Considering Culture (3/footnote)
Posted by Paul | Filed under uncategorised
On the idea that a properly functioning creation is what brings glory to the Creator, it is interesting to refer to Chris Wright’s ‘The Mission of God’. He has a substantial section on God’s glory as the goal of creation. His emphasis is on the fulness of the earth giving God glory, but it seems to me that proper functioning has to be a part too, if only implicitly.
The following quote from Wright is also interesting. It comes from a slightly different angle, but ends up in a similar place as the last post:
The creation exists for the praise and glory of its Creator God and for mutual enjoyment. We humans, being creatures ourselves, share in that reason for existece — our ‘chief end’ is to bring glory to God, and in doing so to enjoy ourselves because we enjoy God. So that God-focussed goal of human life (to glorify an enjoy him) is not somthing that sets us apart from the rest of creation. Rather it is something that we share with the rest of creation. That is the chief end of all creation. the only difference is that of course we human beings must glorify our Creator in uniquely human ways, as befits our unique status as the one creature who has been made in the image of God. So, as humans we praise God with our hearts and hands and voices, with rationality as well as emotion, with language, art, music and craft — with all that reflects the God in whose image we were made.
This also has connections back to the quote from Steve Turner which considered renewal of cultures as giving God pleasure.
Tags: culture, Culture Seminar, The Mission of God (Wright), theology
A random walk over culture, art, christianity, etc. with occasional photographs...