Critical Reactions

I have to admit to having strong emotional reactions to some forms of criticism, and criticisms of people that I hold in high esteem. My last post about attacks on emerging churches is a case in point. However I do believe that we need to listen to our critics, and the criticisms of those we hold in high esteem, and evaluate whether they have any merit. In the case of Brannon Howse and his tirades against emerging churches and Emergent, I could find no redeeming value in their perspectives. Sometimes crap is just crap.

However recently I’ve run into some criticism of Ken Wilber, and his Integral Model. On the website http://www.integralworld.net/ there is a wide variety of critics, some just ranting petty complaints and innuendos, but there are some that caught my attention because they put into words some of my vague feelings and misgivings (particularly those of Jeff Meyerhoff). But my expectation is not that Ken is a perfect being, he is a "cracked Icon" (as Scot McKnight might say). Therefore I do not expect him to not have flaws. I also recognize that he is not of the Christian persuasion, and he will probably not own his flawed-ness and ask forgiveness for offenses when he steps out of bounds, nor do I expect him to be committed to reconciliation with those offended, even though his integral theory supports such a value.

His critics do a justice in pointing out that much in the world of academic disciplines is not clearly and universally agreed upon, and that there is still much debate among various communities of learning, and the various fields of consensus that Wilber uses to construct his theories are far from the last word on the subject. That being said even his critics grant that the sheer volume of what Wilber is trying to encompass is immense and that what he has attempted to do is ambitious, knowledgeable, and creative. His critics say he has failed in integrating the enormous diversity of human knowledge and experience, but I don’t think they have the last word yet either. Still he has presented the best model I have seen so far.

I also have a tendency to emotionally react when I get hit hard by agnostic or atheistic criticism as well. But I also believe that I have something to learn from their perspectives too. Such as the website http://www.losingmyreligion.com/ where you’re blasted with the banner,

“26,000 children will die of starvation today. Why should God answer your prayers?”

That makes you think doesn’t it?

Good Journey

BTW: Just saw Brian McLaren's YouTube video "Atheist" song.