More on the Drama: Triangulating my Position

I mentioned previously that I'd try to post some things that I enjoyed/benefited most from Drama of Doctrine; here's my first shot:

Vanhoozer makes the observation on p. 301 regarding Knowledge in the Theodramatic Perspective "Getting knowledge is more like plotting one's position with a set of maps, than it is building a house on a foundation or catching a fish in a net." This metaphor was groundbreaking fore me in the sense of it's contribution to my own self-awareness. I feel like over the last 5-7 years, my theology is constantly being revised, reinvented and/or jettisoned. About the only thing that has held is a reformed understanding of God, the Bible and the Gospel. I've been thinking more in terms of the foundation metaphor and thus felt like I was constantly tearing down and rebuilding the foundation. Or perhaps, more accurately, the foundation is a reformed understanding of these things but I keep having to clear out the first floor and never think I'll get to setting the trusses, let alone sheeting the roof. It felt like there was little continuity.

Enter Vanhoozer's helpful metaphor; now I can see continuity. I've been thinking in terms of constructing and deconstructing the house often leading to a hermeneutic of suspicion (i.e., I assume what I've been taught is wrong). Instead, I have been constantly trying to find my location using a series of maps. Each lesson learned helps to more precisely triangulate my position. Not only was this breakthrough incredibly encouraging, such a perspective gives more hope and less pessimism about the future.