Feb 17, 2023·edited Feb 17, 2023Liked by Brother Alexander
Follow-up to my previous comment...
Interestingly, there is this great myth in the first chapter of Genesis, which describes a world very much like the one you and I live in (minus all the manufactured objects/structures and technologies): land, sky, and seas; sun, moon, and stars, plants, birds, animals, and human beings.
The text is pretty clear that this world is created by...who exactly we are not sure. The Being who calls the world into existence and gives it form (whatever that means) is beyond the capacity of the human mind to grasp or the human imagination conjure an image of. There's even a set of rules that basically say as much: I'm God; don't bother try to image me. It's not going to work.
And then at the very end of the first chapter of Genesis, this Creator who exists beyond all knowledge and imagination, says to himself, I will leave one particular type of being to be my representative in this new world, "to bear my image." Lo and behold, that's beings like you and me.
Much, much later on, this Creator becomes a being like you and me and summarizes the meaning of the creation story, the law, histories, the wisdom literature, and the prophets: Love the Creator and love the creature created in his image.
That's a great myth. It has a profound moral. It gives you a different perspective on yourself and the world you live in and share with others. And it starts in a garden devoid of any creation of human hands. That's about as wild as it gets.
Instead of calling for a re-wilding, why not actually do the work and tell the myths you think need to be told?
Then I guess I wonder about your picture of faithful social(?) conservatives in the wilderness, i.e. "Non-progressive Christianity" driven to the edge of society and culture.
I see myself in the myth I just outlined about the meaning of Genesis 1. I can see someone like you in there too. But I am quite certain that I will find no home among "non-progressive-types" lamenting the fact they no longer place a place at the worldly heights of society and culture. (If only we had power and influence, what good would we be able to do in the world?)
Embrace the teaching of Augustine, my friend. We are on a journey far from home. We are wandering through a wilderness. Like our forefather Abraham, we are strangers in a strange land. And just when we thought all was lost, we hear a voice call out: In the wilderness prepare a way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
For our homeland has made itself a way to our home.
I don't know, man. I returned to church after 12 years away, but it wasn't to any confessionally orthodox conservative church. It was to a confessionally orthodox progressive church. Guess what? I wasn't the only one.
One reason that causes me to question whether a "re-wilding of Christianity" is a genuine response to the Gospel is that the categories are all abstract: culture, myth, ideas, etc. The point of the Gospel is that the Logos became flesh. Here's a myth that literally begs you to get out of your head and meet people. Take a step out of the abstracted corridors of human history and into the lives of flesh and blood people.
Follow-up to my previous comment...
Interestingly, there is this great myth in the first chapter of Genesis, which describes a world very much like the one you and I live in (minus all the manufactured objects/structures and technologies): land, sky, and seas; sun, moon, and stars, plants, birds, animals, and human beings.
The text is pretty clear that this world is created by...who exactly we are not sure. The Being who calls the world into existence and gives it form (whatever that means) is beyond the capacity of the human mind to grasp or the human imagination conjure an image of. There's even a set of rules that basically say as much: I'm God; don't bother try to image me. It's not going to work.
And then at the very end of the first chapter of Genesis, this Creator who exists beyond all knowledge and imagination, says to himself, I will leave one particular type of being to be my representative in this new world, "to bear my image." Lo and behold, that's beings like you and me.
Much, much later on, this Creator becomes a being like you and me and summarizes the meaning of the creation story, the law, histories, the wisdom literature, and the prophets: Love the Creator and love the creature created in his image.
That's a great myth. It has a profound moral. It gives you a different perspective on yourself and the world you live in and share with others. And it starts in a garden devoid of any creation of human hands. That's about as wild as it gets.
Instead of calling for a re-wilding, why not actually do the work and tell the myths you think need to be told?
Yes. Embrace the truest of myths.
Thanks for the comments. Most appreciated.
Then I guess I wonder about your picture of faithful social(?) conservatives in the wilderness, i.e. "Non-progressive Christianity" driven to the edge of society and culture.
I see myself in the myth I just outlined about the meaning of Genesis 1. I can see someone like you in there too. But I am quite certain that I will find no home among "non-progressive-types" lamenting the fact they no longer place a place at the worldly heights of society and culture. (If only we had power and influence, what good would we be able to do in the world?)
Embrace the teaching of Augustine, my friend. We are on a journey far from home. We are wandering through a wilderness. Like our forefather Abraham, we are strangers in a strange land. And just when we thought all was lost, we hear a voice call out: In the wilderness prepare a way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
For our homeland has made itself a way to our home.
I don't know, man. I returned to church after 12 years away, but it wasn't to any confessionally orthodox conservative church. It was to a confessionally orthodox progressive church. Guess what? I wasn't the only one.
One reason that causes me to question whether a "re-wilding of Christianity" is a genuine response to the Gospel is that the categories are all abstract: culture, myth, ideas, etc. The point of the Gospel is that the Logos became flesh. Here's a myth that literally begs you to get out of your head and meet people. Take a step out of the abstracted corridors of human history and into the lives of flesh and blood people.
This will be the undertaking of a generation. How are we raising out children in the Mythos?
we should expect the Material Pharisees to fight the 'untaming'...a battle I am looking forward to.
„Lumenque nox spirat novum“
Thank you for your work.