As Lent approaches, I find myself wondering where I am inside of the Christian tradition. I want to say that I have made the move from Baptist to Reformed, but this is not true. I am still trying to figure out how I am shaped by the theology of my childhood (Baptist), and how that has changed through my time in college and graduate school (Reformed). It would be false to say that I have left behind my roots, as they are always with me. I am always inside of the hermeneutical circle created in my youth. What I mean by this is that what I grew up believing will always continue to influence how I read the world around me, and I can never, nor should I ever want to, get rid of this influence.(Hans-Georg Gadamer makes this point in Truth and Method (Continuum Impacts)
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Thus, it is my goal during the Lenten season (Ash Wednesday-Holy Saturday) to try to explore where I am in the Christian Tradition. I started this discipline two years ago after reading an article by Merold Westphal, entitled Atheism for Lent (http://theotherjournal.com/2008/02/20/atheism-for-lent/). In this short article, which is a summary of his book, Suspicion and Faith: The Religious Uses of Modern Atheism[Image]. In the article, and the book, Westphal encourages Christians to take the time of Lent to explore our fundamental beliefs through the philosophers of suspicion (Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx) in order to question why we believe what we believe. This exercise was challenging, as I was implicitly taught not to question my beliefs in such a fashion. It was also challenging, as I have been a Christian for what seems all my life, being born into a Christian family, a Christian church, and by extension, a Christian tradition. What I learned from this spiritual exercise is that we need to be always reforming, always questioning what we belief and why. It was an attempt to take the charge given by St. Peter, " always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15, NASB). By taking seriously the charges and questions of Nietzsche, Freud and Marx, I found that I was better prepared to not only defend the hope inside of me, but I re-discovered the hope given to me by the Triune God.
Continuing on this theme, the next Lenten season, I explored the works of Paul Van Buren, Thomas JJ Altizer, William Hamilton and Gabriel Vahanian. Collectively, these authors founded the Death of God theological movement. This movement was brought to the attention of the American public in the October 1965 issue of Time Magazine that chronicled it. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941410,00.html) By reading these thinkers on what it would mean if we have replaced God, I searched my life to see if what I held about God was idolatrous, and to see if I was contributing to the removal of God in my life and the life of others.
This year, I am taking a different approach to the same problem that I started two years ago. (Understanding our faith is not a mere Lenten project, but an on-going journey) I am going to read Emil Brunner's Dogmatics. I am reading this to help me understand not just the Reformed faith, but the Faith. As a philosopher, by training and vocation, it is easy to let theological ideas remain under-defined while trying to shore up my philosophical acumen. Thus, for this Lenten season, I am attempting to de-compartmentalize my mind and heart.
I am trying then, to embark on a journey towards being a more faithful follower of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is not a mere intellectual journey that I am embarking on. I am approaching the subject academically, yet, I will also be using my reading as devotions, to be able to not just think through complex doctrines, but to meditate on how to live them out.
)Thus, it is my goal during the Lenten season (Ash Wednesday-Holy Saturday) to try to explore where I am in the Christian Tradition. I started this discipline two years ago after reading an article by Merold Westphal, entitled Atheism for Lent (http://theotherjournal.com/2008/02/20/atheism-for-lent/). In this short article, which is a summary of his book, Suspicion and Faith: The Religious Uses of Modern Atheism[Image]. In the article, and the book, Westphal encourages Christians to take the time of Lent to explore our fundamental beliefs through the philosophers of suspicion (Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx) in order to question why we believe what we believe. This exercise was challenging, as I was implicitly taught not to question my beliefs in such a fashion. It was also challenging, as I have been a Christian for what seems all my life, being born into a Christian family, a Christian church, and by extension, a Christian tradition. What I learned from this spiritual exercise is that we need to be always reforming, always questioning what we belief and why. It was an attempt to take the charge given by St. Peter, " always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15, NASB). By taking seriously the charges and questions of Nietzsche, Freud and Marx, I found that I was better prepared to not only defend the hope inside of me, but I re-discovered the hope given to me by the Triune God.
Continuing on this theme, the next Lenten season, I explored the works of Paul Van Buren, Thomas JJ Altizer, William Hamilton and Gabriel Vahanian. Collectively, these authors founded the Death of God theological movement. This movement was brought to the attention of the American public in the October 1965 issue of Time Magazine that chronicled it. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941410,00.html) By reading these thinkers on what it would mean if we have replaced God, I searched my life to see if what I held about God was idolatrous, and to see if I was contributing to the removal of God in my life and the life of others.
This year, I am taking a different approach to the same problem that I started two years ago. (Understanding our faith is not a mere Lenten project, but an on-going journey) I am going to read Emil Brunner's Dogmatics. I am reading this to help me understand not just the Reformed faith, but the Faith. As a philosopher, by training and vocation, it is easy to let theological ideas remain under-defined while trying to shore up my philosophical acumen. Thus, for this Lenten season, I am attempting to de-compartmentalize my mind and heart.
I am trying then, to embark on a journey towards being a more faithful follower of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is not a mere intellectual journey that I am embarking on. I am approaching the subject academically, yet, I will also be using my reading as devotions, to be able to not just think through complex doctrines, but to meditate on how to live them out.
