Arm Chair Theologians

i am a card carrying member of ACTs - Arm Chair Theologians. we started a local chapter - what the heck, it is the only chapter - for the discussion of theology, more specifically, practical theology. i know, is there any other kind?

we are a small, rag tag group of Christ followers - some married, some not - some young, some not - some male, some not. we hold our meetings at a local Panera amidst coffee mugs, scones, and the occasional Jones Soda. we have tackled two books so far. Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy, which was quite the undertaking for our first book and The Shack by William P. Young.

i know. . . the first book being an English translation of a classic in religious philosophy, was written before WWII by a distinguished German theologian. i quote the back cover "The Idea of the Holy, (which) is fundamentally an inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine and its relation to the rational. . ." we spent weeks on the idea of the "mysterium" and the "numinous." we would all admit to falling far short of what the author intended. but we tackled it and we discussed it and we re-read chapters as we tried to get our heads and lives around it. and we admitted defeat in trying to define the undefinable Holy God we serve. actually, it only solidified our resolve to stop trying to make "human" sense out of our lives and Him. He is a big God.

the second book might seem an odd choice to follow The Idea of the Holy. ok, i thought it was a weird choice. but we picked it because of the portrayal of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. i don't want to "wreck" the book for anyone so i'm not going to blog about the particulars. i was reading the book because a friend asked me to and i did it without seeing any of the reviews - so i hit the chapter where the main character meets up with God with no warning or preconceived notions. i think it was better that way. there is theology in them thar pages. . . not a typical presentation for sure but it was worth the read and the lively discussion that followed. some of us really liked it and some of us really didn't. but it was interesting to see the author try to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people and where God (all three of them) is in that answer.

the book we are starting this week is a book i mentioned yesterday A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God; Spirituality for the Rest of Us by Larry Osborne. it is a book with a lot of the same questions i and my square peg friends have been asking - sometimes in hushed tones so as not to offend others with our lack of faith and decorum. seriously, it is really worth the read - even if you are not a contrarian. because, i bet you know or live with one. . .

i'll let you know how this goes.

hey, if you like theology, find some people smarter than you that like it too - and start your own chapter of ACTs. (sorry, bad pun, i know. but couldn't resist. . . )