Blogging the Conference

So, it turns out that I am unable to attend the conference after all. Today, as I was pouting a bit about missing all the fascinating theological discussion which I am sure is taking place, I started surfing the web to see what I could find. To my delight, one of the participants is blogging parts of the proceedings. I am posting the link here, which is the first post from their blog on the conference, and you can go forward into more recent posts from there, if you are interested.

One thing that I already love---the definition of poverty proposed during one of the learning tracks includes not only material deficit, but relational poverty as well. This I find so incredibly important in a culture where many people, both rich and poor, find themselves incredibly isolated and 'doing life alone'. If there is one theological tenet I have had underscored for me in the past year, and which has made the greatest difference in my life, it is this: GOD IS RELATIONAL. I would also add that God is transformational, but that is the subject for another blog post. But I suspect that to the degree we do not grasp the relational aspect of God, we will continue to think faith/religion is just about assenting to a series of beliefs about God, and we will put emphasis on being right/wrong, rather than cultivating--and being transformed by-- authentic relationships to God, ourselves, others, and the planet we live on.

Ok, off the soapbox and back to reading other people's blogs!