Jargon I

The July/August issue of Modern Reformation features a relatively new movement within Evangelicalism which calls itself the “Emergent Church.” I know very little about the movement, except for rather vague generalities that I have picked up in various articles and conversations. I am looking forward to reading this issue for some more insight. As I was talking with a friend of mine about this subject, we got onto the issue of vocabulary. Namely, because the Emergent Church is trying to be described not only by itself, but by others seeking to define what it is, and how it is different from whatever it claims to be emerging from. Words like postmodern, modern, theology, culture, Gospel, Enlightenment, Builders, Boomers, Xers, etc. mean specific things in this conversation. Often, however, this specified vocabulary may isolate people who are very interested in the conversation from being able to participate. This problem is common whenever someone in a particular specialization attempts to communicate to someone outside of his/her field of practice. Engineers, Medical Doctors, Lawyers, and Theologians have special words they use in order to say more with less. So here is my attempt to provide some basic definitions. Also, I would like to mention that within the more formal aspects of the discipline of theology, often theologians disagree on the definitions of words. Therefore, I encourage much feedback, correction, clarification from anyone who would like to help better formulate the definitions I put down. Thanks!

Epistemology- This word refers to “a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge” (Webster’s Dictionary). How do we come to know truth? What is the nature of truth? Can truth be known? How much truth can be known? You may think these are silly questions reserved for people who have way too much time on their hands. However, these are the questions below the surface of the water in much of the controversy we face in our churches today.

For simplicity sake, I like to think of three main sources of knowledge: (1) Divine Revelation (General and Special), (2) Tradition, and (3) Science (Empiricism and Rationalism). (Some would like to add a fourth source, Personal Experience. However, I think personal experience is the combination of these three) So, if I asked someone why he/she believed the sky to be blue, he/she could give the following answers: (1) “God has revealed the sky to be blue.” (2) “My parents and grandparents and great-grandparents told me the sky is blue.” Or (3) “I can see that the sky is blue.”

To be continued...