{
  "id": "dict_000935",
  "term": "Chronological Snobbery",
  "slug": "chronological-snobbery",
  "letter": "C",
  "entry_type": "philosophy_worldview",
  "entry_family": "worldview_philosophy",
  "depth_profile": "deep_plus",
  "short_definition": "An uncritical bias that treats newer ideas as automatically better or truer than older ones simply because they are modern.",
  "simple_one_line": "Chronological snobbery is the mistaken assumption that new ideas are superior to old ones just because they are new.",
  "tooltip_text": "An uncritical bias that treats newer ideas as automatically better or truer than older ones simply because they are modern.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Appeal to Novelty",
    "Modernism",
    "Tradition",
    "Discernment"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Logic",
    "Argument",
    "Fallacy",
    "Worldview"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Chronological snobbery is the assumption that newer ideas are automatically superior to older ones simply because they are newer. The term is commonly associated with C. S. Lewis.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A bias in favor of novelty that dismisses older beliefs, practices, or arguments merely because they are old.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Category: worldview/philosophical concept.",
    "It criticizes prejudice in favor of modernity.",
    "It does not deny genuine progress in science, medicine, or technology.",
    "In Christian use, it warns against dismissing historic doctrine merely because it is ancient."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Chronological snobbery is the habit of treating novelty as proof of superiority and age as proof of inferiority. It is an intellectual bias, not a valid argument, because the truth or falsity of a claim does not depend on whether it is recent. The phrase is commonly associated with C. S. Lewis and is useful in Christian worldview critique.",
  "description_academic_full": "Chronological snobbery is an intellectual and worldview error that assumes the present is inherently wiser than the past and that older ideas may be rejected simply because they are older. The phrase is commonly associated with C. S. Lewis, who used it to expose a modern prejudice rather than to deny that real progress can occur in some areas of life. The problem is not the recognition of development, improvement, or correction over time; it is the mistaken belief that chronological novelty itself is evidence of truth. From a conservative Christian perspective, the term is especially relevant because biblical revelation is ancient yet authoritative, and historic Christian doctrine should be evaluated by Scripture rather than by whether it feels contemporary. As a result, the concept is helpful in apologetics, cultural analysis, and theological discernment whenever people dismiss inherited wisdom without actually examining it.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Scripture does not use the phrase, but it does warn against careless conformity to the surrounding age and against abandoning tested truth for what is fashionable. Biblical faith regularly calls believers to judge all claims by God’s word, not by cultural novelty.",
  "background_historical_context": "The expression is commonly linked to C. S. Lewis and his critique of the assumption that modernity automatically confers intellectual superiority. It reflects a broader modern tendency to equate later with better, especially in philosophy, ethics, and religion.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In biblical and Jewish thought, wisdom is often tied to tested instruction, reverence for God, and continuity with what is true rather than with what is merely recent. Ancientity alone does not make a claim true, but age does not make it false either.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Romans 12:2",
    "Colossians 2:8",
    "1 Thessalonians 5:21",
    "Jeremiah 6:16"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Acts 17:11",
    "Proverbs 18:17",
    "2 Timothy 3:14-17"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The phrase is an English modern expression, not a biblical technical term. Its force comes from the contrast between novelty and tested wisdom, rather than from a specific Hebrew or Greek word.",
  "theological_significance": "Chronological snobbery matters theologically because Christians must distinguish between cultural fashion and divine truth. It helps expose the assumption that older doctrines are obsolete simply because they are historic, when in fact truth is not determined by chronology.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Philosophically, chronological snobbery is a version of the appeal to novelty: a claim that something is true, good, or superior because it is new. It is faulty reasoning because temporal sequence does not establish value or truth. Christians may welcome genuine insight and legitimate progress, but they should not confuse modernity with wisdom.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not use the term to romanticize the past or to resist every form of change. Some newer ideas are better, and some older ideas are wrong. The issue is not old versus new, but truth versus error. Let Scripture, not sentiment, decide the matter.",
  "major_views_note": "The concept is usually used as a critique of modern bias, though some writers apply it more broadly to any uncritical preference for one era over another. In Christian usage, it should stay focused on the fallacy of treating novelty itself as evidence.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This is a worldview and reasoning term, not a doctrine. It may support discussions of tradition, discernment, and apologetics, but it should not be used to elevate tradition over Scripture or to deny legitimate development in understanding.",
  "practical_significance": "This term helps believers evaluate arguments about faith, morality, and culture without being swayed by the mere fact that an idea is fashionable. It encourages careful testing, historical humility, and respect for the wisdom of the past when that wisdom is consistent with Scripture.",
  "meta_description": "Chronological snobbery is the assumption that newer ideas are automatically superior to older ones simply because they are modern.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/chronological-snobbery/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/chronological-snobbery.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}