Through listening to some new lectures via mp3 from a class that I will be taking over the next couple of months, I have entered into some reflection over the nature and history of absolutes. My first mentor, Mark Dewey addressed absolutes early in my understanding of reality. He had a wonderful point. He would say, "Nick, are there any absolutes?" Just to get him worked up I would say no... He would then respond with, "Really... absolutely? Are there absolutely no absolutes." I think that you get what I am saying. Regardless... Conversation on this topic continues to be prevalent in the lives of most evangelicals. (This conversation, however, may often be forced by overzealous evangelicals desiring to banish the false reality of absolute pluralism that they imagine surround themselves in their post-modern context.!.!!) I have been pondering this question more intently after Lyn TenBrink, of all people, came and sat down next to me at a party as I was by myself and cracked the joke, "Are you pondering the absolutes?" I laughed, but this retriggered a little somethin somethin inside of me that rooted back to the Mark Dewey days. So, back to this class, I liked what Dr. Ray Anderson was talking about. I will quote him by saying that "the absolute is known in the personal". I love this quote and I feel like we could run with this quote in a million different directions... But I would love to connect it to the idea of the "personalness" of story. I feel safe conjuring up the idea that if the absolute is known in the personal and that story is personal, then absolute can be transferred in story. We can then easily connect this to the Hebrew Bible and then to the story that continues in the life of Jesus and the New Testament and the early fathers, and the apostolic fathers, and then to the apologists, and the martyrs, and so on and so on and so on until we arrive at our point in time here in 2006. So what does this connection to story, and therefore to the absolutes mean for us here today??? I'm not ABSOLUTELY sure, but I do feel comfortable writing that I have never loved my wife more, I also know that the feelings of missing family and friends back in Michigan have never been more real for Whitney and I. I also know that while I have never been more skeptical of congregational Sunday morning worship, I love the church more than ever. These such things are personal, absolute, and mysteriously connected to not only my story, but to the stories of the past.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Absolutely Reflecting
Through listening to some new lectures via mp3 from a class that I will be taking over the next couple of months, I have entered into some reflection over the nature and history of absolutes. My first mentor, Mark Dewey addressed absolutes early in my understanding of reality. He had a wonderful point. He would say, "Nick, are there any absolutes?" Just to get him worked up I would say no... He would then respond with, "Really... absolutely? Are there absolutely no absolutes." I think that you get what I am saying. Regardless... Conversation on this topic continues to be prevalent in the lives of most evangelicals. (This conversation, however, may often be forced by overzealous evangelicals desiring to banish the false reality of absolute pluralism that they imagine surround themselves in their post-modern context.!.!!) I have been pondering this question more intently after Lyn TenBrink, of all people, came and sat down next to me at a party as I was by myself and cracked the joke, "Are you pondering the absolutes?" I laughed, but this retriggered a little somethin somethin inside of me that rooted back to the Mark Dewey days. So, back to this class, I liked what Dr. Ray Anderson was talking about. I will quote him by saying that "the absolute is known in the personal". I love this quote and I feel like we could run with this quote in a million different directions... But I would love to connect it to the idea of the "personalness" of story. I feel safe conjuring up the idea that if the absolute is known in the personal and that story is personal, then absolute can be transferred in story. We can then easily connect this to the Hebrew Bible and then to the story that continues in the life of Jesus and the New Testament and the early fathers, and the apostolic fathers, and then to the apologists, and the martyrs, and so on and so on and so on until we arrive at our point in time here in 2006. So what does this connection to story, and therefore to the absolutes mean for us here today??? I'm not ABSOLUTELY sure, but I do feel comfortable writing that I have never loved my wife more, I also know that the feelings of missing family and friends back in Michigan have never been more real for Whitney and I. I also know that while I have never been more skeptical of congregational Sunday morning worship, I love the church more than ever. These such things are personal, absolute, and mysteriously connected to not only my story, but to the stories of the past.
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Mini Putt
4 comments:
I am wondering if being absolutely sure about anything can only be accomplished within relationship. Absolutes do not matter to a person who is not connected to the topic at hand. Does this make sense? For some reason my mind was thinking something along that line after reading your post. Thanks for the thoughts.
Through our conversations over the past couple years, you know that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole absolute thing. I can be a skeptic with the best of them. I love the quote about absolutes being personal, but I also think absolutes ring true for communities of people. Thanks for your thougths and being real.
missing people, enjoying people, loving people...i love the realness that we experience through emotions in relationships...we're like children in our emotions and jesus is connected to those absolutes in our personal lives, pretty sweet.
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