tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post5511840686802462592..comments2023-10-07T08:24:12.797-04:00Comments on Video! Audio! Disco!: O Postmodern! Spare Me Your False Humilityjmwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10775720474363733288noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-11681412250070517962012-08-28T10:05:31.151-04:002012-08-28T10:05:31.151-04:00Brescia,
That our concern for the impression we ...Brescia, <br /><br />That our concern for the impression we give is at root of our language is a great point. Moreover, you're correct to note that the "alternative language" I offer ("better") does not necessarily deal with this root motive. I am still certainly concerned with the impression I give to the other, but I am trying to figure out a way to be BOTH respectful and confessional, both flexible and confident, to hold a view with both humility and conviction (while not trying to hide it). I think that this motive is a good thing, but we need to be aware of how much we care about our "projected self" and how we can maintain integrity.<br /><br />Does it imply competition? A good question. Then again, isn't intellectual dialogue quite naturally competitive? Of course we want to foster a cooperative spirit where "real dialogue" can occur. But it seems that comparison of ideas is somewhat inherently "competitive." (even the words are similar) From my point of view, the terms "Right/Wrong" are more competitive than "better/worse" because the former implies the necessity of defeat (there must be a wrong to have a right). <br /><br />Nevertheless, the concern is still valid and I surely don't desire to foster an environment of competition. I just happen to think that using terms like "right/wrong" (especially the term "Right") seems to squelch dialogue. It conveys the feeling that the finish line has been reached. If it is theology that we are discussing then the finish line is never reached! Moreover, I have noticed that many people who hold convictions with the term "right" hold on to there "right" opinion with a death grip. The reason, of course, is that anything other than being "right" is death: it means being wrong! There is a fundamentalist, all-or-nothing manner with which people hold their view when they believe it to be "right." <br /><br />Should you recommend such language to your students? If I were in your shoes I would challenge them to relinquish using the term "Right" and try using "Better" - at least as an exercise. Might be useful when discussing various views of atonement. For example, if one says that substitutionary atonement is "right," then it would seem they have come to conclusion, end of discussion. If one says that substitutionary view is "better" then there is an open door for "competition" between theories. Now the views must compare and dialogue with each other.<br /><br />Perhaps this is all semantics. But then again, language is everything. And in my experience, people I know are uncomfortable with black/white language like right/wrong. Hence, my perspective. jmwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10775720474363733288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-32978055177104409902012-08-25T10:26:47.356-04:002012-08-25T10:26:47.356-04:00Hi Josh,
You have written another challenging ess...Hi Josh,<br /><br />You have written another challenging essay, Josh. I share your suspicion that Uriah Heep, the falsely humble villain in Dickens' David Copperfield, lurks behind many a qualification of our convictions. Your recommendation of the language of comparison intrigues me, for now :) Though I wonder if it could evoke the impression of competitiveness, i.e., my view is better than yours. <br /><br />In my experience, anecdotal though that necessarily is, concern about the impression we make often is at the root of the language you object to. We don't want people to think we are inflexible, dogmatic or unwilling to consider other possibilities. But I think your criticism of conditional language includes this motive too. In which case, I am still hiding an actual conviction. <br /><br />I agree that, if I am sincerely not dogmatic, but, nevertheless, a person of conviction, "better" does render, and, in affect, confesses, my greater confidence in the stance I might through other language rather peddle softly. But my question is, Is that adjustment of language worth the impression of competitiveness?<br /><br />I am reminded of a way of thinking that I recommend at the beginning of Systematic theology. I say that in order for there to be learning there must be communication, and in order for there to be communication there must be "provisional doubt." I explain that provisional doubt provides space for two equally held possibilities: 1) that the other person may be right and I may be wrong, and 2) that I may be right too. In this way I bring my convictions as such to the conversation, while being open to changing them. The result is "real dialogue" and, therefore, greater possibility for mutual learning and discovery. <br /><br />My next question is, will the language you have recommended be helpful to recommend as part of that ground setting part of my introduction to theology? That is not a rhetorical question. What do you think?Bresciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014403686354849516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-33257692301027558332012-08-15T10:32:53.479-04:002012-08-15T10:32:53.479-04:00Thanks for the comment, Dani. I was not necessaril...Thanks for the comment, Dani. I was not necessarily picturing only young people (and what defines "young"? adolescence? 20's? 30's? young intellectually?). But I do agree with you that posturing gets better with age.<br /><br />I've encountered many - and read about this phenomenon in books about PM culture - to affirm this post's embedded assumption that a lot of "PM people" are hesitant to BELIEVE & CONFESS they are "right" or their view is "the best" etc. <br /><br />jmwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10775720474363733288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-25418973794693062402012-08-15T06:47:27.397-04:002012-08-15T06:47:27.397-04:00Wait, let me guess- are these mostly young people ...Wait, let me guess- are these mostly young people you're talking about? I think lack of confidence might be mixed in there somewhere. People get better at posturing as they age- if not actually more confident.DaniRizzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14235495980468365475noreply@blogger.com