ken wilson online

We’re taking our time plodding through set theory–bounded sets, centered sets, etc.  Why? Why bother?  What does any of this have to do with faithfulness to Jesus?  Thanks for asking. Set theory is a way of understanding underlying cultural assumptions that affect the way we understand categories.  Still pretty esoteric sounding?  Except that categories are important in the Bible and in life.  Who is a Christian for example, is a category question.  Who is a member of the body of Christ? is a category question.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’d like to say more about bounded sets before moving on to other approaches to church.  Picture a bounded set approach to church as a circle in the form of a ring. Members of the group fulfill certain criteria and become members of the group thereby.  It’s pretty clear who is a member of the group and who isn’t.  People are either “all in” or “all out.”  The boundary is comprised of whatever beliefs and behaviors are viewed by the church in question as essential for membership in the group.  Keep in mind that boundaries like this include both formal statements (like creeds and defined positions on various moral-behavioral issues), cultural factors (as is the case with ethnic churches of many kinds) and other informally enforced boundaries (things which are accepted or rejected by group members through various forms of social sanction or pressure).
Read the rest of this entry »