tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.comments2022-05-31T06:15:20.050-05:00Conversations on the Church's Vocation in the Public WorldNorma Cook Everisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08265711155902461760noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-51915086435582630582022-05-31T06:15:20.050-05:002022-05-31T06:15:20.050-05:00Great blog, thanks for posting thisGreat blog, thanks for posting thisBobby Chasehttps://www.bobbychase.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-52458737950596608242009-07-04T09:16:39.507-05:002009-07-04T09:16:39.507-05:00Thank you for this Norma. It is good to think how...Thank you for this Norma. It is good to think how connected we are to all of creation - that our experience is mirrored on all sorts of levels. And it is hard to leave the nest. With a daughter going off to college and us moving overseas, I feel very much like that young bird. The future seems both so very exciting and yet so very impossible. I am thankful that God has shown us in Christ that God provides the air that lifts us aloft and picks us up after we fall, even when that fall involves a small dead body. The trust and joy can be deeper than the fear.Allisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-29646623936994839172009-06-09T22:17:33.052-05:002009-06-09T22:17:33.052-05:00Matt, since your anger has seemed to cloud your vi...Matt, since your anger has seemed to cloud your vision of my above statement, I will summarize. The purpose of my comment was to gently chastise Dr. Cook-Everist for her one-sided thoughts, and encourage both her and you to move beyond your hurts. I wrote to give a third way, and hopefully a more theologically inclusive one. I did not write to get in the middle of an argument between you and her, or to be snapped at by somebody who doesn't seem to have carefully read my other comment.<br /><br />Rev. Amanda - signing out of this conversation.asdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279771999562037074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-85631975929747673852009-06-05T10:55:11.677-05:002009-06-05T10:55:11.677-05:00Amanda you said: We can then ask legitimate quest...Amanda you said: We can then ask legitimate questions from a stance of love and understanding. When we are not afraid to loose ourselves to the conversation, for the sake of Christ, our questions become questions of discernment through Christ for the sake of the world.<br /><br />Questions about Judge Sotomayor's temperment would be legitimate if she were a white male. I do not know anything about Judge Sotomayor other than she is a judge. What experience does she have that qualifies her for the Supreme Court? How does that match up with previous appointees? Has she written, said, or done things that would call into question her ability to judge fairly from the bench?<br /><br />Just a couple things I have read.<br /><br />Some articles have said she is qualified solely on the basis of her race and gender. I do not believe those articles add to the conversation. <br /><br />She has said that the appeals court is where policy is made. The court does not make policy in our constitutional system, it interprets the law. Maybe a slight distinction but I believe that is important.<br /><br />A couple more questions I would like answered: How have her opinions stood up to judicial review? How do colleagues and lawyers who have argued cases in her courtroom view her?<br /><br />Now, because I ask these questions does that make me sexist and racist? If so, I would rather be sexiest and racist then to judge people solely on surface characteristics such as race and gender.<br /><br />My general impression about this article is that it is saying that the questions about Judge Sotomayor arise soley from racism and sexism. If that is the case, then what Norma is arguing and what you seem to be agreeing with is that women and people of color should not have their qualifications questioned.Matt Marchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-15647775332395199282009-06-02T21:27:55.626-05:002009-06-02T21:27:55.626-05:00Well, it seems to me that the question becomes thi...Well, it seems to me that the question becomes this - how do we live with one another in a broken world? If I remember right, a pretty famous guy had something to say about that after a trek through some pretty rough places - but back to that later.<br /><br />They are small things. They are huge things. As a person who will be ordained in three days, and who happens to be a woman, I too know the questions. They are small, because if Sotomayor is appointed, they will scarcely matter anymore. They are huge, because people are making decisions out of a fear based mentality - fear of the unknown. Policy decisions made out of fear are never good decisions.<br /><br />The fact remains, that decisions are being made out of fear. We all fear that well will cease to be - that what is precious to us will be gone - and the world will fall apart. Most likely, that is behind those nasty comments.<br /><br />We know from our Lord, that the world has already fallen apart in Christ's death - and a new creation came on the Third day. We live in the faith that there is something more than what we know, and we know that "something" is good. That "something" is better than we can ever imagine.<br /><br />We can then ask legitimate questions from a stance of love and understanding. When we are not afraid to loose ourselves to the conversation, for the sake of Christ, our questions become questions of discernment through Christ for the sake of the world.<br /><br />We can be saddened by the brokenness of the world, yet it is a Christian sadness which knows hope beyond all fear, suffering, and death.<br /><br />As far as my experience - people treat me like a person. Some are scared, some are overly welcoming, some want change and some want things the same. One younger person told me that it was good to have a woman back in the pulpit, because it was really weird to have those guys in the interim. An older person expressed her sorrow that they had been forced to take another woman pastor even though they had paid their dues to the synod with the last one.<br /><br />All of them want to know Christ's love - and will take that message of healing grace wherever they can get it. Even if its from me, and especially if its from me.<br /><br />Back to that famous guy. I think his name was Jesus Nazereth, and he said something about loving each other as you have been loved by him. We lift each other up past the fear, past the hurt, past the "little deaths" of this world, and into the grace of the God who loves us past our inability to do what we should. When we are on the receiving end of all that brokennes, we hold on to Jesus or rest in his arms, and know that there is life beyond all brokenness, and that even this will be a new creation.asdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279771999562037074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-28712276514057251242009-05-30T11:23:02.550-05:002009-05-30T11:23:02.550-05:00My question for you is: Can there be legitimate q...My question for you is: Can there be legitimate questions asked about Judge Sotomayor and her nomination to the Supreme Court or must she be allowed to be confirmed with no questions about her judicial record or temperament? Who gets to determine what are legitimate questions?Matt Marchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-45329783913741677872009-05-15T09:07:00.000-05:002009-05-15T09:07:00.000-05:00Hi Norma. These days I'm teaching grade 5 childre...Hi Norma. These days I'm teaching grade 5 children at The International School of Azerbaijan where we run the Primary Years Program of the I.B. Grade 5 for us is the Exhibition year as they are graduating from primary school. They have a special day of giving their presentations in front of the school community and then another day attending their displays and sharing their new knowledge. <br /><br />Our theme, (remember, these are 10 and 11 year old children) was Thought Ignites Action. I am thankful for your wisdom in your seven points and would have liked to share these points as inspiration at the start of their Unit of Inquiry. The children, here in Baku, visited orphanages, a home for disabled, and a shelter for Rom street kids. They raised around US$1500, built web pages, titioned the General Secretary of the UN, approached the US Embassy, which donated 2 flat screen computers, collected enough new and second materials to fill two 20 seat buses. Purchases included a TV, books, wheelchair, crutches, toys and sports equipment. <br /><br />While we can't tell at this stage what long-lasting empowerment these children absorbed, they certainly are aware of how significant these donations and gifts are to the people of these institutions, some of which have zero institutional funding and are run and funded completely by volunteers. Imagine how significant a wheelchair and crutches are to people who have no mobility. The wide-eyed look of amazement in their eyes and their proud smiles was something to behold.<br /><br />They reminded me of how significant are the steps we take (little and large). Right now, I'm very much enjoying Point #7. <br /><br />Joy and Peace and Hugs<br /><br />LeighLeigh Newtonhttp://leighnewton.edublogs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-51955235910772077842009-05-04T12:04:00.000-05:002009-05-04T12:04:00.000-05:00I have to confess that this makes me angry. Amand...I have to confess that this makes me angry. Amanda does a much better job than I of reacting with understanding and her gardening analogy is quite beautiful. <br /><br />I agree that to operate out of either fear or guilt is neither good nor sustainable, but I am not sure that fear is what prevents us from caring about the rest of the world. Perhaps it is something more reprehensible - like willful ignorance, or shear selfishness. Do we really think that people in other countries or neighborhoods aren't people? Or that they are less people than us? I am sometimes afraid, particularly in the vaguely nomadic student life my family and I have lived lately, of homelessness, not being able to pay the bills, having to ask for financial help from family or from a social service agency. I have an active imagination, I can imagine having to sleep in the car and wash my hair in an airport. But I have met women who woke up in the morning not knowing what to give their children to eat and have sold their bodies to provide for their families. I have met women who aren't counted in a census because they are not really considered people. And those women were amazing people - people who loved their children, who when given a chance put forth amazing efforts to learn and to improve their lives. People who have as much right as I have to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - American or not. I doubt that anyone who called David Beckman was in situations near as dire as those Haitian women. Yes we need to keep ourselves and our families alive, but we also need to know ourselves and our world a little better.<br /><br />When Jesus told the story of the good samaritan, he wasn't answering the question asked of him: "Who is my neighbor?" He was asking his own question: "Who was neighbor to the robbed and beaten man?" He was asking the somewhat self righteous lawyer to consider who might help him if he was ever in need. If we get into a situation where we need help and no one will help us, we might need to consider what neighbors we have driven away. In America today it is so easy not to know who our neighbors, next door or around the world are.<br /><br />We are deluding ourselves if we believe that we can really ever be safe and whole and well while any one the world over is starving. In the history of the world how many conflicts do not have something to do with unequal balances in resources and with the greed of those who are in a dominant position?<br /><br />Now more than ever is the time to figure out how to ensure that people everywhere can eat. It is perhaps only our belief in a Creating, providing God that can allow us the courage to do this. And maybe one place to start is by getting to know people as people.Allisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-77343499939696925812009-05-03T12:18:00.000-05:002009-05-03T12:18:00.000-05:00Fear is such a fickle thing. It clouds our thinki...Fear is such a fickle thing. It clouds our thinking and makes us forget what we know. I suppose that's why the angles always greet people with the words,"Do not be afraid." People forget that angles are good when they are startled. Fear makes us pull into ourselves - and as far as survival goes, that's a good thing! We cannot ever help anyone again if we are ourselves destroyed. Anyone who works with crisis situations knows this well. A firefighter cannot ever rescue anyone again if they die in the fire.<br /><br />In this economic situation, some people are feeling the fear and pulling in. Well more realistically, alot of people are feeling the fear and pulling their resources into themselves. Sometimes that's sensible and sometimes is idolatry - turning fear into a god and worshiping it through hording of resources.<br /><br />When we ignore fear and sensibility, and simply go on and on about how much bigger God is than our fears, our words have no meaning. It is very true that the Spirit of God is far from sensible at times. We discern that together. The Spirit comes to us, each in our way, and says, "Do not be afraid." Many times though, the Spirit works through our everyday, steady, patient ways.<br /><br />When I think about discerning how to love my neighbor as myself, and who my neighbor is, I like to use the old analogy about gardening. There are many things one does as they garden, but three big ones are Tending, Feasting, and Surprising.<br /><br />When one is in a garden, tending to it, it is almost inevitable that somebody will stop in. Usually, they have a question about gardening. As the gardener talks to the visitor, they are loving their neighbor. They are sharing their skills and caring for their neighbor. They are helping the hungry through training and prevention.<br /><br />Next, there is feasting. Most years, when tomatoes or zucchini, or (fill in the blank) are in season, there is more than plenty to share. Gardeners have cookouts, hand out canned goods and buckets to everyone who is near them. Everyone eats, and they eat alot, whether they like tomatoes or not! This is caring for one's neighbor as themselves by feasting together. Nobody goes hungry when there is plenty when the time of feasting comes.<br /><br />Then there is the time of surprising. Whether this is an apple pie in June, or rhubarb bread in December, or seeds from the plant you've been admiring all summer, or money for the bread for the world project from that extra zucchini they sold - surprises from the abundance usually happen. We care for our neighbor as ourselves by spreading Joy through being able to surprise people with the earthly things that make them happy.<br /><br />So who is our neighbor? It is the one in the garden, the one at the door, the one across the way whom we surprise. Is a person always going to be able to tend, and feast, and surprise in the same ways - well no. That's obvious. Am I always going to be able to trust in God's tending and feasting and surprising? Well, yes! That's obvious to me too.<br /><br />We can do the surprising work of bringing Joy to those around the world because as we tend to those near to us, the ones farther away get invited to the feasting (Eucharist!), and then the Spirit moves the blessings in all kinds of surprising ways. Ways that surprise the fear right out of us!<br /><br />AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-72126734092234175042009-04-30T15:49:00.000-05:002009-04-30T15:49:00.000-05:00Graduations are amazing moments of Kiros time. Go...Graduations are amazing moments of Kiros time. God's time. Times when people, regardless of faith, join together to sit vigil (even if only for an hour) to witness the wonder of God's transforming power. Yes, work of students, work of teachers, administrators, and staff, and yes, words of wisdom for the journey - but yet God's work to bring something new out of the old. The graduates know. They know their life will never be the same once they walk out of that auditorium. <br /><br />Some would say it was a silly formality, and others would label graduation as simply a day of transition. I disagree though, because I know a God, my God, who makes all things new - not just in the future, but now, continually. A transition, yes, but a transition made possible by the grace of God. And, it is more than a formality, it is the gathering of people to stand in awe together - together as the body of Christ - to tremble at the greatness, laugh with joy at the transformation, impart wisdom from those who have known God's transforming power before, and rejoice for God's ability to make all things new!<br /><br />AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-41536535449641423712009-04-30T15:04:00.000-05:002009-04-30T15:04:00.000-05:00It is a profound and amazing thing, to think that ...It is a profound and amazing thing, to think that we are known by God, and God loves us in spite of that. Even when we are too busy to get to know God - God knows us. Even when we look over the person at the meat counter, the gym, the intersection - God knows them and loves them in spite of our neglect. <br /><br />It is out of that great love, that we dare to see, really see, the people. No matter how scary that "other person" is, we cannot help be blessed by sharing God's love between us, and knowing the boundless, wondrous works of God in each other.<br /><br />I recently went on a trip with five different stops. For the first half of the trip I was chronically overdressed. My shoes were too shiny, my blazer should have been a windbreaker, and my hair should have been in a ponytail. The second half of my trip, I was chronically underdressed. My hair did not lay down even when it was windy, my shoes were brown instead of black, and my blazer should have been a suit jacket. There were some people on each side who had trouble seeing past the clothes. Eventually, they would say, "Oh, your so-n-so" and I would be chastised or teased for a bit. I learned my lesson for next time about knowing my context - but it still amazed me, how the smallest of things could completely distract people from seeing me. <br /><br />God, give us vision to see how you love people, so that your love in us may overflow to them! Amen<br /><br />AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-75204629479614446092009-04-30T10:33:00.000-05:002009-04-30T10:33:00.000-05:00The other day, my husband introduced me to a famil...The other day, my husband introduced me to a family friend that he had run into at the gym. He knows how difficult it is to make new friends and find people to hang out with outside of work/church. I know he hoped that we would hit it off and make plans to get together later.<br /><br />She and I talked briefly for a moment, but I was anxious to get back to my workout, and it was just an awkward situation. Ever since, I wish that I had been more open to further conversation. All I know is that my husband and her brother were friends in high school and that she had recently moved back to town. Does she have a family? What does she do during the day? Do we have any similar interests? What does she think about--the economy, kids, God? <br /><br />Oh, the missed opportunities there are when we think there is no time to go beyond the superficial and really open up to new people--even just a little.<br /><br />Tobi WhiteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-5442072192616109872009-04-21T10:30:00.000-05:002009-04-21T10:30:00.000-05:00There is something that is to be said about seeing...There is something that is to be said about seeing people as they are where they are at, but also people as they once were. My mind goes back to when I was living in Phoenix. Homeless people would wait for handouts at several different large intersections in the city, and it amazed me how many of them had signs that said that they were a Vietnam veteran.<br /><br />Trying not to be jaded, I would look on as these people would stand proud and upright in the sun, looking for somebody else to see them as they may have once been.<br /><br />There is a certain imago dei moment that happens when viewing these people. Where were we when we did not feed you, Lord?heller01https://www.blogger.com/profile/12899449167723393149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-79287813869514159662009-04-18T19:42:00.000-05:002009-04-18T19:42:00.000-05:00Will the current realities of the financial situat...Will the current realities of the financial situations in the U.S. change our American civil religion creeds? <br />I hope so! I think that in order for things to change, there needs to be a fundamental change in what we believe our duty is as citizens and people who live in this country.<br />I am not a financial expert, but it's obvious that something has gone wrong here. I am 28 and have been educated by the motto, "In debt we trust." I thought my parents were crazy for worrying so much about money and paying for cash for things like cars and home improvements. Now I don't think they are so dumb! I haven't thought twice about taking out school loans or thinking about the reality of paying them back. A big mistake on my part, and perhaps the culture in which I've grown up in.<br />Maybe we need some money management education in our school systems. I could have used that . . .and still could!Brenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-9419438062338212272009-04-15T10:33:00.000-05:002009-04-15T10:33:00.000-05:00There is a tendency on the part of most of us to b...There is a tendency on the part of most of us to be so absorbed in themselves and their life or activity that they miss the people they encounter every day. They see others as persons whose purpose is to supply the needs of their lives. I suppose you could describe that as an evidence of original sin. "It's just about me."<br /><br />There is a wonderful opportunity to encounter Jesus in others we encounter every day. There is certainly an opportunity to encounter those whom Jesus loves and for whom he died.<br /><br />Luther's theology of vocation is always helpful as a means to discover how others serve God through their many vocations. The church could do a great service to others by naming those many vocations of life as ways of serving God.<br /><br />I love to engage others in conversation. It is a great joy to meet people and to learn about them and experience God through them.<br /><br />David Baer<br />Whitewood, SDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-19881418578095733022009-04-15T09:45:00.000-05:002009-04-15T09:45:00.000-05:00In a recent trip to Ireland, I had amazing encount...In a recent trip to Ireland, I had amazing encounter after encounter of folks just walking through the airport willing to sit and talk about life. I met and shared with a group of students going to eastern europe; I listened to there hopes and dreams of escaping their group but it gave me an opportunity to share a few thoughts on what to do in a foreign land. Of which I used for my trip to Ireland as well. I met a woman who looking haggard from travel, who lived in minnesota but was traveling to Norway but she was a retired English teacher that worked with CEO's needing to brush up on their English skills for communication skills with the people they worked with and for. All of the people I spoke with or listened to, did share more than a bit of themselves. Something deeper than just being a nameless human doing.<br />People who I don't know of whom I won't ever see again shared moments of grace with me for no other reason that to make connection, to find meaning in conversation and that made the trip to Ireland amazing.<br />William Stafford's poem "The Ritual To Read To Each Other" has much to say about being open to conversations and not prejudging others according to their disposition whether at the store, in church, or at the airport. I liked the article I hope this makes sense. PJAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-52517492440721242362009-04-13T16:34:00.000-05:002009-04-13T16:34:00.000-05:00There's something so ESSENTIAL about the simple ac...There's something so ESSENTIAL about the simple act of conversing with each other. We spend so much of our time in either "transactional" communication - I need something from you, you need something from me - or in "small talk" that serves as prelude or postlude to the transactional. We miss so much discovery, so much joy, when we neglect our need and call, just to listen to each other. Thanks for the reminder.Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-33691230092703238712009-04-13T09:48:00.000-05:002009-04-13T09:48:00.000-05:00It's not uncommon for (sometimes unusual) groups t...It's not uncommon for (sometimes unusual) groups to find themselves with a common 'enemy.' While populist rage might be quite effective in moving a group to action, it can be short-sighted and unhealthy if it is only unidimensional.<BR/><BR/>The challenge is for a group to move together 'toward' a common goal, not just 'away from' a common enemy. If a group is only cohesive regarding what it is against, than as soon as that aspect of its mission has been achieved, there is no direction other than to turn in on itself and produce less-than-desirable outcomes.<BR/><BR/>I am currently in a common situation with a congregation. Knowing what they were against, they broke from another congregation. Since their 'independence' has been relatively established, there has been in-fighting and scape-goating. The goal was always to get away. Now, they don't know what direction to take because they have nothing to move from.<BR/><BR/>This sounds similar to Peter's description of South Africa right now. Those who were adamant about getting rid of Mbeki were quite successful. But now that they've achieved their purpose, they are making unhealthy and unwise decisions because there was perhaps little to no conversation about what they were 'for.'<BR/><BR/>As far as my little congregation goes, we're now working on naming and claiming that attitude so that we can move past it and identify a common mission and vision regarding how to be the church again.<BR/><BR/>Tobi WhiteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-37793525626720728902009-04-10T23:30:00.000-05:002009-04-10T23:30:00.000-05:00Hehe I was one of those 13 teen year old boys, and...Hehe I was one of those 13 teen year old boys, and kind of continuing the what do angels look like, They are portrayed in the media are very different. They come in Human form they come in dream form and even in Revelations one is a 6-winged Angel. So what do angels really look like? Maybe we are all wrong. Maybe just one of us are right. Even we could all be right because we are made in the image God so we could all seem them in our own way. I mean so two people could see one angel and they could both see something different. It would be really interesting to actually know what angel is. But in the end it may be like see the image of god and being just blow away because it is so majestic and perfect. My email is z_manrocks@hotmail.com<BR/><BR/>-HunterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-40353242234291244322009-04-10T23:25:00.000-05:002009-04-10T23:25:00.000-05:00I was also one of those 13 year old boys and one o...I was also one of those 13 year old boys and one of my questions where not asked by Amanda, so I will ask that here. How do we know which is right evolution or creation and if one is right and the other not how do we know. If both is right in some way how do they tie together in anyway. Amanda has explained her belief in this, but I would like to hear others idea on this too. My email is dj_clarey@hotmail.com<BR/><BR/>-DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-70395512021845374432009-04-10T23:17:00.000-05:002009-04-10T23:17:00.000-05:00I'm sitting here with two, 13 year old boys. They...I'm sitting here with two, 13 year old boys. They glanced up from the world of Warcraft game, and asked me what I was so interested in, as I read this blog. I told them I was reading alot of big words about the questions that come up from when we think about life, and then I asked them what their theological questions were from their WOW adventures. These are the ones that came up.<BR/>1. How do we know that God exists, and if God does exist, how do we know there isn't more than one, and if there is more than one, why has God lied to us?<BR/>2. Since we are created in the image of God, why can't we smite people?<BR/>3. What do angels actually look like?<BR/><BR/>I think those are some pretty good questions. It leads to my own question. How can we all ask our God/Life questions together, even when they come from World of Warcraft? What does World of Warcraft have to do with daily life - obviously something to these two 13 year olds.<BR/><BR/>AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-83601180052823110022009-04-09T09:40:00.000-05:002009-04-09T09:40:00.000-05:00Thank you, Norma. Too often the point of theology...Thank you, Norma. Too often the point of theology seems to be having answers - not seeking better questions. These answers become ways in which we seek to have control over the world. Your point, Adam, is well taken. We can use either quetions or answers as a way to simply focus on ourselves. One of the "tricks" of theology is letting it ask the questions instead of our bringing our questions to it. Or perhaps letting it be the context from which our experience shapes questions.<BR/>Good questions drive us deeper, open us more fully. Good questions fill us with humility. These are good gifts.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-54208184463915888522009-04-08T11:05:00.000-05:002009-04-08T11:05:00.000-05:00"The Value of theology is in the Questions it Rais..."The Value of theology is in the Questions it Raises" is a phrase that doesn't sit well with me. I can't squarely put my finger upon why, but have some initial leanings.<BR/><BR/>First, valuing our "God talk" or "God study" by what questions we bring to the table seems to be very anthropocentric. Finding value in something we create is a closed-loop. If we raise questions we or others like, than it is very easy to think that we are doing good theology. Worse, perhaps, is that there is a very real possibility that we can raise questions that have increasingly less to do with God and more to do with our own perceptions of "God," religion, and the human condition.<BR/><BR/>I'm probably chasing a minor point to hard. However, if we really believe that the "value" of theology is solely derived from the questions we bring, I think we are doing theology a disservice. There is certainly value in the questions, but, I would argue, that the central value is found in theology's intentional openness to the divine and revelation. There is where transformation lies.Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-31263622718812382152009-04-07T10:05:00.000-05:002009-04-07T10:05:00.000-05:00I've heard it said that Lutheran theology is done ...I've heard it said that Lutheran theology is done best when it asks the question, "why did Jesus have to die?" I have found that a helpful starting point for all of my theological reflection, regardless of context. I also find it helpful as a starting point in addressing the questions Karen Bloomquist asks, as all of these are logical questions which eventually grow out of the original. Thanks for getting us thinking about this, Norma.R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01867539625833862691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5049018213559656453.post-83747514290494662142009-04-05T12:26:00.000-05:002009-04-05T12:26:00.000-05:00I've been reading a book about the common good of ...I've been reading a book about the common good of education, and oddly enough, this idea of populist rage and using education for the common good fit together. They both force the question - What is the common good? How do we achieve it?<BR/><BR/>Jesus frequently socialized with the "populus." Those sinners, outcasts, tax collectors, and middle of the day well go-ers, are the people whom the elite used for gain. We, as Christians, continue to affirm the inherent worth of all people, and welcome all to our table in communion with Christ. This practice excludes a paternalistic system of the uneducated and irresponsible vs the educated and controlling. To say it another way, the practice of following Jesus by loving those who Christ loves, doesn't allow for the situation that calls for the irrational populist rage. When we honor the worth and gifts of all, and make room for their development, we avoid the pitfalls of reactionary anger.<BR/>(I am not here saying that the people contributing to the populist rage in Africa are in any way unintelligent or lacking in academic degrees - but instead using the "typical situation" of withholding power through withholding information, and thereby forcing people out of responsibility and into uninformed decisions.)<BR/><BR/>Yet, it is easier to educate a few and allow (force?) the majority to forgo responsibility. In time though, those who are not responsible will rise up together to affirm their value - not only are they people, it is their being which makes the others' lives possible. It is easier to be reactive and angry than it is to work together for change.<BR/><BR/>The well quoted phrase, be angry, but do not sin, is apt here. Rage brakes community where it does not need to be broken. It leads to sin. Anger draws us together against the brokenness of the world, and uses discontentment for change.<BR/><BR/>How much will the results of the April 22 election teach us, or help us answer our question of populist rage? Well, the answer depends on whether the South Africans, and all those who stand with them around the world, can be angry together for the good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com