Papers by Andrew "Spence" Spencer
Dorothy L. Sayers is most famous for her detective fiction, particularly the mystery novels invol... more Dorothy L. Sayers is most famous for her detective fiction, particularly the mystery novels involving Lord Peter Wimsey. Her greatest gift to history, however, is the application of a faithful concept of vocation to her art. Based on a speech delivered to the Archbishop of York’s conference in Malvern, 1941, it appears Sayers had something like a transformationalist view according to Niebuhr’s model. She saw withdrawing from the culture and becoming one with the culture as a pair of matched dangers. The first effectively privatizes Christianity and
the second denatures it. Accordingly, Sayers believed the Church must do the impossible: without becoming identified with cultural institutions, it must redeem those institutions. The church must influence morality, but not get tied to the moralistic aspects of cultural institutions. This essay presents the case that Sayers was a cautious transformationalist. She believed that Christianity could permeate and redeem every form of art and every institution to improve it and make it more consistent with God’s creational design. In a period of growing cultural marginalization, Sayers’ example presents a way for Christians to point people toward a robust understanding of human flourishing.
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Despite the checkered perception of Augustine among environmental ethicists, this essay argues th... more Despite the checkered perception of Augustine among environmental ethicists, this essay argues that in his discussion of 'use' and 'enjoyment' in On Christian Doctrine, Augustine presents a system of value in the created order which can serve as a motivation for environmental ethics consistent with maximizing the glory of God. Though Augustine does not use value terms in the same way as discussions of the twentieth and twenty first centuries do, there is within his corpus evidence of a robust appreciation of the ultimate value of God the Creator with a significant but subsidiary valuation of the created order. In Augustine's scheme, only God has intrinsic value, which is value in and of himself. Creation has inherent value, which is derived from the Creator and dependent upon the degree to which the creation is oriented toward the original design of the created order. In supporting this thesis, this essay discusses the common accusations of dualism against Augustine, seeking to demonstrate that Augustine was not a dualist. Then, this essay outlines a more contemporary understanding of value of the created order and connects it to Augustine's arguments about value of the creation. At the heart of every ethical system rests a summum bonum––the thing that is reckoned the ultimate good with supreme value. This means that the question of value rests near the center of any ethical system. Some logical questions arise from a consideration of the summum bonum: What is of the greatest value? How are lesser values determined and evaluated? This essay will assume the answer to the first question while arguing for a conceptual framework for the second, particularly in light of Augustine's cosmology and the contemporary question of environmental ethics. That God exists––the particular Christian God depicted in both the Old and New Testaments––will be assumed for the purposes of this argument. This assumption is important as it eliminates the chief question of ethics: if God exists, then his benefit is the summum bonum.[i] The discussion then can quickly shift to very important questions about how value is determined for things that are not God. In other words: If there is a God and his glory is the ultimate goal of the universe, then how is that lived out? In the ecological frame of reference, how should the created order be valued to maximize glory to God? These questions have led to overbalancing on both ends of the spectrum of environmental ethics. On the one hand, there is a tendency among some to argue that since God's glory is the summum bonum, the created order is derivative and therefore unimportant. This is the error often described as matterspirit dualism, often related to Platonic, NeoPlatonic, or Gnostic philosophies. In more aggravated instances of this understanding, the distantiation between God and the created order is understood to be so great that matter is merely an impediment to holiness and must be overcome. On the other hand, there is a desire to argue that since God created all things, all things maintain such a strong sense of connectedness to the divine that they should be treated with extreme reverence, even as sacred objects. On this end of the spectrum of errors reside pantheism, panentheism, and certain versions of sacramentalism that tend to confuse the natures of the divine and the created order. In the most extreme versions of this error, the God of the Bible is replaced with Gaia, and the created order becomes something that should be treasured as an end in itself––perhaps even worshipped. Between these twin poles is a system of value that seeks the created order as distinct from the Creator but still values it because of its original and ongoing relationship with the Creator. This essay is an attempt to work toward such a system of valuation, particularly through the theology of Augustine. Despite the checkered perception of Augustine among environmental ethicists, this essay argues that in his discussion of 'use' and 'enjoyment' in On Christian Doctrine, Augustine presents a system of value in the created order which can serve as a motivation for environmental ethics consistent with maximizing the glory of God. Though Augustine does not use value terms in the same way as discussions of the twentieth and twenty first centuries do, there is within his corpus evidence of a robust appreciation of the ultimate value of God the
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Despite the checkered perception of Augustine among environmental ethicists, this essay argues th... more Despite the checkered perception of Augustine among environmental ethicists, this essay argues that in his discussion of ‘use’ and ‘enjoyment’ in On Christian Doctrine, Augustine presents a system of value in the created order which can serve as a motivation for environmental
ethics consistent with maximizing the glory of God. Though Augustine does not use value terms in the same way as discussions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries do, there is within his corpus evidence of a robust appreciation of the ultimate value of God the Creator with a significant but subsidiary valuation of the created order. In Augustine’s scheme, only God has intrinsic value, which is value in and of himself. Creation has inherent value, which is derived
from the Creator and dependent upon the degree to which the creation is oriented toward the original design of the created order. In supporting this thesis, this essay discusses the common accusations of dualism against Augustine, seeking to demonstrate that Augustine was not a dualist. Then, this essay outlines a more contemporary understanding of value of the created order and connects it to Augustine’s arguments about value of the creation.
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Book Reviews by Andrew "Spence" Spencer
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Papers by Andrew "Spence" Spencer
the second denatures it. Accordingly, Sayers believed the Church must do the impossible: without becoming identified with cultural institutions, it must redeem those institutions. The church must influence morality, but not get tied to the moralistic aspects of cultural institutions. This essay presents the case that Sayers was a cautious transformationalist. She believed that Christianity could permeate and redeem every form of art and every institution to improve it and make it more consistent with God’s creational design. In a period of growing cultural marginalization, Sayers’ example presents a way for Christians to point people toward a robust understanding of human flourishing.
ethics consistent with maximizing the glory of God. Though Augustine does not use value terms in the same way as discussions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries do, there is within his corpus evidence of a robust appreciation of the ultimate value of God the Creator with a significant but subsidiary valuation of the created order. In Augustine’s scheme, only God has intrinsic value, which is value in and of himself. Creation has inherent value, which is derived
from the Creator and dependent upon the degree to which the creation is oriented toward the original design of the created order. In supporting this thesis, this essay discusses the common accusations of dualism against Augustine, seeking to demonstrate that Augustine was not a dualist. Then, this essay outlines a more contemporary understanding of value of the created order and connects it to Augustine’s arguments about value of the creation.
Book Reviews by Andrew "Spence" Spencer
the second denatures it. Accordingly, Sayers believed the Church must do the impossible: without becoming identified with cultural institutions, it must redeem those institutions. The church must influence morality, but not get tied to the moralistic aspects of cultural institutions. This essay presents the case that Sayers was a cautious transformationalist. She believed that Christianity could permeate and redeem every form of art and every institution to improve it and make it more consistent with God’s creational design. In a period of growing cultural marginalization, Sayers’ example presents a way for Christians to point people toward a robust understanding of human flourishing.
ethics consistent with maximizing the glory of God. Though Augustine does not use value terms in the same way as discussions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries do, there is within his corpus evidence of a robust appreciation of the ultimate value of God the Creator with a significant but subsidiary valuation of the created order. In Augustine’s scheme, only God has intrinsic value, which is value in and of himself. Creation has inherent value, which is derived
from the Creator and dependent upon the degree to which the creation is oriented toward the original design of the created order. In supporting this thesis, this essay discusses the common accusations of dualism against Augustine, seeking to demonstrate that Augustine was not a dualist. Then, this essay outlines a more contemporary understanding of value of the created order and connects it to Augustine’s arguments about value of the creation.