Comments on: Baptists and the emerging church http://www.emergingrichmond.org/2009/11/baptists-and-the-emerging-church/ a node in the emerging world Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:20:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Greg Dempster http://www.emergingrichmond.org/2009/11/baptists-and-the-emerging-church/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Greg Dempster Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:41:31 +0000 http://www.emergingrichmond.org/?p=98#comment-26 True enough! A jigsaw puzzle has only one correct order; a block house has no such limits. True enough! A jigsaw puzzle has only one correct order; a block house has no such limits.

]]> By: admin http://www.emergingrichmond.org/2009/11/baptists-and-the-emerging-church/comment-page-1/#comment-25 admin Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:54:02 +0000 http://www.emergingrichmond.org/?p=98#comment-25 I had a conversation today about one of the famous (infamous?) purpose in life books. I proposed that there is a danger in preaching to people that they are special because people will interpret that as they (plural) are special when in fact it is you (singular) and you ( singular) and you (singular) etc that is special. When the group is special it can breed hatred, bigotry, and a whole other host of potentially counterproductive thoughts. When you (singular) are special, then it demands that you realize that each of the "others" are special too. I like the building blocks too because my block house keeps changing as I see what can made of the blocks. Dave I had a conversation today about one of the famous (infamous?) purpose in life books. I proposed that there is a danger in preaching to people that they are special because people will interpret that as they (plural) are special when in fact it is you (singular) and you ( singular) and you (singular) etc that is special. When the group is special it can breed hatred, bigotry, and a whole other host of potentially counterproductive thoughts. When you (singular) are special, then it demands that you realize that each of the “others” are special too.

I like the building blocks too because my block house keeps changing as I see what can made of the blocks.

Dave

]]> By: Greg Dempster http://www.emergingrichmond.org/2009/11/baptists-and-the-emerging-church/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Greg Dempster Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:49:51 +0000 http://www.emergingrichmond.org/?p=98#comment-23 What I found most interesting is how completely the article was misuderstood by the first person who commented on it. The whole analogy of difference--a "jigsaw puzzle" view vs. a "building blocks" view--was lost on the commenter, who is stuck on the greater "meaning" of each of the blocks, as if a building block has any meaning apart from what gets built with it. This is the whole point, isn't it? That, in a postmodern view, no individual block has ANY meaning outside of the context of the individual's own experience? What I found most interesting is how completely the article was misuderstood by the first person who commented on it. The whole analogy of difference–a “jigsaw puzzle” view vs. a “building blocks” view–was lost on the commenter, who is stuck on the greater “meaning” of each of the blocks, as if a building block has any meaning apart from what gets built with it. This is the whole point, isn’t it? That, in a postmodern view, no individual block has ANY meaning outside of the context of the individual’s own experience?

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