A theologian is one who studies issues of ultimate concern.
(I learned this definition from my spiritual friend, Beverly Lanzetta.)
In doing so, a theologian is both bold and foolish enough
to attempt to describe the ultimate (that beyond description).
Knowing that the Ultimate cannot be captured
in any combination of 5 vowels and 21 consonants (in the case of English),
the theologian goes ahead anyway,
knowing that the pointing finger is not The Point.
A theologian helps weave a conceptual structure,
helps create a frame, a jungle gym for spiritual play.
There are theistic theologians, non-theistic theologians, and a-theistic theologians.
Each spiritual gym represents a religion. Each person becomes comfortable in working out at a specific gym. Every human has a gym.
Each gym has its own set of theologians, who say what the gym structure and rules are, what workout machines exist, and how the gym is to be used for maximum spiritual exercise.
A shaman theologian may have a favorite gym, yet becomes acquainted with them all. A shaman theologian knows what is going on in each gym, respects them all, and sees the common purpose. A shaman theologian is interested in and promotes inter-gym dialogue.
(I learned this definition from my spiritual friend, Beverly Lanzetta.)
In doing so, a theologian is both bold and foolish enough
to attempt to describe the ultimate (that beyond description).
Knowing that the Ultimate cannot be captured
in any combination of 5 vowels and 21 consonants (in the case of English),
the theologian goes ahead anyway,
knowing that the pointing finger is not The Point.
A theologian helps weave a conceptual structure,
helps create a frame, a jungle gym for spiritual play.
There are theistic theologians, non-theistic theologians, and a-theistic theologians.
Each spiritual gym represents a religion. Each person becomes comfortable in working out at a specific gym. Every human has a gym.
Each gym has its own set of theologians, who say what the gym structure and rules are, what workout machines exist, and how the gym is to be used for maximum spiritual exercise.
A shaman theologian may have a favorite gym, yet becomes acquainted with them all. A shaman theologian knows what is going on in each gym, respects them all, and sees the common purpose. A shaman theologian is interested in and promotes inter-gym dialogue.
No comments:
Post a Comment