The Pond Overfloweth
June edition: Dobbs, Trump, and 'The Triumph of the Modern Self'
As we look back on two years of Shelf of Crocodiles, we’re grateful for the opportunity to share our thoughts, books, and cultural critiques with you. If you’re relatively new around here, here’s some quick links to what we’ve covered here on the pond.
It’s been one wild ride… but that only makes us more excited for the shenanigans to come.
What We’ve Covered
In no particular order, here’s the Crocodile back catalog.
All titles available via Neuralink, telepathy, or 3D printing.
Novels:
‘The Napoleon of Notting Hill’
*You can find short reviews of these next few titles in my column ‘What I’m Reading,’ once a month when the Pond Overfloweth:
Classics:
King David (Book of Second) Samuel
News and politics:
Film, Television, music:
Authors:
Nonfiction, new releases, and new authors:
‘Ploductivity’ and ‘The War of Art’
‘God’s Dog’ by Jonathan Pageau
‘On Cove Mountain’ by Ian Duncan
‘Deeper Heaven’ by Christiana Hale
Twice Impeached, Twice Indicted
Thoughts on the news by D.T. Adams
I know, I know. Trump dominates the news, even two years out from the oval office. While I’m not really here to talk about Trump, he just happens to be living a revealing, and as far as American history goes, unprecedented story.
First, I’d like to get the obligatory stuff out of the way. Trump is no hero. He’s a pretty slimy guy with a shady moral and political past. That said, and as has been mentioned before, his presidency is almost single-handedly responsible for the Dobbs decision, and, for that, we should all be grateful. God uses whom He wills and I, for one, am happy to celebrate life month this year, regardless of the failings of the president who made it possible.
Now, to business.
Trump was indicted for a second time on June 9th, in the midst of his bid for the Republican candidacy in the 2024 election. He has now been impeached twice and indicted twice, and this is the first time in U.S. history that an ex-president has been indicted. This context seems to speak to a deeper reality about what’s going on. Whether you believe that this is semi-legit, some deep-state plot, or merely the clown world in which we live doing its thing, these events should trouble those who revere American political tradition, and simply want to live a peaceful and quiet life, working with their hands, loving God and loving their neighbor.
Admittedly, many of us on the Christian-conservative front didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 because we didn’t trust him. Narcissists aren’t generally known for keeping their word, we said. But then, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, this one did for the most part, and the political establishment and talking heads of the left and the right lost their minds (I, for one, am continually surprised that they still have minds left to lose).
Just like God used the ungodly Babylonians to accomplish His purposes of judgment on Israel for their idolatry, so He used an ungodly man to accomplish an act of mercy toward these United States.
What Now?
Events like a blatantly political indictment present us with a choice. We can throw up our hands and blame our deteriorating nation on powers beyond our control, or—and while staying shrewd and engaged with what’s happening—we can focus our attention and effort on our communities, towns, and counties. In effect, and right in line with the pandemic, inflation, and any number of hot-button issues, this next screaming headline asks: what’s the way forward?
What’s the balance?
How do we stay engaged in the culture war without letting it get us down?
Without prescribing what anyone reading this should say or do, I will say this—we should not withdraw, but rather, fight and engage as we can, and as merrily as possible. How about fighting fiercely and bravely because we know something better is possible? As messy as the political front gets, we can’t neglect it because it’s hard and presents us with moral quagmires.
Christians, of course, can plow in hope, knowing that Christ is Lord, and that the ultimate direction of things is in His control. He is the king (and we are subjects) of an unshakable kingdom. While broad, big-picture events may be out of our control, we can labor in our own little corner of the world to make it a little brighter, a little warmer, and a little more habitable for the next generation.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
‘What I’m Reading’ by D.T. Adams
Although formerly known as the month for weddings, June has become the month for the most intense battles of the culture war. The displays of sexual debauchery that take place each June were contrasted last year with the celebration of life that the overturn of the Roe decision instigated. That seems to have set the stage for this year, where we can see the battle well underway.
June provides us with a perfect time to consider the differences between the two worldviews we see on full display; in Biblical terms, one of death and one of life. Specifically, it’s plain that the way someone views the concept of the self is a strategic point in this conflict.
Carl Trueman, in his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, suggests that the modern concept of the self is plastic. Reality is just so much mass on which we can impose our own idea of meaning; in other words, there is no objective meaning inherent to the world around us.
This being the case, a man can say, in all seriousness, that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body. Modern man can say one day that the fetus is merely a clump of cells and, on the next, celebrate a baby shower for a friend. He can do this because, without realizing it, he sees reality as completely up for personal interpretation. If one woman says the fetus is no baby at all while another acknowledges the personhood of the baby while in the womb, that’s their right, he says.
Trueman contrasts the plastic view of the self with the Christian one, responsible before Almighty God to fulfill its assigned role well. Reality is objective and can be understood because it was created with a God-imposed order. The Christian works throughout his life to better understand the given nature of the world around him and strives to live according to it.
When we contrast these two views of the self, we get an idea of the contrast between the worldview of the Pride-flag-wavers and the Dobbs-celebraters. One sees their choice, their “right” to be absolutely unbound by any external demand, as supreme. The other sees, albeit often inconsistently, that there is an external order in reality to which we all must submit or suffer the consequences.
Paradoxically, the first man finds himself enslaved to his own passions, while the latter finds himself free to live a life of joy according to his God-given, human nature.
Coming Up
Author and playwright Kate Anger talks with us about family history, belonging, and what writing your first work of historical fiction feels like.
Her book ‘The Shinnery,’ is a coming-of-age western based on a real murder trial that shook a small, Texas frontier town in the late 1800’s. It came out in September.
Don’t miss the interview.
Thank you for two years of your Substack, looking forward to many more.