Someone actually allows me to be his mentor. I have this great guy, a senior in high school, who comes to my house everyday (okay, he really doesn’t show up every day, but just in case his teacher reads this, I’ll pretend. Yeah, I pretend on his evaluation forms, too) for study and mentorship. We mostly rehearse monologues and read poetry and ask questions that have no answers - we THINK. His name is Kristopher (yes, with a “K”) and I am so proud of him - as if he were my own son.
Kristopher is an actor and I watched him perform a couple of times this year. Here is a picture of him (and J.J.) after his latest triumph as Cain in Children of Eden. Last fall, he portrayed Reverend Hale in The Crucible, which had a very cool set design.
During The Crucible I sat in my seat and watched playwright Arthur Miller’s tale of false accusations and was reminded of just how ugly group think can be. He wrote this play just as McCarthyism had reached a fever pitch in America, and his story of religious fervor gone awry should be required reading.
The second witch hunt I witnessed this year took place within a Christian small group. It wasn’t my small group, but it caused me pain nonetheless. Oh, how afraid we get when people disagree with us! Questions are good. Fear is excusable. The ugliness that they produce is harder to digest: using harsh and accusing words, vying for support, and defending the faith whilst crucifying someone’s reputation should frighten us far more than a particular perspective that challenges our own. Small group think.
Jesus attempted to address the problem of our bias over and over and over again. Our individual biases are one of the main reasons I think Jesus called His way of life “the narrow way.” Being able to take a step back, and to entertain the possibility that we may be wrong, is a narrow, precarious and brave road for us to travel.
Alan Jacobs is a blogger who wrote two insightful sentences recently. I quote: “How do we, whatever we believe, find ways to identify our biases and recognize them when they’re getting in the way of real knowledge? I’m inclined to say that Step One should be to acquaint ourselves with the smartest people who disagree with us.”
I can just hear dissidents claiming, “all we need is God’s Word,” and I would agree that Scripture is critical. Yet I love a theologian, named John Wesley, who found that there were four things that helped him discern truth: Scripture, reason, experience and tradition. He didn’t know it, but later someone would name his idea the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.
One of the ways I choose
to challenge my bias is to know and love and hear smart people who disagree with me. These people are not my evangelism projects, they are my friends, strangers, writers, coworkers and family members, and they ask good questions that warrant good answers. I have never burned one at the stake or dragged them before Congress.
Some people have rid their lives of alternate opinions to either protect themselves or maintain control. I can see why. It’s a nice, wiiiiide road.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Double, double toil and trouble
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6 comments:
Based on this post, "heteroglossia" might make a great weekend word. :)
The concept of heteroglossia (multiple often conflicting voices or viewpoints vying to be heard) has become popular during the past century (thanks to the literary likes of Mikhail Bakhtin), and now plays a larger, cultural role in the construction of meaning through social, interpretive communities. Of course, cultural heteroglossia has its drawbacks, too, such as the unfortunate kind found on CNN, FoxNews, and those annoying Internet pop-up ads.
When applied to the Body of Christ, as you've suggested, Wendy, I think heteroglossia has its merits and can be profoundly redemptive if accomplished with the same spirit of Christ-like love, malleability, and community to which you've alluded and to which we are called. Then again, the concept also reminds me of the bottom line—that there is only one Voice that is true amidst the clamor (John 10:27), and we desperately always need to listen for it, or "quadrilateral" for it, as the champions of Wesley do.
Hi. Just a quick note to clarify. I had someone ask me why I deleted the comment above - I DID NOT!!! The author of the comment deleted his/her own thought, not me. Just wanted to avoid blatant hypocrisy. :)
Wendy
NO! Heteroglossia requires actual THOUGHT! The modern church doesn't endorse that sort of thing... the working out of your own salvation with fear and trembling needs to take place within the secure borders of prescribed dogma! Testing the will of God against the ways His Spirit is moving in the here and now? Are you insane?
Listen, the world is gonna be a better place when we just lay down and recognize that the church has it all figured out already. We don't need to seek out the nature of God for ourselves - they've already done all the work for us. All we need do is have a seat in a comfy chair on Sunday morning and accept it, all tied up and packaged for us with a neat little bow. Zero effort, zero mess, that instant "spiritual" feeling... it's a perfect scenario, really.
By the way, I just read the last two posts, and I must confess the original, deleted post is mine. (Note the 2 minute time difference.) I had to correct a typo because I'm AR about them unfortunately, and somehow the preview page did me little good the first time. Please forgive for the confusion. :(
As for the most recent post, I'm reminded that cynicism is indeed one of those voices.
Generally, I wouldn't consider myself a cynic. But the tone of the above definitely fits that description without the benefit of voice inflection.
It was written with a smile and a shake of my head, not with the ire it seems to convey. I'm not nearly as jaded as that could be taken. I just know in my spirit that it's time for the church to change. I hope to be an agent of that change - not an angry guy on a soapbox pointing an accusing finger.
Guess we all have room to grow.
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