First of all: I’ve been keeping an eye out for some time for a site where reasonably intelligent, challenging, and compassionate discussion could be had about ‘Church’, faith, and the world. There are a few around, but not many. So far as I am concerned OST is very welcome, I’m sorry not to have come across it earlier.
To business: without going into a lot of detail at this point I would be very interested in learning/developing a theological perspective on the issue of ‘personal identity’ in a modern technological society.
I have serious reservations about the present UK Govt’s. proposals re ‘ID Cards’ and the ‘National Identity Register’. My position is argued through economics, efficacy, and historic rights and ethics, but from a Christian point of view I believe all of that should/could be tied together theologically. The ‘Church’ doesn’t, to date, seem to be taking much interest in the matter, though as far as I can understand it certainly should have something to say about who ‘owns’ personal identity before God and in society, and how that ‘identity’ should be protected and recognised.
Any thoughts?
Re: Christian theology and personal identity
I’m unsure how to start any serious theological reflection on this point. Undoubtedly there are significant civil liberties questions surrounding the whole debate, but how would you make it a specifically theological issue? I am inclined to think that the question of identity arises in two main respects. First, we derive our identity as followers of Christ from our relation to the body established through baptism. Secondly, we are always potentially required to acknowledge the lordship of Christ in defiance of any idolatrous or immoral claim on our loyalty. I don’t see that ID cards press us on either of those fronts.
Apart from that, my identity as an individual in society resides in a very wide range of relationships, affliliations, dependencies, characteristics, achievements, and so on - far too complex and diverse ever to be threatened by policies of this sort. I suppose if the government were to become seriously evil, ID card schemes might facilitate oppression, but as things stand I’m not sure I see what the problem is. Am I being too complacent? Am I missing something?
Re: Christian theology and personal identity
I think that there is an issue to be addressed theologically to do with identity and oppression. The doctrines of the fall generally tell us that human beings tend to foul up. This, combined with a view of the Powers such as Walter Wink outlines, gives us a corporate dimension to human being that tells us that the foul-ups can see exponential growth in significance and reach when factored through human institutions. Thus to give power to any organisation without building solid checks, accountabilities and balances is asking for trouble. That’s the issue with ID cards, imho.
The identity dimension theologically comes in when we factor in the dimensons of human beings imaging God who is co-lnherant Community; identity being conferred in relationship of both ‘part’ to ‘part’ and ‘part’ to ‘whole’. So our identity is formed in community and community (in the form of institutions and recognisable groups, not mere agglomerations) is formed emergently from our participation and the other factors bearing upon it.
Paul’s issue with the Powers is that though they are created for human welfare (including enabling right relating to God) they are subverted to serve their own ends which often prevelege some and oppress others; they become idolatrous.
Human beings are caught between corporateness and individuality and sin misplaces our path between those. One of the effects of this misplacement is the struggle to look to God for the prime definition of who we are rather than simply accepting the givens of the groups and institutions to which we belong.
Andii
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