Slippery Slopes? (RJS)

August 12, 2010 By RJS 39 Comments

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It is common to hear Christians express concern about the slippery slope. The image is of a peak, or perhaps a plateau or mesa on which we are safe – but to step away is to risk all. In the discussion of science and faith there can be a fear that exploring the issues, asking questions, begins a slow or precipitous descent. This often comes up in the conversation on this blog – a real concern for where a line of thinking might lead. I have received a few e-mails from people who assure me that I am not challenging their faith, but that posting on science and faith, and insisting on taking science seriously, is a dangerous undertaking – they fear for others.

But perhaps we have the wrong image. Two comments from last week’s post on Genesis 1-11 as “just a collection of stories” addressed this issue.

First comment …(21)

To your point on using the word “just”. It reminds me of the slippery slope argument in that it seems that if you concede that they are stories then it is a short hop to just adding the word “just” andthen before you know it there is no god at all. I think that step from stories to “just” stories is not a small step but a very big one. They most definitely are not “just” stories, but they are stories.

We have to stop sliding all the way down the slope, perhaps get some cleats. Just acknowledging that they are not historical narrative does not mean they are meaningless and that argument has to prevail.

Does the fear of a slippery slope have merit? Do you view questions and ponderings as dangerous rambles around pitfalls, cliffs, and slopes, or as necessary part of the process of seeking God?

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Filed Under: Problems for Faith, Science and Faith, Third Way 39 Comments

Deep Church as Third Way 8

October 1, 2009 By scotmcknight 38 Comments

ThirdWay.jpgAre there any new emerging proposals for preaching?  Jim Belcher, in Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional examines the theory of Doug Pagitt. (I blogged about that book with Doug when it came out, and since then I’ve done more thinking about his proposal.)

The questions I have are these: Do you think there is a problem with preaching in the traditional model? (We need to hear from you.) What are the problems? Is it what Pagitt calls “speaching”? Is there a way forward? What needs to be done?

Do you think Doug Pagitt’s preaching proposals are typical or uncommon or rare among emerging types? Or is it unique to Doug and Solomon’s Porch? What proposals are you hearing about emerging preaching?
But this post is about Belcher’s proposal for preaching a Third Way. Belcher criticizes traditional preaching through a few stereotypes: he calls it “moralistic preaching” and it produces either Pharisees or or dispirited dropouts.

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Filed Under: Emergent, Emerging Movement, Pastoring and Preaching, Third Way 38 Comments

Deep Church as Third Way 7

September 29, 2009 By scotmcknight 48 Comments

ThirdWay.jpgIs there a Third Way for worship?  Jim Belcher, in Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional examines this question and contends there is a genuine third way beyond the traditional and the emerging.

What is your church doing to recover the ancient worship traditions? What are first steps for discovering our roots?
Jim’s own experience might well express the whole issue: “I longed for the experience of God’s presence and desired the restoration of liturgical elements of worship. I had grown weary of the thinness of contemporary worship, which seemed so lifeless and often done by rote. But I didn’t want to return to the traditional style I grew up with …” (124).
So what does he want?

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Filed Under: Emergent, Emerging Movement, Third Way 48 Comments

Deep Church as Third Way 6

September 24, 2009 By scotmcknight 49 Comments

ThirdWay.jpg So, what about the gospel? Is there a Third Way for the gospel? Isn’t the traditional gospel the real gospel? Jim Belcher, in Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional, poses this question by examining the gospel in Brian McLaren.

Jim Belcher says the problem for the emerging criticism of tradition is that the gospel is reduced to forgiveness and eternal life; the critics of Brian say he has reduced the gospel to social justice, and therefore resurrected the social gospel. Belcher says the problem is there is reductionism on both sides and he proposes a Third Way.
 
I do have a critique here, and I wish Jim had provided as much critical evaluation of a traditonalist — one that really does spend too much time seeing the gospel as fire insurance and leading too much to concern with life after death and not enough with life in the here and now. 

So, I’m wondering if you readers have any really clear examples of the gospel reduced in that direction? I’m not asking for names so much as sterling examples.

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Filed Under: Emergent, Emerging Movement, Third Way 49 Comments

Deep Church as Third Way 4

September 17, 2009 By scotmcknight 44 Comments

ThirdWay.jpgThe most serious issue about the emerging church, at least in the eyes and minds of its critic, is is relationship to postmodernity. The standard criticism of “emergent” is that it is “relativistic” and “denies the Truth” and has a “bankrupt epistemology.” These are serious words, especially if they are true, which they aren’t — at least most of the time. Jim Belcher, who has a PhD and during which time he worked hard on postmodernity, has examined this very question in chp 4 of his important book Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional.

He defines his terms well, shows that he has seen that there are nuances on both sides, and finds yet again a third way. His way can be seen in Nicholas Wolterstorff. But, here are the terms:

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Filed Under: Emergent, Emerging Movement, Third Way 44 Comments

Deep Church as Third Way 3

September 15, 2009 By scotmcknight 58 Comments

ThirdWay.jpgHow do we find a “third way” when it comes to theology? Doesn’t it seem that we always trip over one another on theology? I am so glad and happy with how Jim Belcher approaches theology, speaking as many of us do of “mere Christianity,” in his new and important book: Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional
. (Our last post looked at the emerging movement’s critique.)

Belcher is proposing a “new ecumenism” that is really the “old ecumenism” but is not the 20th Century’s “liberal ecumenism.” For unity to exist there requires two primary elements: trust and a two-tiered approach to theology. But this means there are some who don’t fit in. I’ll get to this shortly.
 

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Filed Under: Emerging Movement, Third Way 58 Comments

Third Way Thinkers Writers

January 12, 2009 By scotmcknight 20 Comments

Who then are the Third Way thinkers and writers? The other day I accidentally posted this and then took it down when I realized it, but Andy Rowell (see below) caught it first and contributed a wonderful set of links to the names below. Here is a listing of some of the Third Way thinkers … this is just a start … and you can mention others.

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Filed Under: Biblical Studies, Theology, Third Way 20 Comments

Third Way as the Radical Center

January 9, 2009 By scotmcknight 45 Comments

Adam Hamilton’s Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics is a perfect blog book. I would love to see a host of evangelical churches using this book for group studies and discussions. It will surely bring out how it is that many think about various topics; it will also reveal what folks think.

What Hamilton makes clear to me is that the Third Way is not the way of compromise; instead, it is the way working out a Christian view of things regardless of which “party” prefers that option. It is a refusal to be an ideologue, a refusal to say “liberal is always right” or “conservative is always right.”

Do you think the middle is expanding? Do you see a trend for those on the right to move to the middle? Is a radical center attractive to you? Both politically and theologically? Overall, what do you think of this book?
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It is common to hear that one has to be clear and consistent and courageous and choose-one-side-or-the-other and stay there to have popular appeal. In other words, either be Left or Right. That claim also says the middle is the way of compromise and few find that way. The last election and the rising tide of Christians who are tired of the either-or approach bodes well for the rise of a Third Way approach. Hamilton calls this the “radical center.” He doesn’t think the word “moderate” is good enough (and I confess to having used this term for myself in numerous settings but I’ll be hesitant after his suggestion that “moderate” means tepid too often). So what does he suggest?

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Filed Under: Third Way 45 Comments

Third Way and the American Image

January 7, 2009 By scotmcknight 31 Comments

What is America like? Are we generous or are we the spoiled brat in the global village? How Christian are the Christians in politics? Third Way thinking addresses these issues, and Adam Hamilton’s book sketches ideas for us to think about when we think of America’s image in the world. See his book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics.

We have 5% of the world’s population; we consume 22% of its energy resources. We expect other countries to go along with our global and national designs. We are obese while other nations struggle with starvation.

We think we are generous. According to the Congressional Research Service, in 2004, we were the largest dollar donors in the world — we gave .2 of our GDP. 5 times less than we were giving in the 1970s. Our income in that time has increased 5 times. Half of our 20 billion dollars in aid went to the poor — the rest went to foreign militaries. We give the most to Israel.

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Filed Under: Public Issues, Third Way 31 Comments

Third Way and Politics

January 5, 2009 By scotmcknight 16 Comments

Adam Hamilton, in his book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics, has a few chps on political or hot-button issues, including situation ethics, abortion, homosexuality and war. I don’t want to enter into the discussion of homosexuality or war at this time, in part because Adam’s book presents some addresses he gave at his church. So, I will skip ahead to his 21st chp to how he addresses the issue of faith and the presidential elections. He has a set of questions that we can think back on now to see where we stand.

Obama said he was a Christian; Romney said he was a Mormon; McCain said he was “saved”; Huckabee was a Baptist pastor. Stats reveal that many vote on the basis of their faith and choose a candidate that aligns the closest to their faith.

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Filed Under: Public Issues, Third Way 16 Comments
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