{"id":26435,"date":"2020-03-18T19:12:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T02:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=26435"},"modified":"2020-03-18T19:12:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T02:12:15","slug":"identity-flux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/identity-flux\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity Flux"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing our semester study of the intersection between cultural movements and personal identity, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/em> by Stanford Professor Francis Fukuyama is a tour de force of the history and current reality of identity politics.\u00a0 The universal desire for recognition of one\u2019s identity is a master concept that unifies much of what is going on in world politics today argues Fukuyama, and his research certainly backs up his claim.<\/p>\n

Providing the historical context which generated the modern concept of identity, Fukuyama writes it, \u201cunites three different phenomena.\u00a0 The first is thymos, a universal aspect of human personality that craves recognition.\u00a0 The second is the distinction between the inner and the outer self, and the raising of the moral valuation of the inner self over outer society. . . The third is an evolving concept of dignity, in which recognition is due not just to a narrow class of people, but to everyone.\u201d[1]<\/a> Thus, one\u2019s identity is based on how they are recognized by others, for the dignified portrayal of their inner self.\u00a0 In other words, be true to who you are \u2013 and the truer you are to yourself, the more recognition one deserves.<\/p>\n

Moving to the realm of Christianity, Fukuyama writes, \u201cthe Christian concept of dignity has revolved around the capacity for moral choice.\u00a0 Human beings are able to distinguish between good and evil; they can choose to do good, even if they often, like Adam and Eve, do not do so.\u201d[2]<\/a> This struck me as being an incredibly timely (and timeless) comment by Fukuyama.\u00a0 Christians have the choice to \u2018do good\u2019 and the realization is that any one of us has that choice, not only a select few.<\/p>\n

I was interviewing Dr. Paul Galbreath today as a part of my dissertation field research and he was able to sum up my entire artifact better than I have yet been able to myself.\u00a0 He said what is so urgent about the intersection between ecology and liturgy is that, \u201cIf we can get pastors to see the earth in the text then the earth will show up in the sermon.\u00a0 If the earth shows up in the sermon then the earth will be seen as by the people holy\u00a0 If the earth is seen as holy by the people then our relationship with it is seen as much more sacred and that is better for all our sakes and for the sake of the earth.\u201d[3]<\/a> Can the same be said about issues of gender?\u00a0 About race?\u00a0 Class? Power imbalance? About the way different authors at different times have tried to use their imperfect language to describe their relationship with their perfect Creator?\u00a0 The end goal is for all Christians to choose good over evil, compassion over conflict, love over hate.\u00a0 But as leaders we can\u2019t make decisions for people, so we must escort them there the best that we can.<\/p>\n

As congregations shift from meeting face to face to only virtually, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, I wonder what this does to our identity as pastors, as congregants, as entire congregations.\u00a0 How can we be sure to recognize each individual through a live stream worship service?\u00a0 How do we emphasize the virtual gathering is benefiting not just the inner self \u2013 but also outer society?\u00a0 How do we live into the all too present truism that virtual worship is the choice we are all making so we can \u2018do good\u2019 by recognizing the dignity of everyone?\u00a0 The church often prides itself on throwing open it\u2019s doors during a time of crisis; now that we have to reframe that conversation, what does that mean for our identity? To be determined, friends.\u00a0 To be determined.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/em>, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) 37.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Fukuyama, Identity<\/em>, 38.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Dr. Paul Galbreath, personal interview, March 18, 2020.\u00a0 Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic crisis no less!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing our semester study of the intersection between cultural movements and personal identity, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Stanford Professor Francis Fukuyama is a tour de force of the history and current reality of identity politics.\u00a0 The universal desire for recognition of one\u2019s identity is a master concept that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1839,770],"class_list":["post-26435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fukuyama","tag-identity","cohort-lgp9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26436,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26435\/revisions\/26436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}