Yesterday I was having a bad day...until Adam called me. We sat in my house drinking New Castle and watching the NL loose the All-Star game while catching up on each others lives. Catching up on each others lives inevitably means talking theology.
This may sound strange, but I hope heaven is the place of endless theological discussion. Most people seem to think that we won't have any more theological questions in heaven. I hope that is not the case. If theology is about facts and figures and rules then maybe that will be the case. I think, however, that theology is about relationships. If theology is about relationships that are not very shallow then heaven will contain endless mystery significant enough to my well being that I will have to keep dialoguing about it.
As it is, when I think about deep things I feel connected to God. I feel as if I am discovering my life as if it were a gift. I used to think that I created my life--that life was mine for the making. I think more often now about discovering my life. After all, I had very little to do with many of the stories that form my life: my parents, my country, my culture, being post-modern and being right handed for example.
Thanks, Adam, for a refreshing end to a bad day. And thanks to all of you who have endured theological discussions with me as I meander through the complexities of abstract thoughts. I rarely come to conclusions and often leave my dialogue partners worn out as I try. For me, it is not so much about coming to profound conclusions; it is about the process of trying. I imagine that it is like driving a Lamborghini for the first time--who cares where you end up, the beach, the mountains...Iowa. It is the drive that will tell you about the maker.
That being said, I imagine that someone who drives through the mountains will know things about the maker that someone driving through Iowa may never discover (not to leave Iowa out...I am sure that works the other way around too).
I was an anthro major, so I love to figure out how differend people lived and how they thought. But for some reason, "theology" discussions always bore me to tears. I guess for me, I can relate so much more easily to cultures that have been destroyed for centuries, than the different "theologies" of today. I can understand the thinking involved as to why those peoples lived how they did, even if I don't necessarily agree with their way of life. Its easy to make them be real, live people who are concerned with a lot of the same issues that I am today. But "theology" always seems so out there and detached from everything normal, or human. That's just how its always seemes to me. I need to know the why, not just the what.
ReplyDeleteExample: I don't know exactly what Calvin believed (like I said, I was always too bored with it to find out), but I'd be much more interested in knowing why he thought the way he did, that what he actually thought. The ancient Egyptians buried pharaohs with all of their wealth and servants. That in and of itself is mildly interesting, but that fact alone doesn't make it seem real to me. When you know that they were just trying to gain eternal life, which is something that God has placed in every man's heart (in fact its what we were all designed for), it makes those people real. I can suddenly relate to them and feel for them. We have something in common. As for Calvin, he just doesn't seem real to me because all I have are a collection of "theories". Too much "what", not enough "why".
Laura-not-my-wife, you are right...theology is too often these surfacey propositions and abstractions that are disconnected from the underlying stories of our lives. You may be happy to know that there is a large effort in theological studies today to return some theological significance to these stories. The categories that separate theology from anthropology are diminishing--in some circles they are non existent. In fact, one of the books that I am reading this summer is called Reforming Theological Anthropology (After the Philosophical Turn to Relationality) by LeRon Shults. You probably will not want to read it...but know that theology is not left to those like Calvin anymore. Todays theologian relies on Anthropologists, Historians, Philosophers, etc. to understand why it is that Calvin said what he said. In other words, How is Christian doctrine related to our underlying stories?
ReplyDeleteThat being said...here is a question more closely related to my heart, What have you done or experienced in life where you discovered pleasure?--the kind of pleasure that makes you thank God for the gift of your life--the kind of pleasure that reveals a little bit about who you are.
Well, I think about pleasure in two different ways. One is momentary, and one is lasting, though each is worthwile, and can be meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI get pleasure in sunsets, ice-cream, hanging with my friends, living in this city, ect. I think of this as more of a momentary pleasure. It still makes me thank God that I'm here right now, and able to enjoy these things. It makes me very thankful for my life. But these things can (and will eventually) cease very quickly. These things are good for the moment, however long that moment may be.
One time I helped an old lady in the grocery store parking lot. I was walking in to buy some stuff, and walked past this lady. For some reason, I looked at her. I noticed that she was crying a little. I walked over and asked if everything was ok. She said that she couldn't get a twelve pack of soda from her cart to her car - she just wasn't strong enough. I lifted it out, put it into her car, closed the car door, and returned her cart for her. I think I said something like "don't worry, its a beautiful day today." Then I went in to buy stuff and she went wherever she was going.
I think of that as lasting pleasure. I've never told anyone about it, and no one saw me do it. No one knows except me, that lady, and God. But that's enough for me.
Mementary pleasure, and the subsequential praise and thanksgiving to God, are still valuable even while they do not last long. However, when I think of the marker of my life, of what I want to remember about my life, I think of the old grocery-store lady. It gives me hope.
I tried to answer your question, but it wouldn't let me. So instead, I just commented on it over on my blog. Its at: http://discoveredid.blogspot.com/
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