SEPTEMBER 2024
FROM THE PASTORS DESK
Twenty years ago, I read a book titled Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, written by Alister McGrath, a Christian Apologist. Richard Dawkins was a famous atheist apologist, one of the so-called “Four Horsemen†of the new atheism. Dawkins is still alive physically, but perhaps not as prominent as he once was in the world of atheism. Some of Dawkins’ luster may have been lost when he recently claimed the moniker of “Cultural Christian.†Dawkins noted that he was not a believer but felt at home in the Christian ethos. Furthermore, he stated that if given the choice between Christianity and Islam, he’d choose Christianity every single time because Christianity seems like a fundamentally decent religion in a way that Islam is not. Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life is McGrath’s undermining of Dawkins’ presuppositions based on flawed analogies and false dichotomies.
In the book, one of the subjects that stuck in my mind was a discussion on memes. Remember, this was twenty years ago, and social media was truly in its infancy. No one would have thought of a lady screaming at a cat while they read this book. In fact, I had never heard the word “meme†until I read McGrath’s book. Dawkins, however, coined the term “meme†in 1976 in a book titled The Selfish Gene. Dawkins explained his understanding of a meme: “Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain by a process which, in the broad sense of the term, can be called imitation (Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 192).†A meme, therefore, is essentially a cultural replicator.
Fast-forward a decade from the time I read the book and imagine the surprise I felt when I started hearing the term “meme†associated with the rise of social media. I thought to myself, “Wait, I’ve heard that term before.†True enough, I heard it in 2005 in a book I read about a man who coined the term in another book written in 1976. Now, think about those dates: the term “meme†was coined 48 years ago in academia, but only popularized in the last decade by social media. Nearly four decades passed from inception to maturity of a term that was originally designed to undermine belief in God. Dawkins’ basic postulation was that belief in God is a culturally developed phenomena that is propagated through “memes.â€
The culture at large is usually 40 to 50 years, sometimes even 60 to 70 years, behind academia. Memes are a great example. Think back to what you were taught in college, especially those who were in college in a different millennium. Think about some of the “far out†professors and ideas you heard, read, and were taught. Although to me, a person with a decided biblical worldview, they still seem “far out,†to the contemporary culture, they seem mainstream. The idea of a man wearing lipstick and a one piece being hailed as brave because he beat a bunch of girls at swimming would be unthinkable for someone in their 60s or older. But, for someone in their 20s today, that’s just collateral damage associated with living in a post-Christian, post-rational world.
As I reflect on these matters and ponder our future, Judges 2 floods my mind: 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel. An honest realist may be accurate in concluding, “It’s too late for this generation.†However, for the faithful remnant in this lost generation, we must strive to raise up a new generation who will return to the faith once delivered to the saints. Although a dystopian nightmare may await this new generation of believers, if we do our job correctly, they will have a trustworthy worldview that will produce the tools necessary to demolish the demonic lies that ruined our civilization and lead the world to see Jesus as big and beautiful and His return as the fuel for religious and political revival.
In the book, one of the subjects that stuck in my mind was a discussion on memes. Remember, this was twenty years ago, and social media was truly in its infancy. No one would have thought of a lady screaming at a cat while they read this book. In fact, I had never heard the word “meme†until I read McGrath’s book. Dawkins, however, coined the term “meme†in 1976 in a book titled The Selfish Gene. Dawkins explained his understanding of a meme: “Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain by a process which, in the broad sense of the term, can be called imitation (Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 192).†A meme, therefore, is essentially a cultural replicator.
Fast-forward a decade from the time I read the book and imagine the surprise I felt when I started hearing the term “meme†associated with the rise of social media. I thought to myself, “Wait, I’ve heard that term before.†True enough, I heard it in 2005 in a book I read about a man who coined the term in another book written in 1976. Now, think about those dates: the term “meme†was coined 48 years ago in academia, but only popularized in the last decade by social media. Nearly four decades passed from inception to maturity of a term that was originally designed to undermine belief in God. Dawkins’ basic postulation was that belief in God is a culturally developed phenomena that is propagated through “memes.â€
The culture at large is usually 40 to 50 years, sometimes even 60 to 70 years, behind academia. Memes are a great example. Think back to what you were taught in college, especially those who were in college in a different millennium. Think about some of the “far out†professors and ideas you heard, read, and were taught. Although to me, a person with a decided biblical worldview, they still seem “far out,†to the contemporary culture, they seem mainstream. The idea of a man wearing lipstick and a one piece being hailed as brave because he beat a bunch of girls at swimming would be unthinkable for someone in their 60s or older. But, for someone in their 20s today, that’s just collateral damage associated with living in a post-Christian, post-rational world.
As I reflect on these matters and ponder our future, Judges 2 floods my mind: 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel. An honest realist may be accurate in concluding, “It’s too late for this generation.†However, for the faithful remnant in this lost generation, we must strive to raise up a new generation who will return to the faith once delivered to the saints. Although a dystopian nightmare may await this new generation of believers, if we do our job correctly, they will have a trustworthy worldview that will produce the tools necessary to demolish the demonic lies that ruined our civilization and lead the world to see Jesus as big and beautiful and His return as the fuel for religious and political revival.
-Pastor Clint Miller
Posted in MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Recent
Archive
2024
January
February
March
April
August
September
2023
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December