We are examining the more
controversial fuzzy set[1]
and how it relates to the welcome into the church. In 1965, Lofti Asker Zadeh, suggested
that in real life and in nature most categories do not have exact boundaries. “If
you consider characteristics or properties like tall, intelligent, tired, sick,
etc., all these characteristics lack sharp boundaries.”[2]
The same fuzziness applies to
categories such as dawn and dusk as gradations between day and night. There are
no sharp borders between plains, hills and mountains; instead, there are only
degrees of inclusion.
As intermarriage becomes more
prevalent, races will blend into one another along continua of features.
Immigrants, and particularly their children, will begin to absorb an American
way of life, reducing the sharp lines that can be drawn. Such distinctions
point to culture becoming increasingly complex.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FUZZY SETS
Membership in fuzzy sets, then,
is determined by gradation. Because the boundary is fuzzy, one person may
belong to two or more sets at the same time. Members can be 33%, 65%, or 95%
part of the church and still belong. For example, we talk of a person being ½
German and ½ English, or ½ White, ¼ Black, and ¼ Southeast Asian. Or for example,
all color is a percentage mixture of the three primary colors.
Also, change in intrinsic fuzzy
sets is a process, with no clear edges or boundaries. One example is, “When is
a peach ripe?” A fuzzy-set world fits in well with a postmodern mindset. There are
no sharp distinctions between right and wrong, or truth and non-truth.
INTRINSIC FUZZY SETS AND THE
CHURCH
In fuzzy sets, conversion would
likely be perceived as gradual rather than instantaneous. There would be little
emphasis on evangelism, and more emphasis on sharing and teaching. There would
not likely be a call for a clear choice.
People could practice more than
one religion at the same time. In a fuzzy set, someone could accept Jesus as
their Savior, and consult their horoscope to make daily decisions. Church
membership would also be by degree. No religion can make exclusive claims on a
person. However, one’s degree of adherence can increase or decrease.
In a fuzzy set world, churches formulate
the creeds and practices a person needs to acquire. Membership lists would likely
not be kept. Those not fully committed would be encouraged to participate in
the church, come to full faith, and develop in their lives the basic essentials
of being a Christian. Less emphasis is placed on the differentiation from one
denomination or theological approach.
Great diversity on essentials
is tolerated. There is truth in all religions, but Christianity is considered a
superior way to God. The Church sees itself as being a body of believers
sharing the same beliefs and practices. Fellowship is stressed.
The dangers are that the Church
might come to worship its corporate self, slide into theological relativism and/or a form of universalism. It would seem that the characteristics of fuzzy sets are more
likely to be found in the Millennial Generation, and might be a partial
explanation for their ambivalence to the Church.
Can the Church function in such
a model and be faithful to itself? If so, how? If not, why?
If Millennials do operate in a
fuzzy set model, can the Church do anything to reach them?
For more information and practical
projects you can do to discover the make-up of the complex culture in your
community, I would refer you to: Kauffman,
J. Timothy. Reconnecting the Church:
Finding Our Place in Complex Culture. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2010. It can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, the iBooks
Store, and Xlibris.com; it is also in Kindle and Nook format.
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