It is surprising how meaningful I find many of the essays in a book whose major theme is rehabilitating the reputation of John Calvin. As she does in her novel Gilead, Robinson presents an expansive worldview that speaks to me even though she uses explicitly Christian terms.
I propose that we look at the past again, because it matters, and because it has so often been dealt with badly. ... By definition it is all the evidence we have about ourselves, to the extent that it is recoverable and interpretable, so surely its complexities should be scrupulously preserved.
In many of her essays, Robinson notes how we have simplified or even misunderstood the import of the past, so that it fits smoothly into our story of progress. She demonstrates the value of returning to original sources in the interest of recovering the complexities.
The essays that address the denigration of (Calvinist) religion in the wider culture –– which is about half of them –– bristle in my copy with flagged passages, both for ideas and for colorful language.
This instinct [to feign incomprehension of unauthorized views] is so powerful that I would suspect it had survival value, if history or current events gave me the least encouragement to believe we are equipped to survive.
From the historically-focused essays I learned a lot about the influence of religious thinkers on American culture. The essay "Darwinism" makes a connection between the theory of evolution and neoliberal economics (both advocate for the liberation of "natural" forces) and argues forcefully against the inhumane harshness that follows from these views.
No comments:
Post a Comment