Either / Or vs. Both / And

March 11, 2016

Either / Or vs. Both / And

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

    your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Psalm 36:5

The parallels between David’s Psalm 36 and modern times are many. In the centuries since the Industrial Revolution, people have grown in their confidence to master their environment. There has developed a growing belief that through the power of human intellect, better government and education, the ills in human society can be cured.

The psalmist declares there are but two alternatives in life: humanity or divine grace. In the more recent evolution of society, a third alternative has been established. Instead of the “Either / Or” of the psalmist, there is a “Both / And” movement that tries to hold to both a belief in God and confidence in human ability. On the surface, this movement seems to be an appropriate position; after all, John Wesley did teach his followers to sort out life by Scripture, Reason, Tradition and Experience. This quadrilateral certainly seems to combine human ability with theology. But there is a huge problem with the “Both / And” approach.

The “Both / And” approach creates a temptation to dismiss or ignore the parts of Scripture we do not like, or do not understand; and instead, trust our own judgment and intellect. When we do so, we leave the “Both / And” camp and move into the Humanist camp.

Karl Barth is considered by many as the most important theologian of the Twentieth Century. He was in the “Both / And” camp, leaning more to the Humanist approach of solving the world’s problems. Then came WWI and the evidence of human depravity was overwhelming. After a fresh reading of the Bible, Barth aligned himself with the psalmist’s expression of the sovereignty of God.

In Wesley’s quadrilateral, he begins with Scripture. None of the following three elements (Reason, Tradition and Experience) are valid unless they align with Scripture. This way of living in our environment does not ignore human intellect and potential; it affirms that human intellect and potential are fully realized within God’s divine grace and will. Thus we can sing with the psalmist: “Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.