Wednesday, October 3, 2007

More Philosophy and Ecclesiology

Another comment that came to mind last night:

My professor was pointing out one of the flaws of post-modernism: it claims that truth is known in community and that as long as the community agrees that something is the truth, then it is valid in that community, even if that truth would not be agreed upon in the community next door. He correctly pointed out the lack of absolutes this type of thinking displays, and therefore that line of thinking is flawed.

This got me to think of Christendom. Aren't denominations just that: communities that agree something is true, even if its truth is different from the community next door? Isn't this mentality then by parallel flawed? Or am I committing an informal fallacy? Yet, some in Christendom would state that denominations are a positive thing, since they allow unity amongst diversity (viz. thanks to denominations, we can disagree, but since we are separate, we can do that without struggle). Aren't they therefore also denying the absolutes?

5 comments:

Alan Knox said...

Are you suggesting that separating into exclusive groups who are just alike does not demonstrate unity?

You must be one of those idealists.

-Alan

Maël said...

Hard to believe that that would not show unity ... isn't it?

And yes, I have been accused of being an idealist ... guilty as charged.

tenjuices said...

hey mael

edpayne

Aussie John said...

Maël,

What a brave man you are. I happen to agree with you, but, in my neck of the woods, to voice such a thought would be regarded as heresy.

Maël said...

Aussie John,

Thanks for the word of encouragement. I took a class in ecclesiology last fall which I really enjoyed. One of my main disagreements with my professor was precisely this: he thought that denominations were a positive thing.

Recently there have been tensions in our body due to differing philosophies of ministry. Some have suggested that maybe the differences are so large that we should separate over them. I kindly respond: our unity amidst diversity is something that only Christ can do. That is part of our witness to the world that Christ has transformed us.

As for being considered a heretic, well what can I say ... I am sure that I am a heretic by the English definition, I just hope that I am not a heretic by the scriptural definition, if so, I want to be corrected.

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