And Again, Thanks Be To God
“Today’s world has reached a state which, if it had been described to preceding centuries, would have called forth the cry: ‘This is the Apolcalpyse!’ Yet we have grown used to this kind of world; we even feel at home in it.”[1]
Trueman’s Works
Carl Trueman, in his book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, seeks to explain how Western culture has arrived at a particular and dominant understanding of the self that “finds it’s most obvious manifestation in the transformation of sexual mores.”[2] He further addresses the importance of understanding the “implications of this transformation” on society; and he covers the historical thinking patterns that led us to our current situation.[3] Trueman’s work is a deep dive through several hundred years of “recent intellectual history to show why people are willing to believe ideas today that every one of our grandparents would have rejected… just two generations ago.”[4]
Trueman’s book, which is over four hundred pages and was published in 2020, took such a deep dive that it was a bit inaccessible for many people. In 2022, Trueman wrote a briefer, more user-friendly version of his material which he entitled, Strange New World. In sum, says Ryan Anderson, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Trueman’s works are “an account of how the person became a self, the self became sexualized, and sex became politicized.”[5]
“Expressive Individualism”
I found a short conversation from Ryan Anderson interesting in which he highlighted a central theme of Trueman’s writing that looks at the changing source of human identity. He notes that until a few hundred years ago, people looked to God to find their identity. Today, the norm is to find one’s identity within oneself. He notes that we find ourselves in the midst of “expressive individualism – where each of us seeks to give expression to our individual inner lives rather than seeing ourselves as embedded in communities and bound by natural and supernatural laws.”[6] Reviewer Paul Nesselroade added, “Human nature is…in flux.”[7] This conversation made me think of a theme that arose for me in creating my doctoral project.
A Theme Arises
While writing my doctoral project which focused on the impact of nature on human health and spirituality, the thought occurred to me one day that nature can also play a role in helping human beings to strengthen their understanding of their identity. I thought about including this as a topic in my project. I then thought about not including this in my project. Afterall, what do I know about forming identity? In addition, this is a controversial subject and did I want to invite potential controversy into my project? I felt prompted by God to include “strengthening identity” in my final project and as I did a bit of research, I found some substantive material to include in this chapter of my Leaders’ Manual. Here is an excerpt from my project, underscoring the way in which nature can help us to strengthen our understanding of our identity.
The Potential for Strengthening Identity through Connection to Nature
There are many voices in our culture vying to tell us who we are and shape our identity. For young people, especially, understanding one’s person and potential can be a complex journey. Michaela Goade, artist of the book Remember, notes that “[Nature] helps us remember where and who we come from.”[8] Similarly, Casper Ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual, believes that “Our awareness of who we are, and whose we are, is deepened when we connect to the natural world.”[9] Outside voices are softened and we can more clearly hear the voice of God through creation. In allowing ourselves to observe and appreciate God’s creation we better understand not only with our brain, but with our entire body and soul, the Creator of us all. What God has made is beautiful and complex and we are part of that beauty and complexity. What better place to strengthen our identity than in the midst of a connected creation in which we resonate with our surroundings and recognize the Creator.
The twenty-first century is an age of self-centeredness. We have shaped a daily routine which allows us to be unaware of our dependence on and connectedness to the “community of creation.” Says Christine Valters Paintner, “We live in what we might call an age of forgetting. We have forgotten who we are in relation to everything else: the creatures, the plants, the mountains, the forests, the oceans, one another, and even ourselves.”[10] Environmental psychologist Louise Chawla adds that without an experience of immersion in and contemplation of nature, “we forget our place; we forget that larger fabric on which our lives depend.”[11] Everything in nature offers “a catalyst for deepened self-understanding.”[12] In the simple act of connecting to nature, we find the powerful potential to strengthen our identity.
Conclusion
I appreciate Trueman’s look back through history to help us understand where we are in our cultural thinking of ourselves today and where we could be headed in the future. I also appreciate God’s communication with us through nature, as steadfastly present and speaking throughout time. God has provided us with guidance and maps for healthy living and for leaning into the life he has intended for humanity. May we seek God for navigation through our particular time in history. Thanks be to God for providing for us. And again, thanks be to God.
[1] Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 13.
[2] Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 31.
[3] Ibid, 31.
[4] Trueman, Strange New World, 11.
[5] Ibid, 12.
[6] Robert Bellah, as quoted by Ryan Anderson in Trueman, Strange New World, 13.
[7] Paul Nesselroade, “Book Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self,” Professor of Psychology, Asbury University, January 31, 2022, https://paulnesselroade.com/blog.
[8] Michaela Goade in Joy Harjo, Remember (New York, NY: Random House Studio, 2023), artist’s note at close of the book.
[9] Casper Ter Kuile, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2020), 113.
[10] Christine Valters Paintner, Earth Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2020), xi.
[11] Louse Chawla in Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005), 98.
[12] Valters Paintner, x.
About the Author
Jenny Steinbrenner Hale
12 responses to “And Again, Thanks Be To God”
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Jenny,
Strong post with a great intro. Way to finish strong.
Thanks so much, Greg. Appreciate your comments.
Hey Jenny,
An area of vulnerability that Trueman highlights in our time and place in history is the dislodging of the “self” from community, thus tilling the soil for expressive individualism. In your project of connecting with nature, is there work you’ve done on people connecting with nature “in community?” Also, did you come across Randy Woodley’s work? I loved his book “Shalom and the Community of Creation.” I’d highly recommend it.
Hi David, Thanks for your comments and thank you for highlighting Trueman’s ideas on the “self” becoming dislodged from community and the way in which that opened the door for expressive individualism. I hadn’t completely keyed in on this. This reminds me a bit of how the free market drew the exchange of goods and services out of community and away from traditional practices such as bartering.
Great question on people connecting in community with nature. Yes! Social health is actually one of the benefits of connecting to nature. It is especially relevant now, as isolation and loneliness are quite common and a health risk. Nature offers people the opportunity to be together in conversation or even without words. The time together is bonding as people experience their environment together. Part of my project involves forming walking or running groups within the church, so that people can connect to nature together and boost their social health.
Yes, I actually used Randy Woodley in my project. I tried to interview him a couple times, but he’s pretty busy. Maybe I’ll go volunteer on his farm and ask him some questions. I agree, his book, Shalom and the Community of Creation, is very good. I read it several years ago and I actually think it played a part in my final project topic development.
I’m so appreciative of your insights, David!
Jenny,
I love how you tied Trueman’s work to your own project. Very insightful!
Thanks so much, Tonette! I appreciate you reading. See you tomorrow! 🙂
Jenny, thank you for sharing from your project. I love how you tied it into Truman.
“He notes that until a few hundred years ago, people looked to God to find their identity. Today, the norm is to find one’s identity within oneself.”
I wonder how much this has to do with the Industrial Revolution and people moving away from rural life to city or suburban life? There is such a sense of the Presence of God when in nature. I was up on Mount Tamalpias this past weekend and someone mentioned that they feel the difference when they hit a certain elevation, they can breathe easier. I am excited to see how your project and research progress and impact the world.
Thanks, Becca! I think the Industrial Revolution must play a part in the way we think of ourselves. I agree, we are so aware of God in a unique way when we’re in nature. In my research I learned that the more industrialized and technologically advanced we’ve become, the more disconnected from nature we have become, as well. I also learned that for the first time in human history, more human now live in cities than in rural areas. It’s not that there’s no nature in cities, it can just be harder to find if the city planners haven’t been deliberate about building it into their developments. And, there is definitely a difference between a tree-lined street and a walk at Mt. Tamalpias! 🙂 I bet that was beautiful.
Hey Jenny,
Fun post with great connections to Trueman and your research. I loved that you shared part of the evolution of your work when you wrote, ” I felt prompted by God to include “strengthening identity” in my final project and as I did a bit of research, I found some substantive material to include in this chapter of my Leaders’ Manual.”
It is fascinating to see how we all wrestled with the different potential directions of our work.
In sharing that we are in a “age of forgetting” it reminded me why dystopian sci-fi is so creepy – everyone is disconnected! Often the resolution is some kind of reconnection with nature or in a garden to symbolize that the people and community have come back together. I hadn’t noticed that connection before. Thanks for sharing this.
Hi Chad, Thanks for reading and for your comments. It is so interesting, isn’t it, to see how everyone decided on what direction to go with their project and what to include or not include. Did you end up far from your original project idea?
I had never considered this about dystopian sci-fi, either! Thank you for pointing that out. 🙂
Jenny,
I enjoyed the fact that you drew from your own doctoral project on the impact of nature on human health and spirituality. Connecting Trueman’s themes to the potential role of nature in strengthening identity is so good.
Thanks, Daron! So appreciate your comments and encouragement.