Week 1 - Bevans - Chap 1

I liked how Bevans pointed to colonialism and post colonialisms effects on worldviews. I can certainly see how we arrived at post modernism through the shift in ideas from a "classicist culture" into an "empiricist culture." This shift brought on some relativism and pluralism that in many ways was needed and not detrimental. I think the Church has been slow to respond to such a shift in thinking because its identity for so long has been wrapped up in seeing the Bible as historicaly and scientifically inerrant. Therefore, the Church has held onto modernism's claim of there being just one way to look at things. However, I think the Church is now responding and making some changes. We can see such changes as many churches are now non denominational/post institutional and utilizing arts, technology and a more missional mindset. Demographically and culturally speaking, diversity in church congregations is something many pastors deelply desire for the health of their church. Bevans point about culture being seen as only western culture in modernism is a great point and an issue for the Church to recognize as it looks internally at its own traditions and values. I once attended a conference for pastors where the key note speaker said it was a disaster that all of the pastors in the room were middle aged, white, upper class, men. I think Bevans would have agreed.