The Irreducibility of the Communal Narrative pt II

Another way of making Smith's case is the phrase, 'the medium is the message.'  Smith is arguing, not exactly that this is true, but that the medium is an important part of the message, and that the message is fundamentally different if the medium is changed.  With respect to narrative knowledge, if we change the medium of the message from a story to a set of propositional statements, something is lost; that something is precisely knowledge.

So... if the medium is indispensable to the message, then we must pay at least as much attention to the medium we use to communicate with as to the message itself.  And here we come to my main point:

If the message is the gospel story, then the medium is the community itself!

The gospel story is itself irreducible to propositions, but even more so, it is irreducible to merely a story.  In order for the gospel to be fully communicated, a community is required.  And not just any community...

It is this very thing that causes Paul to be so up in arms about the inclusion of the Gentiles...