Saturday, January 2, 2010
An Unconstrained Salvation
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I've been trying to get better acquainted with the essential ideas of postmodernism. I finally picked up "Who's Afraid of Postmodernism" by James Smith, and the first chapter examines the work of Jacques Derrida. Conveniently, I also found a brief summary of Derrida's philosophy at the library.
Although I really enjoy philosophy and I'm very curious about the roots of postmodernism, I'm not very good at it, and even in this very short book written for lay readers, there was a lot I didn't understand and just glanced over. So I apologize in advance if I completely misrepresent or misapply Derrida. But there was one quote (from Christopher Johnson) that struck me:
"The second state or moment of deconstruction would therefore be the widening of the frames of reference, the loosening of the rigid systems of oppositions, which habitually shape and constrain our understanding of the world. This leads to a more general theory of writing as the fundamental structure of complex systems, as essential continuum rather than a discrete and isolable practice or phenomenon."
While Derrida's work is certainly about language and writing systems, I couldn't help but see a connection in these sentences to the ministry of Jesus. Isn't this what Jesus was trying to do, "widen our frames of reference, loosen the rigid systems of opposition which habitually shape and constrain our understanding of the world"? (I can't help but think of the story about Jesus in the synagogue in Luke 4).
Jesus has often been called the "great barrier-breaker" and the stories of the gospel writers show again and again how he tried to broaden the disciples' understanding of salvation, the work of God and the kingdom of the heavens. For Jesus, salvation was not a singular event for a singular people group, but was (and is) a continuum - ongoing, expanding, and breaking through any rigid system of understanding we try to construct.
My fear is that I don't really believe this. I'm not really ready to believe in a God that is bigger than me and my understandings. I can't handle a love that transcends all barriers. I cannot conceive a comprehensive salvation. But one reason I love the themes and idea of postmodernism is that they push me to recognize the ways in which I have domesticated and isolated the gospel, and dream and imagine wider frames of reference and looser systems which will thereby encompass more people in this beautiful story of reconciliation.
What would it mean to believe in an "unconstrained salvation"??
I've been trying to get better acquainted with the essential ideas of postmodernism. I finally picked up "Who's Afraid of Postmodernism" by James Smith, and the first chapter examines the work of Jacques Derrida. Conveniently, I also found a brief summary of Derrida's philosophy at the library.
Although I really enjoy philosophy and I'm very curious about the roots of postmodernism, I'm not very good at it, and even in this very short book written for lay readers, there was a lot I didn't understand and just glanced over. So I apologize in advance if I completely misrepresent or misapply Derrida. But there was one quote (from Christopher Johnson) that struck me:
"The second state or moment of deconstruction would therefore be the widening of the frames of reference, the loosening of the rigid systems of oppositions, which habitually shape and constrain our understanding of the world. This leads to a more general theory of writing as the fundamental structure of complex systems, as essential continuum rather than a discrete and isolable practice or phenomenon."
While Derrida's work is certainly about language and writing systems, I couldn't help but see a connection in these sentences to the ministry of Jesus. Isn't this what Jesus was trying to do, "widen our frames of reference, loosen the rigid systems of opposition which habitually shape and constrain our understanding of the world"? (I can't help but think of the story about Jesus in the synagogue in Luke 4).
Jesus has often been called the "great barrier-breaker" and the stories of the gospel writers show again and again how he tried to broaden the disciples' understanding of salvation, the work of God and the kingdom of the heavens. For Jesus, salvation was not a singular event for a singular people group, but was (and is) a continuum - ongoing, expanding, and breaking through any rigid system of understanding we try to construct.
My fear is that I don't really believe this. I'm not really ready to believe in a God that is bigger than me and my understandings. I can't handle a love that transcends all barriers. I cannot conceive a comprehensive salvation. But one reason I love the themes and idea of postmodernism is that they push me to recognize the ways in which I have domesticated and isolated the gospel, and dream and imagine wider frames of reference and looser systems which will thereby encompass more people in this beautiful story of reconciliation.
What would it mean to believe in an "unconstrained salvation"??
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