i like this.

“People sometimes say they ran from God. I don’t think that’s even possible. All that you can do is ignore God, because He’s all around you.”

I fully agree with your assessment on the created order and the evangelical heresy. I do not believe that the world in and of itself is bad. We have ourselves and our natures to blame for tainting our perception and understanding of the world around us which then naturally follows into misguided and sinful behavior. I do believe, however, that as we experience a moment of “quality” or whatever you want to call it, we encounter the living Creator God, even if we don’t immediately ascribe it to Him. I have to admit that I am not aware of all the Quality that is around me, and this is where there is mystery.

My intention was never to suggest that we do away with Theology or that we stop trying to define what Quality is. On the contrary, as a Christian, if I believe that God is Quality, I’m going to devote my life to trying to understand it, even if I know I’m limited in doing so. In addition, some of the best resources I have to draw upon to help in my understanding are the experiences and formulations of persons from the past who have shared their ideas.

The main point is that our definitions are limited and that subjectivity is not something to war against, but rather a natural outcome of different experiences. The best we can do is share our experiences, and for the Christian, spread the Good News that Quality manifested itself in Jesus and that He invites us to walk with him as He works to chisel away the corruption that shrouds everything in mystery. This process is then classically defined and becomes Theology. Which, in a manner of speaking, IS the ongoing discussion of an ever increasing subjective understanding. Both the definitions and the mystery are to be celebrated because they cannot work without each other. If we put more emphasis on one or the other we are not being true to our experience of the Living God. For now we see through a glass darkly as Paul puts it.

I have a real love for post-moderns and relativists. I’m a bit confused however, as it seems to me that subjective reality breeds an ever-increasing amount of mystery to faith than an incarnate Jesus suggests.

I’m going to suggest that Theology is actually more necessary in understanding life because reality is revealed in an ever-increasing amount as people attempt to define that which cannot be contained in a single lifetime. For instance, many people who meet me see quickly that I love Jesus. But if they dig deeper, they might find that I also love computers and popular music. I don’t think that these other attributes modify my love for Jesus in any way, but perhaps it broadens my conception of how love is defined to me. They will see a passionate love for my savior at first, then they will see a sincere appreciation at the second level. Both are love, but they are love in different routines.

Perhaps, we young evangelical Christians are reacting against a greater heresy. The heresy is that the created order is bad — when in fact, it is our very human nature which is tainted. (I know, I know, total depravity — but in all seriousness) The world, in and of itself, is not bad but our human nature is corrupted, thus tainting our understanding.

My hesitation comes in when we move away from definition and grasp more fully onto mystery. Can’t we say that an attribute like ‘quality’ really has a faulty definition this side of heaven? Can’t we suggest that our definition of ‘quality’ grows as an ever-increasing subjective understanding comes to discussion? Rather than moving away from definition, can’t we apply more definition that stands in complement to the first?