"Old" has become something of a pejorative term in our flashy, fast-paced, technological age. We turn our nose up at items or people that are old news, old hat, or in the contemporary parlance, "old as dirt" (a phrase that about as intelligible as the average athlete sideline interview). An old dog can't be taught new tricks and that which is not cutting edge is by definition as dull as a billiards tournament on ESPN2.
Humans these days are encouraged to accept novelty as fast as they can download it. With terms such as "progress", "update", and "development", who would not automatically consider what is new to be more sophisticated, more advanced, and thus desirable? Those who would dare to challenge this notion are put on the stand to defend the Middle Ages, all the wars we have ever had, and the days when smallpox raged across the land. The obvious conclusion is that what is new is better by default. That which is old is obsolete and should be retired (unless you are the Rolling Stones, who are mercilessly allowed to continue and feed off of society like leeches. But I digress).
This philosophy of always evolving and improving all the time should be considered carefully. Numerous objections have been raised to the theory, notably by Thomas Sowell, who critiques the idea as it applies to formulating social policy (see here). But ponder how it relates to the reality of God's world and how we ought to live in it. Is absolute truth on a character arc like some protagonist in a Disney film, shedding each layer of old and wrong belief until she discovers that what she really needed was under there all along? Introducing the new and improved morality.
Political correctness and popular culture are about as open as a celebrity tell-all memoir on this point. If what is new is what is good, those who create the new content or product or morality determine that good. Corporations, media, and influential political actors and groups aim to steer this train of public opinion in their desired direction. They cook up something (whether it is an old lie or a newer twist on a deviant idea or activity) and present it as the new righteousness that we knew was virtuous all along in our heart of hearts. The people's consensus shifts, and we normalize something that we all knew was ridiculous only a few short years ago (let's just use changing your God-created biological sex as a placeholder).
But what if none of this was real? What if the truth is actually something much more simple and less transitory? Spoiler alert: it is. It turns out that reality is not waiting with bated breath to see what our politicians and influencers come up with next. The world moves to the beat of a different drum. It operates at the behest of the Almighty God, who calls into existence the things that did not exist (Romans 4:18). He is at the helm of this ship and has never left His post. He does not just know all truth; He defines all truth. He has revealed it to mankind in the Bible (unpopular I know, but I don't write the mail; I just deliver it). It is His world and His rules.
Truth is not on a conveyor belt through the factory of time, receiving new pieces as it goes along and gradually being formed into a modern machine. It was, is, and always will be solidly grounded in the nature of a God who does not change. Humans and societies rise and fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Morality has an eternal basis, and the enlightened people of the 21st century need to look there if they would like to know what truth is.
Such ancient origins are a reality check to the modern mind. It throws a monkey wrench into all that looking down on the past and tearing down the statues of great men of old. If truth is absolute and not on a constant evolutionary and progressive trajectory, it is possible that those bumpkins of centuries ago were right in areas where we are now wrong. It creates a level playing field where we are all judged against an immutable standard, rather than us being able to mow the previous generations down with our ever-changing shiny new righteousness. It humbles us.
Maybe you have this down with objective truth. You know that reality is not watching fashion trends to find its next look. If this is you, I would also encourage you to use the same mindset when approaching all the newfangled methods crashing around in the cosmos right now. When the next solution to end all solutions appears, show a little skepticism. Put on your Columbo trench coat and throw out some questions about that "one thing that bothers you". The fact that techniques are new (or repackaged or revamped or re-fill-in-the-blank) does not in itself certify them as better than all previous methods.
Perhaps that new parenting style is not the key to raising children that every parent for thousands of years has been missing. It might have been around for generations and just got rebranded. It may have been tried and found wanting by wiser parents of a different era (16th century Hugenots, maybe?). That new technique that is guaranteed to do this, that, or the other thing that has been out of people's easy reach for centuries? You might want to raise one of those eyebrows (after all, isn't that what God made them for?).
The Preacher gives us a good rule of thumb when he tells us that "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). If it comes around now, it has probably been around before. And what presents itself as groundbreaking and never-before-seen ought to cause a pause. We are not looking for something brand new to show us the way. We know it already.
As Christians, we recognize that we are simply the next in a long line of faithful followers that stretches all the way back to Christ and His apostles. We are fundamentally trying to do the same things they did. There will be ideas we learn along they way that help us to apply that truth. We can integrate knowledge from all sorts of sources, old and new. But our faith is at a foundational level as old as dirt. Like Tolkien said of Aragorn, "All that is gold does not glitter." A lot of it is super old. The Christian faith is ancient, but its reality and value is evergreen and undiminished. You can still take it to the bank.
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash
Wonderful post! Thank you so much Alex! Love it!!! Love the part about the eyebrows!!! 😂