The global LGBTQ+ challenges.
Carl Trueman’s book Strange New World & The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, must be one of those books that I will love to read and spend much time on in the future. After Dominion with Tom Holland last week, one will agree that these books are excellent and have the potential to stimulate anyone’s intellectual capabilities. I will not dive deep into the book as I would do a disservice because I haven’t enough time to read it thoroughly. I am attempting to share some essential aspects of this book that I find very relevant and transformational.
Human Selfhood
At the heart of this book lies a basic conviction: the so-called sexual revolution of the last sixty years, culminating in its latest triumph—the normalization of transgenderism—cannot be properly understood until it is set within the context of a much broader transformation in how society understands the nature of human selfhood. [1]
Trueman does a great job by starting with the very cause of all the madness. When people decide to remove God from the picture as invisible or dead, what else can we expect but find a way to self-govern by making up stories that are opposite to the Truth? “The sexual revolution is as much a symptom as it is a cause of the culture that now surrounds us everywhere we look, from sitcoms to Congress.[2]
Condemn or condone?
Some of the African governments have been very strict and don’t want to hear or see anything from the Americans teaching them to condone anything relating to the West’s values relating to LGBTQ+. Recently, the President of Burundi said they should bring “those people” and stone them to death in an open field. In Uganda, the government has established laws that punish and criminalize LGBTQ+ with some harsh prison terms. To some governments, it has cost them financial support from their Western allies, but they are not giving in.
In the late nineties, as I struggled to find a path to education and development, I met a Canadian Missionary helping out serving the poor. I explained to him how I wished to come to the West for education and ministry training, and I will never forget what he told me. He explained that the people in North America, especially immigrants, find it very hard to continue serving God because they are so busy looking for money; now that I have been here for many years, I can better understand what he meant: It is not easy to find the community and rich fellowship that I enjoyed in Rwanda and Uganda, people have minimal time as they go from one job to another, some struggling to make ends meet and others racing to build wealth due to opportunities they had never dreamed possible. The question remains whether there is any reason to engage or even seek an understanding of what has led to this falling away since the powers and authorities have crafted laws that incriminate anyone expressing decent.
So How did we get here?
“At the turn of the twentieth century, people across Europe and America seemed ready to reject religion. World War I – the most horrific war in living memory – could well become the final straw. In its killing fields, many veterans turned to the writings of eccentric German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. “God is dead,” he wrote. “And we have killed him.” [3] I understand when combat trauma turns people to this kind of mentality and illusions. I have heard songs in other settings where people will question God’s presence when things go south, thank God for his remnamant, he must have kept more than seven thousand who have not bowed to and kissed the idols of this age.
Like other brilliant professors and leadership experts who wrote the endorsements at the beginning of the book, Butterfield says it best: “Indeed, Trueman shows how the story we tell ourselves about normalized LGBTQ+ values is false and foolish. With wisdom and clarity, Trueman guides readers through the work of Charles Taylor, Philip Rieff, British Romantic poets, and Continental philosophers to trace the history of expressive individualism from the eighteenth century to the present.”[4]
There is Hope
As I conclude, 2 Timothy 2:19 is on my mind. “Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
[1] Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2020).
[2] Trueman.
[3] Tom Holland, “Dominion,” accessed April 7, 2024, https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/reader/dominion-en.
[4] Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.
About the Author
Jean de Dieu Ndahiriwe
Jean de Dieu Ndahiriwe is a Clinical Correctional Chaplain and former Child Refugee from War-torn Rwanda. A member of the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team, Jean is passionate about Servant Leadership and looks forward to seeing more leaders that inspire Lasting Peace and Justice for all, especially "the least of these".8 responses to “The global LGBTQ+ challenges.”
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Jean de,
Great post, I have appreciated your perspective and wisdom throughout this program. Your 3 reference was really strong.
Thanks for the comment my friend.
I did not anticipate you taking your blog in the direction you took it, Jean. Very well done! What surprised me was you bringing the reality of expressive individualism can be displayed in us de-valuing community and choosing instead to participate in the “rat-race” of capitalism, enticed by opportunity, financial freedom and security. But oh how we miss out when we ignore community.
David,
I agree that community is where we can build meaningful relationships, essential for the body of Christ.
Great post Jean de Dieu. Thank you for sharing. I so appreciate how you have challenged my thinking over the course of this program. I agree with you that these books we have been reading, “are excellent and have the potential to stimulate anyone’s intellectual capabilities.” I want to return to them in the future and delve deeper.
Thanks, Dr. Hald,
I appreciate your humility and kindness.
Jean,
I really appreciate that your reflection delves into the divergent responses of African governments to LGBTQ+ issues, highlighting the tension between Western influence and traditional values. Your personal experiences and encounters illustrate the complexities of navigating faith and community in different cultural contexts. Great post.
Thanks again!
You are fantastic, see you in 7 days!.