater of ice cream, supporter of Arsenal. I love to talk about what God is doing in the world & in and through us & create space and opportunity for others to use their gifts to serve God and God's people.6 responses to “What society am I apart of or Who is my neighbor?”
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I hear ya, Chip. This book made my mind go in about 15 directions. But why do we care and how can we apply it?
Who is my neighbor? It’s easier for me to work in the soup kitchen and hope to change a few lives, but we are taking a course in Global Leadership. It can be overwhelming to think on the larger scale as the sociologists do.
I agree with you; it challenges us to at least think about these things.
Mr. Rogers comes to mind when you were discussing Natalie, with his sing-song voice asking, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” That is a powerful concept to remember, that we are all each other’s neighbors and to treat one another with the golden rule.
When speaking of the pastor who prepared his sermons with a bible in one hand and a paper in another, reminds me of the scripture to “be in the world and not of the world”. That was a great visual. When I stepped outside of Christian ministry, I felt like I had to learn a new language just to be relevant! It was embarrassing how naive I was to relating with people outside of the faith. Speaking “Christianese” can actually keep us alienated and prevent us from connecting people to their Creator. Thanks for the good reminder of being culturally relevant so people can connect with us and to God through us.
“Karl Barth suggested that the pastor should prepare their sermon with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other….”
I once heard Lester Sumrall recount the time he went to meet Smith Wigglesworth at his home in London and how Wigglesworth would not allow him in the house until he got rid of the newspaper under his arm.
Your Barth reference makes me feel better about the amount of time I spend reading the newspaper Chip! It’s vital social observation and a tool to making me a better and more relevant preacher! I had an intuition that I was doing deep sociological analysis all along.
Hi Chip,
I did like the story on Natalie. It is interesting that you brought up the point of Who’s our neighbor. Nowadays it’s who speaks first. What recognition will I get out of it?
To be honest, can we trust anyone to be our neighbor in this current society?
You raise a couple of great thoughts, Chip. First, your comments about individualism are really important. It seems hard for people to look at social systems because we are always thinking, “Well, I don’t do that,” in the back of our minds. This is especially true with systemic ills. This ties into your thought about faith-centered lives being a social theory all our own. I need to think about it some more, but my first thought was, YES! This makes sense. If that’s the case, then multiple social theories are at play at once, perhaps even in the same community. I’m not sure. That seems more like world view than social theory. I don’t know, like I said I need to think on it more but I really appreciate the way your post pushed me to ponder.
“The question he asks is, ‘to what society does Natalie belong?’…. Could we see our faith, and the system of belief we have built around our faith in God as a social theory of it’s own.”
This brought to mind a common tendency among third-culture kids; no matter which context TCKs have grown up in, or what is considered their home context, TCKs seem to find a great deal more in common with each other than with other people. We’ve hosted TCKs from Kyrgyzstan, Germany, and Brazil, all of whom have shared common awkward stories of Americans who misunderstand them, and not feeling at home in their host contexts. TCKs become their own society, spread across the globe.
My next jump is this: as a missionary who has moved many times, I despise the question, “where are you from?” My answer might be a list of all the places we’ve lived, but I prefer to say “I’m a global citizen of the Kingdom of God.” So yes, my answer to your question is “yes, we CAN see our faith, and the system of belief we have built around our faith in God as a social theory of it’s own.”