Blue Light Special
My mind is torn and spinning in many directions when it comes to this blog. I would like to say that Sim and Van Loon in their book Introducing Critical Theory a Graphic Guide brought great clarity and inspiration to me and my understanding of Critical Theory. That isn’t the case. But I did find it informative enough to assist me in piecing together what may be the key influences surrounding the area I live and challenges I see to the church, as well as, those in my Christian walk. So much so, that I reread the book and tried to find a deeper understanding in the illustrations. Sadly, I found them to be more of an annoyance than a help. I honestly hesitate to go where this book led my mind. Not because it was a bad place but because I want to avoid being a broken record and drum beater. But since this is part of critical thought I will proceed.
After the second gander at this book and a reacquainted with my personal library on post modernism I had to admit my concern over the many contradictions I see with current critical theory and the Bible. Much of critical theory focuses on the need to refute any form of authority. Postmodernism does not like absolutes and grand narratives. Especially since, “grand narratives claim to be a source of solutions to our socio-political problems.” “We are now encouraged to adopt a sceptical attitude toward them, with the objective of undermining their power and authority.”[1] When out entire gospel message is based on the grand narrative called the bible with an overarching message of God’s desire for the restoration and redemption of humanity it is easy to be concerned with the purpose of a postmodern desire to eliminate all grand narratives. There is an effort to undermine the power and authority of the Bible. Jurgen Habermas askes a valid question concerning value judgements; “if all truth is relative, then does that statement itself become relative in turn?”[2] Paganism becomes the method of bypassing and getting around the problems surrounding value judgements. “Paganism demands that we make each judgement on a “case by case” basis with no overarching system of rule to guide or in any way constrain our deliberations.”[3] I wonder what would happen if Christianity as a whole threw out the concept of the 10 commandments as one of the judges of our moral guidelines? Of course, if one sees them as a restriction of human freedom and a decree from an overzealous heavy-handed God, they may seem a bit restrictive. But what if they were viewed through the eyes of a people who were abused, held captive and set free? “And God spoke these words saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1-2) This was the introduction before the listing of the commandments. Remember up to this point in scripture God never gave humanity a set of rules, he just focused on the relationship. God reminded Israel that they were in relationship “I am the Lord your God” not just a God, but a personal God. Their God! A God who chose a people. He reminded them that he brought them out of slavery and set them free. He didn’t make the commandments to restrict or enslave Israel he made them to assure their freedom.
Critical Theory is a fact of life. It is here to stay. I openly acknowledge some of these mind sets with in my own thought process. With this in mind many questions arise. As believers should we dive in and adopt this cultural mindset? How do we stay culturally relevant without embracing the culture and staying true to the grand narrative of scripture? What does it look like in a post Christian postmodern world for a church to be counterculture? What parts of Christianity if any, need to change to reach a culture steeped in an anti-authoritarian relative mindset? Are we ready when this post Christian culture turns anti-Christian? How relevant will the church be in the lives of people in an anti-Christian culture in America? What options do we have? These are but a few of the questions that crossed my mind as I dug back into my books on postmodernism. As an adjunct professor who has been asked to design an Introductory class for a Theology and Culture course focused on undergraduate students these are but a few of the challenges I am trying to navigate. Are our bible colleges and seminaries doing a good job educating and preparing our future Christian leaders to navigate the muck and mire of Critical Theory? Do we fully see how many of these theories have influenced the church? In many of Paul’s writings he takes great care to explain to believers how to think. In Romans he challenges us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by allowing God to change the way we think. In 1 Corinthians he asks us to remember that love is the greatest gift. Galatians he tells us we need to remember that Christ set us free and not to submit ourselves back into slavery. We are to walk by the Spirit, so we do not follow the flesh. In Ephesians he asks us to think of all we have been given in Christ and we are challenged walk it out in our everyday lives within our families and jobs. In Philippians he reminds us to think on whatever is pure, true, excellent and things worthy of praise. Critical Theory can be a good measuring stick showing us just where the culture is heading. Are we seeing what it is really telling us? Welcome Kmart shoppers we have a blue light special on Isle 1!
[1] Sim, Stuart and Van Loon, Borin, 2012, Introducing Critical Thought: A Graphic Guide, London, Icon Books Ltd, 101
[2] (Sim and Van Borin, 102)
[3] (Sim and Van Borin, 104)
About the Author
Greg Reich
Entrepreneur, Visiting Adjunct Professor, Arm Chair Theologian, Leadership/Life Coach, husband, father and grandfather. Jesus follower, part time preacher! Handy man, wood carver, carpenter and master of none. Outdoor enthusiast, fly fisherman, hunter and all around gun nut.8 responses to “Blue Light Special”
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Greg,
I so appreciate your many questions. They remind me of Colleen Batchelder’s presentation during the Advance. You wrote, “What does it look like in a post Christian postmodern world for a church to be counterculture?” As younger generations emerge into the Christian narrative, it seems they want something solid and true. They are looking for rich truths and ways to actively engage in the things they believe in: justice issues, the environment, sense of belonging, etc. I believe God provides guidance through scripture on all fronts. When the world around them is spiraling, being grounded in the Word of God, Jesus, gives comfort and certainty. As the world continues to embrace all things as relative, there will always be those who desire to cling to something true. That desire is woven into our being. How do we live in such a way that invites others into such Grace?
I also believe seminaries are predominantly training ministry leaders with tools developed 20-30 years ago; they are being trained for what the church was/is, not what it will be. History is important and formative, but it takes prophetic vision and imagination to see something more on the horizon. I’m praying you have such vision and are able to equip those young leaders to lead and love well. What questions are your students asking, especially in regard to the validity of Scripture and the future of the Church?
Much like the US young people my Canadian students have very little understanding of Critical Theory but see the fragmentation it can leave behind. Many of the secular universities up there are aggressively attacking Christian beliefs. Their concern is that they may see an anti christian culture in their lifetime. They have a great interest in theology and culture classes and how to stand true in what can be very liberal socialist mindset.
Greg, like Darcy said, you post a lot of good questions throughout. One I want to ponder on is, “Do we fully see how many of these theories have influenced the church?”
The challenge we face within the church is that many of our narratives have been interwoven with others. It may be for a time or half a time, but you can still feel the influences that these narratives have had on the church. If we think of the narrative of consumerism for example, we see that in many ways the church has become a gathering for consumption. “What do I get out of it?” Or if we look at the narrative of efficiency, we see how programatic elements of the church have become one of the key focal points of church life. As time passes, the church evolves (or devolves in some cases) as narrative after narrative infuses with the Christian narrative.
The question I ask is whether it’s the alternative narratives influencing Christianity, or whether Christianity is providing a lens of truth into these alternative narratives.
Dylan I admit that one person’s perception of the situation differs greatly from anothers. To me the question to ask is: Does the culture look more like the church or the church look more like the culture? Who is called to influence who?
While I agree we need to beware the church’s tendency to adopt some of the views of critical theory, I also think we need to beware the church’s tendency to adopt some of the views of capitalism. I’m not implying you disagree with that, but my reading this week were leading me to be leary of Jesus the CEO mental models. What do you think?
Shawn I don’t believe the church should adopt either one. A common mistake churches make is to adopt a secular model bring it into the church an call it holy. Though I believe capitalism provides greater opportunity than socialism they both have their issues and their dangers. I believe the church should be relevant but should it be a large business with a consumer mentality? In one of my masters classes I had to compare portions of Amos with the modern church. I was shocked to see that statistics show that the average evangelical church in America spends over 90% of their money on themselves. It appears to me there seems to be a bit of a contradiction in fulfilling the great commision and becoming a self serving consumer. The very reason I attend the large church that I do is simply because they spend 30 to 40% of their annual budget on ministering to the community and reaching the lost. They cap salaries and inner church programs to 60% of the budget. The majority of that budget is committed to the cradle to college age group preparing future leaders. They aren’t perfect but they are community focused and they encourage every member to be the same.
Thank you. You wrote, “What parts of Christianity if any, need to change to reach a culture steeped in an anti-authoritarian relative mindset?” The word reach stands out to me. I am challenged in my vocation to ask myself as well as others is this a rhetorical question or is that frankly we are NOT reaching out! Most, including myself do not reach out as a matter of weekly practice to those who as Scripture says are lost.
As a local church pastor, I’ll often have church members ask me what I’m reading. I struggled with what to tell them with this one. I want our folks to engage in deep reflection and critical theory is an aid to that, but the way this material was presented was challenging for me to condense into a helpful synopsis. Still, it was a helpful exercise to examine how theories that have applied in politics related to power and classism have implications in church life.