Classical Theology vs. Modern Evangelical Experientialism

A Pragmatic Orientation So much of the modern world is preoccupied with immediate practicality and measurable results. Thus, classical humanities have been eclipsed in the schoolroom, to be replaced with disciplines that have an obvious application to the workplace. What is the point of reading Homer, for example, when one could spend that time learning how to read a balance sheet or how to manage a sales campaign? Truth is perhaps not reduced to its ability to generate results, but those truths that do are likely to be prioritized, while those that do not, neglected or ignored. This pragmatic orientation of wider society has its counterpart in the church. We can all be vulnerable to the tendency to instrumentalize the gospel by demanding that it has to have some direct, practical relevance, whether that be in terms of action or experience. This is the Christian equivalent of that instrumentalized reason and pragmatism that dominates so much of modern culture. We want the gospel to do something and to do so in an obvious, immediate way. We want it to change lives, improve our communities, or transform politics. For the modern mind, so much of the understanding of truth correlates t...