Hedge or Peg?

Well, how is life over here in Israel? Busy! Between running to classes and writing numerous papers, there hasn't been much extra play time. My studies have been really good... intense but good. Professors here really challenge you to think for yourself and encourage you to draw conclusions that are well thought out and most importantly, are yours.

I heard an analogy the other day that I liked a lot... I'll share it with you. The topic was "How to approach faith." Straight forward and simple. The two main ways that we talked about were as follows:

One can draw a protective hedge around them as far as beliefs, ethics, laws, and codes surrounding what they believe. This would be a set of facts that you hold to be true. You hold them tightly within your box, or hedge.... for example, in today's evangelical world this plays out in cultural norms that our church society somewhere along the lines decided is right and wrong depending on interpretation of scripture at a particular time.

For me it has looked like drawing conclusions about particular ideas and holding them to be truth. Because of my conclusions, I place them within my hedge. Anytime a topic related to it comes up, I can refer back to my hedge, or box where my conclusions are kept and I can draw a new conclusion based on what is already there. Warning....I'm going to stereotype here.... for us Americans, in the church especially it can look like this: Drink, don't drink, drink a little, swear, don't swear, swear only if you have to, The bible is a nice moral story, The bible is 100% correct in all ways, The bible is a document inspired by God and has been written by man's hand.... all of these are assumptions or conclusions that have been drawn based on some other facts along the way, mostly from our interpretation of scripture. According to whatever conclusions we have drawn, we can place them within our hedge and whenever the topic comes up again, we already have an answer waiting. This is the approach that most people I have met, including myself tend to flock towards.

The other approach is to have 1 or 2 main ultimate truths. Shhh.....Relax, and continue reading.... For example: God is the all powerful God above any other thing. Jesus is his divine son who lived a life that encompassed God's picture for how our lives should look. These are two main truths that I know are absolutely correct. All other conclusions or questions should be checked against those two truths from here on out. These two truths are my funnel; any conclusion drawn needs to align with these two. I can now hammer a peg into the ground with the foundation being these two guiding principals. I then connect a rope to the peg and then to myself... this allows me to wander around pursuing God knowing that if things get too complicated, confusing, crazy... I can just draw myself back to the foundational peg where I am reminded of the truth that I started with. I am always connected to those truths no matter what. This is different than the hedge which I am free to run in, but I am inhibited by seeing over to the other side to see what other people are doing, or what other conclusions are being drawn; basically I'm left void of the freedom to explore.

Option #2 is a bit more free and less culturally driven then running around in a box full of assumptions or conclusions that have already been drawn. This isn't to say that there is no truth. It is simply saying that based off of two foundational truths, other thoughts can be drawn, but those thoughts can be drawn under the clause of there is a little bit of wiggle room. Example: In the bible it says,

1Cor. 11:6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

Option 1 point of view- "This passage is only for a particular time. Your wife doesn't need to cover her head, or cut her hair short." Really, if you are drawing a conclusion that this was just for a particular time, then what other passages are just for a particular time and not for us? Furthermore, what authority do you have to make such a statement? You could also choose to say, "Wife, cover your head because the bible says so." It also says to treat your slave well.... does this mean you will go take a slave and treat them well? Probably not.

Option 2 point of view- Based on my two truths of "God is one, and Jesus is his divine son" I can draw many conclusions about this passage. Perhaps it was culturally correct for a woman to cover her head (Women over here still do this by the way). Perhaps it does have a message for us today about the covering of God over his people, like the "covering, or protection that a man gives over his wife and family." Maybe, our conclusion can have multiple answers. As long as they line up with my 2 truths then I am free to wander around looking for all possibilities. I am not confined to one correct answer.

The second option leaves a lot more room for God to work in ways that he is not confined to.... like a box or hedge. God can act in his divine nature in any way he chooses... I just think if we are looking for him in ways that only "fit within our box" we could miss Him. With both options there is a risk.... the first one- drawing conclusions that are really not true, or are based off of what someone else has told you. Once you put them in your limited box...your conclusions are drawn and you are stuck with an absolute answer, even if it is wrong. With the second approach, you run a risk of things becoming relative. "Whatever is right for you may not be right for the other person." However, even in early church days, didn't our church fathers draw conclusions about the text that culturally made sense to them? Today, we are still practicing the many rituals or traditions that they came up with. They, in a sense had to draw conclusions... I wonder if they exercised the tent peg technique or the hedge with walls?