rock, cloud & water : nurturing holistic christian thinking

ROCKROCK, Cloud, WATERNurturing Holistic Christian Thinking

ROCKROCK Logic

Is it true?

Is it Biblical? What does the Bible say?

Is it ‘Christian’?”

The Focus of Rock Logic

• Finding Truth / Exposing Falsehood

• Creating Certainty & Conviction

• Ensuring Safety / Boundaries

• Highlighting Differences in Perspectives

GG3

Greek Gang Of Three

The Tools of Rock Logic

• Criticism / Argument

• Judgment / Certainty

• Hermeneutics of Suspicion (towards differences)

• The Logic of the Courtroom

“Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”

(Luke 4:8)

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Galatians 2:21

“Here I stand; I can do no other.”

Martin Luther

EBNERock Logic is…

“Excellent But Not Enough”

Cloud Logic

Does it help? What can I learn? Do we understand each other?

How can we make this work?

The Focus of Cloud Logic

• Meeting Needs

• Mutual Understanding / Respect

• Strengthening Relationships

• Highlighting Similarities in Perspectives

The Tools of Cloud Logic

• Exploration / Synthesis/ Embracing Ambiguity

• Context! (what rock logic is poor at)

• Hermeneutics of Charity

• The Logic of Love

“If I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing.”

1 Corinthians 13:2

“The Sabbath was made for Man, not Man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

We must value theology across the spectrum of the Church…

AdversarialThinking

ParallelThinking

“Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!” (Acts 10:13)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”

(Gal 3:28)

“There is neither Barisan nor Pakatan, Conservative or Liberal, Protestant or Catholic…for you are all one in Christ Jesus”

(The Book of Malaysians 3:28)

WATER Logic

Is it new? Is it rich?

What can we do with this? Can we have more ideas?

What’s next?

The Focus of Water Logic

• Valuing Innovation and New Perspectives

• Generating Ideas and Alternatives

• Creating Fresh Practical Solutions

What is the ‘box’ we must think out of?

The BOX =

Logic + Experience

“Creative ideas are always logical in

hindsight, but invisible in foresight”

  Edward de Bono

The Tools of Water Logic

• Provocation / Suspension of Judgment

• Messiness / Value Sensitivity

• The Logic of the Studio

How Does GOD Think?

“In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was with God…and the Word was God…(Who)

was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

  John 1

What kind of God breaks our expectations of the divine?

“'Right now we can only guess that the correct

answer for the total number of species lies between

2 and 100 million” 

Michael RozensweigReconciliation Ecologist, University of Arizona

What kind of God can ‘think up’ 100 million species?

What kind of God dies for His creation and whose defining symbol of victory is a Roman

death machine?

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than Man’s

wisdom…” 

1 Cor 1:25

ROCK CLOUD WATER

Best Strength / Security

Reconciliation / Connection /

Reinvention / Path-Breaking

Worst Fossilization / Judgmentalism

Lack of Integrity / Syncretism

Chaos / Absurdity

#1 Grow Strong and Healthy!

• Rock Logic = ‘Bones’• Know your Bible• Know basic doctrines• Learn Church tradition

#2 Play well, Love Well!

• Cloud Logic = ‘Skin’• See the value in other

perspectives• Understand other

communities• Work for inclusiveness and

out of compassion

#3 Carpe Diem!

• Water Logic = “Face / Personality”• Break new ground• Reimagine the future• Surge ahead