;)
“The new narrative [is] one that seem[s] to despise all that [is] older, to sneer at inherited wisdom, and to glory in the replacement of the old with the new, no matter what the cost. This vision of creative destruction is one that took hold with vigor.”
— Stuart McAllister
Today the noxious fumes of idol Skepticism and deconstructionist “logic” have propelled modern culture in the west headlong into the bleak fog of nihilism and perpetual doubt and dis-belief. The malignant fumes have spawned a faithless, philosophic paradigm characterized more often than not by a manic striving on the one hand and a (perceived) ultimate pointlessness of life on the other.
It’s the age-old Garden variety rebel attitude, to be sure, but with a peculiarly contemporary twist. Philosopher, Stuart McAllister, has described the post-modern conditioned man as a “rebel without a pause”. This is “the new narrative”. We are it seems, enamored by our own non-conformity, constantly kicking against the goads of every supposed repressive structure we might imagine….
;)
Today, not only are God and tradition in the dock, but meaning, definition and reason are as well. We have become proud champions of change at any cost, vigorous whirling dervishes of “open-mindedness” and “progress”….with no end in sight and no sight in the end.
“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
— GK Chesterton
;)
Vague Evasion’s Our Commitment
What we need’s more deconstruction,
Freedom calls: “No Bottom Line!”
We’re committed to the notion:
Knock and seek1, but never find.
It’s a wearisome endeavor,
But the rebel in us swears:
“There’s no yoke2 we will approve of!”
(In this kingdom of the air…)
We’re not into “definitions”,
(We’re an open-minded crowd….)
No, defining’s too confining,
And just shouldn’t be allowed.
We believe all meaning’s fluid….
Like a river or a stream,
Kind of like a whirling dervish,
In a vague, amorphous dream.
We’re locked-in to open-ended….
Nothing solid suits us fine.
“Always Fluid!” ….That’s our motto….
To avoid that Bottom Line.
We do “flux”, and we do “process”,
We love “Maybe…maybe not!”
We prefer Doubt to assurance,
And lukewarm to cold or hot.
We promote the muddy water,
Prattle-on, we comprehend….
We love foggy more than sunlight,
And adore: “Well, that depends….”
“Either/or” , you see, we’ve banished,
Now “both/and” is what we preach.
Get on board, friend, this bandwagon,
Or we’ll censor all your speech.
Yes, we hope, we’re NEVER “sure of”…
That’s the Faith3 that we declare!
It’s the battle flag we stand by…
Firmly planted in thin air.
Endless Skepticism thrills us….
We’ve placed “Clouded” on the throne,
We’re enamored by not knowing,
Wishy-Washy we condone.
Contradiction’s our big NO-NO!
Nothing’s really right or wrong.
Yes! At last! …It’s finally settled!
Now, we all can get along!
Question marks ad infinitum….
Stretching endlessly away……
Never really seeking answers,
Nothing black or white,…. just gray.
Question marks…. ad infinitum!
Minds wide open…never closed!
‘Til like chains, they wrap around us,
And the Truth has been deposed.
Vague evasion’s our commitment,
Resolution’s not our thing…
Now today, we sidestep Jesus,
Leaving Mind of Man as King.
Father, help us find The Answer
While on waves of doubt we’re tossed…
Help us see Him through the darkness4,
Help us see Him on the Cross.
;)
;)
“You are free in our time to say that God does not exist; you are free to say that He exists and is evil; you are free to say like Renan that He would like to exist if He could. You may talk of God as a metaphor or a mystification; you may water Him down with gallons of long words, or boil Him to the rags of metaphysics; and it is not merely that nobody punishes, but nobody protests. But if you speak of God as a fact, as a thing like a tiger, as a reason for changing one’s conduct, then the modern world will stop you somehow if it can. We are long past talking about whether an unbeliever should be punished for being irreverent. It is now thought irreverent to be a believer.”
— GK Chesterton