ken wilson online

What drives a concern for thinking about set theory?  This is a sub-text in this ongoing conversation.  Maybe set theory is a ruse for being soft on sin.  We don’t want to obey the Bible’s teaching on sin, so we are trying to find a way around it, and set theory is a convenient sin dodge.  The bounded set seems to be driven by a concern for moral rigor or moral purity. Therefore any attempt to consider a different approach must be driven by a concern to accomodate to the surrounding culture when it comes to sin.
Read the rest of this entry »

I think we need to introduce another aspect of set theory that missionary Paul Heibert describes in his book, Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues. I know, I know, this is not simple and we all want to cut to the chase and look at centered sets.  But it’s necessary, given the questions about “who is a Christian?” that have surfaced in the blog.
Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Rick pointed out wonderful summary of set theory as applied to the Christian misison in a gem of a footnote tucked away in Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, by Miroslav Volf. Volf writes from his experience in Croatia during the war there. Bert Waggoner, the National Director of Vineyard USA told me (if memory serves) that Volf has a Pentecostal background.  Not your typical ivory tower academic.
Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

We need some new nets.  Something more than contemporary worship music and great programs that meet needs and pastors who wear clothes from Old Navy.  It’s time to get missional, which always  means controversial.  It’s time to examine cultural assumptions that have hindered us from doing our job.  This post is the first in a series on one of those assumptions–how we in the Western world approach categories.  I learned this from John Wimber in the early Vineyard days.  He introduced me to the conversation in mission circles about “bounded set and centered set” groups.  
Read the rest of this entry »