The second and final part of an essay by Professor Jens Zimmerman, Director of the James M. Houston Center for Humanity and the Common Good at Regent College
Yes! Reading this essay moved me from free subscription to paid subscription. I think what you write about is. So. Fundamentally. Important. There are a couple of thoughts that come to mind that I’d like to share in response to this essay. The tower of babel in genesis describes the ruined that we are headed for, and already beginning to experience in a technological philosophy of the meaning of man. As we reach for technology to solve our connection problems to dominate nature, to dominate one another, we fall further from grace, one another, and open up a new abyss of alienation. CS Lewis is absolutely right!
I think that prophetic voices about where we’re headed have been speaking for at least 100 years. I recently read portions of Gaudium et Spes with my oldest son, for a college theology project on modernity, and the importance of community. That document prophesied these problems 50 years ago. “Though mankind is stricken with wonder at its own discoveries and its power, it often raises anxious questions about the current trend of the world, about the place and role of man in the universe, about the meaning of its individual and collective strivings, and about the ultimate destiny of reality and of humanity.”
Without writing an essay, I’d like to share that our role is stewardship, not domination. It always has been. Not manipulation. But stewardship! As communities. I’m convinced, that we labor and create and order things on behalf of the One who loves us. I’m convinced that we have hope because we’re made in the image of One whose love is greater than ours. I can’t manufacture my identity. Nor can I manufacture someone else’s.
The greatest gift I have received from putting my hand to the plow, so to speak, in farming with my wife and kids, not having grown up on the farm, or known anything about it before we jumped in, has been a deeper understanding of stewardship as a calling, and a spiritual gift. it has changed the way I practice medicine, the way I relate to my children, I the decisions that we make, as a family, in my relationship to the healthcare industry. Joel Salatin has been a prophetic voice in this respect.
His writing has helped me understand what kind of fruitfulness is possible with the stewardship mindset. The landscape heals, fruitfulness emerges, the soil grows, and behold families and friends work together, sharing life with each other, and the fruit of their labor. This isn’t some pious idea that’s only meant for people with a heart for farming. It’s a real notion that touches the heart of who we are. Everyone needs a table to share, someone to sit down with, and break bread with. It’s good to know who planted the wheat, who sacrificed and prepared the animal, who kneaded the bread, and who worked for the food. Whenever we reach for something, we let go of something else. I submit that most of us don’t know what we’re letting go of when we reach for the next technological promise.
The "incommunicable self" is a fascinating point to ponder. The moderns think that because we're just random conglomerations of matter, we could be copied, cloned, or be like Max Headroom animating a computer.
I'm uplifted to see Jesus Christ discussed (old-school Catholic here). He is the turning point where the techno-evolutionist must come to be freed from his idolatry. And the reason is this: while we are "incommunicable selves," the Good God is not! He communicates his image to each of us, the light of life. We use that image to come to understand truth. And to the present discussion, He will communicate more of Himself to all who come to Him. I'm convinced that only by walking in His direction will men overcome the decline into barbarism.
Our society is in desperate need of a Revival. We are made in God's (the Creator) image. That knowledge is powerful and full of mystery. Excellent analysis of a foreign concept within our culture. THANK YOU.
Totally agree! And the revival needs to water us down deeply! Through relationship with one another. It needs a deep commitment from Fathers to reject a manipulation mindset. To show their children, by loving their mother well, that fulfilled, fruitful, loving life with one another in joy is possible. Our hearts groan for the real deal.
Yes! Reading this essay moved me from free subscription to paid subscription. I think what you write about is. So. Fundamentally. Important. There are a couple of thoughts that come to mind that I’d like to share in response to this essay. The tower of babel in genesis describes the ruined that we are headed for, and already beginning to experience in a technological philosophy of the meaning of man. As we reach for technology to solve our connection problems to dominate nature, to dominate one another, we fall further from grace, one another, and open up a new abyss of alienation. CS Lewis is absolutely right!
I think that prophetic voices about where we’re headed have been speaking for at least 100 years. I recently read portions of Gaudium et Spes with my oldest son, for a college theology project on modernity, and the importance of community. That document prophesied these problems 50 years ago. “Though mankind is stricken with wonder at its own discoveries and its power, it often raises anxious questions about the current trend of the world, about the place and role of man in the universe, about the meaning of its individual and collective strivings, and about the ultimate destiny of reality and of humanity.”
Without writing an essay, I’d like to share that our role is stewardship, not domination. It always has been. Not manipulation. But stewardship! As communities. I’m convinced, that we labor and create and order things on behalf of the One who loves us. I’m convinced that we have hope because we’re made in the image of One whose love is greater than ours. I can’t manufacture my identity. Nor can I manufacture someone else’s.
The greatest gift I have received from putting my hand to the plow, so to speak, in farming with my wife and kids, not having grown up on the farm, or known anything about it before we jumped in, has been a deeper understanding of stewardship as a calling, and a spiritual gift. it has changed the way I practice medicine, the way I relate to my children, I the decisions that we make, as a family, in my relationship to the healthcare industry. Joel Salatin has been a prophetic voice in this respect.
His writing has helped me understand what kind of fruitfulness is possible with the stewardship mindset. The landscape heals, fruitfulness emerges, the soil grows, and behold families and friends work together, sharing life with each other, and the fruit of their labor. This isn’t some pious idea that’s only meant for people with a heart for farming. It’s a real notion that touches the heart of who we are. Everyone needs a table to share, someone to sit down with, and break bread with. It’s good to know who planted the wheat, who sacrificed and prepared the animal, who kneaded the bread, and who worked for the food. Whenever we reach for something, we let go of something else. I submit that most of us don’t know what we’re letting go of when we reach for the next technological promise.
The "incommunicable self" is a fascinating point to ponder. The moderns think that because we're just random conglomerations of matter, we could be copied, cloned, or be like Max Headroom animating a computer.
I'm uplifted to see Jesus Christ discussed (old-school Catholic here). He is the turning point where the techno-evolutionist must come to be freed from his idolatry. And the reason is this: while we are "incommunicable selves," the Good God is not! He communicates his image to each of us, the light of life. We use that image to come to understand truth. And to the present discussion, He will communicate more of Himself to all who come to Him. I'm convinced that only by walking in His direction will men overcome the decline into barbarism.
Yes! The Lord is not a tame Lion. And confessing our idolatry to one another will open space in our hearts for His grace!
Our society is in desperate need of a Revival. We are made in God's (the Creator) image. That knowledge is powerful and full of mystery. Excellent analysis of a foreign concept within our culture. THANK YOU.
Totally agree! And the revival needs to water us down deeply! Through relationship with one another. It needs a deep commitment from Fathers to reject a manipulation mindset. To show their children, by loving their mother well, that fulfilled, fruitful, loving life with one another in joy is possible. Our hearts groan for the real deal.
The above link is about Joel Salatin’s take on identity and dignity as learned from the farm
https://youtu.be/IwqZmdabA0Q