Authorizing and Sexualizing of the Inner Space

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The insight presented in this snip revolves around the concept of the authorizing and sexualizing of the inner space over centuries. It starts with the idea that inner feelings have gained authority in defining one's identity, dating back to the 18th century and the influence can be traced back to Rousseau. The 18th century marked a tipping point where the inner space became more significant in shaping who we are, with emotions gradually gaining more authority. Moving towards the present day, there's a shift towards sexual desires being fundamental in understanding identity, as evidenced by the emergence of terms like LGB and straight, aligning one's identity with their sexual desires. This evolution of grounding identity in sexual desire has impacted both public and pastoral life, with issues arising as individuals now view their identity primarily through their sexual desires, which has implications for societal and religious spheres.

“Be true to yourself” is a dominant refrain in the Western world, but how has individualism come to be such a prominent feature of Western thought? To what extent is that individualism Christian?

Glen Scrivener and Andrew Wilson are joined by Carl Trueman, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self and Strange New World, to answer those questions and continue their discussion of our post-Christian world.

Beginning with Rousseau, they trace the ways in which our idea of the modern self has transformed and shaped our understanding of anthropology. Particularly touching on the transformations which have happened in our understanding of marriage, divorce and sex, they ask in what ways the church has become complicit in these changes and to what extent these individualistic assumptions have come to shape both the church and the world.

Credits:

Post-Christianity? is a podcast from The Gospel Coalition and The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. Learn more about The Keller Center here.

The Good Book Company is the publisher of The Air We Breathe by Glen Scrivener. For 25% off books on Christianity and culture, go to thegoodbook.com/postpodcast.