Is pragmatism a philosophy that takes practical value as a criterion of truth and is opposed to intellectualism? (Priberam. pt). In other words, if something is going well, why is it true? We don’t have to think about it. The problem with pure pragmatism is that it is reductionist; he only sees immediate consequences. For example: “We are going to dump our products here in the river, so we are returning the problem. What is the problem? It is working. But what about the pollution?”
Unfortunately, this philosophy has reached many churches. It is curious that for a generation that is an abomination to listen to ‘world music’, there is no problem thinking about a ‘philosophy of the world’. Ah, the complexities of worldlyity. For example, what does evangelization dictate, what can be done to bring more people to the temple?What dictates the content of a preaching, what pleases the multitude?, etc.
- Pragmatism.
- In itself.
- Is incompatible with the Great Commission.
- For Christ has ordered all his commandments to be obeyed and this involves reflection.
- This involves thinking: how to show that Christ is Lord in all that I do?.
However, we should not confuse un principled pragmatism with wisdom and discernment, for example, what makes Hudson Taylor’s missionary contextualization (dressing like the Chinese in his mission field) correct and putting a wrestling ring in the midst of service?: principles. This is what Reverend Augustus Nicodemus is talking about in the video below.