Engineer or Poet

Sometimes I feel like there is a rift in the world in general, in me, and in the christian world along the lines of engineers (i.e. science) and poets (i.e. artists). I know others have spoken of similar rifts, so it's not new territory, and the world is not so black and white that we all easily fit into one camp or another. We're not polarized people. In Braveheart, I think the line is used to describe the men who died as "warrior-poets," which may be another way to see a similar grouping. In any case, I know I feel tension between my "thinking" side and my "feeling" side. I'm not sure it has to be that way, but it seems that it just is. It's somewhat like the jock-nerd descriptions used in high school. I was too "nerdy" for many of the jocks, and too "jocky" for many of the nerds - and so I felt like I didn't belong anywhere. Both of the labels were used to keep the other at bay, and it is just another way that we try to make sense of our world - and justify our dislike of those who are different.

But lately, I feel like I have noticed a similar thing in theology. Now, I could be completely wrong in the generalization I'm about to say, but it seems accurate right here and right now. From my experience with dispensational and covenant theology, it seems as if those who tend to be "engineers" like the dispensational system, and those who tend to be "poets" like the covenantal system. The engineers try to make things as "concrete" as possible, as "unbiased" as possible, and as "straightforward" as possible. Sounds good - especially to that part of our culture that virtually worships science. The poets try to look at themes, as figurative language, as beauty within the form itself. This also sounds good to some. At times, the "engineers" give a very "flat" understanding of texts, while at others, the "poets" seem to wipe away all meaning for the sake of form. Without wanting to be pejorative, it seems like the engineers can be awfully close to the Pharisees camp, while the poets camp out near the Sadducees. I'm not sure which is better. It seems that Jesus was tough on both ...

There are truths to be learned from analyzing the world through scientific eyes, through breaking down into parts and classifying. There are truths to be learned through poetic eyes - through looking for grand themes, using colorful language, and through looking at things not-so-ordinarily. But if the Bible is God's Word, it seems that both of these approaches could lead us to wrong understanding at times. There are certainly parts of the Bible where "it means exactly what the plain, ordinary, non-contextual language says." But it seems that there are other parts which are figurative ways to communicate deep truths. The truth is still real and there, but one must "work at it" to find it.

I don't know. I do feel confused at times. I am appalled at how quickly each side will cast the other in the worst light possible. Could it be that we have not progressed enough to arrive at a system that truly reflects all biblical truths?