Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Cultural Assumptions Postmodern culture is the driving force of the Emerging Method. While Traditionals and Pragmatics are less aware that they were formed by cultural factors, Emergings embrace the influence culture plays on how people understand their faith. In fact, in many respects, the Emerging Method originates from the place of culture . 89 Emergings appear confident that their pessimism toward transcendent truth will be the last and most complete phase of human philosophy, and that nothing superior can supplant it. Therefore, they look forward to a continuing emergence in which their philosophy engulfs the outdated notions of the Traditional and Pragmatic methods. Theirs is a new, exciting pursuit of truth, experienced through their personal and corporate faith journeys. Rationalism and the Bible Placing limited value on Rationalism, Emergings react against the Traditionals’ commitments to the Bible in strictly rational ways . They do not react against the Bible as much as they dislike the rational approaches Traditionals employ. Emergings prefer to engage theology as a conversation . They recognize the Bible as an authoritative source of God’s narrative, but do not value Scripture in the Linguistic-Mental way the Traditional Method does. In contrast to the Pragmatic and Traditional methods, who emphasize the accumulation of information as the measure of maturity, Emergings are more interested in personal transformation . Emergings seek authentic discipleship and genuine experience over the Pragmatic’s self-help and “information transfer.” 90

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