David Wells': No Place for Truth (Chapter 1)
It has finally happened. Zach, Jon, and myself finally got our act together and discussed chapter 1 of David Wells' book, and I have already learned much from the book itself, as well as from my two brothers who care enough to talk about what they're learning with me. When I do these posts on Wells' books, I think I will just hammer out two or three of the most significant points I felt coming out of the book. In this particular post, I'll go over the introduction and Chapter 1...
The introduction made two things apparent to me: A) Wells is a phenomenal writer and B) his inspiration and purpose for writing this book. Being (A) needs no explanation, we'll stick to talking about (B). During one of Wells' theology classes at Gordon-Conwell seminary, he mentions a particular instance that spurred him on to the writing of this book. At the beginning of the first class of one semester, he took extra care in giving an accurate introduction to what would be covered in his course. He went on to explain to his students about the importance of theology in knowing Jesus. After the class, a student came up to him and thanked him so much for making it clear to him why theology was important. The student said that before the class he felt as though "he could not justify spending money on a class that was so irrelevant to ministry." Taken aback, Wells' thanked the student and his mind began to percolate, sifting through the words of this misinformed student. He was dumbfounded at how unimportant theology (the study of God) had become in the church. And in this, he found his inspiration to dig, pray, research, pray, and study the culture in order to find out what has happened in the church.
In order to do this, Wells (in chapter 1) begins a semi-sociological study of a town in Massachusetts called Wenham. He gives a history of the town, its foundation, its values, and then moves in to discussing culture changes and, consequently, changes in Wenham. This is the foundation for the rest of the book as he will continue to reveal culture changes and use Wenham as an illustration or example. In this chapter, these were the most interesting and stinging items I learned:
-The overstimulation (or..."overwhelmization") of humans in our current culture. Through telegrams, telephones, internet, televisions, faster transportation, satellites, and other technological breakthroughs, our culture has transcended time, location, and permanence. Humans are expected to be familiar with too many worlds and situations, are commanded to be in too many places within a short amount of time, and are basically controlled by technology. In other words, we have "created a monster" of sorts which has resulted in our becoming less human and more robotic.
-I find it better to quote Wells on this one: "What is most remarkable about modern people is that they are not in scale with the world they inhabit informationally and psychologically. They are dwarfed. And they have been emptied of their metaphysical substance; more precisely, it has been sucked out of them. There is nothing to give height or depth or perspective to anything they experience. They know more, but they are not necessarily wiser. They believe less, but they are not more substantial. They are attuned to experience and to appearances, not to thought and character. And that is what it has meant to move from the kind of life represented by early Wenham to what we today encounter in the modern world."
There was much more packed into this chapter, but those are good overarching thoughts for the entire piece that we read. I think Wells has had some amazing insight so far into a culture which changes so quickly and is so fickle concerning truth, and I'm sure there will be more dots connected as I read on to form a picture of what it is that is happening around us. (Small note - I think the reading of this book needs to be accompanied by actual participation in the world around us to see these phenomena happening.)
The introduction made two things apparent to me: A) Wells is a phenomenal writer and B) his inspiration and purpose for writing this book. Being (A) needs no explanation, we'll stick to talking about (B). During one of Wells' theology classes at Gordon-Conwell seminary, he mentions a particular instance that spurred him on to the writing of this book. At the beginning of the first class of one semester, he took extra care in giving an accurate introduction to what would be covered in his course. He went on to explain to his students about the importance of theology in knowing Jesus. After the class, a student came up to him and thanked him so much for making it clear to him why theology was important. The student said that before the class he felt as though "he could not justify spending money on a class that was so irrelevant to ministry." Taken aback, Wells' thanked the student and his mind began to percolate, sifting through the words of this misinformed student. He was dumbfounded at how unimportant theology (the study of God) had become in the church. And in this, he found his inspiration to dig, pray, research, pray, and study the culture in order to find out what has happened in the church.
In order to do this, Wells (in chapter 1) begins a semi-sociological study of a town in Massachusetts called Wenham. He gives a history of the town, its foundation, its values, and then moves in to discussing culture changes and, consequently, changes in Wenham. This is the foundation for the rest of the book as he will continue to reveal culture changes and use Wenham as an illustration or example. In this chapter, these were the most interesting and stinging items I learned:
-The overstimulation (or..."overwhelmization") of humans in our current culture. Through telegrams, telephones, internet, televisions, faster transportation, satellites, and other technological breakthroughs, our culture has transcended time, location, and permanence. Humans are expected to be familiar with too many worlds and situations, are commanded to be in too many places within a short amount of time, and are basically controlled by technology. In other words, we have "created a monster" of sorts which has resulted in our becoming less human and more robotic.
-I find it better to quote Wells on this one: "What is most remarkable about modern people is that they are not in scale with the world they inhabit informationally and psychologically. They are dwarfed. And they have been emptied of their metaphysical substance; more precisely, it has been sucked out of them. There is nothing to give height or depth or perspective to anything they experience. They know more, but they are not necessarily wiser. They believe less, but they are not more substantial. They are attuned to experience and to appearances, not to thought and character. And that is what it has meant to move from the kind of life represented by early Wenham to what we today encounter in the modern world."
There was much more packed into this chapter, but those are good overarching thoughts for the entire piece that we read. I think Wells has had some amazing insight so far into a culture which changes so quickly and is so fickle concerning truth, and I'm sure there will be more dots connected as I read on to form a picture of what it is that is happening around us. (Small note - I think the reading of this book needs to be accompanied by actual participation in the world around us to see these phenomena happening.)
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