Been thinking about the phrase ‘half-right’ recently. Jenni posted recently on it here. I guess I’m looking at it from the perspective that I’m reading a lot of “emerging church” stuff these days, and I’m aware that I want to have a balanced perspective on it. I’m kind-of coming from the same perpsective as Jenni, in that some of the stuff I’ve been reading is really helping me incredibly to get new perspectives and the likes, and yet some of it I’m not so sure about. As I’ve been thinking about this, the first thing that tends to pop into mind is Jesus’ words in …

“…whoever is not against us is for us….” [Mark 9]

Then my mind wanders back through thoughts I’ve had, similar to Jenni’s, that if I disagree with some of their teaching, how trustworthy is the rest of it? I don’t think we can write off everything good someone says on the basis of one bad thing they say… everyone’s human, right? We all stumble and fall. We have to test everything.

The philosopher Arthur Holmes once said “All truth is God’s truth.”

I love this truth (yes, I believe it’s truth). When Paul is speaking to the people in Athens, he quotes their own poets and philosophers. It’s important to realise the context here – the Athenians were very learned people, who were always debating the latest theories and philosophies, so the emergence of this new, knowable God that these followers of The Way were speaking about would have been intruiging to them. For Paul, anybody is capable of speaking truth. He takes it and claims it for himself, using it to turn people’s hearts and minds to God.

So I guess my conclusion at the minute is that it’s ok to take and claim truth wherever I find it. But I’m still wrestling. Anyone else got thoughts to share?

[I do not guarantee that this will be my final thoughts on the topic either!]