{"id":33088,"date":"2023-10-02T09:08:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T16:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33088"},"modified":"2023-10-01T13:04:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T20:04:01","slug":"imagination-and-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/imagination-and-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Prophetic vs Pathetic Imagination"},"content":{"rendered":"

In reading Jason Clark\u2019s\u00a0Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship, <\/em>I was immediately taken back to September 11, 2001 when after the shock of the terrorist attacks I found myself sitting in a seminary class taught by Dr. Walter Brueggemann. While he frequently ranted about the woes of a capitalistic culture, on this day he was particularly poignant. I wish I could remember his entire lecture but the one thing I do remember is that like the prophets of the Hebrew Testament, we preachers have a responsibility to imagine a new world, God\u2019s world, a new kin-dom, and our job is to continually present this world to the Church.<\/p>\n

Two Kinds of Imagination<\/strong><\/p>\n

In an essay entitled, The End of Imagination<\/em>, Brueggeman writes, \u201cImagination is the capacity to host a world other than the one that is in front of us. Such an act of hosting an alternative world is inherently subversive, as it serves to question and override the world in front of us that we too easily take as a given.\u201d[1]<\/a> He continues, \u201cFrom this it follows that those who have an inordinate stake in the world immediately in front of us\u2014whether that stake is socioeconomic, political, moral, theological\u2014will do what they can to discourage or prevent imagination in order that we may settle into the present world as an immutable given.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In another essay, Pathetic Imagination<\/em>, Brueggemann likens the inability to host another world from the one right in front of us as \u201cpathetic imagination.\u201d On the other hand, \u201cprophetic imagination\u201d offers a world in which Christ presides, a world outrageous, incredible and threatening to those bent on upholding the status quo.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Capitalism is the Water We Swim In<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would argue the status quo culture of the western world is built upon capitalism in which the driving force for most companies, institutions, organizations and even individuals is to make a profit, to come out on top, to be able to provide for their own comforts. Some of us who live in the western world may want to live differently, we may even strategize against a capitalist culture but as Martyn Percy said in his lecture to the DLPG students in Oxford, \u201cculture eats strategy for breakfast\u201d[4]<\/a> and as David Wallace is credited as saying, \u201cculture is to humans as water is to fish.\u201d[5]<\/a> Capitalism is woven deeply into the American and western world culture and the Church, though it may try to live otherwise, is not immune to its effects.<\/p>\n

Anxiety as a Response to a Capitalistic Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Jason Clark\u2019s\u00a0Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship<\/em>, he makes the claim that life in developing capitalist markets interacted with the beliefs and practices of Evangelicals in assurance, to supplant a Christian imagination for life with a market imagination.\u201d[6]<\/a> According to Clark, Bebbington claims most developments in Evangelism \u201cwere possible because of the commercial growth of the eighteenth century.\u201d[7]<\/a> Clark then goes on to explain how before the industrial revolution \u201cthere was a paucity to life where salvation was a compensation for the sufferings of life\u201d but once the Reformers left behind doctrines of assurance, anxiety about their personal salvation arose generating activism as a way of insuring salvation.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Anxiety in response to not being able to host a world of abundance or salvation is seen in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus calls the disciples people of \u201clittle faith.\u201d According to Brueggemann, \u201cJesus chides his disciples for being anxious about food and clothing when they are able to observe the bounty of God\u2019s creation in even more transient things (Matthew 6:30). Their anxiety is an outcome of \u2018little faith,\u2019 that is, pathetic imagination that cannot host a world of God\u2019s abundance when they are fixed on their own needs and deficiencies.\u201d[9]<\/a> The alternative to anxiety would be to focus instead on God\u2019s abundant provision.<\/p>\n

In an address to Synod School attendees in Storm Lake, Iowa, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, told them, \u201cThe evidence is scarce that the Christian voice in this country is on the side of the poor. The goal of capitalism is, of course, to make money. The goal of Christianity, Hawkins pointed out, is to enhance people\u2019s lives. One calls for acquisition while the other calls for sacrifice.\u201d[10]<\/a> It has been said by many (though I cannot reference who the \u201cmany\u201d are), that the Church gets so focused on sex when Jesus never said anything about it! However, in the parables and in other teachings, Jesus talked about money and wealth more than almost any other subject.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the Evangelical church that has been affected by capitalistic anxieties. I have seen and experienced first-hand how the Presbyterian Church (USA) has also been affected. The PC(USA) has been one of the wealthiest denominations in the world. With billions spent on church buildings alone, I have to wonder what it would look like for some of our wealthier congregations to use their buildings to house the houseless (many already do this) or use their sanctuary to provide sanctuary to immigrants (again, some congregations do this). Often though, an argument breaks out amongst congregants about their own safety, or upkeep of their facilities, or about the convenience of being able to use their buildings when they have need. It becomes about the comfort of the congregation rather than care of the \u201cother.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I was a pastor in New York our sanctuary and \u201cparlor\u201d was in dire need of some updating and renovations. You can probably tell by my use of the word \u201cparlor\u201d how badly these rooms needed updating. Some of the newer members of the congregation hoped to update the facility so that we could host community events and eventually be a third space for those who wanted to create community. There was excitement about the possibilities this renovation could provide. However, the enthusiasm was thwarted by those long-time members who could not see a church in which the sanctuary carpet was not red nor the moldy curtains in the parlor removed. \u201cWhat if we spend money on renovations and nobody comes?\u201d \u201cWhat if the roof leaks this winter and we need to replace part of it?\u201d Pathetic imagination reigned curbing the prophetic imagination, limiting our possibilities, and strengthening the status quo.<\/p>\n

In my work as a pastor and preacher I am encouraged by the words of Dr. Brueggemann to imagine an alternate world for my congregation, to \u201cline out what the world is like as Christ presides over it\u201d to break through our world of fear to \u201cwitness to a more excellent way beyond scorekeeping and vengeance, and to show that we may alternatively practice a world of hospitality, generosity, forgiveness, and abundance.\u201d [11]<\/a><\/p>\n

This kind of work, of course, got Jesus killed. After all, he was upending the status quo, the comfort of the powers that be. This, however, is the work for all who try to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> Walter Brueggemann, The End of Imagination<\/em>, https:\/\/churchanew.org\/brueggemann\/the-end-of-imagination<\/a>, accessed September 28, 2023.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Walter Brueggemann, Pathetic Imagination<\/em>, February 2023, https:\/\/churchanew.org\/brueggemann\/pathetic-imagination<\/a>, accessed October 1, 2023.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Martyn Percy, lecture to DLPG students, September 23, 2003.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.prosci.com\/blog\/culture-and-change-management-the-water-we-swim-in#:~:text=%22Culture%20is%20to%20humans%20as,without%20knowing%20what%20water%20is<\/a>. Accessed September 28, 2003.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Dr. Jason Clark, Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship<\/em>, 75, https:\/\/digitalcommons.georgefox.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&context=gfes<\/a>, accessed September 28, 2023.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid, 58.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Walter Brueggeman, Pathetic Imagination..<\/em><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Mike Ferguson, Synod School keynoter: Christianity and capitalism don\u2019t get us to the same place<\/em>, July 27,2023, https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/story\/synod-school-keynoter-christianity-and-capitalism-dont-get-us-to-the-same-place\/<\/a>, accessed September 28, 2023.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Dr. Walter Brueggemann, The End of Imagination<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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