Originally Posted by roachboy

it is interesting to read through this thread because the problem that runs through it is how to limit the effects of historicizing a belief system--a move that would easily lead to relativism--which poses a real problem for people who believe because, as kierkegaard worried about and theorized long ago, historicizing a belief system wipes out the space of belief.
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the process that follows is the one weber thought much about--the transition from charismatic prophet (the heretic) to institutionalized formation via the routinization of charisma. but it is hard to imagine how you would maintain belief if you came to understand your belief as being shaped by this kind of process--unless it only obtains or others, other denominations, etc.