One of the things that has made maths and science so successful in explaining the world and finding useful applications of that knowledge is the ability to simplify complex problems. One such approach is generalisation. Instead of trying to solve for each particular instance or aspect of a complex phenomenon to make sense of the entire thing, you simplify things by extrapolating from special or limited cases to create a useful approximation of what the general case will be like. So with generalisations there are always exceptions however their strength is that for most circumstances they do work.
For Christians recognising generalisations is important because a similar approach is sometimes used by New Testament authors in addressing certain complex issues. The trouble is generalisations can be confused with absolute statements, which significantly affects how we understand scripture. This is often because they make authoritative statements about how things generally are. However, the difference with absolute statements is there can be no exceptions. With generalisations there are exceptions but they are often implicitly assumed which is why they can be wrongly assumed to be absolute. The more you understand scripture you recognise the importance of such nuances. They often have major theological implications. Continue reading “Theological Generalisations”
