Email yesterday from Jim Rutz: Dear Andrew, after only 13 months, I have finished stroking my beard about your excellent article/speech on Job and Postmodernism. It inspired me to a slight update of the classic retorts one might get when challenging baseball umpires about their judgment:
1. Mystics like Eliphaz, who experience truth could be grouped with the umpire who says, "I call 'em like I see 'em."
2. Rationalists like Zophar, who discover truth are in the same camp as the umpire who says, "I call 'em like they are."
3. Postmodernists like Elihu, who construct truth are akin to the umpire who says, "They aren't balls or strikes until I call 'em."
4. And traditionalists like Bildad, who inherit truth, would appreciate the ump who says, "Shuddup! I'm the umpire and you're not."
(By the way, did you know that Bildad the Shuhite was the shortest man in the Bible? Yes, even shorter than Knee-high-am-I-ah.)
Really, though, Andy: I think we have a mixing of four sorts of truth:
A. Experiential validity for mystics.
B. Logical consistency for rationalists.
C. Hand-made, artsy-craftsy globs of opinions for postmoderns. (The criterion here is sincerity of belief. Or are my prejudices showing through?)
D. Historical accuracy for traditionalists.
Question: With the possible exception of (C) above, what's to prevent a wise person from making free use of all kinds of truth simultaneously?
ANDREW: Once again, Jim, we find ourselves on the same page, despite our different backgrounds, tastes in facial hair, and despite me being much better looking than you.
Like you, I see things in layers that can co-exist, rather than links, that supercede each other. Modularity, rather than singularity. At the same time, we can experience, discover, inherit truth and even construct our little models of truth that may work or may not work.
BTW, my daugher just interrupted me and showed me a note that says she must be home at 1500 hours. I said “3 o’clock?” and she said “No, its 1500”. I told her there are two ways of measuring time – actually there are many more – but none of them will change the revolution of the sun over the earth.
Jim, I am writing a book at the moment that deals with creativity and worship in the emerging church. The idea of motion is becoming a theme. I was, just this morning, thinking about the portability of the Tabernacle Tent over the Temple. God liked that Tent, didn’t He? The tent was His idea. David schemed up the Temple.
. . . . God’s tent, David’s Temple - good name for your next book?
Didn’t you write on that in your book, The Open Church? It has been years since I read it. Perhaps if you were to do some more beard stroking over the next few weeks, you could input some thoughts about movement, motion, portability in the new churches.
Thanks for your thoughts. Don’t wear out your beard.
