I first discovered theology my senior year of college, discussing Gordon Kauffmans In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology with a group of philosophy and religion students and professors at Luther College. I was hooked. At seminary, a latent and strange kind of anti-intellectualism sometimes precluded serious theological inquiry, but for the most part, you could find a tribe and geek out together over the finer points of hermeneutics, without someone asking, But how will this apply in ministry? or Wow, you actually read the book? After seminary, in every parish Ive served, I typically discover a few theology geeks, but they tend not to congregate with others, in this way reading and studying somewhat like scifi afficianados. Reading serious philosophical theology is a lonely enterprise, for the most part. I did participate for three years in a Pastor-Theologian program with the Center of Theological Inquiry, and our group was notable for only getting around to talking about personal stuff after the second day, when we had finally exhausted ourselves in conversation around Christology and worldview (Peter Jonas, Douglas Day Hostetler Kaufman, Peter Speckhard, Geoffrey Hoare, Heidi VardemanRichard Rollefson, William Myers, and a few others not on Facebook). Until this past month, when I was invited to gather with a group to discuss John D. Caputos The Insistence of God: A Theology of Perhaps, I had only rarely been finding serious theological community. Its pretty fun to hang out for lunch Mondays with a group of folks who have read Marion, and Deleuze, and Husserl, and Tillich, and Malabou, and Žižek, and name-drop so loudly over their burritos that people sitting nearby either say Gesundheit or glare because it sounds like were swearing. The most intriguing thing about this group: With the exception of yours truly, theyre all deeply interested in theology, but profoundly skeptical of participation in the life of the church. I dont know what to make of this, other than to note that now a significant part of theological inquiry is happening outside the church, and outside the academy, but definitely at Flying Burrito Company.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 03:29:17 +0000
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