1- ORIGIN,
OBJECTIVE and INITIAL CONCEPTS
This
Section explains the origin of the Dissertation in the roles of the
author, sets out its objective and explains the main concepts to be
used.
1.1
Origin
The author combines the roles of university
teacher of Building (particularly of management and ethics) with that of
ordained Christian minister (in the Reformed tradition). Implicit in the
role of university teacher is the assumption that one will seek to
promote good and responsible practice based on a deep understanding of
one's subject in its various contexts. Explicit in the role of Christian
minister is the belief that Scripture knowledgeably and faithfully
interpreted, having regard to context, gives guidance for all aspects of
human life. Thus, on one hand, one has a commitment to seek the good in
and of Building and, on the other, a belief that Scripture is the
measure by which everything, including Building, is, from the Christian
perspective, ultimately judged. The problem presented by the combination
of roles is how one is to make connections between commitment to
Building and belief in the significance of Scripture.
While
this is an intra-personal problem for the author, it is also a matter
for consideration by all who seek the good of Building and who must
therefore reflect on the various religious and humanistic traditions,
and by all who, believing in the significance of Scripture, must seek to
discover its meaning in relation to particular spheres of human living
of which Building is one.
1.2
Objective
Given commitment to good and responsible Building
and given belief in the significance and relevance of Scripture, the
objective of this research is to discover ways of thinking which enable
valid and useful connections to be made between Building and Scripture.
Validity implies an integrity in regard to the
discipline of Building and an equal integrity in regard to the
discipline of scriptural hermeneutics. Similarly, usefulness implies
value to both practitioners of Building and readers of Scripture.
1.3
Initial Concepts
This dissertation relates to two constituencies,
that of Building and that of Scripture. Neither is necessarily closely
informed of the concepts used by the other. Therefore, in this Section
and throughout the dissertation, a straightforward and explanatory style
will be adopted.
The principal concepts of Building and Scripture
are used with the following connotations:
Building
The whole process by which sites are opened up
for development and buildings designed, costed, constructed, adapted,
conserved, repaired and maintained. This involves the work of planners.
architects, surveyors, engineers, construction managers, many
specialists, statutory inspectorates and the workforce itself Owners and
occupiers are closely involved. The public are both involved and
affected. The process is governed by law, the contractual and other
practices of the industry and professional and trade traditions and
values, and much is response to specific situations and conditions.
While historical and international scenarios are considered where they
are relevant to a particular issue, it is
UK
practice in the late twentieth century that is the focus.
Scripture
The Scriptures used are the Old and New
Testaments, without the Apocrypha, in English, and using the New Revised
Standard Version as principal text. The understanding of Scripture is
that it comprises ancient texts interpreted both in and for the present,
using all available resources from the fields of literature studies and
historical and archaeological research. The truths of Scripture are
revealed by faith, making optimum use of scholarship. The Scriptures
truly discerned constitute, in the Christian tradition, the Word of
God..
The
Old and New Testaments are complementary and equally significant parts
of Scripture. They make one whole. In Christianity, neither can exist
without the other. The Old Testament, with its law, narrative, prophetic
and wisdom genres, shows a people chosen by God to experience the
struggle of learning who he is and what he is in relation to them. They
discover many valid leads and insights but reach only the penultimate
point of insight. It is the New Testament that provides the final
insight and enables the whole to fall into perspective. This
dissertation's search for the significance of Scripture in relation to
Building, therefore, takes account of both Old and New Testaments.
Because
the Word is a living Word, it cannot just be read and expounded, crucial
though that is for understanding. It must also be experienced using
visible actions and concrete symbols. It must be an `enacted word' In
the Reformed tradition, the enactment takes place in the sacraments of
Baptism completed in Confirmation and in what is variously called the
Lord's Supper, Holy Communion or Eucharist.
The
understanding assumed here is that it is the written Scripture coupled
with its sacramental enactment that constitute the `Word'. Discerning
the significance of the Word, in relation to
Building as to any other aspect of life, requires
that both the written and the enacted forms are appropriately
considered. Together they speak.
Two
further concepts are fundamental to the way in which this dissertation
will proceed:
Professional
Practice
The concept of professional practice will be
assumed to have two foci. The first is the standard one that there is a
specialist body of knowledge and skills that the would-be practitioner
is obliged to acquire through a process of education and training. The
practitioner undertakes to keep that knowledge and skills base up to
date in relation to the area of the discipline being practised. The
practitioner also undertakes to comply with standard procedures and good
practice in relation to behaviour and conduct. Professional institutions
express the duties of members in various ways, including duties to
employers, clients, society and the environment.
The
second and more developed focus is that the over-riding or
meta-commitment of the professional is to the discipline professed. Thus
the lawyer's commitment is to Law, the teacher's to Education and the
various building professionals' to Building. It is Building that is
professed. It is the good of Building in an all-embracing sense that
professionals commit themselves to seek. The definition of that good is
the task of professional ethics. That commitment is relevant to all
genres of practice, including consultancy, business, research and
education.
.4xiology
or the science of values
This
dissertation will show that discourse between Building and Scripture can
be extensive and illuminating. Discourse as an academic activity is not
to be decried. But Building is a practical activity and Scripture is
about the interaction between belief and practical living. Thus the
ultimate connection between Building and Scripture must be in terms of
practical living. Practice is governed by values, either the values
espoused by those making specific judgments and decisions or the values
underlying the laws, codes and conventions adhered to in practical
living. If Building and Scripture are to reflect one another at the
point of practicality, there must be an axiology, a set of ethical,
economic, aesthetic, technological and other kinds of values, which is
consistent with Scripture and valid in the context of Building.
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