Theological Excluded Middle

Writing a review today, I was reminded of Paul Hiebert (pictured). It was Hiebert who first introduced the term “excluded middle” to theology (originally a philosophical term). The theological “excluded middle” has been a pervasive characteristic of the Church in the Global North, which has had “a theology of God in cosmic history” and “an awareness of God in natural history”, however has tended to exclude “a theology of God in human history”. Thus missionaries from the Global North have frequently found themselves in situations where they have been unable to address questions of “the middle level”. OBSERVATION: However, Hiebert considers that there are two extremes against which we must guard. The first is to tend too much towards “denying the spiritual realm”. The second is “a Christianized form of animism in which spirits and magic are used to explain everything”.