Okay, the point thus far: theological thinking is inescapably perspectival. That is a big revelation, I know. But it's important to point out. For the sola scriptura folks, there's no Lockean tabula rasa on interpreting Scripture. We all come with presuppositions. For the rationalists, reason, though a sharp tool, is fallen and its critical faculties often moved by inclination. For the scientistic types, get over it.
At this point the relativists (or semi-relativists, if such creatures there are) are smiling smugly and sipping their chai. "Yes, of course. We know all this. This is why no one can really claim to have a lock on the truth. All our knowing is provisional." [Sip.] "Let's just get over it and commiserate." [Sip.] And the doors of the unseen trap close upon them.
It seems to me that the only real means for Christians to handle doctrinal truths is to stand in the tension between Scripture (or rather our interpretation of it) and the two thousand year tradition of the Church. As Paul says to the Corinthians: "You received that which I passed on ["traditioned"] to you." We 21st century Christians neither have the luxury nor the right to reinvent Christian faith. (Sorry, Messr. Spong. Get over it.) We can only receive that which we've been given. Which is not to say, that we accept it uncritically. In the Orthodox traditions, even ecumenical councils must be received by the laity. And one of our testing resources for tradition is the Scripture. But in true dialectic, the Tradition shapes our understanding of Scripture as well. Thus there is the ongoing interplay between the Scripture and Tradition. Both have the same source and confirm each other. Through the lenses of both, Christians can come to understand the truth. Or, more accurately, the Truth: he in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Posted by Clifton at November 26, 2002 06:00 AM | TrackBack