Postmodern Popes: #CNMAC14

Today's blog post is a rather cheeky one, consisting mostly of links to something I've said before. As I shared well before Christmas, I was excited to participate in and speak at the Christian New Media Conference (And the Awards Dinner, which was great fun). As you will know if you've heard my talk, it was a rather interesting topic, considering historical challenges to the Roman Catholic Doctrine of Papal Authority, and wondering whether a comparison can be drawn to how we listen to people on social media, particularly those with large followings and little accountability.

As well as the video embedded below, I'd love to post some key quotes from my presentation, ahead of posting the full text somewhere very soon (At which point I'll update this post with a link to the full text.

"In my masters dissertation and proposed PhD research, I have been exploring the Christian Doctrine of the Imago Dei. One constant conversation partner has been the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as some Roman Catholic theologians such as Oliver Davies, Christopher West, and Mary Prokes. These, and others, have given me some clues as to how to begin to understand the Image of God. One key emphasis - outworked in much Roman Catholic teaching, and social teaching, is the way in which humans echo God's Trinitarian nature. Dwight Friesen (an american pastor/writer) recognises this and applies it uniquely, introducing the concept of 'a networked person', challenging us to "reimagine the person through the lens of God's networked kingdom", with reference to God, self, and community. The limit of individualism, with reference to power, is that if an individual has great power, then there is the possibility of them doing great harm. We don't need to be particularly well-read students of history to see the truth of that. My argument is that - and as I conclude, you are more than welcome to disagree with me - the office of the Pope, and historic criticisms of that office and the authority and doctrine surround it, gives us a helpful way to think about the role that individuals have in shaping our thoughts, lives, and faith.

I began this paper with a brief anecdote about how a conversation about the Pope ended up in a consideration of what it might mean for Jesus and Scripture to have an authoritative place in the life of faith, rather than any human. This, I think, is a key part of what Friesen is pointing to when he talks about re-imagining the person through God's kingdom - a kingdom where Jesus is King, and the shared interpretation and power of Scripture is vital and, I'd argue, authoritative. This echoes that great Reformation challenge (and, indeed, John Calvin was called 'the theologian of the Holy spirit' - we cannot forget the role of the Spirit) to revisit scripture afresh in each generation - not depending on or relying upon the interpretations of Popes, Bishops and church councils, whilst not discarding them out of hand (I will review soon a great book by Steve Holmes about how to 'use' and respect tradition).

I believe that Christian leadership is necessarily plural, necessarily servant-hearted, and the exact opposite of the worldly excercise of power. Gallons of ink and gigabytes of data have been spilt and spent over what happens when power - perhaps especially priestly and spiritual power - is abused. History reminds us that blood has been spilt, too. I would therefore want to point beyond the individual, beyond the Pope, to a communal and social form of leadership. I do not want - and in some ways I cannot stress this enough - the take home point of my argument today to be antagonism towards the papacy, or Roman Catholicism (though of course I would encourage careful and critical discernment). Worse, I do not write this so that you might take me more seriously than any other individual. My hope is that this encourages you to think critically about the role, influence and authority that individuals have in your spiritual life. On Twitter, I follow a wide spectrum of people. I'm influenced by them all. But I'm not 100% influenced by or under the command of, any one of them. I believe that the challenge of Christian discipleship is not to desire to be a Pope (literally or metaphorically), or to find a Pope to follow. The challenge of Christian discipleship is to follow Jesus. In the digital age, Christian disciples are called to engage with theology carefully, listening and discerning, rather than uncritically following certain fallible men and women.

You can listen to the presentation here, and I will upload the full 'paper' soon.

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