So what does an old love poem have to do with western culture's movement from modernism to postmoderism, Christian existentialism, and my life so far? Good question!
"Modernism" can be grossly oversimplified as the search for foundations, and even THE foundation. Modernism as we know it was launched with the Cartesian formula "I think, therefore I am." Existence was founded on being rational. The human mind was the pinnacle of creation, and it was thought that no mystery or problem was beyond a solution based on the scientific method.
Eventually, humans figured out that most of what "I think" is based on "my" experience, and "my" culture, and "my" worldview. This discovery led to the mission to deconstruct all previously held general assumptions of facts (and even "proven" facts) by exposing the foundations upon which they were held as mere aspects of "truth," only "relative" to each person's experience. (my right pinky is getting tired of all these quote marks...)
The search for foundations, the "ever fixed mark[s]" upon which everything would stand, has led to the attempted destruction of every thought, theory, and practice. The result is a feeling of "lostness." Philosophers have variously called this feeling despair, angst, homelessness, and sundry other synonyms. It is evident in all our culture, the constant motion of life to avoid these feelings, the acknowledged emptiness of the entertainment, on which we spend countless hours and dollars, the lyrics of many bands (esp. alternative) like Coldplay, U2, and many other less famous performers.
The deeper we dig, and the harder we try, the more questions we find, and the more variables and aspects appear. Science is still trying desperately to put together the grand unified theory of everything, and there is still little consensus on how life begins in naturalistic ways other than "it just does." Wars still rage on, even despite our human "evolution" beyond these things.
So now to bring this around again to the title: humanity is more in need now than ever of an "ever fixed mark."
Is it any wonder that the Old Testament, which is filled with imagery of humanity as transient (filling the earth, scattering after Babel, sojourning in Egypt, wandering in the desert, being exiled from the promised land, etc.) has such "outmoded" titles for God in the Psalms such as Rock, Refuge, Fortress, Tower, Established, Forever...
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My God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold.
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Long ago You established the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You will endure;
All of them will wear out like clothing.
You will change them like a garment,
And they will pass away.
But You are the same, and Your years will never end.
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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds . . .
Which alters when it alteration finds . . .
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken"
That looks on tempests and is never shaken"
3 comments:
Right on.
nice post bro, very well thought out. i would add that modernism's undoing might have been its positivism, that is, its self-assured certainty that its methods would provide THE explanation for whatever topic was under investigation. that smug certainty and exclusion of alternative voices is what allowed postmodern sentiment to so rapidly burst forth from its cage, as it were.
good post, made me think. hope you keep these thoughts coming bro
Mike,
I would say that at one time (say darwinish) science appeared to be on the verge of figuring everything out. Then God pulled back the curtain of quantum physics and let evil run its course with Hitler's Germany.
Much to learn we still have....
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