Flaw of the Excluded Middle
| November 6th, 2009
A few weeks back I presented to my fellow classmates an issue that is faced by most cross-cultural workers: The Flaw of the Excluded Middle.
Problem: Westerners see the world as mechanistic. Things happen due to determinable processes. Kids get sick because of germs. Tires go flat because of nails. However, most of the world see the world in a much more organic way. It’s not matter of equal and opposite reactions, rather things relate to each other. Further, everything that happens in the natural realm is profoundly influenced by the spiritual realm (this is the excluded middle).
This is a huge problem. Consider the following dialogue.
Father: My child died because someone placed a curse on her!
Missionary: You child died because she was bitten by a mosquito infected by malaria and she contracted it.
Father: Yes, she was bitten by a mosquito, but who sent the mosquito?
If the missionary continues to deny the presence of anything other than natural, empirical phenomena he and his message will be seen as irrelevant.
For more information, read Hiebert’s article.
You can also download the handout I prepared for the class here.