When I take issue with a Meme
Recently a friend posted this meme on Facebook:
I couldn't just scroll by, as some would have suggested I do (surprise, surprise!) I felt someone needed to address the obvious (well, it was obvious to me anyways...) And I suppose that someone had to be me. So, I post, for your reading pleasure (and my venting need) my dialogue and a few of the comments others put (hope they don't mind!):
A person by the name of Kyle wrote:
Biblical Jesus is hard core and is all about the truth, and modern Jesus is about the feels and about making faith about you instead of him. I hope to see more people respond to biblical Jesus.
So I said:
May I remind you He was full of grace and truth - not solely about truth to the exclusion of 'the feels', as you call them. Biblical Jesus is God incarnate who is described to us as full of compassion. 'He looked at him and loved him' 'Jesus wept' 'Jerusalem, how I have longed to gather you...' It is apparent by even a cursory reading of the biblical narrative that Jesus was actually all about the feels, exhibiting and demonstrating them in himself first and then reaching out to those hurting, disenfranchised, wounded, cast-off feelers, healing them, restoring them, loving them - feels and all. A shepherd must instruct and train his lambs to follow him, but a good shepherd tends and cares for not only the actual physical needs, but also the emotional, felt-needs of his flock. 'He restores my soul' - the good shepherd has a loving interest in the soulful health of his child. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we see that God has an interest in our sanctification not only in our bodies (soma) but in our souls (psyche) and spirits (pneuma) also (that's where the feels come in, though these are also inextricably linked to our physical selves - see trauma studies for evidence). (The Body keeps the score by Van Der Kolk, for example)
(Bracketed words are from the Greek text)
So a Brendan wrote:
I don’t think the meme is purposed to deny the love, compassion, or emotion of Christ. Instead, it is critiquing the kind of wishy-washy preaching that elevates emotion over truth, thereby avoiding the hard statements of the Bible and instead offering a postmodern, cookie-cutter “personal” gospel.
To which I said:
I'll take your word for it. What I sense is that the word 'gospel' has been hijacked by whoever wants to use it for their own purposes. On both sides. Therefore, it is (for good or ill), by all means a 'personal gospel' meaning whatever the speaker intends at the moment. I'd really like to see Christendom pay more careful attention to its use of terms, and clarify meaning whenever possible.
Of course I couldn't just stop there, so I wrote the following:
I know the meme is trying to make a point, but fails on so many levels. It is overly simplistic, reductionist and presents a caricature of modern shifts in how we read and observe Jesus. Throughout history, as I'm sure you're aware, there are differing emphases on what we take from the biblical text. There is a constant pendulum swing in this matter. It is instinctive to have knee-jerk reactions to ideas or emphases that go against what we take for granted ('Jesus was all about truth! Radical!' - that type of thing). For those raised in a context that downplayed emotion, view emotions with suspicion and distrust, elevate cool logical indifference over emotional engagement - I can see how this meme would resonate. But in fact, it tells me more about the perhaps unexplored depths of that person's soul than anything the meme is trying to point out.
(Sorry for my blunt boldness here, but I 'feel' it warrants pointing out - and for those who run from emotion, all the more important to consider if my words cause interior friction - why and what needs addressing, either by Jesus, therapist, friend or spiritual director).
At this point, my very gracious friend (Scot) who put up with me hijacking the post (which honestly I try to avoid doing, but occasionally I jump ahead of myself, and in a moment of weakness say whatever it is I think at the moment), responded with this:
In lieu of an extended back-and-forth on the treatise you’ve laid at this meme’s doorstep, here are two quick points:
1) Keep in mind, it’s just a meme, not a 900-page scholarly treatment. By nature, it will lack intense depth and theological subtext - which is fine. That’s not the purpose.
2) It offers a simple, but accurate critique of the consistent tendency in the contemporary church toward intense narcissism.
This ME, ME, ME focus has drawn many believers inward toward the “God primarily desires my happiness” mentality. This is a damaging, selfish place to be.
God desires us to pursue His will for our lives - to serve Him, not our own desires. We are to be content in and through Him - both in the highs and lows of this life.
I liked the basic, essential point(s) of the meme. Obviously, you did not.
Agree to disagree.
I think he was trying to gently end the discussion...but I still had more to say (imagine!!)
So I said:
Point taken and duly noted. And a final quote which would make a better meme:
Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God.
(John Calvin)
Also, perhaps the church needs to start with its flock where they're at (even narcissistic) and go from there, discipling and building up from the me, me, me starting point. Too many churches who hone in on the 'God wants your holiness not your happiness' mantra speak in an echo chamber of those who agree, so fail to reach the me, me, me generation. Just my opinion.
To which he said:
I think churches that either implicitly or explicitly validate the narcissistic impulses of the “Me Generations” (even if somehow well-intentioned) are doing them a greater disservice, both in the short and long term.
Being kind, compassionate, but clear re: the Christian walk centering on Christ, NOT US, really isn’t that tough. Our Millennials & Gen-Zers in particular need to hear the unvarnished truth.
Which I thought was a good place to end the discussion. But for those of you who missed it, and who have something to say, please, go ahead, and leave your comments below. I look forward to hearing what you have to say :)
I couldn't just scroll by, as some would have suggested I do (surprise, surprise!) I felt someone needed to address the obvious (well, it was obvious to me anyways...) And I suppose that someone had to be me. So, I post, for your reading pleasure (and my venting need) my dialogue and a few of the comments others put (hope they don't mind!):
A person by the name of Kyle wrote:
Biblical Jesus is hard core and is all about the truth, and modern Jesus is about the feels and about making faith about you instead of him. I hope to see more people respond to biblical Jesus.
So I said:
May I remind you He was full of grace and truth - not solely about truth to the exclusion of 'the feels', as you call them. Biblical Jesus is God incarnate who is described to us as full of compassion. 'He looked at him and loved him' 'Jesus wept' 'Jerusalem, how I have longed to gather you...' It is apparent by even a cursory reading of the biblical narrative that Jesus was actually all about the feels, exhibiting and demonstrating them in himself first and then reaching out to those hurting, disenfranchised, wounded, cast-off feelers, healing them, restoring them, loving them - feels and all. A shepherd must instruct and train his lambs to follow him, but a good shepherd tends and cares for not only the actual physical needs, but also the emotional, felt-needs of his flock. 'He restores my soul' - the good shepherd has a loving interest in the soulful health of his child. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we see that God has an interest in our sanctification not only in our bodies (soma) but in our souls (psyche) and spirits (pneuma) also (that's where the feels come in, though these are also inextricably linked to our physical selves - see trauma studies for evidence). (The Body keeps the score by Van Der Kolk, for example)
(Bracketed words are from the Greek text)
So a Brendan wrote:
I don’t think the meme is purposed to deny the love, compassion, or emotion of Christ. Instead, it is critiquing the kind of wishy-washy preaching that elevates emotion over truth, thereby avoiding the hard statements of the Bible and instead offering a postmodern, cookie-cutter “personal” gospel.
To which I said:
I'll take your word for it. What I sense is that the word 'gospel' has been hijacked by whoever wants to use it for their own purposes. On both sides. Therefore, it is (for good or ill), by all means a 'personal gospel' meaning whatever the speaker intends at the moment. I'd really like to see Christendom pay more careful attention to its use of terms, and clarify meaning whenever possible.
Of course I couldn't just stop there, so I wrote the following:
I know the meme is trying to make a point, but fails on so many levels. It is overly simplistic, reductionist and presents a caricature of modern shifts in how we read and observe Jesus. Throughout history, as I'm sure you're aware, there are differing emphases on what we take from the biblical text. There is a constant pendulum swing in this matter. It is instinctive to have knee-jerk reactions to ideas or emphases that go against what we take for granted ('Jesus was all about truth! Radical!' - that type of thing). For those raised in a context that downplayed emotion, view emotions with suspicion and distrust, elevate cool logical indifference over emotional engagement - I can see how this meme would resonate. But in fact, it tells me more about the perhaps unexplored depths of that person's soul than anything the meme is trying to point out.
(Sorry for my blunt boldness here, but I 'feel' it warrants pointing out - and for those who run from emotion, all the more important to consider if my words cause interior friction - why and what needs addressing, either by Jesus, therapist, friend or spiritual director).
At this point, my very gracious friend (Scot) who put up with me hijacking the post (which honestly I try to avoid doing, but occasionally I jump ahead of myself, and in a moment of weakness say whatever it is I think at the moment), responded with this:
In lieu of an extended back-and-forth on the treatise you’ve laid at this meme’s doorstep, here are two quick points:
1) Keep in mind, it’s just a meme, not a 900-page scholarly treatment. By nature, it will lack intense depth and theological subtext - which is fine. That’s not the purpose.
2) It offers a simple, but accurate critique of the consistent tendency in the contemporary church toward intense narcissism.
This ME, ME, ME focus has drawn many believers inward toward the “God primarily desires my happiness” mentality. This is a damaging, selfish place to be.
God desires us to pursue His will for our lives - to serve Him, not our own desires. We are to be content in and through Him - both in the highs and lows of this life.
I liked the basic, essential point(s) of the meme. Obviously, you did not.
Agree to disagree.
I think he was trying to gently end the discussion...but I still had more to say (imagine!!)
So I said:
Point taken and duly noted. And a final quote which would make a better meme:
Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God.
(John Calvin)
Also, perhaps the church needs to start with its flock where they're at (even narcissistic) and go from there, discipling and building up from the me, me, me starting point. Too many churches who hone in on the 'God wants your holiness not your happiness' mantra speak in an echo chamber of those who agree, so fail to reach the me, me, me generation. Just my opinion.
To which he said:
I think churches that either implicitly or explicitly validate the narcissistic impulses of the “Me Generations” (even if somehow well-intentioned) are doing them a greater disservice, both in the short and long term.
Being kind, compassionate, but clear re: the Christian walk centering on Christ, NOT US, really isn’t that tough. Our Millennials & Gen-Zers in particular need to hear the unvarnished truth.
Which I thought was a good place to end the discussion. But for those of you who missed it, and who have something to say, please, go ahead, and leave your comments below. I look forward to hearing what you have to say :)
I wonder what Scot hoped to accomplish by posting the meme? It is a poor meme to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt may create a temporary good feeling of superiority that any emotional zing does, but it leaves no bridge to conversation with the “modern” person because it begins with a ‘put down’ & a superiority. It’s more likely to incite anger and distance than relationship & conversation. (I’ll credit Brenee Brown for helping me see this)
I wonder what the author of the meme (presumably not Scot) is afraid of losing. I could engage that, I think. What about Jesus is so important that the author can’t bear that we lose it or miss it? & why?
Empathy and compassion are difficult and take courage. Perhaps due to my upbringing, the term “unvarnished truth” sounds like code for blasting some idea at someone without relationship or kindness or any intention of living out “Jesus” in action. It sounds like a great way to help harden the soil while claiming to sow a seed.
I think your heart is a good heart, Sarah, so it’s not “weakness” to wade in. You only get better at figuring out “how to” & “when to” by being present. Successfully joining the conversation necessarily means we don’t get it right & yet we get up & keep trying & keep engaging.
Just to put it out there – I blew it wading in this week because I didn’t first acknowledge how fragile I feel & how helpless I feel in the face of this virus. So I didn’t communicate well & had a huge reaction when I was blown off & took a couple of days to calm --- It is really hard for me to be kind in any way to anyone not honoring the SIP order because I am receiving detailed emails daily detailing the backflips our hospitals are doing to try to be there for us. I am much calmer now but the first day I walked into the operating room and saw my friends writing their names on N95 masks for reuse --- the reality that I could and may lose some of them hit. I didn’t acknowledge my fear nor deal with my own stuff well enough before wading in …. So here’s to getting up & trying again.