HELLO, THEOLOGIAN!

No, don’t look around to see if I’m talking to somebody else. I mean you. And me. And him and her and us and them. We’re all theologians, every one of us. We always have been.

Theology is the study of God and religion. Although only a few of us go off to a formal seminary for schooling, we all live in a seminary of sorts. We live in a world made by the Creator, with people and animals designed by the Creator, and if we have any powers of observation we have noticed the rhythm, balance and order that is all around us. We’ve sensed the goodness of the earth, the grace and skills of animals, the intelligence and abilities of humans, the beauty of how it all fits together. And we’ve also taken notice of the risks. Anyway, whether we call it that or not, we all have a personal theology: a set of conclusions about that which is bigger than we are, based on personal experience – an empirical theology.

Empirical theology is inherently flawed. Your experience and my experience and everybody else’s experience is different, so our theologies will be different, limited by our own location, society and time. But don’t feel bad. All theologies have the same limitations. All theologies are flawed. All theologies seek the truth, and all of them find some of the truth, and no one theology finds all of the truth. Now, that’s a relief. It’s not required that we be completely right, just that we live gently in our world and pay attention.

It helps if we pay attention – not only to our surroundings but to each other. It helps if we share our theologies. And refine our theologies, broaden them and sharpen them and aim a bit deeper with them. And combine our theologies, finding the common ground that brings people together. By nature, theologies are flexible, malleable, elastic, pliable, supple; not – as some folks insist – set in stone. If theology had a theme song, I bet it would be “Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you.”

Theology is a verb, Theology is a process. Theology is a moving picture. Theology is a living entity, as much alive as we are. To try to nail it down (like a butterfly on a tack board) is to kill it, making further growth impossible. So the best thing to do is to treat theology like a boat: hop in, set your sail, take hold of the tiller and see where it takes you. May your journey be interesting and fun!

Bon voyage, Theologian!