It has been well said that we live in consumerist culture, where not only possessions but interactions are conceived in a ‘transactional’ manner, and that in many facets of life we have come to think of ourselves as customers. In response, many an institution has treated us that way, and they have asked themselves what they can do to interest us in their product, whether it be food, literature, cars or phones. These days, even banks and superannuation funds try to sell you some high ethical ideal, or the impression that they care about your wellbeing!
It seems that every year, we get a new version of the thing that was new last year. A new iPhone, a new Mustang GT, a new action movie in which Liam Neeson plays Liam Neeson, even a new burger at McDonalds, and then an even newer one at KFC, the superior fast-food outlet.
Jest aside, and now more seriously, we also are constantly met by new teaching, new ideas about God, new fads of theology and the Christian life. Some of these are harmless, and merely represent the church faithfully responding to cultural fads with the light of the gospel, but sometimes a kind of syncretism sneaks in, where the fleeting and temporary things which are prized in society are mixed in with the gospel to make it more attractive, and in doing so, pollute it, causing it to be no gospel at all. So, it happens, that subjects that have been handled comprehensively and adeptly by the saints of old, on whose shoulders we stand, are approached anew. The thing is, newer isn’t necessarily better.
This author acknowledges to his own chagrin that it is young people who often assume falsely that they bring superior wisdom to an issue than can be found in the previous 2,000 years of the Christian church. Indeed, novelty is the prized attribute of many things in this day and age. We crave novelty everywhere. That is no problem in the kitchen, or the movie theatre, or the fashion show, but it can be a very serious problem when sought in the Oracles of God.
In a world of planned obsoletion, the world of low-quality fast-fashion is everywhere. We almost expect materials to get worse over time. That’s what’s special about leather. A good leather jacket, or leather boots, may last you decades, or indeed may last so long that you can pass them down to your children. This author is the proud owner of a hand-bound and hand-sewn leather journal, which has such a feeling of autochthony that it feels more like a museum relic or the long lost possession of a bushranger than simply a product one might buy at a vintage goods shop. Everyone recognises this timelessness and quality when they see it in leather, but not everyone, and particularly not all of those who profess faith in Christ, see it in the vast deposit of intellectual wealth that has been left to us by giants of old.
This is the chronological snobbery of which we speak. Few a visitor to Koorong would stop with their attention piqued at seeing the title “Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, the Danger of Entering Into it and the Means of Preventing that Danger: with a Resolution of Sundry Cases Thereunto Belonging” on the shelves. Perhaps John Owen could have taken on some constructive criticism about how to title his book, but what gold mines we ignore because they sound or look old-fashioned!
A certain bald man who has an affinity for Coogi sweaters based in Tempe, Arizona, once made the comment that ‘Calvin smudges’. This is a reference to the old mechanisms for printing in which excess ink could cause smudging on a page if it wasn’t given enough time to dry before being placed in a pile. The reality implied is that his words are still so hot off the press, as it were, that even today they smudge on your fingers as if they had just been printed today, such is their timeless accuracy. Though having read only a small portion of Calvin, this author can attest that his words have not faded. Let us here make recommendations for a few books that were not written recently, though deserve to be published and re-published and prized more highly than the novelties of the day. Knowing God – J.I. Packer, Holiness – J.C. Ryle, The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan, and finally one that we admittedly have not yet read, though have good reason to believe is still tremendous in its insight, The death of death in the death of Christ – John Owen.
Dear reader, treasure the fine things that have gone through the furnace of time, and emerged timeless. Don’t be afraid to go out of fashion, for fashion is like a boat tossed by every new wind and wave. Cling to the truth that will never become outdated, and never need revision. Cling to the cross, and find there a perfect saviour.
Distilled Orthopraxy 