Churchmouse brought up a topic that addresses the current rush toward synod suicide - diaprax.
Diaprax relies on ‘felt needs’ and our ‘higher-order thinking skills’ (HOTS), sometimes called ‘human reasoning skills’. Although it panders to elevated reasoning and thinking, it is in reality highly subjective and emotion-based. Gotcher explains dialectic, which you have probably encountered in workshops either at school or work:
The first consideration of dialectic thought is how people relate to one another. This is the personal need each individual has for social relationship. The focus in satisfying these needs is not on what you think when you think about others—that is monodimensional thinking or the traditional way of thinking (didactic)—but how you think about others—that is multidimensional thinking or the transformational way of thinking (dialectic). The “others” you must think about include not only family, friends, community, established ideas, normal behavior, and traditional ways of doing things but also strangers, enemies, foreigners, innovative ideas, daring behavior, and new or different ways of doing things.
Note the other terms used for this: ‘multidimensional’ and ‘transformational’ ways of thinking.
He notes that dialectic would have stayed in a philosophical and socio-political realm had it not been developed and brought to the public at large beginning in the 1930s via ‘praxis’.
I mentioned this topic to Brett Meyer, who told me he was already up to date on it. I wrote back - "Smarty pants."
I am sure California is also well informed. We have exchanged many emails about how WELS has changed itself into a failing mainline denomination. That began at least 40 years ago, so do not blame me or Ichabod, Deputy Doug.
I have provided the complete post below, with many links in it. Google the term and start studying the topic. This is your homework, Ichabodians. If you do not know this for yourselves, you will not be able to counter it.
I will write about it in the near future. Normally I do that in the morning, with fresh coffee and a host of typos.
I just want to warn people - If you think you can complain about something, or write a letter, or have a sit-down with a synod leader, you are delusional. Bureaucracies are set up to deal with dissent: to absorb it, deflect it, and turn it inside-out. The so-called Intrepids are perfect examples of this, finessed into promoting the false doctrine they dared to name.
