Beyond Foundationalism, Summary

This book has caused me to re-think my positions on theology and epistemology. I am very much still sorting out how exactly I will change. Some things that are sticking out are value of community approach to theology, the tension between the subjective and objective, and the primacy of a 'personal theology'.

As a person who was raised breathing the air of post-modernism, I have always had an appreciation for community. What I have never fully developed is the value of community in the understanding and approach to theology. Recently I read the book "Learning about Theology from the Third World". It helped me understand how other communities construct theology based on what is going on in their culture and there is nothing wrong with that (explored more in Christianity with Power). What that creates, though, is a tension between the subjective and objective experience of God. Is it that truth is only constructed in community?

While there is an aspect to which truth is constructed in community, it would be an overstatement to end there. There is a reality that truth is both subjective and objective. Exploring the subjective experience of God and theology in my community is subjective, but there is an objective God being discovered. Just because Africans, Latinos or Asians come to their theology differently does not mean that we are dealing with conflicting views. Its just a different way of looking at the same thing. This form of argumentation has been broadened to all faiths, but I am not going there. I am not making the claim that we can have conflicting views and be right. We can, however, have varied perspectives, on the same objective truth. But, what is most important is the personal interaction because we have a personal God.

God did not give us a theology book filled with dogma, but a story embedded in human history and experience. God did not remain distant handing down a list of rights/wrongs, but sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. We are given the Holy Spirit as a sign and seal of the promise we have in Christ. These are deeply personal interactions with God and should be the foundation and starting place of our theology. I find that I often approach theology from a foundationalist perspective. This book, Beyond Foundationalism, has challenged me to think through how I do theology, but I am still sorting things out... Thankfully, much of the future readings for this course will address this very topic.