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Musings on theology, faith, society and occasionally perfume...
About Me
- Pia
- I'm a woman with a deep interest in theology and healing, and how faith translates into our lives. I'm NOT a theologian, pastor, or psychologist--these are just thoughts and essays based on my own experiences and musings, and I hope you will join the discussion!
Blog Archive
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2008
(80)
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March
(16)
- Get your candles ready...(scented or otherwise)
- Thoughts of Thomas Merton
- Ain't No Sunshine
- On Faith...
- More on Dae's Easter Sermon
- The Obama Factor
- Envision:The Gospel, Politics and the Future
- Dinner with Obama
- Easter
- Worth a read....
- Existential Christian (and a bit more on rabbits)
- Clemency
- Fragrant Rabbit
- "You know, I'm not so sure that I'm mad at anybody...
- Finding Healing Together
- Save the Date!
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March
(16)
With Coffee in the Morning...
Blogs I enjoy reading....
Latest books of interest...
- Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen
- Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf
- God and the New Atheism by John F. Haught
- On the Mystery, Discerning God in Process by Catherine Keller
- Prayer, Stress and Our Inner Wounds by Flora Slosson Wuellner
- Saving Paradise by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker
- The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World by Miroslav Volf
- The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg
- The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
- The Silent Cry by Dorothy Soelle
"Someday after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire." --Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
5 comments:
Pia, I have to say I found that depressing. I think that Greg Boyd is so right when he suggests that we not label our political views as Christian. I can only imagine that Christianity suffers from being dragged into this political mire.
The other aspect that gets me down is the really weird theology I'm finding as I read more and more about what is happening in some American churches. I'm no theologian and I have fairly simple views on things but I find some of the ideas I'm coming across just outlandish. I'll leave it at that so as not to inadvertently offend any of your other readers. I'm going to sleep now and try not to think about this...
Take care.
Hi Dean,
I'm sorry you found it depressing...but I would be interested in hearing more about your views on what you feel is 'off' about some of the theology. This is a blog about those topics, so I don't see that--as long as we all keep it respectful--you need worry about offending anyone.
But if it's any comfort, I actually found the article to be positive because I think it shows a lot of people who used to marry their faith with a particular vote are no longer doing so blindly. I'm not saying they should vote one way or another, but I think they are starting to tease apart the issues in a more intentional way, and vote along the lines of their values--and doing the best they can to be really informed about the issues at stake. Voters like that will make this democracy much stronger in the long run because politicians will have to stand on a firm policy basis in order to be legitimate--rather than waving the old partisan flags. All this, imho, of course. :)
I guess I found it depressing because I come at this from such a different perspective. You read this and saw an improvement in the mindfulness that people were bringing to the debate, I looked at it and saw a frightening blurring of Christian belief and politics. This is probably due to the fact that elections here just don't play out in the same way. In our current climate they're very much about race and wealth redistribution. So, even though there is one party that pursues the Christian vote, its not a big issue on our political debates.
Regarding my views on theology, I'm rather reluctant to enter that discussion. Firstly, there are many who are better equipped than I to debate the relative merits of various theological viewpoints. And secondly, this written form of communication makes it very difficult to manage potential fallout when your words are offensive to anyone.
I've sat on the sidelines at times watching these arguments and realised two things. One, theological arguments often get to the point where there is so much jargon that it's no longer clear to me what is being debated. Two, some people's defense of their theology highlights an attitude to their fellow man that is so aggressive and unloving as to completely undermine the merits of the argument they put forth. I don't want to fall into either of these.
But I will continue to follow your posts and comment on matters as they arise. It has been interesting for me to realise just how complex the arguments in Christian theology have become and how far apart my traditional views are from some of the views held in large parts of the church today. I guess that's what can happen when you live so far away on what used to be called the dark continent :)
I'm going to put up some of Tozer's writing on my blog. I feel that he very eloquently makes some points about which I feel strongly. Perhaps we can then pick up parts of this discussion from there.
Hi Dean,
I think there has indeed been a frightening blending of faith and politics in this country, so I am glad that this is being named and discussed in a way that might bring some clarity for those who are struggling with where they stand on things.
And I definitely understand what you mean about 'bitter' theological debates. It often ain't pretty!
Have you read the Heart of CHristianity by Marcus Borg? Somehow it occured to me that you perhaps might enjoy it (or not), but it's definitely thought provoking and has become very formative in a lot of the thinking 'round these parts. :-)
I haven't read it, and neither of our local Christian bookshops have it or have heard of it. So I'll look for it on the web and see what its all about.
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