{"id":37437,"date":"2024-04-11T23:29:34","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T06:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37437"},"modified":"2024-04-11T23:29:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T06:29:34","slug":"and-again-thanks-be-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/and-again-thanks-be-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"And Again, Thanks Be To God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cToday\u2019s world has reached a state which, if it had been described to preceding centuries, would have called forth the cry: \u2018This is the Apolcalpyse!\u2019 Yet we have grown used to this kind of world; we even feel at home in it.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Trueman’s Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carl Trueman, in his book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, <\/em>seeks to explain how Western culture has arrived at a particular and dominant understanding of the self that \u201cfinds it\u2019s most obvious manifestation in the transformation of sexual mores.\u201d[2]<\/a> He further addresses the importance of understanding the \u201cimplications of this transformation\u201d on society; and he covers the historical thinking patterns that led us to our current situation.[3]<\/a> Trueman\u2019s work is a deep dive through several hundred years of \u201crecent intellectual history to show why people are willing to believe ideas today that every one of our grandparents would have rejected\u2026 just two generations ago.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Trueman\u2019s 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<\/em>. In sum, says Ryan Anderson, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Trueman\u2019s works are \u201can account of how the person became a self, the self became sexualized, and sex became politicized.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

“Expressive Individualism”<\/strong><\/p>\n

I found a short conversation from Ryan Anderson interesting in which he highlighted a central theme of Trueman\u2019s 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\u2019s identity within oneself. He notes that we find ourselves in the midst of \u201cexpressive individualism \u2013 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.\u201d[6]<\/a> Reviewer Paul Nesselroade added, \u201cHuman nature is\u2026in flux.\u201d[7]<\/a> This conversation made me think of a theme that arose for me in creating my doctoral project.<\/p>\n

A Theme Arises <\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/em> 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 \u201cstrengthening identity\u201d 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\u2019 Manual. Here is an excerpt from my project, underscoring the way in which nature can help us to strengthen our understanding of our identity.<\/p>\n

The Potential for Strengthening Identity through Connection to Nature<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many voices in our culture vying to tell us who we are and shape our identity. For young people, especially, understanding one\u2019s person and potential can be a complex journey. Michaela Goade, artist of the book Remember<\/em>, notes that \u201c[Nature] helps us remember where and who we come from.\u201d[8]<\/a> Similarly, Casper Ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual,<\/em> believes that \u201cOur awareness of who we are, and whose we are, is deepened when we connect to the natural world.\u201d[9]<\/a> Outside voices are softened and we can more clearly hear the voice of God through creation. In allowing ourselves to observe and appreciate God\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201ccommunity of creation.\u201d\u00a0 Says Christine Valters Paintner, \u201cWe 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.\u201d[10]<\/a> Environmental psychologist Louise Chawla adds that without an experience of immersion in and contemplation of nature, \u201cwe forget our place; we forget that larger fabric on which our lives depend.\u201d[11]<\/a> Everything in nature offers \u201ca catalyst for deepened self-understanding.\u201d[12]<\/a> In the simple act of connecting to nature, we find the powerful potential to strengthen our identity.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

I appreciate Trueman\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution <\/em>(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 13.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em> (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 31.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid, 31.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Trueman, Strange New World<\/em>, 11.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid, 12.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Robert Bellah, as quoted by Ryan Anderson in Trueman, Strange New World<\/em>, 13.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Paul Nesselroade, \u201cBook Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self,\u201d Professor of Psychology, Asbury University, January 31, 2022, https:\/\/paulnesselroade.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Michaela Goade in Joy Harjo, Remember <\/em>(New York, NY: Random House Studio, 2023), artist\u2019s note at close of the book.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Casper Ter Kuile, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2020), 113.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Christine Valters Paintner, Earth Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature<\/em> (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2020), xi.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Louse Chawla in Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder<\/em> (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005), 98.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Valters Paintner, x.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cToday\u2019s world has reached a state which, if it had been described to preceding centuries, would have called forth the cry: \u2018This is the Apolcalpyse!\u2019 Yet we have grown used to this kind of world; we even feel at home in it.\u201d[1] Trueman’s Works Carl Trueman, in his book, The Rise and Triumph of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"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":[3187],"class_list":["post-37437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-trueman-dlgp01","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37437","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\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37440,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37437\/revisions\/37440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}