N.T. Wright's Critique of the Da Vinci Code and Culture
The full lecture titled "The Challenge of Historic Christianity to Post-Modern Fantasy" can be found at the link above.
Let me sum up this lecture in the following way. The Da Vinci Code is a symptom of something much bigger, a lightning rod which has throbbed with the electricity of the postmodern western world.
One of the basic fault lines in the contemporary Western world is the line between neo-Gnosticism on the one hand and the challenge of Jesus on the other. Please note that, despite strenuous attempts to make this line coincide with the current sharp left-right polarization of American culture and politics, it simply doesn’t. Nor, for that matter, does it coincide with the polarizations of British or European culture either. So what is this real, deep polarization which runs through our world?
Neo-Gnosticism is the philosophy that invites you to search deep inside yourself and discover some exciting things by which you must then live. It is the philosophy which declares that the only real moral imperative is that you should then be true to what you find when you engage in that deep inward search. But this is not a religion of redemption. It is not at all a Jewish vision of the covenant God who sets free the helpless slaves. It appeals, on the contrary, to the pride that says “I’m really quite an exciting person, deep down, whatever I may look like outwardly” — the theme of half the cheap movies and novels in today’s world. It appeals to the stimulus of that ever-deeper navel-gazing (“finding out who I really am”) which is the subject of a million self-help books, and the home-made validation of a thousand ethical confusions. It corresponds, in other words, to what a great many people in our world want to believe and want to do, rather than to the hard and bracing challenge of the very Jewish gospel of Jesus. It appears to legitimate precisely that sort of religion which a large swathe of America and a fair chunk of Europe yearns for: a free-for-all, do-it-yourself spirituality, with a strong though ineffective agenda of social protest against the powers that be, and an I'm-OK-you're-OK attitude on all matters religious and ethical. At least, with one exception: You can have any sort of spirituality you like (Zen, labyrinths, Tai Chi) as long as it isn’t orthodox Christianity.
Let me sum up this lecture in the following way. The Da Vinci Code is a symptom of something much bigger, a lightning rod which has throbbed with the electricity of the postmodern western world.
One of the basic fault lines in the contemporary Western world is the line between neo-Gnosticism on the one hand and the challenge of Jesus on the other. Please note that, despite strenuous attempts to make this line coincide with the current sharp left-right polarization of American culture and politics, it simply doesn’t. Nor, for that matter, does it coincide with the polarizations of British or European culture either. So what is this real, deep polarization which runs through our world?
Neo-Gnosticism is the philosophy that invites you to search deep inside yourself and discover some exciting things by which you must then live. It is the philosophy which declares that the only real moral imperative is that you should then be true to what you find when you engage in that deep inward search. But this is not a religion of redemption. It is not at all a Jewish vision of the covenant God who sets free the helpless slaves. It appeals, on the contrary, to the pride that says “I’m really quite an exciting person, deep down, whatever I may look like outwardly” — the theme of half the cheap movies and novels in today’s world. It appeals to the stimulus of that ever-deeper navel-gazing (“finding out who I really am”) which is the subject of a million self-help books, and the home-made validation of a thousand ethical confusions. It corresponds, in other words, to what a great many people in our world want to believe and want to do, rather than to the hard and bracing challenge of the very Jewish gospel of Jesus. It appears to legitimate precisely that sort of religion which a large swathe of America and a fair chunk of Europe yearns for: a free-for-all, do-it-yourself spirituality, with a strong though ineffective agenda of social protest against the powers that be, and an I'm-OK-you're-OK attitude on all matters religious and ethical. At least, with one exception: You can have any sort of spirituality you like (Zen, labyrinths, Tai Chi) as long as it isn’t orthodox Christianity.
posted by Sean at 3/13/2006 01:33:00 PM
14 Comments:
Thanks for linking to this. By the way, how do you make the title a link?
I think it is under my prefrences for this particular blog.
Im not that computer savvy and I don't really remember.
I think it might have been like that already as a default.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I've realy been enjoying the discussion over at yours. thanks for the thoughtfull replies.
Quick question: When you were a Protestant, were you Presbyterian? Or were you sympathetic to the covenantal understanding in the Presbyterian system?
In my life Ive gone from pentecostal/charismatic evangelicalism to southern baptist and then to Presbyterianism via the likes of douglas wilson and steve schlissel, and steve wilkins.
the transition from sb to presb. was due mostly to the shift in covenantal understanding.
at the time we had no church in louisville with these particular doctrinal views.
I had a friend convert to catholicism so i started reading a lot about it and then after a few years of questioning i have concluded that the catholic church is the church christ intended and founded.
i still have yet to be confirmed so i am still not in full communion as far as the sacraments go. ie. the eurcharist. hopefully i shall be admitted to the church this easter. i have a meeting with a priest here about it later this month.
my rcia program got interrupted etc. with the move from louisville to california.
Wow... I didn't know you used to be Pentecostal. Did you practice the prayer and tongues and all that? Most of my Catholic relatives are charismatic on some level and I've noticed they have charismatic Mass up at Mount St. Francis pretty regularly, so I've been curious about going when I get a chance.
Yeh I was full on charismatic.
I even broke over 200 cd's once because they were "evil". Boy was I caught up in emotionalism at the time.
It never made sense to me though. I think it makes sense if you are Catholic and practice with in the directives of the church. the catholic church really is apostolic after all. Im just not into it now, however i would like to see a charismatic catholic mass. it would probably change my perception of the whole thing.
Would you all consider John Michael Talbot charismatic?
You all as in Jason and Sean, not the RCC.
Well... I'd never heard of him until pulling up his web site just now. There's no indication on there that he is charismatic, but if he prays in tongues and all that hoopla, then I guess he is :)
I don't know much about him. But I did first listen to him when I was a charismatic type back about 10 years ago. He has one song that I think is really good called "would you crucify him".
the cessationist position doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the RCC context (and the eastern orthodox) because of apostolic succession. but that's just my opinion.
Funny how things like this happen... a guy at church this morning asked me about John Michael Talbot. He says Talbot is definitely charismatic.
The reason I was asking is because I am not sure what you all are referring to when you say "charismatic". Does it merely mean one who is practicing the extraordinary gifts of tongues and prophecy? I am surprised you are not more sympathetic to the charismatic strand of the RCC. A friend of mine who teaches as Stubenville (where Hahn teaches) told me that Stubenville is close to the charismatic leanings in the RCC renewal.
I think there is a different understanding of this issue within the rcc than within protestantism. i dont believe its as much sect like or fringe type stuff. so it doesnt suprise me that stubenville leans in that direction. again, ive never been to a "charismatic" catholic mass. due to the liturgy norms with in the church i have a feeling it is far from what i grew up with.
Yeah, I'm talking about speaking in tongues, prophecy, etc. What do you mean that we're not sympathetic to charismatics? It's not something I've personally experienced, but I'm open to it should that be God's will.
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