> Try this: while anchored in your freedom in Him, move over into the
>opponent's mind. What part is valid from this perspective? What is based on
>ignorance? How can I clear up his or her misconceptions or misperceptions (i.e.
>the blind men and the elephant)?
I want to thank him for his comments and to elaborate slightly. I have
worked in multidisciplinary settings for years, and Paul's comments about
different 'habits of thought' among disciplines and professions strikes me
as patently obvious. In fact, I've developed experience in trying to
facilitate communication between different "communities of discourse"
and find the task fascinating as well as challenging.
So how does this insight help us as Christians in the sciences? Let me
offer some parallels. Recently, in our evolution discussions, we have
been reminded of "circles of freedom" of interpretation on certain
topics when studying Scripture. Yet this openness to a plurality of
perspectives is not arbitrariness. To extend the Schaeffer references,
even when confronted with diverse perspectives, we can challenge one
another to explicitness of presupposition, to coherence of argument and
of use of evidence, and to honesty in in acknoledging the limitations
in our stances. Schaeffer used the metaphor of "taking the roof off"
in his 'evangelism to intellectuals', which basically involves his
"presuppositional analysis" as tool for identifying incoherencies in
another's stance and, mercifully, "pushing" to the point where the
tension was "felt" by the other. We have, in my mind, a better
developed version once Wolterstorff articulated "control beliefs" for
us in "Reason withing the bound of religion". But the general
principles are strongly parallel.
I find Paul's examples helpful, and would like to ask whether his
comments equally "familiar". I have engaged others in the way Paul
suggests, and it seems to me an equally valuable stance to take
whether with a professional trained differently, a Christian who takes
a divergent theological stance, or an non-Christian who is nonetheless
open to dialogue. In different ways and with different priorities, it
seems these are all opportunities for giving voice to the faith and life
with which Christ has graced us. Reactions?
Marvin (Mac) McDonald mcdom@augustana.ab.ca