{"id":4534,"date":"2017-07-06T15:32:57","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T23:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2017-07-10T08:33:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T16:33:02","slug":"to-change-the-world-week-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2017\/07\/06\/to-change-the-world-week-two","title":{"rendered":"To Change The World, Week Two"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blog read\u00aders: Chi Alpha @ Stan\u00adford is engag\u00ading in our annu\u00adal sum\u00admer read\u00ading project. As we read through To Change The World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty in the Late Mod\u00adern World <\/a>by James Davi\u00adson Hunter, I\u2019ll post my thoughts here (which will large\u00adly con\u00adsist of excerpts I found insight\u00adful). The read\u00ading sched\u00adule is online at https:\/\/xastanford.org\/sum\u00admer-read\u00ading<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This week\u2019s read\u00ading was full of insights. Hunter\u2019s basic argu\u00adment is this: the intu\u00aditive notion that cul\u00adture is the col\u00adlec\u00adtion of a soci\u00adety\u2019s pri\u00advate con\u00advic\u00adtions is demon\u00adstra\u00adbly false. Exam\u00adples abound of major\u00adi\u00adty per\u00adspec\u00adtives fail\u00ading to exer\u00adcise cul\u00adtur\u00adal sway.<\/div>\n
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Towards the end of the chap\u00adter is a a sen\u00adtence which will, I sus\u00adpect, prove to be a help\u00adful sum\u00adma\u00adry of Hunter\u2019s the\u00adsis mov\u00ading for\u00adward: \u201cAll cul\u00adtur\u00adal pro\u00adduc\u00adtion and all cul\u00adtur\u00adal objects are not, in the end, equal; some are of much greater influ\u00adence than oth\u00aders.\u201d (page 29)<\/div>\n
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Here are three exam\u00adples, the first of a major\u00adi\u00adty that has lim\u00adit\u00aded cul\u00adtur\u00adal influ\u00adence and the lat\u00adter two of minori\u00adties that have changed the cul\u00adture:<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis means that in Amer\u00adi\u00adca today, 86 to 88 per\u00adcent of the peo\u00adple adhere to some faith com\u00admit\u00adments. And yet our culture\u2014business cul\u00adture, law and gov\u00adern\u00adment, the aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic world, pop\u00adu\u00adlar entertainment\u2014is intense\u00adly mate\u00adri\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic and sec\u00adu\u00adlar. Only occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly do we hear ref\u00ader\u00adences to reli\u00adgious tran\u00adscen\u00addence in these realms, and even these are vague, gener\u00adic, and void of par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty. If cul\u00adture is the accu\u00admu\u00adla\u00adtion of val\u00adues and the choic\u00ades made by indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals on the basis of these val\u00adues, then how is it that Amer\u00adi\u00adcan pub\u00adlic cul\u00adture today is so pro\u00adfound\u00adly sec\u00adu\u00adlar in its char\u00adac\u00adter?\u201d (page 19)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cCon\u00adsid\u00ader, by con\u00adtrast the expe\u00adri\u00adence of the Jew\u00adish com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty in Amer\u00adi\u00adca. Except for a brief peri\u00adod in the mid\u00addle of the twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry, Jews have nev\u00ader com\u00adprised more than 3.5 per\u00adcent of the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. Yet, as David Hollinger has shown, the con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtion of the Jew\u00adish com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty to sci\u00adence, lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, art, music, let\u00adters, film, and archi\u00adtec\u00adture is both bril\u00adliant and unrivaled.5 And these con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions were made in a con\u00adtext often defined by open, aggres\u00adsive, and mali\u00adcious anti-Semi\u00adtism; an anti-Semi\u00adtism man\u00adi\u00adfest\u00aded in restric\u00adtions and quo\u00adtas against Jews in pri\u00advate schools, camps, col\u00adleges, resorts, and places of employ\u00adment, in pub\u00adlic den\u00adi\u00adgra\u00adtion by some of the most respect\u00aded lead\u00aders of the time (includ\u00ading Hen\u00adry Ford), and in phys\u00adi\u00adcal assault on Jews, espe\u00adcial\u00adly young Jews.\u201d (page 20)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cA sim\u00adi\u00adlar sto\u00adry of influ\u00adence can be told of the gay com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty. At most 3 per\u00adcent of the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion, their influ\u00adence has become enor\u00admous; again far dis\u00adpro\u00adpor\u00adtion\u00adate to their size. It is worth point\u00ading out too that most of the gains in vis\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, legit\u00adi\u00adma\u00adcy, and legal rights by the gay rights move\u00adment were made dur\u00ading the twelve con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive years of the Rea\u00adgan and Bush pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adcies. Those advances con\u00adtin\u00adue large\u00adly unabat\u00aded through the present\u2014a time when a major\u00adi\u00adty in the gen\u00ader\u00adal pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion has remained pri\u00advate\u00adly trou\u00adbled by homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty.\u201d (page 20)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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How can this be the case? It can only be that way if cul\u00adture is some\u00adthing oth\u00ader than the com\u00adbined views of the indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals who com\u00adprise that cul\u00adture. He cri\u00adtiques this view, which he calls ide\u00adal\u00adism, like so:<\/div>\n
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\u201c\u2026ide\u00adal\u00adism mis\u00adcon\u00adstrues agency, imply\u00ading the capac\u00adi\u00adty to bring about influ\u00adence where that capac\u00adi\u00adty may not exist or where it may only be weak. Ide\u00adal\u00adism under\u00adplays the impor\u00adtance of his\u00adto\u00adry and his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal forces and its inter\u00adac\u00adtion with cul\u00adture as it is lived and expe\u00adri\u00adenced. Fur\u00adther, ide\u00adal\u00adism ignores the way cul\u00adture is gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded, coor\u00addi\u00adnat\u00aded, and orga\u00adnized. Thus, it under\u00adrates how dif\u00adfi\u00adcult it is to pen\u00ade\u00adtrate cul\u00adture and influ\u00adence its direc\u00adtion.\u201d (page 26)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cIn sum, ide\u00adal\u00adism leads to a na\u00efvet\u00e9 about the nature of cul\u00adture and its dynam\u00adics that is, in the end, fatal. Every strat\u00ade\u00adgy and tac\u00adtic for chang\u00ading the world that is based on this work\u00ading the\u00ado\u00adry of cul\u00adture and cul\u00adtur\u00adal change will fail\u2014not most of these strate\u00adgies, but all.<\/b>\u201d (page 27, empha\u00adsis mine)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Then he gives a fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading cri\u00adtique of a book I like, Cul\u00adture Mak\u00ading<\/i> by Andy Crouch. Crouch argues that cul\u00adture is embed\u00added in stuff rather than in ideas alone. Hunter points out this does\u00adn\u2019t match the facts:<\/div>\n
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\u201cOver the twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry, Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals have been dis\u00adtin\u00adguished by their mas\u00adsive cul\u00adtur\u00adal out\u00adput in books and book pub\u00adlish\u00ading, mag\u00ada\u00adzines, radio, music, bible stud\u00adies, the\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy, Chris\u00adt\u00adian edu\u00adca\u00adtion at all lev\u00adels, and so on. Giv\u00aden the suc\u00adcess of these ven\u00adtures, it is clear that con\u00adsump\u00adtion has matched pro\u00adduc\u00adtion. With\u00adout doubt, this cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty has far out\u00admatched the cul\u00adtur\u00adal out\u00adput of prob\u00ada\u00adbly any oth\u00ader faith tra\u00addi\u00adtion in Amer\u00adi\u00adca. It is true that Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals have not been active in high art or in film, but these facts alone do not account for their dra\u00admat\u00adic mar\u00adgin\u00adal\u00adiza\u00adtion in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan soci\u00adety, not least since oth\u00ader much small\u00ader minori\u00adties have had a much greater influ\u00adence.\u201d (page 29)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Crouch and Hunter had a fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading back-and-forth about it \u2014 it\u2019s worth read\u00ading.<\/div>\n
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