Yesterday's sermon was on truth. ANd it came up last week in Bible Study where the topic was Jesus' Prayer Makes Us One. What is truth? IS there an absolute truth? WHat is the danger of believing that anyone of us has The Truth? HOw do we know when a truth borders on The Truth?
As a part of these discussions I mentioned that often, pragmatically speaking, the truth is defined by whoever wins the argument (or has the biggest bank account, or the biggest club/army). A prime example is heresies.
As it happens John over at Locusts and Honey has a post about heresy where one of my comments apparently marks me as a heretic for disagreeing with 4 of the 5 fundamentals (For the record I have issues with the inerrancy of Scripture, the Virgin Birth, SUbstitutionary/BLood atonement theory, and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus).
So what is heresy? What makes orthodoxy? WHat is Truth and what is false? These sorts of questions are also popping up with some regularity in the Discussion lounge at WonderCafe.
One of the dangers of thinking we have The Truth is that it leads us to do terrible things--the examples of that are Legion. BUt we are called to be people of the truth. How do we find our way?
Maybe part of the way of Truth and Peace is when we recognize, as suggested at Bible Study, that we each have a piece of the Truth, and we need to let each other share it.
You're braver than I, leaping into that discussion!
ReplyDeleteThe black-and-white world view expressed in that argument is childlike. Either the five fundamentals are true, they're saying, or Jesus was a lying lunatic. I would respectfully suggest that there is truth to be found somewhere between those two views!!
As one who has the same issues with the same things (add to that the way "divinity" is defined around Jesus' person), I say Amen and have found it almost impossible, prior to Revgalblogpals, to find people talking about faith without setting the fundamentals in concrete.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Wondercafe has its share of My Way or the Highway theologians: too bad. Anyway, you might have a look at Rachel's blog http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2006/11/a_taste_of_text.html , where she quotes a writer who begins her book by showing how the Word of God {gulp} evolved through successive generations of humanity.
Brave? NAh, Foolhardy perhaps (but there are worse things then being called a fool). In reading Locusts and Honey I have found that while Johnand I disagree on many things the disagreement can be done civilly. After all we are brothers in Christ.
ReplyDeleteIf we refuse to enter the debates then both sides lose out.
The black-and-white world view expressed in that argument is childlike. Either the five fundamentals are true, they're saying, or Jesus was a lying lunatic. I would respectfully suggest that there is truth to be found somewhere between those two views!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, Songbird: tell me where the middle ground is.
I lived in Wales last year and attended what would likely be labelled as a fundamental theological school...but while there I read an excellent book (ok-I skimmed through an excellent book) called 'The Dignity of Difference' by Jonathan Sacks.
ReplyDeleteHe warns against "the belief that those who do not share my faith...do not share my humanity. At best they are second-class citizens. At worst they forfeit the sanctity of life itself."
Remembering this is important to me as I think about the spectrum belief held by those who identify as Christians.
But as a 'person of truth' don't I need to draw some lines somewhere. The where and the how is always tricky. I also think too much line drawing (or drawing them the wrong way) as it were makes us as people of faith (to use your word of the day) a little vapid as our world becomes about ideas and propositions rather than vital experience.
(Sorry for being a bit long-winded)
Only four of the five???
ReplyDeleteFor shame!
Go for 100%!
(Notice I've TRIED to stay out of it..)