For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves... - 2Corinthians 4:6, 7
Since the onslaught of multiculturalism, the humanities have been in a death spiral. What are the humanities? They are the disciplines that focus on human culture, including languages, philosophy, religion, music, theatre, history, law, and literature.
Last month in the New Criterion, Mark Bauerlein, an English prof at Emory, made an effort to to show why recent efforts to reverse the decline have failed. Rather than selling the great works of Western Civilization for their beauty and wisdom, they're being sold as a means to help men...
think critically and become more sensitive:
The humanities used to matter because they passed down the best that has been thought and said. Now, they matter because they teach youths to think right and write well.
Bauerlein argues the humanities won't recover until teachers are able to inspire students to recognize works from the past that are bigger and better than anything they experience today. The loss of students ought not to be blamed on political correctness and the politics of identity, but the failure of teachers and profs to love their subject matter and pass their love on to their students:
Our sole advantage is inspiration. Appeals to success and career, goodness and empathy don't work. Only the spark of desire will. We have the materials... and we should esteem and enjoy them enough to make students think we have treasure to impart.
This is a good analogy to the church's Evangelistic methods and preaching today. The Worthy Judge Eternal is not proclaimed Lord of the Universe, but rather the one who helps us to become better and kinder, the one who points the way to better flourishing. The god we preach is not infinitely holy. He is not angry with the wicked every day. He is no consuming fire before Whom we fall, face-down on the ground, trembling with fear and pleading for mercy.
Thinking it will help us sell Jesus, we've put a mask on God and hidden His Word.
Now we can't figure out why everyone's blathering about ritual, robes, and sacraments and there's no fear of God among us.
Tim serves Clearnote Church, Bloomington, Indiana. He and Mary Lee have five children and big lots of grandchildren.
Want to get in touch? Send Tim an email!
