In response to my "damn theologian" comment...
I'll comment on my own blog to say that theologians we all are - but self proclaimed buggers I'll say are taking a huge risk, especially systematic ones - like anyone with enough ball who gets out there and stands for something they have come to believe in, they are the easiest to critique - and for that I will say they should be those whom we most honor.
I say this toward the theologian who is both honest and organized with the workings out of their belief, owning it for themselves not simply repeating what they have been told, putting it out there for all to point at, able to participate in healthy critical conversation that, instead of being a head ache, is intrinsic to this working belief.
I am thankful for these people who have decided to face the theology that has been handed to them their entire lives, and quite possibly decide they don't believe any of it, but find the time and space in themselves to work things out and find the good and true for themselves, often coming back to pieces of that traditional theology or finding that it is just a heck of a stab at something that language utterly fails to completely express, allowing it to set fire to their eyes, opening themselves to the wonder of the reality around them, even finding the space for doubt and despair.
The opposite I suppose is the act of deeply pocketing ones disbelief and cynicism and actually falling prey, being a victim of, the very theology that you internally disagree with, having no defense against it, resulting in being formed by it - ceasing to wonder, ceasing to see, ceasing to live.
I don't believe in a literal hell, but I do believe in hell and I think it exists now as we cease to wonder, see, and live - a result of submitting to the status quo - drying up our inner creative, questioning, gift of a human being selves, like the "theologian", go down the path of open eyed wondering certitude that brings both life, and criticism - in Jesus' case crucifixion, in Martin Luther Kings case assassination. But what incredible LIFE came as a result of their honesty. In both these cases fundamental to "open eyed wondering" naturally included those who were outcasts, oppressed, and nobodies in society - "wonder" is real only when all of reality is real which includes suffering. And isn't it funny that when the examples of history really stand up for this honesty, this life, "loving thy neighbor" (all of them), that trouble is right around the corner.
"damn theologians"...as one who doesn't believe in a literal hell, we can rest assure that no one is going to burn in a pit after they die, whew! finally someone said it! - so rather I say damn theologian as simply a playful conversation starter!
This turned out a little longer than I planned - a bit of unorganized rant it is - if you stumble through it I hope you are able to find what I am trying to express.
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2 comments:
Hey Case,
Thanks for the clarification. Good thoughts. Here's what ran through my mind last night as I lay in bed over-caffienated
Theology is not the story itself. Theology isn't the beginning, middle and end. Theology doesn't create the characters. Theologians aren't privileged actors on the stage. Jesus walks on earth, teaches, heals, serves, prays, and is beaten bloody for it. People remember the story and pass it on. The story is out there for those with ears to hear. The story happens - it goes on. People meet one another, meet God, find redemption.
Theology is not the story. But theology is our best attempt to understand what the story means, how we should deal with the story in which we are "middled." Theology is the diagram, the structure, the framework by which we understand the story better. The story never says a thing about three persons in one being - but if you read the story any other way, things get confused and the story starts to contradict itself. The doctrine of the Trinity isn't a contract that says "sign here or perish," but it is the best way to read the story - the only way to avoid bigger problems.
Theology doesn't make up the story, it takes the brain that God gave us and tries to use it to understand the momentum and meaning of the story. Theology doesn't constitute our experience of God, theology doesn't forge our connection with the transcendent. But it tries to understand it and guide it so that it goes well for us and our brothers and sisters.
Any theology that merely repeats the same words over and over doesn't take one's own place in the story quite seriously enough. This is a new day and we need to understand things HERE and NOW, not pretend that what we have recieved from our forebears didn't come from a localized context as well. Any theology that uncritically accepts everything old is foolish.
At the same time, any theology that considers itself free to rewrite the story as it pleases is simply fiction. Any theology that disregards the people who thought about these things long before we were on the scene is foolish. These things are passed down. Any theology that pretends to start from scratch disregards real people in preference for one's own ideas.
Bad theology kills people. There is lots of bad theology in the world. Bad theology leads people to misunderstand the story, mistreat themselves, their neighbors, the planet, (and God himself didn't come away unscratched, as I recall)... We are all theologians... Bad theology kills people.
I suppose the question up for debate here is, "What is good theology?"
Just for fun, I'll add in a few comments from someone else (address below):
6. Theology (with Aquinas, Calvin, Barth) is thus a very spiritual matter, and a very practical, very ethical matter. In fact the theologian, as a student of the humanity of God, is the quintessential humanist. She will have in her sights not only God but also the good, God in his perfections and humanity in its perfectibility, i.e. she will be concerned with human flourishing. And as humans can only flourish in community – in the polis – a question that one should always ask about a theologian is: How does her theology politic?
7. All good theology is always contextual theology. Which is not to say that the context sets the agenda of the theologian, because contexts never come neat, they are not self-interpreting: the theologian must be an exegete not only of the text but also of the context. Rather it is to say that the theologian works at the interface of text and context, and seeks to address specific text to specific context. The letters of Paul – all occasional, none systematic – are the paradigm for the theologian.
9. Strictly speaking, all believers are theologians, because all believers, willy-nilly, think about God. The only question is whether we think well or poorly. It is not the theologian’s job to think about God for us, it is the theologian’s job to help us think about God better, so that we may believe, pray, live and die better. Dorothy Sayers said that “Christians would rather die than think – and most of them do.” The theologian is out to make Ms Sayers a liar.
10. Ultimately, of course, theologians do not know what they are talking about. So they should exercise meticulous word-care – and not talk too much. I often think that books of theology should contain occasional blank pages, to signal the reader to pause, in silence and wonder. There will be no theology in the eschaton. Before the divine doxa, we will confess, with St Thomas, “All my work is like straw.” Karl Barth famously said that when he gets to heaven he will seek out Mozart before Calvin. Quite right – and presumably he spoke to Calvin only to compare errors. Me – I’ll be heading for the choir of angels, to find Sandy Koufax, to see how he made the baseball sing.
http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2007/03/ten-propositions-on-being-theologian.html
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