CHAPLAIN
THE ONE WHO INSPIRES
Christ inspires us towards beauty , truth and a satisfaction lasting to eternity
REV DOUG CAMPBELL SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
While desperately seeking for an alternative to the endless cycle of reality TV shows that populate modern programming , we came across an episode of the BBC ’ s Antiques Roadshow . The very theme tune is enough to drive the younger members of the family to pull out their phones and update their social media . For them , Antiques Roadshow is simply old experts speaking about old heirlooms that belong to old people . Harsh , but true .
However , as I had momentary control of the remote and as the program was coming from the stately home of Hopetoun House just outside of Edinburgh , we settled down to watch . When , however , an ornate antique cabinet was featured the program became personal . The resident expert explained that the cabinet had been made in the 1930s by well-known antique makers in Edinburgh . This firm , Whytock & Reid , employed my maternal grandfather as a woodcarver during that very period and then well into his retirement . This cabinet may have been made by him .
Taking their inspiration from the past , my grandfather and other craftsmen created pieces inspired by the ancient styles of the master craftsmen of England and France . For a few moments , my girls raised their heads from their sterile , smart screens . Their eyebrows even expressed shock when the cabinet was valued at well over £ 25,000 .
Living in the ever-modern and technological present that constantly promotes and exalts the new and the original , I find myself coveting the simpler and less sophisticated past . Perhaps this is due to my age , my Presbyterian convictions or simply because I spent too long beside my antique-making grandfather . After all he had experienced two World Wars , Spanish Flu , the Great Depression and the rise to prominence of flawed individuals who promised political utopias . Sitting with my grandfather , I learned to appreciate the present and to actively build for the future , but not to put too much store in the new , the trendy or the cutting edge . I was bestowed a healthy dose of cynicism and taught to question the underlying presuppositions of movements of both proponents of utopia and prognosticators of doom .
Cynicism , however , was never the end . I was inspired to consider and examine every aspect of life . I was encouraged to read the great works of literature by authors ( Dostoyevsky , Orwell , Solzhenitsyn , et al ) who wrestled with the great questions of life . We were surrounded by newspapers of various political persuasions that reported the great events and offered a range of opinion pieces . The home resounded to music of all types , and we learned to appreciate the Scottish ceilidh bands , the Rolling Stones and Grieg ’ s piano concerto .
The family viewing included political debates and documentaries that gave us an insight into the world . At school , teachers introduced us to Plato , Cicero , Steinbeck , Shakespeare , Crick and Watson , and Pascal . At church , the Bible was expounded and great theological concepts were explained . God ’ s great story of redemption was applied to our daily lives so that we might follow in the footsteps of Christ . My personal journey of inspiration continued at university , as I was introduced to the great philosophers and theologians from Augustine to Calvin . We were not to fear the new , but neither were we to be beholden to it .
At Scotch we are not afraid of the new . We embrace and use the best of the modern ( Zoom !) and innovative technology , not as an end in itself or to idolise it , but to inspire our boys to consider afresh the world in which they live and to reflect more deeply on their part in it . We understand the truth that all originality is grounded ultimately on discoveries and insights in history . Humankind has not arrived here just recently , disconnected from the past .
We have a present because we have a past and tradition . There is much in our past that continues to inspire us and we must connect our boys with the giant thinkers of their fields so they can appreciate , learn and eventually inspire the next generation to create and innovate .
Our artists at Scotch create by looking at the great masters and movements in art . Our jazz musicians learn the standards of the genre so they may riff and add their own interpretations . Our scientists wonder anew at the intricacies of the cell and the works of the Nobel Laureates , then reflect on the future of genetic research and future advances . And in the Cube , boys design pieces of furniture that acknowledge in part the styles and techniques of the craftsmen of the past .
As Chaplains we point to Jesus Christ . God ’ s Son came and challenged the anxious to consider the beauty of the natural world ( the lilies of the field ) in order to realise God ’ s superintending love for us .
6 Great Scot Issue 161 – December 2020