- Emergents see God's activity in all aspects of culture and reject the sacred-secular divide.
- Emergents believe that an envelope of friendship and reconciliation must surround all debates about doctrine and dogma.
How do these cultural approaches to faith differ or affirm what you have experienced in the past?
What are the benefits or dangers of placing relationships before dogma?
Do you see these descriptions as helping or hindering "evangelism"?
Labels: Book Discussions, Emerging Church, The New Christians
I think relationship before dogma is the right order of things, but sometimes we get a skewed idea of how to best nurture our relationships. In my opinion, it's important that we let the framework of Christian teaching to inform our conceptualization of healthy relationships. An example would be, does love ALWAYS support the loved ones' actions? Must we ALWAYS maintain connections to family and/or friends, even when those connections drive a wedge in our relationship with God? There are a lot of questions about what constitutes healthy relationships, and it's important that we use ideas rooted in Christian teaching to keep centered.