There are several reasons why the seemingly straightforward task of speaking about the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ should be problematic for the church today.
There is the much discussed challenge of postmodernism, for example. The form of Christian discourse that predominates in today’s churches evolved under the cultural and intellectual constraints of an earlier period and is ill-equipped to deal with the uncertainties and shifted values of postmodern culture. Many would argue, therefore, that if the gospel is to have any credibility within this new context, it needs to be ‘postmodernized’.
While some in the church see the need to extend the scope of Christian rhetoric, others are more concerned to safeguard the older forms of expression, motivated partly by an instinctive resistance to novelty, but also by a quite reasonable fear that the vital truths of the faith are in danger of being trampled under foot in a stampede of cultural change. This fear puts pressure on the church to preserve and reinforce the traditional Word that has been entrusted to it.
There is also the need to respond to the worldview constructed by science, which is thought by many (both inside and outside the church) to be inimical to theistic belief. The basic issue is whether there is any need or basis for traditional theological hypotheses in our explanations of the origin and functioning of the universe or of human nature. Considerable intellectual effort goes into addressing the challenge that the predominant scientific method presents to Christian faith.
Nor should we overlook the endless queue of alternative saviours with their alternative gospels who come knocking at the door of the church, hoping that someone will let them in and give them a home. They are all familiar figures: the Cynic peasant philosopher, the mystic, the magician, the zealot manqué, the apocalyptic crank, the ghostly figment of the church’s imagination, the gnostic redeemer, the displaced avatar, the guru, the ascended master…. And when they are turned away, they simply go back to the end of the queue and try their luck again. Someone needs to watch the door. Someone needs to check their credentials. Someone needs to evict the interloper who manages to get past security.
There is, however, a more fundamental question that needs to be addressed, which concerns how we manage the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do we understand this truth well enough? Have we properly conceptualized the ‘story’ that is at the heart of Christian truth? How consistent are our criteria for determining what constitutes truth? How effective is our basic Christian discourse for communicating this truth in the world today?
These questions point us to the basic purpose of this website, which is to highlight the need for, and to stimulate, a more honest, credible and intellectually coherent expression of everyday Christian faith.
The central premise is that Christian faith is not quite in touch with reality - like a person who has become too light for the world, too insubstantial, and is in danger of floating away. Certainly, there is much that is right about the evangelical enterprise at the moment. But there is also much that is misleading and specious, much which provokes incredulity and scorn amongst those who are unwilling or unable to suspend their critical faculties.
The argument put forward in the articles in this section (by no means a new argument) is that an overhaul, perhaps a radical overhaul, is needed in the way Christians think about their faith and communicate it to the world through word and action.
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