Truth

I don’t know about you, but I have been revelling in the new ABC comedy Utopia. Satirising not only recent and current Australian governments, but also office and Australian culture more generally, it illustrates so perceptively the way truth can be manipulated when knowledge and power are corrupted. We watch the frustration of the protagonist, Tony, as he struggles with the manipulation of reports by fellow bureaucrats. In meeting after meeting, much to our amusement, Tony is pushed to the edge by the bending of the truth. Much of the comedy lies in the fact that those who are manipulating the truth have subscribed so completely to their version of reality, a reality which places the maintenance of power as the priority, they therefore can see nothing wrong with their behaviour.

Knowledge, power, truth. Wright has been building a picture of (a not so) contemporary culture, showing how Gnosticism has produced conditions for imperialism, and in the final chapter developing this further to look at the effect this has on our relationship with truth. In this slender volume Wright has consistently argued that Christians need to not only hold firmly to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also to “the goodness of creation, the defeat of evil, and the launching and final promise of new creation.” (86). In this final chapter, Wright argues, with such brevity that it can be easy to miss the nuances of this argument, that our witness to the truth is found in the “interplay” (86) of those themes of creation, judgement and new creation, and that it is achieved in the mode of knowing: love,

Love, when it is the love of which the Johannine Jesus speaks so frequently, is the mode of knowing in which the object of love is fully affirmed, cherished and valued, but in which simultaneously the knower is fully involved as a delighted, appreciative, celebratory participant. Love thus transcends the subjective/objective divide, affirming both epistemological poles in a way Western epistemologies have so often failed to do. (87)

Wright moves us from knowing the truth, to speaking the truth (particularly looking at John 16 and addressing the political speech of the church), to doing the truth as Christian communities, having already shown through John’s Gospel how Christians can do this through the promise of the Spirit of Truth (Wright does not explain why he’s inconsistent with his Spirit/spirit).

There is much to meditate upon in this last chapter of Wright’s book, but what I have been reflecting upon is his insistence on the right manner in which Christians go about knowing, speaking and doing the truth; that the church’s testimony is a humble testimony (85). Our humility stems from our acknowledgement that this is God’s creation, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that he will come to judge the world, the world which he died for in love. As his new creation we are to be doing that work “of overflowing love” (97).

Breathe on me, breath of God:

Fill me with life anew,

That as you love, so I may love,

And do what you would do.

(E. Hatch)

Power

In the second chapter of Creation, Power and Truth Wright builds upon the cultural, historical and theological analysis of Gnosticism of the first chapter, and looks at imperialism old and new. Specifically, he argues that empires flourish when Gnosticism, and other forms of relativism and pluralism, abound. When people retreat into their private sphere of spirituality the public sphere is left empty, ready to be filled by empire. Alternatively, when people see politics as a means to bring about Armageddon, the collusion with power leads to the destruction of God’s creation.

The last few months have seen new and old powers dominate global headlines. The conflict in Ukraine is a reminder that empires need their access points, and that Cold War-style posturing (Russia seems to think that weapons testing will remind the rest of the world of its nuclear arsenal) is now run along complex racial, political and ideological lines. Whilst a little way south not only have we seen Israel and Palestine return to the deadly conflict over Gaza, but also the dominance of IS across large parts of Syria and Iraq, has meant that the world is having to take seriously the threat of a tyrannical and (seemingly) empire seeking group.

Not that any of this is new.

This is the point that Wright is making: empire is old. Wright’s perceptive analysis of the West’s idolisation of the separation of Church and State and love of democracy reveals a significant cultural blind spot. We have allowed empires to grow and flourish, we have handed power to them, because we have been too concerned with the process which establishes government rather than the governing that they do.

I have appreciated the way in which Wright establishes the problem (both as it appeared during the origins of Christianity and as it is today) of empire before moving into the solution which is found in the Gospel of Christ Jesus as Lord. Wright’s exegesis of John 18-19, with Jesus standing trial before Pilate, examined in light of the resurrection in John 20, and comparatively with the synoptic gospels, builds a sound case for Jesus coming, “not to destroy the world but to rescue it from evil” (51). Wright, in looking at various passages on Jesus’ atonement, establishes a clear argument that if Jesus is lord of heaven and earth, then from Genesis through to Revelation, the Bible’s own interpretation is that all authorities on heaven and on earth are to acknowledge that. The powers as they stand will bow before the throne of Christ, who expressed true power in his loving sacrifice for his creation.

Wright ends the chapter with a call for Christians to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord, not only on an individual level (person-to-person), but also to proclaim it to the powers which are under Christ’s lordship, “the task of the church… to speak the truth to power, to affirm power in its proper use and to critique it in its regular abuse” (62). When we are witnesses to an abuse of power Christians should be writing letters to our representatives in Government, petitioning them for change, and to consider non-violent protests when the former options have not halted the abuse. A great example of this is the movement #LoveMakesAWay, which describes itself as “a movement of Christians seeking an end to Australia's inhumane asylum seeker policies through prayer and nonviolent love in action.” (from the #LoveMakesAWay facebook page). They have identified an abuse by Government (an abuse in which both sides of Federal politics are complicit), and are seeking to bring about a change in policy through prayer and nonviolence.

Jesus Christ is Lord of all of our lives, including our public and political lives. We can all write a letter, can’t we? (And if not, I’m sure there’s some good examples just a click or two away…)

Creation

It seems that most of my facebook newsfeed these days consists of quizzes. Quizzes that will determine my IQ, personality, knowledge of 90s television shows, the Jane Austen heroine I most resemble… So, it is most appropriate when we look at a book which has the tag line, “The gospel in a world of cultural confusion”, that we should begin with a quiz. We’ll call it, ‘Are you a Gnostic?’

Question 1. Do you think that Christians should be able to speak about their views on an issue in the public arena?

Question 2. Do you think Christians should be interested in ecology?

Question 3. Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?

Question 4. Do you think that God will bring about his kingdom here on earth?

Well, if you are a Christian and answered ‘no’ to any of those questions, it’s more than likely you are on the ‘Gnostic spectrum’.

Tom Wright does not equivocate in the first chapter of his book Creation, Power and Truth. He outlines the ways Gnosticism has pervaded both Western society in general and, more specifically, the church. He identifies two main types of Gnostics in the 21^st Century. The “functional atheism” (9) of the libertine, where “the world is irrelevant to God and to our spiritual agendas, so we can do what we like with it.” (9). And the ascetic, who, in not letting their “spirituality get entangled with the real world of space, time and (particularly) matter” (8), has separated that same spirituality from “politics and public life” (8).

Wright identifies both the ancient sources of Gnosticism, and the Enlightenment and Modernist philosophies which underpin much of present day Gnosticism. Notably, he identifies “the cult of self-discovery”, the search for knowledge (gnosis), not externally but from within. And we see this, don’t we, in various guises? Reflecting on this chapter this week, I’ve seen elements of Gnosticism all over the place. From the overt shouts from the pulpit of the prosperity Gospel to the pernicious attempts to slide Christianity into our culture, conforming to culture rather than being shaped by the Gospel. Where being “cool” moves from being a means to reach the lost into a way to avoid difference. Worship of the Creator is secondary to licentious enjoyment of his creation. We do not need to fear persecution or estrangement from society, as there is no discernible difference from it. Christianity becomes the escape pod, to blast us out of danger if and when it should ever present itself. It is the wide path of the libertine that endangers many of us.

After astutely identifying Gnosticism in society, Wright proceeds to examine the biblical sources for arguments against Gnosticism, looking particularly at John’s Gospel and Paul’s epistles, but also going back to Genesis 1 and 2. This section is essential if we are to have a developed theology of creation and new creation, and whilst I will make a gloss of it here, take the time to read it carefully, and to read the Bible passages Wright mentions, as well. Wright ends this section with an examination of Revelation and Romans 8, emphasising creation, resurrection and judgment as the foundation for our theology as “the triple biblical witnesses against Gnosticisms of all sorts” (28). Wright shows from these passages that it is Jesus who is “the one who rescues creation itself, and us with it.” (29), displacing any notion of a Gnostic Jesus who rescues us from the world he created.

This chapter has caused me to reflect on the rising interest, particularly amongst younger generations of Christians, in ecology. I have been encouraged and personally challenged over the past few years in the development of Christian thinking on the issue, particularly as society as a whole is becoming more aware of the cataclysmic effects of human-induced climate change. I have been impressed by various movements which are seeking to bring about not only a change in thought (gnosis) but also in action (praxis), campaigning for churches to divest from investment in fossil fuels, educating Christians not only on the small things we can be doing but the big things too. And doing all this with a biblical theology of creation and new creation.

Introducing Tom Wright's 'Creation, Power and Truth'

Journeys have provided rich material for writers over the centuries; from Homer’s Odyssey, to Tolkein’s The Hobbit (or, There and Back Again), to de Botton’s The Art of Travel. Journeys are both the reality and the metaphor for the human life. It is no surprise then that Tom Wright begins his book (which is really a series of lectures) by describing two types of journeys. He is, in fact, quoting someone else (Dr Jonathon Sacks) when he does this, identifying the GPS type of journey, where we are given directions to where we are going; or the ant journey, where we follow each other aimlessly, ending in catastrophe.

Wright’s question at the beginning of the book is, “Will the church, and the world, do the satellite-navigation thing or the ant thing?” (2) He examines this question in terms of three challenges: Gnosticism, imperialism and postmodernism. These challenges, while considered from a contemporary viewpoint, are shown by Wright to, in fact, have been challenges that the world and the Church have faced since the Gospel was first proclaimed.

Wright states from the beginning that he is using a Trinitarian framework to consider the three challenges which he has outlined. In short a Trinitarian framework seeks to examine an issue through the relationship of the Godhead (such as we saw in the Balswick’s The Family), with particular focus on how Christ reveals the Father and the Holy Spirit. Wright is clear to point out that the Trinitarian framework was not imposed, but came about through biblical exegesis (4). This is certainly the preferred method of scholarship, as described by Gerald Bray in his essay ‘The Trinity: Where do we go from here?’ in Always Reforming (ed. ATB McGowan).

This book is quite short, and, as a result, raises more questions than Wright has room to answer, and there are certainly some difficulties with engaging deeply when much is assumed. However, in this it is important to remember two things. Firstly, that the book is based upon three lectures given at Harvard University in 2006. Thus being tied to a particular audience and context, and as the Noble lectures were founded “to arouse in young people, and primarily in the students of that great university, the joy of service for Christ and humanity, especially in the ministry of the Christian Church” (as quoted by Wright in the Preface, xii), they have specific purpose. And secondly, that given the book’s brevity we need to be generous to Wright in our judgements. I must admit that there were times in my reading that I wondered if he had wandered into having an over-realised eschatology, but this was more to do with my haphazard reading over a period of time; it is much clearer when read in one sitting.

I hope, as we look through each of the challenges which Wright outlines over the coming weeks, that we would be able to see how the Gospel of Christ is our story, our journey. And that, as we walk the life of faith in Him, we would be challenged to confront our own views on creation and new creation, power and authority, truth and justice.