What do you think of Theology? Is it out-dated, irrelevant? Or topical and useful for every day life? I was reminded today by my lecturer (for Radical Christian Theology) that a true theology is one that takes into account scripture, tradition, culture, reason and experience. So what I hear you say... So it can be done by anyone who has knowledge of each of these. Easy! Not so. A distinct lack of one of these breeds a form of fundamentalism. Theology has to be very careful.
We were discussing the spin-off from the Vatican II that we now call Liberation Theology, now that to me is out-dated. Liberation Theology didn't work, Latin America has not experienced a leveling out of wealth and a poor people revolution, why? I don't know, we discussed the basis of it, not how it effected the world. Yes a good grounding is essential, but the time we spend in lectures can facilitate us to learn from the reading, if we all did the reading (yes I am a geek!). Not re-learn things from previous years. There isn't a good 'modern history' of recent theology - at least not one that is written for dummies!
I did have a good time at Chapel - we had a discussion about some of the more controversial passages in the Bible. John 7:1-10 was the passage we had to discuss. Did Jesus lie? Did he change his mind? Did he have the ability to change his mind? By the way, it doesn't say in the 10 commandments 'thou shall not lie' so boo! to you who got that wrong!
1 Cor 8 was the next passage. Which is just Paul going round in circles - lol, funny man!
There were a few other passages, Matt 19:16-22, do we have to give up everything, or change what our idols are? Remember God is a jealous God! And finally - Propreity in worship - 1 Cor 11, the word for head here is different from further on in the passage, and the only time it is used...so what did Paul mean by it? Well no one is quite sure!! What is the relationship within the Trinity, the are no power differences - God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are equal!
One more thing - why can't we totally depend on God? What stops us?
2 comments:
"There isn't a good 'modern history' of recent theology - at least not one that is written for dummies!"
How about "Modern Theoloy for Dummies" by Liz Fisher - due out in 2008
Yeah, thats a job - write a book. Get some random Churches to fund it.
You never know what could happen!
Post a Comment