identity is a series of relationships
confession – the acknowledgement that my identity conforms to a given type
conferral – the recognition by others that you belong to them
commitment – the practice of indentity reinforcement
what kind of identity is ‘being Anglican’
don’t want to deny the providential work of God that has given us to each other through shared history, experiences. What does it mean to be Australian.
Does ‘being Anglican’ have any more or less theological significance than ‘being Australian’?
Isn’t it a form of citizenship?
As a providential good, sometimes it must be sacrificed for the redemptive good – my citizenship of Christ is more foundational than my citizenship of Australia.
Evangelicalism is the most authentic form of being Australian, and being an Australian is a great way of being evangelical. A new vision of evangelical Australianness involves the critique and exploration of the features of my identity that have been confessed by me and conferred upon me through God’s providential placing of myself in this time and place. It does not consist simply in a ‘celebration’ of my Australianness. It might require that I become more familiar with the history, geography, sociology of the Australian context so that I am better equipped to critique and explore what is distinctive about being Australian, and about being an evangelical in Australia.
How do you avoid this quest for identity simply becoming idolatrous – how do you avoid it becoming pride in a particular citizenship?