The Gospel of Authenticity

Last updated on: July 5, 2013 at 8:19 am by Emily DeBaun

The Gospel of Authenticity 2013-07-05T08:19:25-04:00 Emily DeBaun

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In last Saturday’s New York Times, Simon Critchley and Jamieson Webster critique the “pursuit of authenticity” that has pervaded American spirituality in the past few decades. Titling their piece, “The Gospel According to ‘Me’,” Critchley and Webster describe America’s transition from a society rooted in Judeo-Christian morals to one characterized by “a weak but all-pervasive idea of spirituality tied to a personal ethic of authenticity and a liturgy of inwardness.” Spirituality has become an “eat-pray-love” sense of peace with oneself, rather than a radically life-altering belief in a higher power or set of universal, objective truths.

While this type of relativistic authenticity may initially seem liberating, the op-ed points out the way in which it actually induces a “passive nihilism,” which, in failing to put a doctrinal stake in the ground, “doesn’t really require a belief in anything.” This mentality contributes to the ever-graying boundary between work and personal life by encouraging individuals to tie their professional success to their self-worth. In the absence of a larger source of meaning, individual excellence becomes premium.

From a Christian perspective, much of the op-ed rings true. In recent years, many popular preachers have revived Puritan teachings on the subject of idolatry. As the message typically goes, humans worship by impulse, and without (or even with) a knowledge of God, their praise is attached to lesser things. Tim Keller wrote:

What is the cause of this ‘strange melancholy’ that permeates our society even during boom times of frenetic activity, and which turns to outright despair when prosperity diminishes? De Tocqueville says it comes from taking some ‘incomplete joy of this world’ and building your entire life on it. That is the definition of idolatry.

In this respect, “The Gospel According to Me” is insightful. While individualism, masked as authentic spirituality, can provide a surface calm, looking only inward to pursue meaning can be an ultimately inadequate and self-defeating endeavor. Whether that individualism takes the form of enlightenment through yoga, or self-satisfaction from climbing the corporate ladder, Critchley, Webster, and Keller would agree that it is largely void of meaning without some greater perspective.

But while Critchley and Webster do a competent job exposing the perils of idolatry, they don’t adequately address the human impulse towards authenticity. Surely, the desire to be genuine can be admirable. Humility is a form of authenticity, recognizing the real or authentic relations that exist between God and man. In this sense, authenticity allows, rather than hinders spiritual growth.

If we take the term authentic to mean being “true to oneself,” authenticity is still not necessarily problematic. Moral development doesn’t require a person to lose his or her individualism; rather, as CS Lewis put it, “Give up yourself and you will find your real self.” It is this second self that we can be authentic about without lapsing into idolatry. Paraphrasing Luke 17:33, Lewis explains that self-awareness, paired with a willingness to change and the transformative power of God, is an essential part of spiritual growth. In this sense, authenticity is critical to an orthodox Christian conception of spirituality.

The real problem, which Critchley and Webster do imply but do not explicitly address, is not authenticity in and of itself, but authenticity in the absence of some larger moral structure, embodied in a conception of the virtuous self. John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.” Inhabiting one’s own moral universe means anything is permissible, but leads to quickly shifting boundaries and beliefs. What begins as authenticity undoubtedly ends as self-contradiction. Critchley and Webster close with the example of Hamlet, who, though claiming to be “true to himself,” fails to act on much of what he purports to believe in, ultimately becoming inauthentic. They then offer an ultimate warning against moral complacency, which they see as the result of autonomously navigating (or constructing) a moral universe.

Critchley and Webster make an argument that is not frequently seen in a secular context, identifying several issues with the spiritual state of current American society that are often addressed in Christian teachings. They’ve poked holes in “eat-pray-love.” But what is next? Mass conversions, maybe, but more likely a subtle shift away from pop spirituality towards some alternative moral structure.

Previous Post

July 1, 2013

Politics and the Bible as Narrative

Next Post

July 8, 2013 Lumen Fidei: FF Writers React

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category ambition art beauty bible bios body Book Review cheap grace church community consumer church cultural liturgy culture deep practice desire dualisms economics education evangelicalism events faith family fare forward Film Review friendship games Gospel happiness hipster Christianity humility identity institutions irony issue previews Jesus just church justice Lent Letters to the Editor liberal arts liberal christianity literature liturgy love march madness mental health metaphysics misotheism moralism morality Movie Review music narrative naturalism new atheism passions philosophy place political theology Pope Francis power prayer privilege providence reading reason relationship remembering self resurrection science secular faiths secularism sexuality sin Social Media spirituality Sport suburbs suffering table of contents technology the future of faith the new apologetic the virtues theology thick doctrine transcendence Trinity truth tv Uncategorized violence Virtue vocation war work

Select a Month August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Paul instructed Titus that the grace of God teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE