QuakerInfo.com Forum

[DavidT]

I recently was in a conference call on construction management with a number of people discussing the radical changes happening to our industry. As we were discussing the dynamical changes in how we interact, someone said to not forget about emotions. The very fact someone would even think about that in context to construction management is a rather radical departure from the past.

My college degree is in systematic theology from an evangelical methodist school. I had come to the conclusion long ago that systematic theology was a pointless exercise in self supporting circular arguments that really made no sense. A bit like a finger pointing to itself saying it's true based on it's own finger pointing to itself. I abandoned that in favor of a process way of thinking about the religion in general and understanding the text specifically. Surprisingly construction is shifting from a systematic way of building to a process oriented way of building due to technology changes that I find rather interesting.

My question i suppose is that the dominate view in the Christian community is systematic, which has very old roots in Christian thinking, but my take from my time around non evangelical Quakerism is that the individuals are more process oriented rather than systematic oriented. Where as systematic attempts to build a structure of understanding from the parts, quakers tend to attempt to understand the parts of life from a more holistic point of view. One tends to be reductive the other non reductive. One tends to understand expressively the other tends to understand descriptively. Am I wrong in thinking that George Fox was a rather forward thinking process type rather than a systematic type? Just curious I find rather interesting shifts in our thinking taking place and that I find interesting.

[Kiahanie]

I kinda think Fox might have thought systematic theology is just too full of too many notions. I doubt he would have strongly identified with process theology, though: why bother theologizing when we have Christ himself within to teach us?
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"There is a field out beyond right and wrong. I'll meet you there." --Jellaludin Rumi

[DavidT]

I think you are right Kiahanie. Your point reminds me of a poem

All the world know beauty
but if that becomes beautiful
this becomes ugly
all the world knows good
but if that become good
this becomes bad
have and have not create each other
hard and easy produce each other
long and short shape each other
high and low complete each other
note and noise accompany each other
first and last follow each other
sages therefore perform effortless deeds
and teach wordless lessons
they don't look after all the things that arise
or depend on them as they develop
or claim them when they reach perfection
and because they don't claim them
they are never without them