“…advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions, and in those revolutions “one conceptual world view is replaced by another”. (Thomas Kuhn)
In 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolution in which he developed and popularized the concept of paradigm shift. Kuhn argued that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather an invasive and aggressive alteration of the way that we perceive and experience the world around us.
He encouraged us to think of a Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It’s a revolution, a transformation that impacts. It just does not happen; agents of change drive it. Here are some key quotes from Kuhn taken from his book:
“Agents of change helped create a paradigm-shift moving scientific theory from the Plolemaic system (the earth at the center of the universe) to the Copernican system (the sun at the center of the universe), and moving from Newtonian physics to Relativity and Quantum Physics. Both movements eventually changed the world view. These transformations were gradual as old beliefs were replaced by the new paradigms creating “a new gestalt.”
“Likewise, the printing press, the making of books and the use of vernacular language inevitable changed the culture of a people and had a direct affect on the scientific revolution. Johann Gutenberg’s invention in the 1440′s of movable type was an agent of change. Books became readily available, smaller and easier to handle and cheap to purchase. Masses of people acquired direct access to the Scriptures. Attitudes began to change as people were relieved from church domination.”
“Similarly, agents of change are driving a new paradigm shift today. The signs are all around us. For example, the introduction of the personal computer and the internet have impacted both personal and business environments, and is a catalyst for a Paradigm Shift. We are shifting from a mechanistic, manufacturing, industrial society to an organic, service based, information centered society, and increases in technology will continue to impact globally. Change is inevitable. It’s the only true constant.”
“In conclusion, for millions of years we have been evolving and will continue to do so. Change is difficult. Human Beings resist change; however, the process has been set in motion long ago and we will continue to co-create our own experience. We are moving at an accelerated rate of speed and our state of consciousness is transforming and transcending. Many are awakening as our conscious awareness expands.”
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I was born in 1946 and that makes me among the first of the baby boomers. Over the last fifty years I have watched my world reshaped by the paradigm shifts in technology, economics, politics and religion.
Technology has changed the way that we interact with our world. We have transitioned from floor model black and white televisions with only three networks to watching digital wide screen televisions with hundreds of network choices.
Travel has changed dramatically. I flew on my first airplane in 1966, flying from Great Falls, Montana to Calgary, Alberta returning to Bible College after the Christmas holidays. What were the elite airplanes of those days; we would call ‘puddle jumpers’ today. Oh, by the way, smoking was allowed at the back of the plane.
In 1972 my wife and I and our two children sailed on an ocean liner from Lisbon to Maputo, Mozambique. That trip took us three weeks. We might have been one of the last missionaries to sail to Africa. By that time, everyone was enjoying the power and speed of the jet airliner— a much better and faster way to get around the world.
I have watched the evolution from rotary phones to the iphone. I have gone from vinyl records to 8 tracks, cassettes and now CDs. I remember when I was in high school that I would help my Dad prepare the bulletins for Sunday morning, using a mimeograph machine. What a mess! Now we have laser printers that can do the job much faster, cleaner and better.
A whole new world has been created—full of instant information, economic transactions at the drop of a hat, social interactions and business opportunities at the click of a button.
Economically I have watched the great shifts in salaries, jobs and commerce. It was in 1966 when I got my first job that paid over $100 a month. Micki and I went overseas as missionaries and lived on $200 a month. Today, kids make more than that in one week working at their local convenience store. Convenient—that is the word that drives the economy.
However, all is not well in Camelot. In the last six months the wealth of this nation has taken a devastating blow. None of the economic guru forecasted this economic down turn and none of the prophets of Wall Street can tell us where it is taking us. We are charting through dangerous waters and who knows if there is another iceberg lurking in the fog of mounting debt, corporate greed, lack of regulation in the real estate industry, the devaluation of the dollar, and crisis in the credit industry. None of us can escape the tectonic shifts that are happening on Wall Street and Pennsylvania Ave. What people do above us drastically affects the life of those of us living below them.
Politically, we are watching the subtle and not so subtle erosion of our personal freedoms. The increasing encroachment of government into our personal lives is a bit frightening, needless to say. Although the government has never proven that it can effectively solve any problem, it continues to portray itself as a Corporate Savior, prepared to deliver us from our corporate and personal dilemmas.
The battle between liberals and conservatives still exists, but the emerging nemesis is a new kind of government that no longer serves the people (if it ever did). In Washington it seems inevitable that the left will merge with the right in a way that is creating an attrition of our individual sovereignty and establishing an aristocracy of government that is disconnected with the American people.
Christianity has been embroiled in its own paradigm shifts. They might not be as evident as the global shifts we see portrayed every day in the different forms of media that crowd into our lives. Nevertheless, they are there. The history of the church over the last forty years has been saturated with a variety of emerging movements and focuses. Like many of my friends we have walked through most of these.
Liberal theology and the death of God movement, the Jesus seminars, emergence of the social gospel, critical theology, the charismatic movement, emphasis on the five fold ministry, prayer movement, apostolic and prophetic focus, discipleship, marketplace ministries, church growth, renewal and revival movements, Promise Keepers, purpose driven churches, seeker sensitive churches, faith churches, emergent churches, mega Churches, house churches, and the renewed emphasis on signs, wonders and miracles and the kingdom.
Change is to be expected. That is the nature of the world that we live in. The imperative issue is can we discern what is happening in our world and how do we react to that change. Change is at the heart of every paradigm shift and in my next blog I will explore this issue further looking at the personal implications of ‘impressed forces’ and how they push us towards change.
