De Lubac for theological deserts

There are some books that just have your number. They have the ability to set your imagination on fire. Sometimes it is also a case of timing and a place in your life where you are just more ripe and ready for certain truths. Of course, this does not exclude our asking and seeking and especially not the promise that doors will be opened to those who are knocking, but it is simply wonderful when a word in its time is like good news from a far country. Something in this line struck me again when I looked at old notes of Bryan Hollon's work: Everything is Sacred: Spiritual Exegesis in the Political Theology of Henri de Lubac.

Hollon is actually a first order exponent of De Lubac and shows the astounding relevance of Henri de Lubac's thinking for today. His book brings to light the realization that certain gold ores had not been sufficiently shared. This can especially be a contribution in the field of Hermes where postmodernists are always willing to hear another lecture on the endless postponement of meaning. Not that this book is in this line of thinking. On the contrary. But Hollon does show how De Lubac can close the gap in wonderful ways.

Hollon shows how De Lubac offers the possibility of meaningful answers beyond movements that made the scale swing in a post-secular direction. He gives points for the post-liberal and Radical Orthodox (RO) movements in theology, but he also shows how De Lubac and the Nouvelle Theologie move beyond these notable projects. This discussion will be left for the book itself  and only some thoughts will be conveyed that may serve as appetizer and perhaps water for weary bodies that have to face theological deserts.

De Lubac has a particular conception of Christian mysticism. Christian mysticism can only mean one thing and it is union with the Triune God of Christian revelation realized in Christ through His grace (loc. 4205 of 6183). Christian mysticism is therefore always Trinitarian. For De Lubac Christian mysticism is essentially the understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Mystery is the meaning and mysticism is to know the meaning (loc. 4258). Scripture is furthermore the prism through which the Christological unity of the universe is understood. The spiritual exegesis of the Christian scriptures, practiced by the patristic and medieval theologians, serves to illuminate the whole of reality in the light of Christ. For De Lubac, this spiritual exegesis also plays a constitutive role in the Church's participation in the life of the Trinity. Moreover, if this participation in Christ is overlooked, Christian mysticism will fall into natural mysticism. (loc. 4265).

According to De Lubac, the virtually absent exegetical element is the reason why RO cannot really move beyond the speculative deconstruction of secular social life. And Christian mysticism is the understanding of Scripture that proceeds from history to allegory (in Christ), to tropology (morality) in pursuit of the eschatological vision of God (anagogy) (loc. 4429). Allegory, however,  is now easily understood as arbitrary spiritualization, but was something quite different in the best dealings of the church fathers. It was the means by which the historical Jesus was seen as the omnipresent Christ and tropology was the way in which the Church could participate in Christ (loc. 4486).

Mockumentary

Neill Blomkamp exploded onto the cinematic scene with District 9.The word that a savvy local critic, Leon van Nierop, used to describe this film was mockumentary. Blomkamp does have a reputation for chiding the PC maniacs. He made fun of everybody in District 9. In a way it was a safe "you too" bet. He is ready with his next installment, Elysium. Even if you do not agree with his worldview overall, quite a few jabs at the regnant follies should be appreciated, even if some high minded libcrats are oblivious of what is going on. Blomkamp may just be the old-old rebel giving the previous deconstructors a little of their own medicine. But hey, that would be a breath of fresh gear! This is how I lean into this with less knowledge, to my shame, than I should have of a South African-meats-Hollywood kind of geek. At least I am triggered now.

Sowell on race and gender representation

Sometimes some people's opinions have more gravitas. This interview dates back to 1981. This year Sowell is 82 years old and still surprisingly sharp. His books and opinions stay fresh. We need more Sowells.

Word magic

An Afrikaner, Johan Degenaar, on word magic:

"For the poet the word is not only a sound-combination; not only the carrier of an idea; not only the form in which he maintains strict discipline in the experiences of his life. The word is a magical medium, a weapon with which impurity can be excised, a spell or magic formula by which things are exorcised, a chisel with which planets can be split open."

A Story of Two Tales

It is classified. Thus saith most encyclopaedias, including the omnipresent, omniscient Wikipedia. It al began with a guy named Carl Linnaeus. Actually it began a long time before him, but for now, let’s start in Sweden.

Carl Linnaeus lived in Sweden in the eighteenth century. He developed a system for classification – for the whole realm of nature. Most of us have used words like family, class, order, and kingdom. Some of us have sometimes used words like species and genus. Not many of us are still able to recall from our biology school days the package deal of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom. Carl Linnaeus’ used this package as sifts to develop the mother of classification systems in the modern era. Things in nature belong to a species, belong to a bigger genus, belong to a bigger family, belong to a bigger order, and so on - all the way up to being part of the kingdom. Through Linnaeus package of sifts we have just five kingdoms at the top: animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and protoctists. It is a pretty straightforward pyramid system that helped many to classify effectively. Let us call all the people who used his system the Linnaeunites.

People lived in basic harmony and peace with Linnaeunites, but gradually a new group formed that became unsatisfied. They are called by many names. The name that will be used here is Darwinites. Their founder’s well known book, Origin of Species, was already published in 1859. For a hundred years they grew and got stronger and then could not keep silent any more. Since the middle of the twentieth century Darwinites began to ask whether the theory of evolution should not impact the way people classify.

The Cladites and the Pheneticites 
It was particularly two sub-tribes that really started the war. They were called the Cladites and the Pheneticites (more appreciated in some circles by their names Cladists and Pheniticists). They were two rival groups that emerged in the 1970’s. The Cladites were convinced evolutionary history is indispensable for classification – good taxonomy they called it. But the Pheneticites challenged that. They thought classification can and should be totally independent of evolutionary considerations. As could be expected, after a while a third group - E-taxonomites (evolutionary taxonomists) - arose who thought that a midway approach was the way out of the quarrel.

The bone of contention in one of their biggest quarrels – in some circles called the monkey trials - was the following: how do we classify biologically upstream from the human species. The usual classification nowadays says humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans and gibbons are all members of the Homonoid superfamily. Baboons, however, are not counted as Homonoids. Why?

Native Nostalgia: A Review

“Now, suppose the people who promised a new and better life, don’t deliver. What do you think will begin to build up?”

Patrick shot in on behalf of Simon. “But that’s why there are meetings and new elections.”

“Do you know our people, comrade?” Samuel Sitjala asked. “Just last week I heard a coloured woman in the Cape province on national radio. He pulled his mouth into a snout and spoke in the tone of an old lady: “I êm ên ANC supporter ênd ên ANC supporter I will die, but this service delivery is rêlly a scêndel.”

“That’s not just the coloured people, Patrick. That’s our people too. In our lifetime many will never again change their vote.”

“You’re saying nothing can be done about that?” Simon asked.

“No, but it does give some big loopholes for some people to misuse their councilor's position.”

“In what way?” Simon probed.

“Laziness in their work, which translates for us into lack of service delivery, incomplete construction of roads. And sewage. That’s not something that you hear or read. That’s something you smell around you - the whole stinking day.” Samuel presented like a seasoned politician looking alternatively to Simon and Patrick. “And then there’s of course the selling of the RDP houses, bribery, nepotism. People get fed-up, so fed-up that they say: I don’t want your clinics, your library or whatever. I want justice and fairness.”

“And that’s what they’ll get if they just go through the proper channels.” Simon said.

“No, Simon Makoena, that’s what they’ll get if they make a statement of torching property. A statement that even implies that perhaps the previous regime was not that bad …”

The above dialogue is fictitious. It is this blogger's attempt to kindle the imagination on what lies behind Jacob Dlamini's recent book about post-apartheid South Africa. Written in 2009, Dlamini examines the collective violence that happened in townships more than ten years after South Africa got a full democracy. He is honest about some troubling features in the so called new South Africa.

A Personal Relationship with the Lord that Reeks

The expression "a personal relationship with the Lord" is often well meant by Christians. By that we want to point to the fact that our relationship with God is something personal that demands your heart. To be a Christian is not a philosophy or a code of conduct. No, to be a Christian means that the core of your being is seized upon and that there is a wonderful, intimate and real relationship between you and God. That is kindergarten categesis, you would think. As long as our children catch this, as long as this is engraved onto their hearts, everything is okay. Catechesis with all its dogma and doctrines can so easily only hinder this process. Personal relationship, personal relationship, personal relationship - that's all that matters. Thus saith postmodern categesis, Postmodern Cats 101, 201 and 301.

But don't the Heidelberg Cats (Heidelberg Categism) have an answer to this? They do, but apparently people won't listen any more. Perhaps we the reformed are to blame for that. Often we serve up the HC in such rationalistic dry colours and are as abstract and existentially poor as possible - nearly an unforgivable sin if you take into account the lively commentaries on the Cats available today. However, it is said that reformed theologian  Abraham Kuyper could hold children spellbound on the tip of their chairs when he catechized them. The fishermen of his congregation even took his commentary on the HC, E Voto Dordraceno, with them to sea during the week.

I want to expose myself with a statement. If you don't make an effort to portray the truth of the H-Cats with passion and colour, or at least within a context of love, warmth and security - and here I am ready to hang for this- rather leave it alone. Rather let an Arminian who believes the Bible lead the little ones with fire to the throne of grace than let them become part of the frozen chosen.