I'm going to endeavor to wrap this series up in short order here - I've been mulling on a lot of stuff for a while now, and it's time for me to put my thoughts in order. For a quick review of where I'm heading, my summary post is here; all of the posts can be found here. I want to begin by tackling the question of the dominance of economics in the suburban ethos.

One question that I asked previously that still keeps me up at night is this: who is telling the stories that shape the imaginations of those in suburban contexts? This question is the reason that I've chosen to begin here. The pursuit of happiness may be the central concern of the suburban ethos, but the economic sphere provides the system of meaning in which the question of happiness is asked. This means, simply, that the way in which suburbanites think about happiness is primarily defined in terms of economics. And, consequently, the stories that we tell, the metaphors that we use, the very structures of our thinking are constantly being shaped by economic forces - marketing, employers, merchants, educators, and so on. In short, human worth is derived from the ability to produce and consume. Through the surrender of our imaginations to the Market, we become little more that units of production or members of a market segment - mere cogs in the wheel of commerce.

Our narrative response must begin here, with the recovery of a robust theology of the imago dei. For an absolutely wonderful treatment of this subject, I have to again plug Richard Middleton's The Liberating Image. Middleton suggests that the concept of the image of God in Genesis has its origins primarily in two ancient customs: the practice of kings setting up representations of themselves in distant lands to remind the inhabitants of who rules the land, and the practice of referring to those kings as the image or representation of the gods. In short, the ancient context for image was a legitimization of the divine power of kings and the subjugated nature of the people. The king, as the image of god, demanded the loyalty and service of the people, primarily in terms of their economic production. Genesis, however, subverts that view completely by stating that all people are created in the image of God. There is no divine prerogative of rulers here - all people have been granted authority to rule, to subdue and order the earth in keeping with the task assigned by God. In short, a theology of vocation has its beginnings here, with the granting of authority to continue the divine task of creation.

This, then, stands in sharp critique of the current elevation of the Market as the driving force behind suburban lifestyles. Human worth, human dignity, is not predicated on one's ability to produce and to consume. Human dignity comes from the divine task and the corresponding authority to carry out that task - the care of Creation itself. Economics - the Market - is a tool that, when used well, can help further the pursuit of that task. Nothing more.

This deserves a longer treatment. I offer these thoughts as a humble beginning of what I think is an absolutely significant and critical line of thinking that needs to be taken up by those of us in suburban contexts. But there is a practical connection as well. The Christian tradition, and the Jewish tradition from which it grew, offers a key practice that in and of itself critiques the dominance of the economic sphere. I am, of course, thinking of the practice of Sabbath keeping. Sabbath places bounds on the economic realm - it declares, on the one hand, that we are free from service to the Market, and on the other, that we are dependent on God. Sabbath breaks the rhythm of producing and consuming that defines life in suburbia and carves out sacred space in keeping with the praxis of God Himself. Is it any wonder that Sabbath is so rarely practiced, or that we who struggle to practice it are so much at the mercy of the Market? Keeping Sabbath is part of what it means to be human - to rest, to worship, and to be free from the domination of the Market.

Technorati Tags: contextual theology, suburbs, imago dei, Sabbath