A Heavy Heart and Recent Events

My heart is heavy. It’s felt heavy for much of this summer, to be honest. Heavy because of my sin, heavy because of my inability to live the way I know I ought, heavy because of people that I have met that were hostile to me and my Faith, heavy because of our world and our country and suffering and racism and Charlottesville and because of so much else that is not as it ought to be.

It seems that this summer has begun to give me just a taste of what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:22-23).” I can attest to some form of an inward, heartfelt groan for “the redemption of our bodies” and that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21),” a longing for the restoration of this world to peace and civility, a longing to no longer do wrong. But alas, today is not that day, but it will come, and glorious it will be!

Until then, however, my heart is still heavy in the here and now. It still sees racism and feels pain and disgust, it still sees social and political corruption, it sees indifference that could snuff out the most passionate of saints, and it longs to see reconciliation.

As I think about the events in Charlottesville, VA, I must first admit that I haven’t kept up with the details as much as I should. I honestly haven’t felt any motivation to do so. I have, rather, felt a compulsive disdain for all outlets that have presented “news” about the events that transpired, and a larger sense of personal helplessness. I feel as though I can do so little to help the issue at hand in Charlottesville. It’s one I don’t believe I have faced in a very personal way like other tragedies I have written about (https://bygraceforglory.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/why-the-stanford-assault-is-my-fault/), but nonetheless, it’s one my heart breaks over.

As in many instances in my life, I cannot but help but to ponder the words of Clive Staples Lewis. In The Abolition of Man, a treatise on the Tao, or Universal Moral Law, Lewis says this:

And all the time—such is the tragi-comedy of our situation—we continue to clamor for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more ‘drive’, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or ‘creativity’. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.

It would admittedly be difficult for me to entirely contextualize this quote (therefore, I strongly recommend you read this book for yourself, it stands as a favorite of mine!), but I don’t believe I need to for it to still be incredibly helpful.

Let us consider what Lewis was responding to, and what has become increasingly prominent since 1943. Our culture has become obsessed with expressive individualism. Using a quick Google search, we see that expressive individualism is the belief that an individual’s highest loyalty should be to himself or herself. That definition sounds good. It really is something that America seems to value very highly. We should pursue what we want, find our dream, let nothing stop us, reach our potential, exceed expectations, etc. etc. I know I am guilty of this. I want what I want, when I want it, how I want it, and I don’t feel like having other people tell me otherwise, not my dad, not the president, not God. There is an innate longing to fulfill our desires, just as expressive individualism states.

This idea, though, gets a bit more concerning when you continue reading what Google shared. In regards to this worldview, it says “true happiness, from this perspective, is obtained by expression and realization of one’s core identity, which includes a person’s deepest desires, thoughts and beliefs.” So, it seems that embracing our “core identity,” who we really are, what we really like, and what really brings us pleasure, is how we find our truest happiness.

Now, I must address the fact that more likely than not, most Americans are probably not familiar with the specific term “expressive individualism,” but I would argue strongly that most are familiar with it practically. We all want to pursue our dreams. We all want to make the best decisions. Why else would so many of us spend hours thinking about which classes to sign up for, or what internship to get, or where to work after college, or if we are protecting the environment enough, or if we are buying things sustainably sourced, or which party to go to Friday night, or which books to read? All of these types of questions, when guided by our desires and dreams, play out as expressing our individual desires, concerns, and cares.

We must see, however, that despite what may seem good and true about expressive individualism, there is a point where it ceases to function as a healthy way to view the world. Someone may say, “I support expressive individualism because I like the idea of not pursuing the 9 to 5 grind lifestyle, and would rather travel and broaden myself and my aspirations.” Noble. Honorable. Creative. It’s wonderful when people are willing to step out of the box to pursue something greater than oneself. If these actions are driven by expressive individualism though, which it seems that this is usually the case, then we run into a problem.

If we make self-fulfillment ultimate, then we completely destroy our ability to begin judging right or wrong. If the neo-Nazi in Charlottesville is simply trying to realize his “core identity,” then can we really blame him for what he did? It seems he is simply trying to embrace his identity and be true to himself. Sure, his opinion is certainly in the cultural minority, but is that any reason to criticize his opinions or to debunk his emotions? There was a time when the abolition of slavery was a minority opinion but that was no reason to discredit it.

The truth is, I think that the events in Charlottesville are (at least to a notable degree) fueled by our cultural doctrine of expressive individualism. We have become so enslaved to the idea of self that it has begun to play itself out in truly hateful ways. Our culture treats Self as god, then, in all it’s glory, becomes completely dumbfounded when we see Self starting to actually try to act as god. See Charlottesville. White supremacists see Self as the way they define it, the way they want to express it, and then they see other groups that don’t fit their definition, and want to cast them out as if they are god and have the authority to do so.

This brings me back to C.S. Lewis. In our desire to exalt individualism, we have removed “the organ and demand[ed] the function.” We have made “men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise.” When we grow up getting told to do as we please, and to do as we like, and to make sure that nothing hinders our self-expression, when we get told to promote individualism, or Self, as god, we find it doesn’t work! We now see white supremacists who feel threatened because their god of Self is being threatened, and we have no leg to stand on in saying that what they are doing is wrong because it is our culture who told them to “just express themselves!”

So here we are, in a mass of cultural confusion, in a situation where almost anyone who witnessed what happened in Charlottesville would unhesitatingly say, “That is wrong!” Yet, because of our ubiquitous self-gods, we cannot answer why it’s wrong. At some point we have to stand up and call white supremacy wrong, not because I feel like it’s wrong, or because you say it’s wrong, but because IT IS WRONG. It unquestionably offends the Tao, that universal moral law that Lewis referred to earlier.

At some point, for things to really matter, right and wrong must transcend our individual feelings and actually begin to engage us in a way that matters. We can’t sit there as hypocrites and say on one hand, “express yourself!” and on the other, say, “wait, but not that way, that’s not cool!” In order to avoid this hypocrisy and confusion, it is apparent that we must appeal to something higher than ourselves to help us.

But where? Culture? Sure, that’s bigger than ourselves, but already we have seen that the intermingling of culture and Self has produced a web of nightmares. Government? Certainly not. While we are fortunate to have a relatively stable government right now in America, examples abound that betray the inability of government to produce an ethic truly good for the people. See Hitler’s attempt to express himself, or Stalin’s, or Che Guevara’s, or Mao Tse Tung’s, the list goes on. Government is needed and helpful, but it is not, and can’t be the answer to the problems we are seeing.

Montesquieu, a political philosopher during the enlightenment, spoke of the necessity of political virtue in order for democracies to function. He defined this as “a love of laws and of country.” He didn’t find this to be a natural thing for people to love, though, saying it requires “a constant preference of public to private interest,” and constant “self-renunciation, which is ever arduous and painful.”

This seems to be exactly opposite of what our culture values, though. And, coincidentally (or not, maybe he was really on to something), we also seem to be witnessing the erosion of democratic government as we have always known it in America. We seem to desperately need this political virtue that Montesquieu speaks of just at the time when we seem to have the most men and women “without chests.”

I think Montesquieu speaks to more than is immediately obvious when he recognized that the death-to-self that is required for Democracies to function isn’t natural among people. He is speaking about the very nature of people. It is not natural for us to put others before ourselves or to constantly partake in “self-renunciation.” So where can we turn to find this much needed virtue is such a virulent day?

I cannot help but turn to the Christian Scriptures, where I have found so many answers to so many questions. The Apostle Paul lays says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Going back to the image of the Tao, it is easy to see how neo-Nazi’s have “sinned and fallen short,” but the reality is that every human has. Everyone has lied or stolen or cheated or lusted or been greedy at some point. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says that this means we are “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked (Eph 2:1-2).” This means I haven’t just lied, but that I am a liar, I haven’t just been selfish, but that I have engaged in self-adoring idolatry, that I haven’t just stolen, but that I am a thief, and we all sit in this same boat.

Now, this sounds somewhat condemning, and honestly, it is. But if we have a light understanding of the issue at hand, then we will propose light solutions, which won’t actually help. As I heard an old Scottish preacher say, if “man is only misguided, then we may just increase education, if he is only sick, then we could just increase medication, if he is only rebellious, then we could just increase legislation…” to continue, if he is just confused, we could try indoctrination, but if he is broken, then we can’t do anything. If it is a sin issue that is at the heart of the issues we are seeing, then our only hope, and our only chance for virtue is to turn to Christ.

Thankfully, Paul doesn’t leave us sitting in that condemnation. In Ephesians 2:4-5, Paul says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” When we see that, when we believe that for ourselves, it changes everything! It means we can look at the victims in Charlottesville and the white supremacists and love them all because we know that legislation or education or anything cannot fix this problem. Only Christ can.

I’m not speaking about some sub-cultural expectation of Christian morals or of any specific way to live, that is vanity at its best. I am speaking of a relationship with a person. Of meeting with the Creator of the universe and getting to say, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved me, even when I was dead in my trespasses, made me alive together with Christ—by grace I have been saved.” We should know, though, that just like any other relationship, one with Christ begins to change you. It begins to make you view the world that allows all races, colors, and creeds, transcend their differences and be one under His grace and forgiveness.

Expressive individualism can’t fix our problems. Virtuous governments can’t fix our problems. Discipline and resolve can only go so far, and often times it can be in the wrong direction. Only hearts renewed by the love of Christ can mend the wounds of decades and decades of injustice. Only the forgiveness of a Father who has seen all our sins and yet forgives us still can help us then turn to forgive an oppressor. Only the grace of God, who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, can cause us to lay down our hatred and seek the forgiveness we don’t deserve. Only Christ can help us to mend our wounds and tear down the walls of indifference and open our blind eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters. When we realize our “core identity” is in Him, not in anything else, then, and only then, can true reconciliation begin.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus blood and righteousness,

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus name.

Subverting the Patriarchy Before it Was Cool

Subvert – to undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution).

The idea of subversion is on the rise in many popular culture sources today. Many are motivated by the true sense of this word, to undermine established authorities, tendencies, or institutions that they do not, or feel they cannot, support. It is also popular for many to try to subvert stereotypes, such as gender, sexuality, gender roles, the institution of marriage, and others. Within this context, a popular institution that many desire to subvert is that of the “American Patriarchy.” The idea that often seems to be intended by this phrase is the white, male, conservative populace. You know, those “delusional evangelicals” that voted for Trump, or those “crazy Southern conservatives that hate foreign people,” or the “educated ignorant Bible-thumpers.” I am not trying to be polemical or build a straw man, those are quotes from conversations I’ve had.

In all honesty, those accusations may be very justified, but I believe they are pointed in the wrong direction, and I would like to address some of the realities hidden by some perpetuated misunderstandings of Christianity. Often times, people stand in opposition to the caricature of those ideologies, or the “institution,” rather than in opposition to those individuals that fail to represent such ideologies appropriately. If one considers the history of Christianity, they would see a vastly different reality than what is popularly understood. To borrow a phrase from Dr. Francis Collins, it is a shame that people judge “the pure water of faith by the rusty buckets that carry it.”

A brief study of the Bible will bring forth many “patriarchal” issues that many in this day would long to undermine and have removed from our culture. They would, in some instances, even be able to find support for this at first glance through the Scriptures. For example, Christians claim to hold the institution of marriage between a man and a woman sacred, but within the first few pages of the Bible one will find the Fathers of the Faith practicing polygamy to an extent almost unheard of. Christians claim that all people are equal, but again, one will find in the first few pages of Scripture, and throughout much of the Book as a whole, the consistent practice of primogeniture, or the practice of giving all the inheritance to the eldest son, promoting an unalterable hierarchy based both on gender and age, a practice worthy of opposition.

If one reads through Scripture with a more careful eye, though, one will find very different, transcending truths flowing from the pages. Take the tension between early polygamy and the institution of marriage. Though polygamy is rampant through the early pages of Scripture, it is never condoned. More than that, the historical accounts speak volumes in opposition to it because they simply record the societal and familial damage that it causes. Nothing but strife and pain resulted from the practice of polygamy. The very act of recording such facts stood as a public subversion of the “patriarchy” of the day that thought the men could do as they pleased without consequence. So, rather than a contradiction, we find Scripture supporting its claims about marriage by placing historical accounts of polygamy as simple examples of the danger of not following God's precedent.

A much clearer example comes from the Biblical accounts of God’s subversion of primogeniture. The very first sons born, Cain and Abel, bear testimony to this. We find in the first accounts in Genesis that God blesses Abel, the younger son, over Cain. God found Abel to be more faithful than Cain, and therefore blessed him, which resulted in Cain jealously murdering Abel. This account shows that God is not partial to age or gender whatsoever. He blessed Abel because of faithfulness, not because of his order of birth.

If we continue to go down the line of Scripture history, we find over and over again stories of God choosing the younger, weaker person to subvert the authority of the “patriarchy.” God used Isaac, the younger son of Abraham, to fulfill his promise to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. God chose Joseph, the second youngest of twelve brothers, to save the Israelites from a famine by leading him down a path of leadership in Egypt.

God chose David, the youngest and weakest of the seven sons of Jesse, to lead the Israelites as their Great King. David was the last in line and the least worthy to be chosen for this according to the wisdom of those around him. David went on to write many of the Psalms, a series of beautiful prayers recorded in the Old Testament, as well as prepare the way for his son Solomon to build God’s Temple.

Along the lines of polygamy and primogeniture, is the often-controversial discussion of the Bible’s view of women. People will claim, for example, that Christianity must be at-least indirectly opposed to woman because Jesus only chose men to be disciples. Or they may point out that there is no significant recording in Scripture of Jesus standing in opposition to his surrounding culture that consistently oppressed women.

However, as before, with a closer reading of Scripture we find significant subversion to the cultural standards of the day. First, there is a record in Matthew 26 of a woman who’s act of service to Christ was so loving that Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her (Mt. 26:13).” Jesus not only affirmed what she did in a time a place when the actions of this woman were openly ridiculed and condemned, he placed her story in indelible ink so that her deed may never be forgotten.

Additionally, we see that after Jesus Resurrection, the first people that he revealed himself to was women. In a time when woman were not allowed to testify in court, Jesus would not have benefitted whatsoever by revealing himself to these women. He did so, though, because he is not bound to love people according to their gender, ethnicity, race, creed, or color. He loves because he is faithful.

This is not to say anything about the beautiful record of a Godly Woman found in Proverbs 31, either. In this chapter we find the Godly women described as independent, entrepreneurial, self-sufficient, strong, "clothed in dignity," sacrificial, wise, empowered, and praise-worthy. It is a depiction that any person should be striving to attain.

The ultimate expression of “subverting the patriarchy,” though, came from Christ Himself. As he was on trial to be executed, he stood silent before his accusers.

            “He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” John 19:9-10

            “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him.” Luke 23:9-11

“But He kept silent and did not answer Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" – Mark 14:61

“Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.” – Matthew 27:11-14

Jesus, though he was being mocked, ridiculed, and threatened by the greatest authorities in the land, stood silent, not even striving to give defense of himself. There is a sense in which Christ stood as a rebel against the greatest authorities of his day. There is a sense in which Jesus stood as a rebel against all authority on this earth. He stood there subverting the authorities before him in the only way he could. Jesus showed his power through weakness, expressing the fact that he gave his life according to his own will. It was not taken from him, but through the weakness of this world, Christ exerted his power over Death.

The Apostle Paul helps us understand this subversion in a deeper way. In his letter to the Philippians, he speaks of Jesus saying, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:6-11).” Jesus undermined the authority of his rulers through his silence and humility, thereby establishing his own authority. Jesus stood in absolute opposition to abusive authority and established a precedent of servant leadership; true leadership by example. Christ asks none of his followers to go somewhere he has not first gone.

Paul helps us understand this grand picture, from Cain to Christ, in his first letter to the Church in Corinth. He says, “consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Cor 1:27-29).” God loves to empower those who the world does not count worthy of his blessing to show just how mighty and merciful he is, and just how much he cares about those the world may forget.

This is just a tasting of the many examples in Scripture of God working contrary to how we often think he would work, and just a brief sample how we may often, in our current cultural climate, misunderstand what Scripture is teaching. We must take note, though, that the Gospel, the story of the Good News of salvation, isn’t primarily about “subverting the patriarchy,” though there are implications that inevitably impact that idea. The Gospel is ultimately about the fact that anyone, no matter there race, creed, ethnicity, or relationships, can experience the grace of his forgiveness. Through Christ’s call for repentance, we find that the weak and the strong alike can stand equally before God, forgiven by the blood of Christ, and experience everlasting communion with our Creator.