If you are new to this site, please know that it is just a random collection of my various writings and observations. It is not systematic, and it may not be particularly helpful. Nevertheless, I have begun to add this information as a means of providing access to my work. I am grateful that you have taken the time to visit.
- Flint McGlaughlin
Observations/Reflections: On Whiteheadian Thought as a Basis for a Philosophy of Religion
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/19/10
Written: 09/04/2008
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
Bibliography: Whiteheadian Thought as a Basis for a Philosophy of Religion by Forest Wood, Jr.
http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=2736&C=2475
A far better view is found in Hartshorne's suggestion: "Worship is the integrating of all one's thoughts and purposes, all valuations and meanings, all perceptions and conceptions."3 Worship is a consciously unitary response to life. And God, the object of worship, is ". . . the wholeness of the world, correlative to the wholeness of every sound individual dealing with the world."4 The term "individual" in his comment applies not only to people but to any entity whatsoever: "Any sentient individual in any world experiences and acts as one. . ."5 These ideas of Hartshorne's do not stand in isolation; rather they are part of a Whiteheadian world-view in which each individual entity is an integration of parts into a whole. Whitehead's principle is "The many become one, and are increased by one." (Process and Reality, Corrected Edition, ed. Griffin & Sherburne, New York: The Free Press, 1978, 21)
Hartshorne makes another major contribution to our understanding of worshiping and serving God. The insight is a surprising one. Hartshorne argues that people (and other things) contribute ". . . value to God which he would otherwise lack."6 God is a real recipient of our actions. This notion is consistent with the Whiteheadian metaphysic that each entity contributes value to other entities. Each entity in the universe (including God) is internally related to other entities. That people (and other things) contribute value to God gives real meaning to the lives of people and the events of the world.
Observations/Reflections: On Grace and My Understanding of Reality
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/16/10
Written: 03/28/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
The longer I live, the more I depend upon grace in order to continue. The word grace, for me, has become a philosophical/theological concept that powers my understanding of reality. Once one recognizes their vulnerable condition that they are incipient, the hope embedded within the concept of grace become preeminent. On a macro level, this is what gives me the ultimate confidence in divine revelation. I have no confidence in myself, or my understanding to discern it.
I do have hope that a good God will communicate to me in such a way as I'll be able to understand. I have hope that my hope, and that all that I suppose is drenched in grace. If I am wrong, then grace can make a way for me. I think that depth in theology and philosophy leads to a state of utter poverty. Grace becomes all that one has left. It powers hope, but it also positions hope within a benign infinite loop. At the least, I may hope for hope. I cannot find; I am lost, but I may yet be found.
Observations/Reflections: On Theology as Wishful Thinking
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/15/10
Written: 04/25/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
I am doing theology in the face of suffering. I think every theologian should spend some time in a children's hospital, or someplace where we can see the combination of innocence and horrific suffering. Theology in the abstract is not theology. It must be grounded in the realities of existence. Until theology can speak to and from such reality, it is not theology. It is mental exercise. It is wishful thinking. It is a placebo.
Observations/Reflections: On The Apprehension Process in the Definition of Theology
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/14/10
Written: 04/27/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
At some point one must lift up their head and seek "the answers". This seeking is the apprehension process described in my definition of theology (see earlier writings). Whenever one begins is connected to wherever one begins. One begins within some context. And whether one is an atheist or an Anglican, ultimate questions must be asked. I think that this eventually calls for a decision, and this decision requires a certain virtue package, which I will call a "humble integrity".
It is a humble integrity because it requires one to first of all, acknowledge their uncertainty while professing their absolute faith. It requires integrity because one must be consistent with their faith claim. Integrity without humility can become a strident dogmatism. Humility without integrity can become an unfruitful skepticism.
Observations/Reflections: On On Drucker and the Job of the Manager
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/02/10
Written: 07/13/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
Bibliography: Managing for Results: Economic tasks and risk-taking decisions
New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1964
Peter Drucker divides the job of the manager into five basic tasks:
1) He sets objectives. The manager sets goals for the group, and decides what work needs to be done to meet those goals.
2) He organizes. The manager divides the work into manageable activities, and selects people to accomplish the tasks that need to be done.
3) He motivates and communicates. The manager creates a team out of his people, through decisions on pay, placement, promotion, and through his communications with the team. Drucker also referred to this as the "integrating" function of the manager.
4) He measures. The manager establishes appropriate targets and yardsticks, and analyzes, appraises and interprets performance.
5) He develops people. With the rise of the knowledge worker, this task has taken on added importance. In a knowledge economy, people are the company's most important asset, and it is up to the manager to develop that asset. While other management experts may use different words and focus on different aspects of these responsibilities, Mr. Drucker's basic description of the manager's job still holds.
Observations/Reflections: On Theology as a Subjective Experience in its Written Form
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 07/01/10
Written: 04/25/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
In order to complete my book on theolgoy, I may have to model the theological method. This is a method which does not so much engage argument, but rather embraces the subjective experience of apprehending the ultimate. It may engage such a radical method that my theological colleagues cannot accept it. I will likely argue against argument, a contradiction in itself. But my argument will not take the form of a classic argument, but rather a subjective demonstration. It seems to me like the entire notion of doing theology needs a corrective. I will emphasize the article "a" theology, because I am not suggesting this is the only way. How can I?
Observations/Reflections: On Gerald Manly Hopkins and his Narrative Pros
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 06/29/10
Written: 04/27/2009
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
I have been studying Hopkins in depth. As I reflect on the way he uses in meter and sound, it occurs to me, yet again, that my endless project to enfold narrative with poetic rhythms and structures is still possible. There is a way to bring rhythm and rhyme in to this structure of pros. It must be subtle enough to avoid surface detection, but powerful enough to evoke the sub-layers of pathos. Hopkins' experimentation with sound and meter encourages me.
Observations/Reflections: On The Nexus between Business and Beauty
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 06/28/10
Written: 09/30/2008
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
If I am to think of business as worship, then I must think further than the notions reflected in works like: Business for the Gory of God (Grudem). Business as worship is not limited to a kind of integrity in its various elements. It is about achieving a kind of God-reflection, a special kind of beauty. I suspect that one cannot separate worship from the aesthetic.
Observations/Reflections: On Weariness Mixed with Loneliness
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 06/25/10
Written: 04/25/2010
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
Something is developing in me that is difficult to convey. It is a kind of weariness mixed with loneliness - the loneliness comes from realizing that the culture (even the religious culture), is moving far away from my honest theological position. In a crowd of contemporary thinkers, I feel most alone. It is painful, but the combination of this loneliness and weariness provokes in me a kind of solidification. This solidification feels like a protest, even a willingness to "bear arms".
Observations/Reflections: On Serving not Studying the Entrepreneur
Status: Dictated but Not Reviewed
Published: 06/16/10
Written: 02/20/2010
Dictated By: Flint McGlaughlin
In the work I am doing for London and Cambridge, I am reflecting on a theology for the entrepreneur. The preposition "for" is critical in that it focuses the work. I am not seeking to develop a theology of entrepreneurship, others may do so. I am seeking to develop a theology for the entrepreneur. This theology is particular. It is missiological, and pedagogical in its focus. Its purpose is to provide grounded context for the life of the entrepreneur. Thus, it must be interpreted, and incarnated as must all missiological works. From this foundation, it may be translated into pedagogical form. We need a theology that can speak "to", not just "of" the entrepreneur.
The problem is that we are so lost in our own methods and definitions that we cannot identify with those we were called to serve.
Copyright © 2009 Flint McGlaughlin. All rights reserved.