Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Carl Trueman’s masterful work unpacking the emergence of the psychological, sexual, and political self in his book, Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, is remarkable in its grasp and articulation of the diverse progression of mankind’s advancement toward self-actualization. His work is as much informing as it is confirming. On one hand, there is within each human an innate desire to be at ease within himself. On the other hand, historically, humanity has been in a conflict becoming “who we are” or who we think we ought to be. What has transpired over the course of human advancement is nothing short of adaptation to circumstances and an achievement of unparalleled opportunities for the emerging self.
Within each corridor of history, however, there have always been two factors at play: the external environment changing or the internal struggles manifesting within different seasons of life. In both realities, humanity has adapted and conformed to their environments and circumstances, cultures have emerged, and patterns of civilization have been transferred down from one generation to the next. Moreover, mankind has demonstrated a certain resilience that has not only determined outcomes of wars, but has also tamed the wilderness, planted the fields, and maximized his ability to not only survive, but thrive.
I have personally experienced this in my own life on multiple occasions. One that sticks out is when I was fourteen years old. My family moved from Tomball, TX to Midland, TX. When I look back it is evident to see that there were two things that stayed the same while everything else had changed. The two things that were the same were my family and football. Everything else was different. I was put in a position to make new friends, to get used to a new house and bedroom, and on and on. While it took some time to adapt to my new environment, I finally did. And when that happened it was almost as if I had never lived in Tomball. I had memories, but they were distant. My life had changed; it was not an easy adjustment, but inevitably I settled in and accepted this new life.
This principle is universal. At some level, we all have experienced transition and the need to adapt to our environments or life-seasons. This could be moving cities like I did. It could be moving jobs. It could also be the transitions through puberty. Other transitions include, but are not limited to supporting oneself financially, accepting the responsibilities of marriage, bearing and/or rearing children, becoming an empty nester, welcoming grandchildren, and burying loved ones. Each requires us to adapt. The reality is, some do, and some don’t. Trueman introduces this tension by revealing his reason for writing his book, “The origins of this book lie in my curiosity about how and why a particular statement has come to be regarded as coherent and meaningful: “I am a woman trapped in a man’s body.” My grandfather died in 1994, less than thirty years ago, and yet, had he ever heard that sentence uttered in his presence, I have little doubt that he would have burst out laughing and considered it a piece of incoherent gibberish.”[1] There is no doubt today that the sensibilities of Trueman’s grandfather’s potential reaction would be called into question, thinking “how could someone not understand this modern reality?”
What has happened to our society that we are even having this discussion?
We have untethered from the absolute truth and heart of God’s Word. The world calls this answer naïve and misinformed. Naïve in the sense that the Church does not understand the reality of the rising and emerging self. Misinformed in the sense that the Church is believing and spewing a misinterpreted Bible whose agenda is to keep the powerful in power and the marginalized at the margins. I deny this response from the world, and I call my leading statement the reality. At this point of argument, folks will diverge. This book seeks to press on and lean in to examining the answer to our world’s answer for discipling the next generation for Christ.
The modern aspiration of the triumph of self is at the center of where we are in society today. Trueman’s question, “How has the current highly individualistic, iconoclastic, sexually obsessed, and materialistic mindset come to triumph in the West?”[2] sets up a bigger and more direct question. “Why does the sentence “I am a woman trapped in a man’s body” make sense not simply to those who have sat in poststructuralist and queer-theory seminars but to my neighbors, to people I pass on the street, to coworkers who have no particular political ax to grind and who are blissfully unaware of the rebarbative jargon and arcane concepts of Michel Foucault and his myriad epigones and incomprehensible imitators?”[3] In other words, how can the everyday person not only understand the question, but accept it as a valid question from an everyday person without an educational background in psychology?
Thus, when the beloved American Idol singer, David Archuleta, posts the following quote in his Instagram account the world not only applauds his bravery, but understands his dilemma. Archuleta states,
“There are people experiencing the same feelings of being LGBTQIA+, (i know that’s a lot of letters that a lot of people don’t understand, but there are a lot of unique experiences people feel and live that make them feel isolated and alone that are represented) who are wrestling to follow their beliefs that are so important to them, just as I have. Idk what to make of it and I don’t have all the answers. I just invite you to please consider making room to be more understanding and compassionate to those who are LGBTQIA+, and those who are a part of that community and trying to find that balance with their faith which also is a huge part of their identity like myself. I think we can do better as people of faith and Christians, including Latter-day Saints, to listen more to the wrestle between being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith.”
Archuleta does not end there. He goes on to say, “You can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God and His gospel plan…” At the time of his post, he had 440,000 people following his Instagram account. His post has generated 178,240 likes and 13,472 comments. To say that one person in our world today does not have the potential to influence many, is one of the great understatements of our time.
We are in a place in society where people both enjoy and deplore their massive platforms of influence. Intrigue continues to fuel them and their audience. Take Jen Hatmaker for example. She both enjoyed and deplored her platform. To put it succinctly, in 2017, Hatmaker commented on her shifting position of gay marriage. Her platform was large, and as a result she experienced tremendous and sometimes outrageous backlash. She responded after a period of silence with a blog titled, “My Saddest Good Friday in Memory: When Treasured Things are Dead.” In it, she writes, “This year, I deeply experienced being on the wrong side of religion, and it was soul-crushing. I suffered the rejection, the fury, the distancing, the punishment, and sometimes worst of all, the silence. I experienced betrayal from people I thought loved us. I felt the cold winds of disapproval and the devastating sting of gossip.”[4] The backlash was real, but was her synthesis accurate or was it not only misguided, but myopic? To be sure, she suffered from insensitive and unjustified gossip. However, she turned the cold winds of disapproval into one systemic cold and binary issue by stating,
“This year I became painfully aware of the machine, the Christian Machine. I saw with clear eyes the systems and alliances and coded language and brand protection that poison the simple, beautiful body of Christ. I saw how it all works, not as an insider where I’ve enjoyed protection and favor for two decades, but from the outside where I was no longer welcome. The burn of mob mentality scorched my heart into ashes, and it is still struggling to function, no matter how darling and funny I ever appear; the internet makes that charade easy.”[5]
Notice the word “machine.” Notice a word in the last phrase: internet. She enjoyed the digital platform, despised how it allowed vitriolic backlash, and then reemerged as an active board member of Austin New Church in Austin, TX that not only affirms the LGBTQ+ agenda but celebrates it as God’s best for them.
How did we get here? We’ll continue to examine this in the next installment.
[1] Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, 19.
[2] Trueman, 36.
[3] Trueman, 36.
[4] Jen Hatmaker, “Jenhatmaker.Com,” MY SADDEST GOOD FRIDAY IN MEMORY: WHEN TREASURED THINGS ARE DEAD (blog), April 14, 2017, https://jenhatmaker.com/my-saddest-good-friday-in-memory-when-treasured-things-are-dead/.
[5] Hatmaker.
— September 16, 2021