{"id":3413,"date":"2020-10-12T10:27:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T09:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomascreedy.co.uk\/?p=3413"},"modified":"2020-10-14T12:26:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T11:26:12","slug":"book-review-why-being-yourself-is-a-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomascreedy.co.uk\/book-review-why-being-yourself-is-a-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Why Being Yourself is a Bad Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why<\/p>\n

I’m always on the lookout for books that articulate basic Christian belief in ways that are intelligible to people who wouldn’t call themselves Christians. I’m also always on the lookout for books that challenge big lies that either Christians or our culture believe. In this book, I think I’ve found something that does both. In the past I’ve been very impressed with Graham Tomlin’s writing (I liked his book on Luther’s gospel), and I have been looking forward to reading this book ever since I first heard about it*. Graham tackles head on something we hear a lot, but is actually a rather odd thing: ‘just be yourself’.<\/p>\n

This is a book that blends cultural awareness, theological acumen, and a readable and arguably beautiful writing style. Graham starts with a penetrating observation:\u00a0“You would have thought that Western countries with a strong ethic of personal fulfilment and economic wealth would be the happiest, yet according to the \u2018Happy Planet Index\u2019 \u2013 a survey that \u2018tells us how well nations are doing at achieving long, happy, sustainable lives\u2019 \u2013 the USA is 108th and Sweden (for example) is 61st out of 140 countries surveyed<\/em>“. There could be any number of reasons for this. One might be the polarization that concerns many: “Everyone says these days that we live in a more polarized world. Contrasting visions \u2013 left and right, progressive and conservative \u2013 compete for political and social power, whether in the USA, Europe or in parts of Asia and Africa.<\/em>“. I’d recommend James Mumford’s excellent book\u00a0Vexed<\/em> (he also endorsed this book) as a good tool for breaking through that ‘left\/right’ divide in an intelligent and entertaining way. Ultimately, though, I think Graham is right when he observes:<\/p>\n

“Both sides are locked in the well-known culture wars, but what is often not recognized is that, underneath, they want the same thing. They are both focused on a view of human beings as rights-bearing individuals, free to fashion their own version of the good life. Both see the goal of their political programme as liberation of the individual from the shackles of either state control or social taboos, to be and do what they choose. Both assume that we are all essentially individuals in need of liberating from other people who make demands on us, so that we will be free to chart our own self-chosen path through the world.<\/em>“<\/p>\n

I think that is a really helpful observation – and on one level\u00a0Why Being Yourself is a Bad Idea<\/em> is in part a book about freedom, beyond the political and social binaries our world is obsessed with. Graham also hits the nail on the head in talking about individualism and ‘rights’:<\/p>\n

“Rights language, however useful in its proper place, can easily become the fence we build around our sense of self, our autonomy and independence. The result of this combination of the cult of authenticity, the imperative of self-determination and the language of rights, is that no one has the right to question another person\u2019s choices. Or if they do, the inevitable response comes back: \u2018Who gives you the right to tell me what to do?\u2019<\/em>“<\/p>\n

It is at this point that Graham poses the question I think everyone needs to consider: “What if we find our true selves not by looking within but by being drawn out of ourselves by something outside?<\/em>” – and yet a question that it seems to me is not often asked. That is the genius of this book – the author diagnoses a number of problems with our culture, and suggests that the Christian story, warts and all, might actually be a helpful and life-giving way of moving forward.<\/p>\n

Rather than starting with ‘the Bible says…’, Graham starts with the above and other observations that I think are right on the pulse of how a lot of people think – both inside and outside of Christianity. For example:<\/p>\n

“Life itself is both mysterious and fragile. To have lost a loved one is to recognize how tenuous is our hold on existence. To realize that a spouse or parent or child is no longer there is to recognize the fragility of life. At the same time, the thought that those we love and who remain alive around us might one day not be there usually increases a sense of gratitude, and even wonder, that they are there at all.<\/em>“<\/p>\n

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought that reality to the fore – but it has always been there. And so I hope that readers from all perspectives will give Graham’s book a hearing. It’s a challenging read, at times, but one that I think displays both theological acumen and accuracy, and pastoral and cultural sensitivity. A lot of what he writes is explosive, forcing the reader to think. For example: “You never find in the Bible an argument for the existence of God. It just assumes God is there and develops a picture of the world based on that assumption.<\/em>” Amen! We often hear that ‘love means love<\/a>‘ or ‘love is love’, but Graham helpfully subverts that by observing pithily that\u00a0“Love demands wisdom<\/em>“. And this love, this wisdom, is for Christians bound up in the person and teaching of Jesus, of whom Graham rightly observes:\u00a0“People often think of Jesus as a great teacher, whose ideas are the most important thing and the miracle stories are just a bit of ancient myth, which you can take or leave. Yet the way his story is told in the Gospels doesn\u2019t work like that.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

With Jesus, there is always something else going on.<\/p>\n

This review\u00a0could<\/strong> be a lot longer, but I’m going to speed up and just touch on three key areas. Firstly, what I’d call ‘Theological acumen’. Graham is a Bishop, and he’s also a Bishop with a PhD in theology, who’s taught theology. Compared to some BIshop’s public pronouncements or published work, this shows – in a good way! For example:<\/p>\n