Afterwords -- week 38
"But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God." (John 3:21)
September 10, 2022
Dear friends,
We've had a lot of things going on this week and I'm just now getting around to a newsletter. I haven't had a particular topic in mind, but I have been mulling over the meaning of this passage: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" (Daniel 12:4 ESV). Since I'm not completely settled on what this means and how it fits into biblical prophecy, I decided to postpone writing about that for another week. Meanwhile, and since today is gloomy and drizzly, I decided to make some fresh salsa verde instead. (Let me know if you want the recipe.) And now I'm going to write something brief about art, and then politics.
LIGHT AND SHADOW. My favorite artists are those who paint their scenes with strong delineations of light and dark. One such is Emilio Sanchez. Recently, I've been enjoying the artwork of Edward Hopper. The painting above, "New York Movie" (1939), currently resides at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC. On one side of the picture is the darkened theater with dimly lit figures, and on the other, standing in the light is an usher, in her own world of thought. (Hopper's wife usually served as the model for his paintings.) This Edward Hopper website says, "The entire painting is concerned with leave-taking, with seeming to be sated with a wealth of illusions that includes the film and the building, and with allowing this artificial world to lull one into thinking that life is not alienating, and that the modern world is wonderful because it provides larger-than-life experiences in the theater. The usherette who is caught up in her own daydreams and the isolated spectators, however, point up the hollowness of this sumptuous and action-filled world." Sebastian Smee, writing for the Washington Post, says of the usher, "She’s seen enough movies: She knows there must be more to life" (Washington Post, Arts & Entertainment, 2/24/2022). I think that's a good insight into the human condition.
CONSERVATISM. Elizabeth II ruled as queen in the United Kingdom for as long as I have been alive. (That's a long time.) I appreciated Carl Trueman's remarks in First Things. Here in this former colony, I am not a great supporter of many of our political leaders today in either party. (I wish now we had traded the whole lot of them for Queen Elizabeth.) I'm not certain in my mind yet what it means to be a faithful Christian in politics. I do know, however, that in principle I am a political and social conservative. Aristotle said that the state exists to promote the good of the people. Today there are different definitions of "good", and different views on the role of government in promoting that good. It seems in our current political environment we're not clear on either the definition of good or on the role of government. I think there is a greater danger in our world from secular progressivism (modern liberalism) than from traditionalism (conservatism). A lot of that has to do with their definition of good and their view of governmental power. I've been thinking over these quotes, two from Brits half a century ago, and one more recent from an American columnist:
"I do not need to remind you that a pagan totalitarian government is hardly likely to leave education to look after itself, or to refrain from interfering with the traditional methods of the oldest institutions... There is likely to be, everywhere, more and more pressure of circumstance towards adapting educational ideals to political ideals..." (T. S Eliot, Christianity and Culture, 1948)
"I am not a 'democrat', if only because 'humility' and equality are spiritual principles corrupted by the attempt to mechanize and formalize them, with the result that we get not universal smallness and humility, but universal greatness and pride, till some Orc gets hold of a ring of power – and then we get and are getting slavery." (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, April 1956, p. 246)
"Modern liberalism’s perfectionist ambitions—reflected in its progenitor (and current euphemism), progressivism—seeks to harness the power of government, the mystique of science and the rule of experts to shape both society and citizen and bring them both, willing or not, to a higher state of being." (Charles Krauthammer, Things That Matter, 2013)
Okay, that's enough meddling for now. Final quote below. That's it for week 38!
Sandy
Image credit: photo above courtesy of edwardhopper.net. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
