Our Problem with Canon
I have not yet read Rachel Held Evan’s latest book but I think I get at least one of her points in it. She is saying to the church and the Christian community “your use of canon is self-referentially inconsistent according to what you say canon is.”
By canon her I mean Scripture of course, but then why not just say “Scripture” or “The Bible”. By using the word canon I highly the aspect of the Bible that is it as rule, as the authoritative document for the Christian community’s life together. If you’re unfamiliar with the terms you can explore it on Wikipedia’s entry.
Rachel’s line of argument is a common one employed by many who are arguing within canon community “your reading of canon doesn’t work, it doesn’t have integrity, it doesn’t accomplish what you expect it to accomplish”.
Christian Smith does a similar thing with his book “The Bible Made Impossible” but without the performance art approach.
None of this is of course necessarily a bad thing. This tactic was used by Jesus numerous times in debating the religious leaders of his community. It is a way of using canon within a community by holding up “the measuring rule” to a practice and asking “does this hit the mark?”
Why Cosmopolitan Relativism Chafes At Canon Continue reading
Jack of All Cultures But Mastered by None, Or So We Try
Breadcrumbs
Lots of interesting “more cultured than thou” posts flying around, and some that are a bit more honest and humble.
I got into the conversation via the Patrol piece Hipsters and Hamster Balls. Lots of links in that one. I got schooled in terms like post-irony and the New Sincerity.
Fitzgerald called out Mike Cosper and his piece at the Gospel Coalition. Cosper responded to Fitzgerald on his own blog.
I thought my friend Eric would have fun with this stuff so I emailed him and he pointed me to a lovely blog on Stuff Christian College Kids Don’t Like
Impressions Continue reading →