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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Opus 2013-275: Presuppositions

Why do people disagree on so many things?  How can people of good will follow such different paths?  Republicans and Democrats can both love America.  Baptists and Episcopalians can both love God.  Yet they take totally different approaches and seek widely varied solutions.  Francis Schaeffer was a Christian theologian and philosopher.  He claims that it all goes back to our presuppositions.
“People have presuppositions, and they live more consistently on the basis of those presuppositions than they themselves may realize.”  page 19
What is the key difference between a Republican and a Democrat?  One believes that the individual can make the best decisions, the other feels the government should be in the driver’s seat.  Everything else grows from those seeds.  Baptists and Episcopalians?  One believes in bottom up church government, the other in the power of the hierarchy.  In parenting styles people have different views of human nature.  Some believe the child should be free, others that they must be molded.

Why do you disagree with me?  It isn’t because you are stupid and I had to disillusion you but I am not stupid either.  Much of it comes back to presuppositions.  Is the nature of man evil or good?  Are we created by God or and product of natural selection?  Are men and women the same or different?  Are there absolutes in right or wrong or is everything relative?

Consider your presuppositions. 

Schaeffer, Francis A.  How Should We Then Live?  Old Tappan, New Jersey:  Fleming H. Revel Company, 1976.

homo unius libri

2 comments:

  1. Gee, and all these years I just thought it was because most folks aren't as smart as I am! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just because it is a presupposition doesn't mean it isn't true!

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.