"We conclude then that when both parties, the believer and the non-believer, are epistemologically self-conscious and as such engaged in the interpretative enterprise, they cannot be said to have any fact in common. On the other hand, it must be asserted that they have every fact in common. Both deal with the same God and with the same universe created by God. Both are made in the image of God. In short, they have the metaphysical situation in common. Metaphysically, both parties have all things in common, while epistemologically they have nothing in common. Christians and non-Christians have opposing philosophies of fact. They also have opposing philosophies of law. They differ on the nature of diversity; they also differ on the nature of unity." -- Cornelius Van Til , Common Grace and The Gospel
Christians and non-Christians can only agree when neither takes themselves very seriously. There can be peace and unity and conformity between them only as long as no one cares too much about what they claim to believe. Interfaith celebrations and dialogues are only made possible when no one has much faith in their particular faith, or to put it more succinctly, when no one has a faith that is very particular.
Christians ought to be epistemologically self-conscious. They must know what they believe and why they believe. They must know where and from Whom they have come and to where and for Whom they are going in order to be where they are for Whom they exist at this moment. Any Christian who knows all of that can have nothing in common with someone who considers all of that nonsense. The two are oriented around different principles. The two are trying to shape the world in different, mutually exclusive ways. They are creating, perpetuating and participating in different cultures centered around different cultus, i.e. worship.
"Culture is religion externalized." -- Henry Van Til, The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
We become what we worship and our worship determines what we, in turn, create.
No comments:
Post a Comment