Pub Theology 10/8/24 -- When were the good old days?
About 15 years or so ago I used to listen to a Detroit-based Gothic country band called Blanche. They had two great records back in the 2000s and then kinda faded away. You can still find their music various places online, but they haven't released an album since 2007, and as far as I know, they are defunct. It's a shame, because they had some really great songs.
One line from one of their songs -- I couldn't tell you which anymore -- has really stuck with me though, and the sentiment behind it speaks directly to our discussion topic this week. The line goes something like this: "I dream in sepia." I hints at dreams and thoughts of days gone by, our memory of them faded and obscured but sweetly nostalgic. It's a dream of life as it used to be. In short, the good old days. But when exactly were those? And who exactly were those days good for? Why do we pine for some idealized vision of the past?
Not surprisingly, scripture has something to contribute to this conversation. In Ecclesiastes 7:10 the writer (tradition attributes authorship to King Solomon) advises: "Do not say 'Why were the former days better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask this." Why do we often hold this sentiment that the old days were better? Is it sometimes true? Why might the writer of Ecclesiastes suggest that this is not a wise question to ask? And what do you think of when you think of the good old days?
That's the focus for our conversation this evening. Join us for the discussion starting at 7pm at Casa Real in downtown Oxford and tell us what you think.
