Week 5 - Cobb 5

Cobb stresses that contemporary Western culture, like the well read man at the beginning of the chapter, is coming to terms with the infinite unknown. All our knowledge has led to an even greater sense of isolation, emptiness and cruel irony. Therefore, in many ways culture is reacting to such knowledge (as seen in popular films/music) with a type of bitterness toward God and/or an acceptance of the truth that we all are just grubs on a trembling leaf on a huge tree in a vast forest. Thus, the image of God that many people have is docetic or just metaphorical of the infinite unknown. Cobb's discussion leads me to believe that there is a growing sense of hopelessness out there being spurned on by the trivialization effect of pop culture on Christian spirituality coupled with our ever expanding scientific knowledge of the nature of universe. There is a big disconnect between Christian spirituality and the sciences view of reality. How can the Church answer the hard questions and address the disillusioned view of God that is so prevalent? How can the Church do this if Church is preoccuppied with catchy music, purpose driven philosophy and entertainment?