It never ceases to amaze me how the human condition in community seems so adept at gravitating from one extreme to another. From my observations this appears to be true in most walks of life, theology not excluded. Prior to the advent of the Pentecostal/Charismatic revivals in the 20th century, the church in large part was woefully staid. Obviously, there were exceptions, but the Spirit was not emphasized and seemed quenched. Arguably, in fundamentalist and evangelical circles, an inordinate amount of emphasis was placed on Scripture and the sacraments as the nexus for intimate communion between God and man.
The dynamics at least in the circles I am most familiar with seem to have changed for now. In reading several posts on this forum there seems to be an implicit depreciation of Scripture in favor of the Spirit and personal or subjective revelation. I find myself at a loss as to how God's Spirit and the Scripture can be thought of in terms of the two not being inextricable since Scripture is the very breath of the living God (2Tim.3:16), but some seem to be able to think of the two as clearly distinct. Also, I have read posts where the sacrament, water baptism is thought optional at best. This despite Jesus' clear mandate in Matthew 28:19.
So, the pendulum swings, and I fear to the detriment of us all. I can't help to think that by migrating from one extreme to another, the church loses the best of both ends. I don't think it's zero sum. It seems self-evident to me that the optimal approach is to develop and maintain a conceptual framework that allows for the inclusion of the best from tradition and what the Spirit is doing in the present. It safeguards from extremism.
The dynamics at least in the circles I am most familiar with seem to have changed for now. In reading several posts on this forum there seems to be an implicit depreciation of Scripture in favor of the Spirit and personal or subjective revelation. I find myself at a loss as to how God's Spirit and the Scripture can be thought of in terms of the two not being inextricable since Scripture is the very breath of the living God (2Tim.3:16), but some seem to be able to think of the two as clearly distinct. Also, I have read posts where the sacrament, water baptism is thought optional at best. This despite Jesus' clear mandate in Matthew 28:19.
So, the pendulum swings, and I fear to the detriment of us all. I can't help to think that by migrating from one extreme to another, the church loses the best of both ends. I don't think it's zero sum. It seems self-evident to me that the optimal approach is to develop and maintain a conceptual framework that allows for the inclusion of the best from tradition and what the Spirit is doing in the present. It safeguards from extremism.
