Jean-Jacques Rousseau (part 1)

"This third process was the beginning both of the Romantic movement and of modern introspective literature, for in it he took the discovery of the individual, the prime achievement of the Renaissance, a giant stage further, delving into the inner self and producing it for public inspection. For the first time readers were shown the inside of a heart, though - and this too was to be a characteristic of modern literature - the vision was deceptive, the heart thus exhibited misleading, outwardly frank, inwardly full of guile." - Paul Johnson, 'Intellectuals'

Rousseau's writing was full of shocking self-revelation about himself and his distortions. It shocked and scandalised the readers, lending himself to best-seller status as a result.

Rousseau's mantra was for the liberty of the individual. Virtue is truth and truth is virtue. He would say things like that. In other words, when you are honest about yourself then you are virtuous. Dishonesty about yourself being a lack of virtue.

His work 'Julie, and the New Heloise' is basically a battle-cry for authenticity and autonomy. Individuals should be free to be themselves - in one sentence. Be free to be yourself! It is a thought so common to modern man.

Yet, it is the same Rousseau who is the author of 'The Social Contract'. Under the Social Contract, an elite few get to govern the majority. The majority grant the elite legitimacy to implement "the General Will". The General Will is determined by the elite, who apparently act in the best interests of the people.

Deviants from the General Will are savagely dealt with. It is the ultimate totalitarian state.

Needless to say, Rousseau's writing gave rise to the French Revolution. Robespierre, architect of the tyrannical Committee for Public Safety, was a natural subscriber to Rousseau's Social Contract and implementation of the General Will.

It remains ironic that the Rousseau of the individual cried 'autonomy and authenticity' only to simultaneously insist on deviants from the General Will being taken to brutal task.

What intrigues me about this tension is how it plays out in so much of church life too. At what point is the individual the individual? At what point is the God Collective supreme to the individual?

Which aspect of Rousseau is to be more avoided in church? The rank self-determinism of the liberal individual or the oppression of an ecclesiastical elite controlling the God Collective?

For me, my personal conviction is born out by a mantra I coined many years ago: "We seek God individually together".

Where the individual seeks God and walks privately with Him in the depths of his heart the Sovereign can align such a man with other such men. This is what shall be known as a church, the God Collective.

The pursuit of God allows God to place us in formation with others. The freedom of the individual is perfectly balanced with the establishment of the collective. In fact, we might even be tempted to say that it is actually the way that God builds the church.