{"id":29317,"date":"2022-11-04T03:54:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29317"},"modified":"2022-11-04T03:54:12","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:54:12","slug":"finding-identity-within-todays-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/finding-identity-within-todays-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Identity Within Today\u2019s Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout my years of working with children, teens, young adults, and people in various countries, they all want to know the answers to the following questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? What is my purpose?[1]<\/a> The culture, in which we live today, embraces expressive individualism and sexual identity politics [2]<\/a> to the extent that I find myself in a fog knowing how to navigate all the nuances.<\/p>\r\n

Those morals and values connected to sexuality have changed dramatically from my childhood. Going for a routine doctor visit results in me being an anomaly of profound proportion, because my virginity is so rare that I usually have to explain it. Then there is the young person, who has gone through drug therapy to be male and now is pregnant, only to be angry that he cannot participate in the male chorus because of complications with the pregnancy. I am confused. Or my friend who recently closed his church because his understanding of how to best be Jesus within the LGBTQ+ community is in conflict with church doctrine. I am sad and confused. In the midst of this fog, I find myself asking how these examples are different from the individual who defines themselves by their obesity, overcommitments, profanity, indulgence in pornography or indiscriminate sex? Is it possible to live a holy life that is gracious, accepting, without giving a green light to sin? What does that look like?<\/p>\r\n

Carl E. Trueman\u2019s, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em>, draws a historical map \u201cto illustrate the contemporary conception of\u2026self,\u201d[3]<\/a>the influences of the last 400 years that have systematically shifted the Western culture from a self, defined by a Creator God[4]<\/a> to emotivism and expressive individualism through a sexual lens.[5]<\/a> \u00a0Trueman, a professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College, church historian,[6]<\/a> and qualified lawyer,[7]<\/a>uses his vast skills to build a \u201cgenealogical sequence to get us to where we are today.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Part one of this four-part book provides the framework for understanding the lines of connection to today. Trueman lays this foundation on the works of \u201csociologist Philip Rieff,\u201d \u201cphilosopher Charles Taylor,\u201d and \u201cethicist Alasdair MacIntyre.\u201d [9]<\/a> He skillfully links the thoughts of these men to explain humanity\u2019s focus internally to define morality \u201cby one\u2019s sense of therapeutic fulfillment and authentic self-actualization.\u201d [10]<\/a><\/p>\r\n

In parts 2 and 3, Trueman reveals his historical intellect by using: Rousseau, Nietzsche, Marx, and Darwin to reveal the \u201clineage of the modern conception of self.\u201d [11]<\/a> He further broadens the readers understanding by including the perspective of the poets: Woodsworth, Shelley, and Blake. Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, and Herbert Marcuse are the theorist who reveal the humanity\u2019s desire \u201cseeking maximal (sexual) expression\u201d with \u201cfreedom from restraint or oppression.”[12]<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Trueman uses his legal background to demonstrate how the \u201ctriumph of the sexualize self\u201d [13]<\/a> has impacted the thoughts and processes of the legal system.<\/p>\r\n

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self<\/em> is a book that requires a more time to digest all the connections and implications. It does bring some clarity to my thoughts and feelings as to the apparent over-sexualization of society today that seems to be a distraction from God\u2019s intent for his creation.<\/p>\r\n

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[1]<\/a> Michele Borba Ed.D., Esteem Builders: A K-8 Self-Esteem Curriculum For Improving Student Achievement, Behavior and School Climate<\/em>, Second (Torrence, CA: Jalmar Press, 2003).<\/p>\r\n

[2]<\/a> Nathan Williams, \u201cA Review of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self,\u201d The Master\u2019s Seminary<\/em> (blog), March 9, 2021, https:\/\/blog.tms.edu\/a-review-of-the-rise-and-triumph-of-the-modern-self.<\/p>\r\n

[3]<\/a> Anthony Selvaggio, \u201cThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: A Review,\u201d February 24, 2021, https:\/\/www.frontporchrepublic.com\/2021\/02\/the-rise-and-triumph-of-the-modern-self-a-review\/.<\/p>\r\n

[4]<\/a> Andrew T. Walker, \u201cThe Most Important Cultural Book of the Year (Maybe Even Decade) Review: \u2018The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self\u2019 by Carl Trueman,\u201d TGC: The Gospel Coalition<\/em> (blog), November 18, 2020, https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/reviews\/rise-triumph-modern-self-carl-trueman\/.<\/p>\r\n

[5]<\/a> Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em> (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2020).<\/p>\r\n

[6]<\/a> Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em> (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2020).<\/p>\r\n

[7]<\/a> Selvaggio, \u201cThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: A Review.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

[8]<\/a> Walker, \u201cThe Most Important Cultural Book of the Year (Maybe Even Decade) Review: \u2018The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self\u2019 by Carl Trueman.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\r\n

[10]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\r\n

[11]<\/a> Selvaggio, \u201cThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: A Review.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

[12]<\/a> Walker, \u201cThe Most Important Cultural Book of the Year (Maybe Even Decade) Review: \u2018The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self\u2019 by Carl Trueman.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

[13]<\/a> Selvaggio, \u201cThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: A Review.\u201d<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout my years of working with children, teens, young adults, and people in various countries, they all want to know the answers to the following questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? What is my purpose?[1] The culture, in which we live today, embraces expressive individualism and sexual identity politics [2] to the extent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"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":[2434,25,437,2427],"class_list":["post-29317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-indentity","tag-culture","tag-sexuality","tag-trueman","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29317","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\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29317"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29376,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29317\/revisions\/29376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}