Biblical or pragmatic? Do we have to choose?
Funny how ideas get a life of their own. My tongue-in-cheek CHN about a ‘college of the yarts' has been sparking conversation in a couple of places about principle and pragmatism (such as in this column by John Sandeman).
This wasn't really the main issue I was thinking about when I penned my little satire; I was more interested in current attitudes to music and the arts in ministry, as opposed to other cultural endeavours. But it's been fascinating to see how the piece has been read and responded to. And there's no doubt that the old question of principle and pragmatism is looming there in the background. Is the push for an arts college driven by theological principle or ministry-minded pragmatics, or a bit of both? And how do we decide what constitutes a ‘biblical’ approach?
I wrote a longish essay about this several years ago in The Briefing called ‘Being biblical or doing what works: do we have to choose?’. For those who are interested in thinking further about ‘being biblical’ and ‘being pragmatic’, and how the two relate to each other, you may find it worth a read. (The essay has recently been added to our new online Briefing library: view Part I and Part II.)