Well, I already wrote a whole blog, and I think I might just scrap it. Or rather, rework it. Man, writing this blog is HARD for me.
I said this next blog would be about the Bible and Rob Bell and a personal story. But it is not. Blogger's prerogative to change her mind and all that stuff.
It's just that I felt it wasn't the best place to start, after all...
So, I have been doing some research. That word might be a bit of a misnomer, because it seems to imply something way more scholarly and smart that what I am doing. Oh yeah. But I, for lack of a better word, have been researching.
And the first book I have started reading is by Tony Jones. You may or may not know who he is. No matter, at this point. His book is called "Postmodern Youth Ministry." I am just about half way through the book. What can I say about it at this time? Hmmm... it is interesting? And I have been thinking.
Hear is something I want to clarify though. About this blog. And about me. I've started this blog, which is admittedly a bit of a monologue, as all blogs are, at heart. One reason is to force myself to solidify my thinking by expressing it and yes, even by possibly exposing it to dissenting viewpoints. It's good for me to face head on (and I'd add with God's help) views and opinions contrary to mine. But I'm not doing this primarily to learn. Hey, I'm just being up front and honest. And in doing so, I'm opening myself up to look a bit foolish. It is REALLY uncool to say "Hey, I'm not trying to learn from this." Isn't it?
Well, I have said this a bit too strongly. I DO want to learn, in this particular sense: I do want to understand what and how other people think. I do what to know what they believe. But this is not to absorb any of their "teaching." Which means, I am reading/listening critically, which is also a bit uncool. Oh yeah, I know. I'm pretty much the queen of uncool. I mean, I want to understand people, but I have NO desire to "broaden" my viewpoint. Before you bring me my crown and sceptre so I can start my reign as ignorant, close-minded and totally uncool queen, I will at least offer a very small not even really defense of this. :)
It is simply that I do not and never have sat totally unexposed to other views and beliefs because I feel threatened by them. I am hardly in any position to boast about my understanding of philosophy or other belief systems or whatever. Granted. But I did go to University where I took some courses in literature and came across a bit of deconstruction, relativism, Marxist theory, etc. And pretty much all my life long I have had at least one or maybe even more friends/coworkers/acquaintances who have disagreed with me on a lot of things.
In short, I can't stop you from feeling or believing that a position I hold to is mine because I was taught it and never questioned it. What I can tell you is that it is possible that some of the things I have rejected as beliefs, I have rejected because I examined them and found them wanting. Maybe my thinking is not good, but it is, at least, there. I'm going to be putting it out there and you can examine it yourself.
Tony Jones, in his book, is explaining as best as he can his understanding of postmodern thought. He writes that "Objectivity is out, subjectivity is in." (p.26) He continues on explaining that you can't truly be objective, because you are "always standing somewhere. Therefore I should preface all my thoughts with the statement: 'I am a 32 year-old, fairly affluent, Christian Euro white male living in middle America at the turn of the century'" (end quote)
I can't disagree that everything influences us. And that often we are even unaware of how we are being influenced. I will say, though, that I only can accept this up to a point. To say we can't claim an objective viewpoint is one thing. But that doesn't mean there is not an objective viewpoint out there. That viewpoint I would say is the one God holds. (yes, I realize that if you do not believe this, you have NO objective truth, outside of experience. I would see this as a bad thing. You are free to disagree.) And if God exists, then I'd say we should try, as much as we can, to bring our subjective viewpoint in line with the objective. No one can entirely succeed. But there is something to aim for.
I see a two-fold problem with "objectivity is out, subjectivity is in." (besides the fact I do believe in an Objective Viewpoint ;) ) The first one is that if you say objectivity is impossible and why bother to aim for it, then will you not become lost in a jungle of subjectivity? (I'll write more about that later.)
And the second thing is simply this: Tony Jones' preface statement that he is "a 32 year-old, fairly affluent... etc. does not really, actually inform everything he says or believes. What do I mean by this? Well, yes, we are influenced by influences. But we are not determined by them. Yes, OK, I realize that some might argue that we are. But really, honestly, is it not true that some raised up in a home of one religion or another will grow up and hold to it, and others will not? You can often see this in siblings. One grows up and adheres to the faith. Another grows up and rejects it violently. And in between there are many shades. Is this not so? Yes, there is influence. But the influence does not determine your thoughts and beliefs. You still evaluate them (or choose not too!) and "talk back" to them.
Have I made myself clear? I don't know. I'm not saying that complete objectivity is possible for a human being. I am saying that religious, economic, and cultural influences do not determine our beliefs. At some point there is an examination of them (or a choice NOT to examine them, which is still a choice). We need to be very careful in examining and understanding how these things influence us. But it seems to me to be unfair to overemphasis them. So, I went to university and came out with my faith in God and the Bible "in tact" as it were. You may have gone to university, and come out no longer believing the Bible is THE BIBLE. Is it fair to say that "higher education" will position you one way? Is it fair to say that age determines your view? Or that the fact you are white, black, brown or green will? Surely these things are influences...surely we should be aware of our tendency to think subjective thinking is really objective thinking.
But I hope you will not "write off" my thinking or my views because I am a 41 year old, middle class, Christian, white female... etc. I might surprise you. I know that objectivity is pretty difficult. It is for me. I know it will be for you. Still, should we just totally write off the attempt? Just something to think about, before I write about deconstruction, and "Truth" and stuff like that.
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