April Meeting

Our April meeting will occur on Thursday, April 16, at 7:30, at Delaney's Pub, next door to the Celtic Tavern, which is on the corner of Blake and 18th St. in lower downtown Denver. The topic will be "The Nature of Faith." Bring a faith with you so we can examine it! The patron saint for this meeting will be Martin Luther (see image at left).

Report of the First Meeting!

Seventeen people attended the first meeting of the Sidewalk Theology Society last night. We moved from the Burns room of the Celtic Tavern to the meeting room in Delaney’s next door (same owners). I read the paper “Why Pursue Theology?” (see below), which led to some good discussion all around. Our next meeting will be at Delaney’s again on April 16 (third Thursday) at 7:30, and the topic will be “The Nature of Faith.” Hope to see you there!

First Meeting of the Society

The first meeting of the Sidewalk Theology Society will occur at the Celtic Tavern, at the corner of 18th and Blake, beginning at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, March 19th.  Hope to see you there!

Why Pursue Theology?

I looked around my apartment for some topics to write about and then present at the Sidewalk Theology Society. One of the books I picked up discusses the nature of the atonement, i.e., what Christ accomplished by dying on the cross. I had already read it and made lots of marginal notes, because I disagree so much with some assumptions and some lines of reasoning that the author makes. The author is a Bible-believing, evangelical scholar who probably knows the Bible better than I do. But, in my humility and self-abasement [ ;-P ], I know he’s wrong.

Libraries are full of books about theology, written by scholars and experts, and they often disagree. We pick up books by people we admire, and yet we can drive trucks through holes in their argument. What are we to do? Can we set them right? Can we set the Church right? Can we set ourselves right? I want to be right., otherwise, what’s the point? If the pursuit of theology is not the pursuit of being right about God, of achieving a right consensus about God, then what good is it?

A. We don’t pursue theology chiefly to be right
This is not a post-modernist rejection of truth or right answers or a shared meta-narrative.

But if right answers are our chief goal, then we will probably miss the reason that they are important. For example, we can make a factually correct statement that destroys the recipient, e.g., reminding me of every error I make.

Having the right answers can be a form of control. It can make me less vulnerable to attack. It can keep me from making mistakes that expose me to attack. It is useful, but we don’t get to God that way or win people by out-arguing them.

The truth is not a set of right answers. It is the person, Jesus.

Right answers, considered in themselves, have a way of shifting. For example, astronomy proceeds from Ptolemy to Copernicus, then to Kepler, to Newton, to Einstein—where does it stop? Our grip on reality is shifty.

We connect with people by showing them life, i.e., by being genuinely caring people who walk with Jesus. We can explain what we do and why we do it, but trying to browbeat or manipulate them denies the gifts that God has given them. If we look for right answers for their own sake, we become like the Pharisees in the New Testament, and thus even our right answers become corrupted into the wrong ones.

Yes, of course, I want right answers, because I want to see the truth and have a firm connection with reality. But it is not a correct theology that sets us right, or opens our eyes, or guarantees our connection with reality. That is Jesus’ job. And he will give us the right answers that we need. And this approach does not have an “either-or” form, but a “first this, then that” form.

B. We pursue theology to worship God with our minds (Mt. 22:37, quoting Deut. 6:5)
1. We are in Christ (see Eph. 1), and this has major implications for everyday life. Digging into theology a bit helps us get a clearer view of that reality, and therefore helps us navigate the world.

2. Worldview and life - what you really believe about the nature of the world and your place in it moves what you do. Look at your schedule and your checkbook

3. Integration – theology helps us make better sense of life and see God more clearly (Eph. 1:18-21).

4. Since my theology has great big holes that I can't fill, why should I bother? See Eph. 3:14-19. But our whole life is filled with gaps in knowledge and understanding. We would never say that this means we shouldn’t bother learning more.

My two favorite theological answers are a) Jesus, and b) I don't know. I.e., even though there is so much I don’t know, someone who does know has hold of me. Ignorance has a very important place in handling life. We are not in control, so we need a way of handling that lack of control. Jesus has given us the beginnings of understanding, but, more importantly, he has given us himself. The Bible is not a systematic theology. Our life in Christ requires that we have humility with others, both Christian and non-Christian.

5. Theology is a means to an end (Eph. 4:11-16). It is a road to a clearer vision of God, so that we may worship better, become better disciples. We become stronger so that we may be better servants. We pursue theology as a way of pursuing God himself. I want a clearer vision so that I may be awed by his beauty, love him more deeply, and follow him faithfully.

March 5, 2009

Books recommended for young theologians

At the request of a young friend (Jesse Downing), I have put together list (with notes) of books and authors for that may serve as starting places for reading theology. Er, yes, along with a Bible, a notebook, and a pen.

1. Exercises in clear thinking about God:
Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis; The Reason for God, Tim Keller
Both of these books are good examples of clear and well-structured reasoning. The arguments are not water tight, nor are they intended to be. Both of then aim at guiding the reader away from muddled thinking, from commonplace platitudes that people use to avoid thinking. Both are accessible reads for the high school graduate, but expect to use your brain.
Further similar reading: Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton; Socrates Meets Jesus, Peter Kreeft; Simply Christian, N. T. Wright; Miracles, C. S. Lewis; The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy L. Sayers.

2. How do you know anything?
Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship, Lesslie Newbigin
Newbigin the nature of knowledge and faith, and he debunks the idea that we have to, or can, prove our fundamental convictions about the nature of reality. He describes a manner of knowing that provides us with confidence appropriate to questions about God.

3. Long ago and far away:
On the Incarnation of the Word of God, Athanasius of Alexandria; Confessions, Augustine of Hippo (get Henry Chadwick’s translation); Cur Deus Homo? [Latin for “Why the God-Man”], Anselm of Canterbury.
Each of these guys also has “Saint” in front of his name, which is why you will sometimes find their books under “S” in some clumsy bookstores.
Each of the books is accessible, with Anselm’s work being the most closely reasoned of the three and Augustine’s ranging over the most topics. Each of them deserves a slow read, because they are much more profound than your first glance will show. Or, read them fast the first time, and then slow the second. Get the flavor of their foreignness, the strangeness of their assumptions and the way they reason. Now stand in their places and ask how strange you would sound to them. They will begin to provide a vantage point for criticizing the mistakes of our time and place.

4. Why bother?
Knowing God, J. I. Packer
Sometimes a dense read, this book rewards the reader with a view of theology as not an end but a means by which we worship.
Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship, N.T. Wright
These are lively sermons that, in Wright's words, examine the "so what?" of the search for Jesus. They are not the same cliches on sin and the resurrection that you have heard before. They are orthodox and fresh.

5. Putting your theology together:
Theology: The Basics, Alister E. McGrath
It’s very difficult to find a starting textbook that isn’t technical. This one looks better than most. I haven’t read it yet. Its companion volume is Theology: The Basic Readings, which includes 56 excerpts from other theologians ancient and modern.
Further reading: Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin (get the Ford-Battles translation); The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther.

6. Fiction for some relief:
The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis
Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength (Sci-fi trilogy), C. S. Lewis
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, G. K. Chesterton
Murder Must Advertise, Dorothy L. Sayers
Phantastes, George MacDonald
Lilith, George MacDonald
The Silver Pigs (begins the Marcus Didius Falco series), Lindsey Davis
The Color of Magic (begins the Discworld series), Terry Pratchett

Suggested Guidelines for the STS

The material below suggests some guidelines for the operation of the Sidewalk Theology Society. We will discuss them at the meetings and change them at the pleasure of the participants.

I. Title and Motto:
Sidewalk Theology Society
“Enquiring minds want to worship.”
(my favorite) “Putting shoe-leather to theology.”
“Getting theology out of the ivory tower and onto the sidewalk.”
“Because theology needs a breath of fresh air and a beer.”

II. Purposes:
o To be a forum for pastors, laymen, and theologians to meet, where they can learn from each other, build each other up in Christ, and train their minds in Christian theology.
o To exhibit God in thought, word, and deed.
o To develop theology with rigor, and to demonstrate how to use it on a tired Thursday afternoon at work.

III. Assumptions:
The dialog will normally assume the reliability of the Scriptures and take the Apostles’ Creed as its context, with exceptions as agreed upon. Thus, the Society will not undertake to prove the existence of God, the sonship of Jesus, or the reliability of the Scriptures. However, the Society may decide from time to time to examine the foundation of these and other affirmations, especially to look at how head-affirmation connects with heart-experience, or to re-examine faulty foundations for doctrine, or to discuss how to present topics to non-believers. The Society will not look down on genuine struggles of conscience or understanding among its members, although it may be limited in the amount of help it can provide.
The participants at any meeting will listen both appreciatively and critically to each other, and especially to the Presenters, who will have gone to some amount of trouble to make their presentations.

Both male and female adults may participate in the meetings and hold office. The remarks in this proposal thus occasionally use masculine pronouns generically.

Members must affirm the Apostles’ Creed and be 18 years old or older. Associate members do not have to be believers but must be 18 years old or older. Only members may be elected to the Servant positions (see below). Other differences in function will be determined later.
Non-members may attend but must be sponsored by a member or associate member to be allowed to participate.

IV. Venue:
Third Thursday of each month, at a place to be decided, to last for about 2 hours.

V. Typical format of a meeting:
Call to order
Discussion of business
First Presentation: a paper or a reading (e.g., an article, an extract from a book, etc.)
Questions of Clarification
General Discussion
Second Presentation: other topics for discussion
Assignments for the next meeting

VI. Servants of the Meetings:
Convener, Moderator, First Presenter, Second Presenter, Recorder.

A. The Convener
The Convener calls the meeting to order, guides it through its format to the end, makes sure that a Convener for the next meeting is elected, and resigns the post to him. The new Convener closes the meeting. The Convener also has the authority to resolve disputes, either by himself or by chairing and appointing an ad hoc committee.

B. The Moderator
The Moderator’s job is to oversee the course of the discussions, but to intervene only seldom and loosely. The Moderator must sense the will of the participants and defer to it. The Moderator allows the conversation to pursue tangents, but also guides it back to the points at issue. The Moderator may disallow ungentlemanly language, snarky remarks, sarcasm, or disrespectful comments. The Moderator may also intervene when participants are talking past each other, or if the disagreement centers on the definitions words rather than substance, or other conversational paths that get nowhere.

All the participants are expected to defer to the Moderator, but the group as a whole may depose the Moderator if it is dissatisfied with that Moderator’s execution of the job. If this happens, the deposed Moderator will not take offense, and the group must buy him a drink. The action to depose requires a motion and a second to begin the procedure, and a majority of those voting to pass. The Convener will moderate the procedure to depose.

C. The First Presenter
The First Presenter presents a reading or paper. The material presented must be oriented to the ear. The First Presenter should be acquainted well enough with the material to answer several expected questions and to discuss the main points.

D. The Second Presenter
The Second Presenter should have at least two topics to offer to the group and some incisive questions or provocative comments about each topic, to push the discussion onto productive ground. One goal of the discussion is to stretch the participants in ways they may not expect.

E. The Recorder
The meetings should have a Recorder, or several recorders, noting the topics of conversation that arise, especially the ones that the meeting is unable to pursue. The Society can use that list of topics to plan further discussions.

VII. Assignments for the next meeting will include
Appointing a new Moderator for the next meeting
Group suggestions about topics to be presented
Appointing the Presenters for the next meeting
The time and place of the next meeting

IX. The Society should also discuss
what the participants want to get from the group,
what they’re prepared to give,
what theological topics interest them
what kind of theological grounding they would like to acquire
whether there is some path of study or discussion they would like to pursue