Below is an interesting passage from a book I was reading this morning. The author, Calvin Miller, is professor of divinity at Samford University. In the passage I’m quoting from him, he pretty much nails the current cultural milieu of secular naïveté and hubris that is present in America. He also takes a jab at Christians. What is this naïveté you ask? In Miller’s view, it is the fact that transformation has become a bad word, or at least a bad concept. For example, there are these new bumper stickers out now that say, “Born okay the first time.” Apparently they are a rebuttal to the concept of being “born again,” I suppose. Either way, the posterior (interpret that anyway you want) of one’s car is clearly an inglorious place to make such an unqualified and strange proclamation; though perhaps that is the best place for simpleton and imbecilic remarks. I could go on about this point but here’s Miller’s perspective on the matter of transformation and secular naïveté (the second paragraph is my favorite):

…transformation has become an ugly cultural concept. The idea that sects or denominations have the right to change others drives secularists to the wall. Secular thinkers feel that people should be free to be what they are or want to be without anyone trying to “convert” or “transform” them. This postmodern, post-denominational world we have inherited (perhaps even caused) glories in discussion. Talk is the mode of the day, not argument. Talk—as the cliché runs—is cheap. It’s not only cheap, it’s a group sport, warm and harmless and so conversational that everybody can participate. But persuasion and conversion, which have always lived at the heart of the Christian mission, are the preacher’s mission. Yet persuasion is suddenly taboo. “Just As I Am, Leave ME Alone” is not just the hymn of the penitent, it has become the creed of individual liberty espoused by the media and championed by the libertine spirit of the age.

Still, the current crop of secularists are not very informed. Naïveté is a wonderful quality: it allows even the least informed to enter every conversation with instant esteem. It fashions an equality of all views, without the inconvenience of actually having to study any view.  Christians, like the secularists they distrust, also talk a lot. Increasingly they too are unstudied and yet the force of their convictions flies at the world full tilt. But naïveté is a worm cocoon that allows the naïve to be fully authoritative and respected without facing anything dangerous or requiring.

2 Responses to “Transformation as Boogeyman in Current Culture”

1. J.R. Diener says:

   January 7, 2010 at 2:00 am

   This is a very interesting blog post. Miller’s statement definitely reflects an accurate portrayal of the sub-cultures within Seattle.
2. Phil says:

   January 7, 2010 at 10:31 am

   Ya, that’s a good point Josh. I think that’s what I was thinking when I read that passage. It’s a pretty good book but I’ve yet to read it all the way through. I’m more interested in theology than preaching, but the two are somewhat inseparable I suppose.