Thursday, July 05, 2007

Tony Jones on Orthodoxy

Tony Jones recently blogged about a paper he wrote and its response at Wheaton. I would highly recommend clicking this link and going to the bottom, where you can download the paper. It is short and thought-provoking. Please read it!

Orwell, in 1984, says "Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." Now obviously this is in the context of the book, but it remains a thought provoking statement. I guess the other quote I could share comes from Heidegger, who said (I'm paraphrasing from my memory, but hopefully will be somewhat close), "The most thought provoking thing in this, the most thought provoking age, is that we are still not thinking." No wonder he seems to stand at the starting-point of postmodernity and the end (hopefully) of orthodoxy as we have known it.

Sorry for the random, off-beat quotes, but they were on my mind and I hoped they might add something to your enjoyment of Jones' article.

Peace,
Matt

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Matt, could you fill out this statement more? "No wonder he seems to stand at the starting-point of postmodernity and the end (hopefully) of orthodoxy as we have known it." Why is orthodoxy such a bad thing?

Charlie said...

Matt, you've been tagged.

Kurt Ingram said...

how not to speak of God has helped me understand orthodoxy a little better. I don't think it is necesarily a bad thing, but the idea that it is absolute or an actual description of the transedent nature of God quickly turns it into an idol. I like what Rollins has to say about the mystics who saw God as indescribable mystery in light of orthodoxy. The problem isn't orthodoxy, its that we see orthodox things as thogh they were actually God rather then a shadow of a glimpse of the passing glory of a transcendent God. Maybe?