The Shoulders of Giants
The scientist Isaac Newton once said:
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants."
By "giants" he was referring to people like Copernicus and Galileo and other "scientists" (they would probably have described themselves as either philosophers or theologians) who went before him, allowing him to discover things like the fact that what keeps the moon in orbit is the same thing that pulls apples to the ground.
I think there are two parts to this quote: (1) standing on the shoulders of giants, and (2) seeing further. I think we are meant to use the knowledge, writings, and tradition of those who've gone before us in order to look to a farther horizon, and push our knowledge, action, and tradition out to places unseen and even unimagined by the giants beneath us.
It would be a poor scientist who said, "I have stood on the shoulders of giants, and they are very nice giants." Looking merely at the accomplishments of those in the past, venerable though they may be, is really bad science.
It would also be a poor scientist who said, "I don't need to stand on the shoulders of giants; I can see fine from here." We give these people the technical term "crackpots." They think that they can unite all of physics, say, by claiming the world is nothing but cheese and crackers. (I'm not saying that such a claim has been made, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were.)
As Christians, I think it behooves us to both stand on the back of giants, and see far. If we become too enamored of our authorities, too comfortable with our liturgy or the way we do things, we do ourselves a grave disservice, and we do not follow our Lord. At the same time, if we become too full of our own importance and start to believe that we can change EVERYTHING, and that we don't need our history, our traditions, or the faith of our grandfathers anymore, then we also stray from the path of Christ.
This whole thought process came about because of several things that came to my attention over the past week or so.
First, we're trying to put together our youth-led worship (on May 11) and we got into a discussion about why we should do any work to change our usual liturgy from the one we are used to. I wasn't expecting the question, and was still kind of (!) tired from my trip, so I didn't answer it well. What I was suggesting with the idea of the graphical bulletin and the other liturgical tweaks was that we could do a lot while not changing that much from the liturgy we use, and in doing so, we might see Christ in a new and different way. This is a good thing. It's "seeing far."
Next, a friend has brought my attention to a story in the Wall Street Journal concerning the Lutherins canceling a radio show called "Issues, etc." presumably because they were too liturgically and theologically conservative, even though (from the article) they seemed to be thoughtful and fairly open-minded.
Now, I'm going to assume that the WSJ got the story mostly wrong: mainstream media tends to miss a lot of the nuances that mean all the difference when Christians deal with each other "within church walls." Still, they mentioned that "the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, the synod's current president, has pushed church marketing over the Lutherans' historic confession of faith by repeatedly telling the laity, 'This is not your grandfather's church.'"
To the extent that this is a case of Christians turning their back on the traditions and thoughts of their grandfathers simply because it's not "modern" or doesn't reach young people, then I think they try to "see far" without "standing on the backs of [the] giants" who are standing right there.
We need to walk a line as Christians: the line between too much tradition and too much innovation. The best theologians, the best Christians, aren't afraid of either, and use their best to both listen to Calvin and Luther and their own grandfathers, and at the same time honor them by pushing out from the limits they themselves expanded.
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants."
By "giants" he was referring to people like Copernicus and Galileo and other "scientists" (they would probably have described themselves as either philosophers or theologians) who went before him, allowing him to discover things like the fact that what keeps the moon in orbit is the same thing that pulls apples to the ground.
I think there are two parts to this quote: (1) standing on the shoulders of giants, and (2) seeing further. I think we are meant to use the knowledge, writings, and tradition of those who've gone before us in order to look to a farther horizon, and push our knowledge, action, and tradition out to places unseen and even unimagined by the giants beneath us.
It would be a poor scientist who said, "I have stood on the shoulders of giants, and they are very nice giants." Looking merely at the accomplishments of those in the past, venerable though they may be, is really bad science.
It would also be a poor scientist who said, "I don't need to stand on the shoulders of giants; I can see fine from here." We give these people the technical term "crackpots." They think that they can unite all of physics, say, by claiming the world is nothing but cheese and crackers. (I'm not saying that such a claim has been made, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were.)
As Christians, I think it behooves us to both stand on the back of giants, and see far. If we become too enamored of our authorities, too comfortable with our liturgy or the way we do things, we do ourselves a grave disservice, and we do not follow our Lord. At the same time, if we become too full of our own importance and start to believe that we can change EVERYTHING, and that we don't need our history, our traditions, or the faith of our grandfathers anymore, then we also stray from the path of Christ.
This whole thought process came about because of several things that came to my attention over the past week or so.
First, we're trying to put together our youth-led worship (on May 11) and we got into a discussion about why we should do any work to change our usual liturgy from the one we are used to. I wasn't expecting the question, and was still kind of (!) tired from my trip, so I didn't answer it well. What I was suggesting with the idea of the graphical bulletin and the other liturgical tweaks was that we could do a lot while not changing that much from the liturgy we use, and in doing so, we might see Christ in a new and different way. This is a good thing. It's "seeing far."
Next, a friend has brought my attention to a story in the Wall Street Journal concerning the Lutherins canceling a radio show called "Issues, etc." presumably because they were too liturgically and theologically conservative, even though (from the article) they seemed to be thoughtful and fairly open-minded.
Now, I'm going to assume that the WSJ got the story mostly wrong: mainstream media tends to miss a lot of the nuances that mean all the difference when Christians deal with each other "within church walls." Still, they mentioned that "the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, the synod's current president, has pushed church marketing over the Lutherans' historic confession of faith by repeatedly telling the laity, 'This is not your grandfather's church.'"
To the extent that this is a case of Christians turning their back on the traditions and thoughts of their grandfathers simply because it's not "modern" or doesn't reach young people, then I think they try to "see far" without "standing on the backs of [the] giants" who are standing right there.
We need to walk a line as Christians: the line between too much tradition and too much innovation. The best theologians, the best Christians, aren't afraid of either, and use their best to both listen to Calvin and Luther and their own grandfathers, and at the same time honor them by pushing out from the limits they themselves expanded.
Comments