Social Location

Studying theology forces me to come to grips with who I am and why I believe the way I believe. For instance, I am a pacifist, male feminist, and one who thinks the world is not necessarily evil. It has taken me seven years of theological reflection to discover these things about myself and twenty-four years to develop them. Let me explain.

Where you are from, the culture you are raised in, the parental situation you had, the number of siblings you have, the demographics of the community you grew up in, the amount of students in your classroom, the type of lady/man who taught you Sunday School all play a part in who you are today.

I am most noticeably a Caucasian, middle class, American raised in the South, liberal arts educated male who happens to be the youngest of three boys whose parents are still married and who grew up in a neighborhood where race and color did not affect the make-up of the small town chemistry. These are the facts about my social location and they say something about how I see life.

I am a pacifist for numerous reasons but one particular reason is because I never grew up around violence. I have never been in a fight and I had never shot a gun until a few weeks ago when I shot my first skeet (got it on the third try). My social location plays a part in me seeing life through the lens of pacifism.

I am a male feminist – which basically means I am a person unwilling to become a masochist (W.S. Coffin). This egalitarian stance probably has to do with the fact that I lived in an environment where I always had a female youth minister and I saw the way my dad treated my mom – as an equal. My social location plays a part in me seeing females and males as complete and utter equals (roles and functions).

I believe there is hope in the world. My theology believes heaven and earth are not separate entities but rather separated spheres that are merging together. Heaven is the Kingdom of God coming to earth. This theology eliminates the notion that the earth is completely sinful or better yet totally depraved. This belief probably has something to do with the fact I am the youngest of three boys who grew up in an environment in which there was no turmoil or political distress. I didn’t witness the Holocaust and I carry an eternally optimistic attitude toward humanity’s ability to do some good in the world. My social location plays a part in to my theology about humanity.

The truth is everybody’s social location says something about how she/he sees life.

Now hear me say I do not believe a person’s social location has EVERYTHING to do with how she/he views life (It doesn’t completely shape mine – I mean 7 years of higher theological education probably plays a significant role!). People overcome abusive situations all the time and two siblings go off and live completely different lives in most families; but I do believe, however, the culture you were raised in and the opportunities given to you as a child play some role in why you carry such a deep seeded, gut-knowing theology about God, Jesus, and the purpose of life – whatever it may be. It shapes your lens from which you read scripture, hear sermons, and your tendency to object to another’s faith system.

Think about your social location. How does it affect and even infect who you have become? More importantly, how does it affect how you read scripture? Does it affect your attraction to discrediting someone for believing differently than you? Why?

Comments

Andy McGowan said…
I have thought so much about this idea of being shaped by those things around us. Those things past, present, and future. I think that it is important to keep things balanced as best we can. To read more liberal scholars like Marcus Borg along with more conservative scholars, such as our personal favorite N.T. Wright. The same can be said about reading feminist writers, or liberation theologians. They all bring something to the table of value and importance. Undoubtedly everything we read will affect us if we are being honest with the author. However, we also need to be honest with ourselves when encountering the Scriptures. Like Bultmann says we need to identify the presuppositions and prejudices that we have developed from our culture setting, academic setting, or life setting, and be willing to throw those things aside and encounter Christ through the Scriptures in order to transform us into His character as He puts us and the world back together. No matter what name it is given, as long as it looks like Jesus in all areas, then we do well.
July 19, 2009 at 5:06 PM
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