I hesitate to start a new post because the discussion on the McLaren post is still really good. But here goes…I stumbled accross a really good podcast the other day. It’s a very interesting take on John 14 and Acts 2. It’s nothing revolutionary, but in the past I’ve felt myself bristle at some of the ways Doug Pagitt presents material. I think I learned from this podcast that there are just some venues where he’s intentionally trying to be provocative and then there are venues where he’s just trying to simply teach some of what he’s learning. I think this podcast is the latter and it has helped me to be more understanding when the intent is the former.
One of the things I like about this podcast is how clearly he spells out the characteristics of Jewish thought v. Hellenistic thought. It is an important thing to understand which parts of the biblical witness are heavily influenced by Greek Philosophy. Not that we would then then throw those parts out, but perhaps we could understand them more clearly. I think his “sync” metaphor is a really good one. He’s pushing the immediacy of our need to find ways to translate the gospel into the dominant cultural/philosophical underpinnings of our day. I think this is where the emergent stuff is helping me the most. As I engage about these topics on a day to day basis, I’ve noticed there is a sense in most of their critics are still clinging to modernity in some form or fashion. This podcast helps me understand why they do and why I do as well, for this is one of my issues as well.
If you have some time, take a listen to this podcast. I’d love to get some takes on what he’s saying. I took like 5 pages of notes from the talk and I’m sure I’ll be stealing from his thoughts in the days to come.
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