Thinking About Theology

Here's what I'm thinking about, and from many different angles:

In Brad H. Young's book Jesus the Jewish Theologian, Marvin Wilson writes in the forward (p xviii),

"What emerges, however, is not "Jesus the Jewish Theologian" in any Western, systematic sense. Rather, in Jesus, Dr. Young presents an Eastern, or Semitic, theologian, one who employs a living, vibrant theology distinguished by such features as action, metaphor, mystery, quest for holiness in life, and the experience of the presence and power of God (not mere thinking about God) in the life of the individual."

I read those words and thought of my own struggles and insights along my journey as a theologian, specifically what it means to do theology, and more specifically what it means to be a theologian. In ministry, particularly through Thirst -- a discipling community in the postmodern vibe -- I find myself wrapped in a world of action, reasoned in metaphor, cloaked in mystery, and experiencing God's presence in the midst of the quest for passionate and authentic life devoted to following Jesus through my many stumblings and falls. And that is when my theologizing is most vibrant.

I've been frustrated in trying to translate that mode of theologizing into my world of academic theology, and it just doesn't seem to fit. The academy has trained me to think systemically, which equips me for the kind of theology I do through Thirst. But once a particular theological system is all thought through, the limits of any system, when attempting to articulate one's faith in the living God, are the pink elephant in the classroom. A theological system, despite appearances, can never be whole. There remains a necessity within each system for metaphor and mystery. And while theological systems are judged rationally by how well they maintain internal consistency and articulate the faith reasonably to an external audience, still these measures prove untrustworthy apart from a theological system's role in making people aware of God's presence and moving them to action in pursuing a life of holiness.

I think that, for which ever theologian a person admires -- Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Barth, Bathasar, Moltmann, et. al. -- the appeal to that particular theology is precisely its ability to make that person more aware of God's presence and move that person to act accordingly. This is where I see the two modes of theology intersecting. The irony is that, for most people of Western culture, such a measure is subjective, and therefore unreliable, making it taboo in academic critique. And yet, if we can see a difference in one's behavior for pursuing a life of compassion and mercy upon ingesting a particular theology, then can we not also give credit where credit is due by valuing the fruits of the Spirit born through theological discourse?

Otherwise the intersection of the two theological modes ceases to be an intersection at all, and becomes instead a concrete median separating two lanes of theological traffic along the journey of faith, such that they move ever toward each other without ever meeting. This is what I've experienced in my efforts to reconcile the two modes of doing theology. That is, on the one hand the academy has equipped me with a way of thinking that proves invaluable in my own life of discipleship and ministry, but too often my fellow disciples devalue or even distrust it. And on the other, my journey of living the faith and discipling people to follow Jesus has equipped me with a unique way of thinking that, more than any other influece, shapes my theological discourse within the academy, but too often my theoretical conversation partners seem to devalue or even distrust it, as well.

I'm trying, at least for myself, to break apart that concrete center median that runs between the two modes of doing theology. The risk is that by doing so, chaos will incur, resulting in both massive pile ups from head-on collisions and also never ending games of theological chicken. But, I find the reward in trying to remove the divide is that not only do the two modes merge effortlessly, but they also venture off the highway of densely trafficked subject matter and onto the less traveled scenic routes of challenging theological terrain through vistas seen only from the perspective of experiencing God in action.

Gabriel's Revelation

In case you haven't heard of "Gabriel's Revelation", a text written on stone from just before Jesus' birth -- that speaks of Israel's messiah dying and three days later rising to life as redemptive for Israel -- then check out the New York Times story about it by clicking here.

What do you think: does the concept that messianic death and resurrection pre-dates Jesus . . .

(a) challenge the claims of Christianity by suggesting that rather than discovering a new and unique revelation about resurrection and redemption, Jesus' followers interpretted his death in light of a commonly held expectation of a Jewish tradition in their time;

-- or --

(b) support the claims of Christianity by providing a context of tradition in which Jesus grew up and studied, thereby playing key roles in Jesus' discernment of his own identity and in his articulation of his mission and message?

National Chipotle Day

If you're on facebook -- or even if you're not -- join the 2nd annual National Chipotle Day. Here's a snippet from the dude on facebook who started this holiday:

For those who don't remember, or maybe didn't attend National Chipotle Day last year, it is just what it sounds like - a day to honor Chipotle and its burrito-y goodness. A visit to Chipotle is like a sneak peek at heaven, and a bite into a burrito (or bol or taco or salad) made just for you is unlike anything else in the world. It is spectacular.

June 1st, 2008 is going to be the second annual National Chipotle Day. On June 1st, take as many of your friends as you can and swarm the nearest Chipotle as a sign of thanks for blessing your neighborhood with its presence.

See you at Chipotle!

Thoughts on Obama's Wisconsin Victory

For people in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states which have yet to voice their opinion at the polls in this year's Democratic primary: a reflection of my experience of Barack Obama's campaign victory in Wiscosin...


The pundits and pollsters were saying this would be a close election here in Wisconsin. But I had trouble believing them because polls were at least a week old. Obama has a ground game and infrastructure in place here like none other seen before, so I knew he'd pick up about 10 points in the polls during that week. He made 2 visits to Wisconsin in the past couple years even before he announced his candidacy, so people here have had him on their radar screens for a while and quickly became excited about him once they got a closer look.

The exit polls showed that he won across the board demographically, even splitting the vote of Hillary's base of white women and winning among working class Democrats. That's daunting news for Clinton going into Texas and Ohio, where already in Texas he's almost pulled even before campaigning there and where he's picked up 10 points in Ohio in just last week. This race is all but over now, yet Hillary seems determined to split the Democratic party if necessary to get her way. The management of their respective campaigns has given people insight into the kind of Presidents each candidate would become.

I attended his rally in Milwaukee on Friday to experience it myself, and man was it packed with a powerful energy. I've never seen a candidate like Obama who inspires people to unite in participating in their government, not only in my lifetime, but as a U.S. history major for my bachelors, I can't think of any in history, not even Kennedy. That's why Wisonsinites saw through Hillary's hollow attacks against him...words are action, they accomplish a vital role in giving voice and cohesion to the grassroots movement for change that preceded the election.

People are excited to get involved in politics now, because Obama knows that action doesn't happen through partisan politics by people in Washington, but rather people in Washington are swayed by the energy of a movement in which their consitituents participate. For example, Abraham Lincoln was reluctant to take on the slavery issue but he later gave voice to the abolitionist movement that preceded him to bring about change. Likewise, Lyndon Johnson resisted the civil rights movement but was persuaded in his presidency by the movement that preceded him to take on the cause himself. Now our generation has the same opportunity to elect a President who symbolizes the grassroots movement to change the way America has been governed from Richard Nixon through George W. Bush.

That's why this election is historic, not just because Obama could be the first black president, but that he could be one of the few presidents ever to unite a working majority of Americans to participate in their government. We've learned not to trust the system that sends politicians to Washington who will fail on their own to give us health care, end an unjust war, invigorate the economy with green collar jobs for alternative energy that will also improve our national security, and overcome the partisan politics that divides us as a nation. Instead, we've come to see that these goals will only be realized by us taking ownership of the task and getting to work in our government to bring the change we seek. Obama defines how he will govern as President by this principle.

That's what Hillary doesn't understand when she tries to persuade voters with her experience. She has the wrong kind of experience, the experience of a Washington bureaucrat using uncompromising partisan attacks that we've seen divide us and fail us for decades. Obama has the experience of bringing new people on board in a governing process for change that they help to shape themselves. And that is why first time voters, independents, and even many Republicans rally around him to unite in this movement.

Image 1: {http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=21598}
Image 2: {http://votesmart.org/blog/?cat=15}

RUSTEDfaith ROOTed-God

Last Thursday, my wife and I enjoyed a date together by going to the world's larget music festival, Summerfest, which is held annually in Milwaukee. We went to see specifically one of my favorite bands, Rusted Root, from my home city of Pittsburgh. They're a fusion band of bluegrass-rock, African rhythms, and more. There's no other show in the world like them.

As weird as this may sound, Rusted Root is very formative of my spirituality. They're not a Christian band by any stretch, but the music and lyrics move my soul. I'd love to see a church with a worship experience like the transcendence of getting caught up in the Root's groove. So with that in mind, as I jot this post down quickly between two family vacations, I leave you with a meditation on God, faith, life, suffering, society, humanity, and salvation. What follows are all Rusted Root lyrics from various songs. May you see glimpses of God's reign in the mundane.

See the bloody faces lifted to the sky
Do you want to run to a future left behind?
I remember asking why, there lies aggression.
Separation where there should be love
Power plays while the people die
Let it rain and protect us from this cruel sun
Open up your eyes, and let the child learn

Blind before my head turned to the ones I love,
Blind to the ones I love,
I will lift my head up to the ones I love,
We’ll shine with the ones we love,
This blind disease has hurt so many times before
Lovers & friends, My hurt is gone,
Been hoping to find my way,
Hands of light will come, To uncrystalize our fear,
Cause in faith I do believe

Invoke the light to shelter you
‘Cause everybody wants a piece of you.
It's the dyin' man, what she said.
Yesterday I was lost and you kicked me some food
Boy it was nice to be here with you.
Yesterday lost in a crowd
Yesterday lost in a crowd,
I was lost, lost, now I'm found.

Help us, Jesus
This has already gone too far

I get so nervous when the spirits hide
I can't wait until that bright light shines, yeah
Never did run, never did hide,
Waitin' to see your bright light shine.
We'll wait ‘til the mornin' comes,
We'll laugh as the sun.
Bright and loud, ha, ha, ha!

when I find my way to heaven,
I will walk it down to earth,
I will tie my shoes to heaven,
well I will walk it down to earth

Ah, back to the earth, I screamed
And no one listened to me
Back to the earth
I lived and they all follow
Come on, come on, see my world, my world.
Come on, come on, see my world, my world

Well I would like to hold my little hand
How we will run, we will
How we will crawl
Send me on my way!

amp'd Spirit

Now that my semester is officially over (I'm still working on finishing an incomplete though), I want to get back to blogging. But after just finishing a marathon sprint of writing papers, my brain still isn't functioning at full speed. So to give my noggin a rest, I'm putting the vocational theology series on ice for a bit. I know, you all are so sad, right?

Instead, I thought I'd share with you an experience I had tonight. I went with our confirmands to Ascension Lutheran Church to celebrate the Ascension day worship. When I first picked up the kids, I was struggling to stay awake so I stopped on the way to pick up an energy drink. In the five minutes it took to drive to the church from there, I chugged an Amp Cherry Tallboy by Mountain Dew. (btw...if you want to waste an hour, check out their totally awesome website).

I gotta tell ya, it was the most lively worship experience I've had in a while. I was really feelin' the Spirit move me. Well, the Spirit or the amp . . . it's hard to tell the difference sometimes. Even the can is red, the color of the Spirit. The music was uplifting, the prayers were powerful, communion was rich with God's saving presence. I was on my feet dancin' and clappin', giving my all to praise Jesus. I'm sure all this had to do with God working through the gifted worship leaders, but the amp couldn't have hurt the cause.

For a second, I thought I should feel guilty for my drug-enhanced worship experience. But then I realized that most Lutherans drink coffee together every Sunday morning, so why not amp?! It's so much better than coffee for getting butts up out of pews. So at the risk of being branded a heretic and blasphemer, the next time you're on your way to worship, stop by and get yourself a can of Spirit . . . er, I mean amp.

Happy Ascension Day!!!