Reason,Religion,and Decision-Making in Mission

Abstract

A continuum in criteria for decision-making is proposed. Human culture pulls toward the “closed” end where decisions are dependent on precedent and tradition, on logic and consistency. The God of the Bible, a law unto himself is at the other “open” end. Jesus and the early Christians were near the open end where considerations about people are always more important than precedent, logic, and consistency when decisions are made. However, we, as human beings, are always being pulled by our culture toward the opposite end of the continuum. A model of incarnational decision-making is outlined, modeled on the example of Jesus in the Gospels, in which decisions are made by those who are fully involved in the situation rather than by those who are “disinterested” and “objective.” The implications of this for Christian mission today are probed.