thesis v antithesis

One of the great changes that has taken place in the popular mind over the last century is the change in how people view truth.
Historically truth as been viewed in the thesis / antithesis paradigm. This meant that if something is true then the opposite is wrong. However, the German philosopher Hegel (1770-1831) introduced the idea of synthesis which firstly captured the minds of the philosophers and eventually has infiltrated the popular thinking mindset.
What this means is that many people no longer think in categories of thesis / antithesis or right / wrong, but in terms of ideas that can be synthesised to create a whole new idea.
In the past people understood that when you argued that Christianity was true then the opposite of Christianity had to be false. Now people look at Christianity and its opponents and create a new synthesised truth which contains components of both.
The question these days is not 'Is it right?' but 'Does it work?'
The challenge for the Christian is to show in our individual and corporate life that Christianity works precisely because it is right and that it stands in opposition to any synthesised religion.
(For a great discussion of this idea read "The God Who Is There" by Francis Schaeffer. Available as a seperate book or part of "The Complete Works of Francis A Schaeffer.")