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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