The end of class on Friday. It was one of those "ah-hah" moments where all of the philosophical ideas were brought back to how Christians could respond to the "outside world" and the various groups that the people we are trying to minister to are in. For those of you who might not remember what was said in class, I will try to jog your memory. We had been discussing whether or not as Christians we should attempt to learn the symbolic grammar of another group that is in direct opposition to the absolute truth that we have embraced. The class debated this idea for a while and the point was made that by learning the other group's symbolic grammar we may be better able to express the gospel in terms that the other group would understand. The point was also made that it could hurt our own faith if we entertain the thoughts and ideas of the group that is in opposition to our absolute truth. Then the point was made (I would love to give credit to someone for this thought because I know this wasn't my brain that thought of this but I can't remember who it was) that it was the individuals who are a part of all the groups that we need to understand. This idea hit me and I was very impressed with the speaker's thoughts. I ultimately agree with this; however, I think that sometimes God calls specific people to be ambassadors to entire groups. I believe that God raises up people to fully understand another group and their symbolic grammar for the purpose of ministering to that group. In this case I believe that God will deliver the strength to become immersed in the group that might be in direct opposition to His absolute truth. For example I met a Christian man who had fully educated himself on Satanic worship. I would not advise most people to read the literature that this specific group of people publish , but for this man God had called him into understanding this group. Long story short, I think God calls us into understanding groups that oppose Him in order to glorify Him. ...I hope my rambling makes sense ~julianna