Living Between the Lines- Either/Or Vs. Both/And

File Under: Rant

Why are humans so drawn to extremes? It seems like on most issues and in many of the conversations I have with people they move toward either/or mentalities.

A book by Grenz and Olsen on 20th century theology uses the paradigm of an immanent and transcendent view of God. They trace the varios movements that swing like a pendulum between the two.

Francis Schaeffer explains the schism between faith and reason. Philosphers believe people are supposed to either live in an unproven world of faith or a reasonable world devoid of meaning.

Christians talk of their spiritual life as opposed to a sinful flesh.

This is a false dichotomy developed by Greek philosphy and in particular the teachings of Plato. God created a physical world and declard it "good." Jesus came in the flesh- which confounded the greek philosphers at Mars Hill in Athens.

Christianity is not one or the other. We are called to live in the middle, where the action is. It is easier to follow a list of commands than to consider what shows the most love in any given situation and act accordingly. Sometimes wrong and right collide and cause us to make a choice. David fed his starving men the bread from the tabernacle reserved for the priests. Jesus chose to heal on the sabbath because the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Sometimes we have to go against the established religious precedents to accomplish the most loving action.

This is a more challenging way to live, and a lot more fun!