Monday, September 5, 2011

Another theology of car repair?

Previously I made a few posts about a reading group which worked through Miroslav Volf's Exclusion and Embrace.

The same group has now started Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview by Albert Wolters.

Overall, the main point is that the Gospel is relevant to everything: not just life and godliness, but also philosophy, economics, science, engineering, politics....
This is because is both the Creator and the Redeemer of everything.
Furthermore, he seems to claim that there is actually a correct Biblical perspective on each of these areas of life.
At first, I did not like this or agree with it. I have heard and seen too many (tragic and comical!) cases of people claiming they have THE Biblical perspective on parenting, biology, taxation, car repair, big bang cosmology....
Furthermore, God has given us great freedom on some matters for which there is no clear cut right or wrong: what to eat for lunch or the technical details of biochemistry.

But, the discussion (a week ago) was very helpful in clarifying my concerns. Wolters point may perhaps be stated in the following terms. There IS a unique distinctly Biblical perspective on all such matters. We should strive to find it. But, it will be very hard work. We will not all agree on what it is, how to find it, or if we have found it. However, we should not just throw up our hands in the air and say "it does not matter" or "it is just a matter of personal opinion".

An earlier post, with a slightly different perspective (including Karl Barth's on relating science and theology), is A Theology of car repair?

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