Ah, I feel like I've been fed today. We had Werner Gitt preach at church this morning, a scientist and writer. I bought two of his books and so far am quite encouraged by what I'm reading!
He also reiterated a point that I've heard mentioned a few times before and which I've been thinking a lot myself; that the church tends to have more believers who are scientists or mathematicians than those who study arts subjects. In maths and science the thinking generally tends to be based upon facts (or ought to be!) and this consequently structures the thinking that ensues. However, with the arts, if you even dare to come from the point of view that there is even just an inkling of, ooo dare I say it... absolute truth... then you're branded almost as an unworthy representative of the humanities department. Everything is quite free and easy concerning truth. In fact, the kind of philosophy of there being multiple truth and interpretation is rather glorified among the arts, whereas a more absolute fact seems to be the prized core of the sciences. This in turn makes it somehow more difficult for christians to stand for Christ in the humanities departments seeing as they are constantly intellectually persecuted.
As a language student I have often experienced in my seminars the constant battle against absolute truth, and a seemingly unhealthy desire for anything but a straight answer. I'm not saying that some texts are not ambiguous. Indeed some authors have written their plot lines with such intended complexity that often the reader is not meant to know what is really real or what is not, what is really right or what is really wrong. What I rather mean is that in the realm of text interpretation, there seems to be a kind of free for all in our universities. I have read some pretty weird and wonderful commentaries as well as some astoundingly brilliant ones on famous french and german literary works. It just almost seems to me that as long as you write with brilliance, so with a kind of intelligence that may not result in a reasonable answer but that displays that you have a knack with words and have read the works of every famous philisopher and can just about make worthy sense of them, then you'll have your work published. Ah, so this is perhaps turning into a rant about the arts... hey, I am an arts student so am perhaps more qualified to critise my own studies. Still, it's sad to see that there could be such an abundance of creative minds who could be working creatively for a creative God, but that due to their constant intellectual and consequent spiritual erosion, there are actually very few in the arts who are saved, let alone really standing for Christ in not just a fallen department, but a fallen society, a fallen world.
The rest of my day has been pretty good. There was another gathering of students at one of the church-owned student flats. Pizza was aplenty and conversation stimulating for a Sunday afternoon. A friend and I were discussing home schooling, the pros and cons and whether or not christians ought to send their children to state schools or not. If anyone has a particular opinion on this then please feel free to comment or to direct me to something that may be of interest.
I must say that having received my education from a local, state school I have seen both the benefits of social inclusion as well alternately just how very hard it is to be a christian as a teenager. God was very gracious in keeping me. In many ways, I think state schooling made me much more realistic about what standing for Christ really means than those I knew who attended church schools or who were home-schooled. I was one of only two christians, so far as I knew, in my year, with two christian teachers (who didn't teach me personally), my brother when he started high school and one other girl almost four years my junior in a school of over a thousand students. How surprised and how overjoyed I was to come to university and have the opportunity to be with christians every single day!! First year was amazing, really. Yet, I learned many valuable lessons about what it is to be different when I was at school though I was by no means an exemplary model Christian and often failed miserably. So, I'm undecided on the issue.
Friday, I went to see Black Swan. Very interesting film and so much to analyse! I only stopped dancing half way through first year and sort of regret it now seeing as I used to love ballet. Yes, you really do go onto the tip of your toes and yes, it is painful the first and second and third and potentially the next ten times until your feet get tougher and shoes are a wee bit softer. But it looks BEAUTIFUL! You just have messed up feet like mine and an uncontrollable urge to leap around the room doing pirouttes and rond de jambe and goodness knows what else when a wonderful ballet piece comes over the airwaves... And tap dancing is very cool- all of those rhythms! You thought those tap numbers in the black and white musicals were slightly old-fashioned right? Well, think again my friend, think again...
And with my reminiscing begins another week and a tune from Mike Oldfield – Harbinger. Playing the piano is Lang Lang, possibly one of the best pianists currently alive.
I think the view put forward about science being about 'facts' and the arts being 'non-absolute' is a little old-hat now. Even during my undergraduate degree in History and Politics (which I finished over 3 years ago now) postmodernism - which is essentially what you elude to in your 'non-absolute' statement - was seen as very poor and not really a viable way of doing either history or politics. Equally, in philosophy, postmodernism isn't really considered in all seriousness - there has been more of a return to modernism because postmodernism evidently does not work.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, you can then make an argument which suggests arts graduates are schooled extensively in textual and source criticism in a way in which scientists are not. Therefore, arts graduate who apply those skills to the Bible - and evidence suggests those who have done so find this is the case - will be more compelled to believe in the 'absolutes' of the Biblical narrative because it stands up to greater textual and source criticism than any other ancient text you could care to mention.
Nevertheless, I think these sorts of generalisations are unhelpful. In the same way as an arts graduate may be utterly compelled by textual and source criticism the scientist may be compelled by the intricacies of creation and the fine-tuning of the physical world. I think we're silly to try and pretend that arts or sciences somehow produces those who are more likely to believe or not.
Thanks for your comment. I greatly appreciate it! I just hope what I further say makes more sense, though forgive me if doesn't as it's quite late here.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I shouldn't have generalised so much. It wasn't really my point that salvation comes to those more on the side of the sciences than the arts, it was merely a comment on the statistics that I've seen. Perhaps I also should have clarified that I was speaking about my own university, (which I see I did not write) so really my own frustrations with my own department and some of the hassle I've had over text interpretation and the view of truth therefore. I suppose because I've had to study more philosophy from the age of enlightenment and further the romantic period particularly in Germany, perhaps some of my views are indeed shaped by what I have read there and so what I've experienced in my seminars. I am probably biased!
In regard to textual analysis and criticism, perhaps again my view has been shaped by what I've had to read. Reading commentaries on enlightenment and romantic literature has shown me just how utterly incapable some 'critics' seem to be at looking at the real facts and deducing reasonable conclusions. It frustrates me that the very things I'm being taught with regard to analysis and criticism seem to be ignored almost when writing about literature; literature itself being, in part, the creative outpouring of various ideologies and philosophies.
I personally find it more challenging to be an arts student and a christian- having studied biology and chemistry to A-level, which granted is perhaps not quite the same at university, I found the method of learning, the observational experimentation etc to be far more compelling in the case for there being order, reason and truth. I simply find that within my degree, or at least within my department that truth is constantly being undermined, or argued against. I've found that it sometimes feels as if almost anything goes!
I grant that arts students often have far better analytical skills, but certainly there tends also to be a greater amount of cynicism, and over-analysing is always a constant danger. To dwell too much on such philosophies doesn't always do one good when there is not an equal or larger amount of Bible reading, prayer etc going on, as I also found out to my own detriment.
Really, I think I was trying (and clearly didn't succeed) to say that it is very difficult to stand as a christian in the arts, or at least within the realms of philosophy and languages, which I study. Maybe that there are more science and maths students than arts students at church points to an issue(s) far greater than I've yet contemplated.
Thanks again.
Hi Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI don't think we're too far apart in what we're saying but we've probably both presented in ways in which looks as though we are!
I think cynicism is rife in sciences and arts. For example, it is easy for a biologist/zoologist to reject the Bible on grounds that Genesis 1 & 2 do not accord with their scientific understanding of the world. Likewise, it is easy for a student in the arts to reject Biblical absolutes because they do not conform to their world view. Contrarily, there are those scientists who find the Biblical account the most compelling explanation for the fine-tuning of the universe, etc. Equally, there are arts students who are compelled by the overwhelming strength of the Biblical account when subjected to textual and source criticism.
The brutal reality is that neither field causes anyone to reject the gospel. As Jesus says 'this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God (John 3:19-22, ESV)." The prevailing ideas that are often cited as grounds to reject the gospel are, in reality, often adopted because the alternative is unthinkable for the one who wants to reject the gospel.
I see your point and agree with you that most often it doesn't matter whether it's science or arts or anything else, but that often any reason not to believe the gospel is held to. Thankyou for reminding me that this is part of the judgement.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do find interesting however, is the strange phenomenon of student ratios. In my church at university, the CU and also here at my church in Germany there appears to be more mathematicians and scientists than typical arts students. At my church here, there are plenty of economists and bankers too. Plus, I recently read via the Gospel Coalition about a similar ratio in the States, which I'll have to find for you. I obviously need to look into this more and need to check out a few more stats to be sure, but have you experienced something similar?
Why do you think this is so? (if it is indeed so!)
I'll be honest, I haven't seen the stats. Based purely on anecdotal evidence (which I'm sure you'll agree is the strongest and the best kind of evidence!!), I haven't particularly noticed a greater trend towards belief amongst scientists.
ReplyDeleteI do know (non-anecdotally this time) that in philosophy there has been a major shift towards theism such that there are now an overwhelming number of theists (more so than Deists and Atheists combined I believe) conducting philosophical research in well established and renowned universities (see http://theism.actualism.com/theistic.php3 for a list which I believe is not fully inclusive).
I have also seen some research conducted by Theos on class, education and theism. It suggests that converts to atheism are predominantly drawn from lower educated background whereas new converts to theism are overwhelmingly drawn from well educated backgrounds i.e. beyond postgrad study (you can see the research here http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Atheism,_class_and_education.aspx?ArticleID=3445&PageID=14).
I would be interested to see the stats reflecting the trend you suggest.