Over the course of the last few years I’ve increasingly noticed something about theology. At first, it was a vague discontent, sort of the anti-intellectual diatribe against wanting theology to be practical. Yes, I would say, but why does it matter?!

Which is funny, if you know me, because I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about theology and pondering a lot of topics which certainly don’t fit into the field of practical theology. I don’t want to often admit it of myself, but I can get kind of philosophical at times. I know. I’m trying to get better.

That I’m now going to start my PhD in Systematic Theology is utterly surprising. I remember at Wheaton not wanting to take a Systematic Theology class because I thought it would be useless knowledge. I wanted history! I wanted to know what was, not what someone else thought up. Then I realized my study of history made me good at theology, and then I realized theology wasn’t really about philosophy. Not the good kind, at least. Theology, the good kind, is about God.

That’s not exactly a startling realization, I know.

But, it’s what I realized. And when I realized it I began looking at theology a little different, indeed with a bit of interest. Only there was that lingering… something… that kept me from thinking I would leap fully into my new theological lifestyle.

That vague discontent has started to coalesce until now I feel like I’m starting to find what it is that was bothering me before and what I intend to do about it. A passage I was writing about this morning gave even more imagery to my thoughts and so maybe it’s time to start putting these into words.

The passage? The golden calf incident. Exodus 32.

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

These kind of stories are left for us to read because they tell us about more than a single incident. They tell us a human tendency. The whole Exodus story, from the slavery to the settling in the Land, is a template of God’s work and human response. It’s what we should expect again and again and again, with the specifics different but the themes often quite the same.

And as I was dwelling on that fact it hit me. So much of theology has become a Golden Calf. That’s a weird thing for me to say, what with my starting a PhD in systematic theology in a little over a month.

But the fact is it’s true. Not entirely true. But true in enough ways for me to say that it’s true.

God, you see, reveals himself. That’s the core of theology. We know God only as he lets himself be known. But the fact is that questions remain. God doesn’t answer our questions. In fact, God often entirely ignores our questions. Scripture, in fact, doesn’t answer our questions. Yes, it answers questions, but not our questions.

Scripture answer the questions that God chooses to answer. Meaning, God tells us the questions, as well as the answers.

But we don’t like that. We don’t like not knowing. We don’t like waiting. We don’t like mystery. Mystery is… scary. So we try to solve mystery and if God won’t answer our questions then by golly we’ll answer our questions about him, and make it sound like he’s submitting to our little Q&A.

A lot of theology is that. Our questions being given our answers, which are almost always given more precedent than the questions God has decided are important to answer. So we have a lot of arguments about a lot of topics that aren’t apparently germane to God’s purpose in revelation.

And so we miss the points God is trying to make even as we are trying to really get a better handle on God.

We throw our gilded words onto the fire and cast our version of the revealed God that makes best sense to us. And we worship that god, and we insist other people worship that god.

Which makes me wonder. What would a theology look like that not only seeks answers about God, but also seeks the right questions? Instead of starting with the Greek or Enlightenment or Postmodern questions about who God is, and thus find the answers of who we would like God to be, how about starting with looking at the questions God says we should be asking.

I don’t know exactly what that would look like. But, in that I see a focus of my own theological development over the next years. I think I’ll call it Organic Theology, because it is devoted to stay in the original soil for questions, discussion, and conclusions.

An Organic Theology would start with God’s revelation and move along the answers God is answering, while remaining open and humble about the rest.

Might be a curious way to go through advanced theological studies while retaining my own hope to remain relevant while exploring even greater depths.

Some thoughts I shared over at Armchair Theology:

The established doctrine is trying to get at something, but limited by human language and understanding. Instead of being humble, however, theology becomes very prideful and arrogant. Personally, I think there’s an elegant study of God within the doctrine of the Trinity. But, holding close to Scripture is our foundation and so holding even the formal doctrine loosely does keep us in tune with Scripture. We lose sight of Father, Son, and Spirit we lose sight of God’s marvelous work and reality. We over-emphasize our versions of who we think God is we risk boxing him in and defining him wrongly–making an idol out of our theology.

The Bride of the Church as the feminine is a beautiful image. And Scriptural. The Trinity is this wonderful fellowship, and we’re invited in. Not that we’ll become part of the Trinity, but they still are wanting to dance with us. Only we’re being trained to know the steps, to interact fully, to not step on toes, either God’s or each others. That’s holiness. We’ve been given a ticket to the dance, not by any of our own efforts. But now we learn to dance–as a Body of Christ.

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for spirit is “ruach”. This is a feminine word. A lot of languages, if you don’t know such languages, have nouns assigned genders. And “ruach” is feminine and requires feminine pronouns and such. So, we could say that spirit in Hebrew is a feminine quality.

The difficulty is that for us we have gender and sexuality. God is Father not in terms of him being male, but in terms of his role and identity. He is not a guy. He’s the Father.

When humanity was made, Genesis tells us, we were made male and female, in the image of God. Thus both the masculine and the feminine reflect the fullness of God. It’s absolutely right to hold onto the Scriptural imagery the God reveals, and thus to use the masculine pronoun and emphasize the roles he expresses. However, we can’t do this and think the feminine, and thus women, are somehow not part of God’s image. Ever since the beginning we’ve confused our images of male and female, and our roles of man and woman, and attached them to God’s identity.

Women are no less an image of God than men. We very much risk making God into our image if we discount the fact God is beyond our gender roles and sexual traits. We lose sight of the image of God if we discount the fact that He created male and female in his image, and Scripture has references to God in a mothering role as well as Father.

That’s where so much theology and church organization has gone wrong. It has started with a revelation, God is Father, and then made God into the image of what we understand as ‘father’, attaching our cultural gender roles and boundaries.

If we are in fact male and female made in his image then no man is man enough in comparison with God. We’re all feminine. At the same time, no woman is woman enough compared to God’s feminine. We’re images, reflections, not fully expressing God’s fullness of masculine or feminine, because he fully encompasses both words, with our split identity into man and woman becoming only together a hint at God’s reality.

Worth reading the whole thread over there (and the other threads). It’s so heartening to read the depth people exhibit when given space to do so. That’s an especially solid group of folks over there, well shepherded by a couple of utterly superb moderators.

The Trinity is hard to understand. It’s far too complex to have been made up, and no where do we have it explained to us with any kind of absolute understanding. We’re faced with the fact there’s one God, and yet there is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They’re all different. But there’s only one God. Unity and Diversity. Three in One. How does this work? Well, there have been a lot of suggestions over the centuries. The latest prevailing attitude has been to see the Trinity as a hierarchy. The Father, then the Son, then the Spirit. But that’s not quite right, because there’s a lot of discussion in Scripture that doesn’t make it all that neat. The Father gives all his authority to the Son, who sends the Spirit, who had already sent the Son. It’s unusual.

Add to this the fact it’s not the kind of relationship we’re used to dealing with in organizations. They love each other. It’s the love and the relationship that is the bond. God is love. There’s no intimidation or manipulation or ambition or dissension. There’s just relationship. And this kind of relationship has been given a name. Perichoresis. Basically this is a big word to say something not that hard to understand, but almost impossible to live. Instead of being a hierarchy, the persons in the Trinity are continually circling around each other, interwoven, interdependent, interpenetrating. Or to put it more simply… the relationship is kinda like a dance.

Read more at the Porpoise Diving Life. Not just more from me. Sonja and I are guest-editors of this month’s issue and we gathered together a wonderful variety of men and women tackling this issue from unique perspectives. I’m going to write more about each article over the next few weeks, but for now I’m just encouraging folks to wander over and have a read of these great thoughts.

Come on in. The music is fine.

Well, that’s probably three exclamation points too many.

Earthquake.

I was at the dog groomers, located in the charming Willow Woods, reading a book on the history of English spelling. Sitting in the sun, near the fountain.

A big truck went by. Everything began to shake a bit, like when a big truck goes by and you’re sitting on a shaky porch. So, I didn’t notice it at first. Then I got to thinking I wasn’t sitting on a shaky porch. I was sitting on a concrete patio, on top of heavy earth. A truck shouldn’t shake that. Even a big truck.

Got to thinking maybe it was an earthquake. All while the shaking was still going on.

A few minutes later I heard the person who just walked into the dog groomer ask, “Did you feel the earthquake?”

Yep. I did. The news they turned on said it was a 5.8.

That’s respectable.

And a lot more interesting than just a truck going by.

As you probably know I’m part of Amazon Vine. They send me some stuff every month. I review it. That’s the deal. Everyone wins. Sometimes it’s almonds and dressing mix. Sometimes it’s good or mediocre books. Sometimes it’s useful software. This month was a pretty good one on the Vine. I got a Rosetta Stone French software package, an amazing treat since I have to learn French anyhow at some point in the next few years. I also got something even more amazing. Blew me away, because it’s the sort of thing that doesn’t even sound quite believable. The Livescribe Smartpen

We all pretty used to technology promising something then having to deal with the fact the promise was more hype than reality. The manufacturers want to get us into a frenzy, thinking their product will revolutionize transportation, or entertainment, or phone calling. But, when the frenzy dies down it seems there are a lot of problems, and unfulfilled expectations that even eager fans will quietly admit are weaknesses.

This is especially true with a product that seems so entirely revolutionary and different. It’s certainly too good to be true, right?

So, let me start off by addressing that. The Livescribe is the real deal. It actually does what it says it can do. And it does it simply.

The Smartpen works. And I’m not being hyperbolic when I say this might revolutionize note taking.

I’m not in class now, so didn’t have a real world opportunity to test this out. Instead, I wanted to make sure I got the hang of it before I began to depend on it. I had a 48 minute lecture on mp3 on my desktop that I played over my speakers. I turned on the record feature of the smartpen and started taking notes. Two pages of notes are now completly linked to the audio. Tap any word on those pages and the pen will replay, either through the headset or through the speaker, the words being said when I was writing those particular words. Complex explanations can be saved with only a few words reference or a chart.

This records the text and the audio, and allows it to be saved for future reference. Text, however, is too limited a word. Drawings, markings, formulas, whatever, can be also used.

It really works. Amazing. I was suspect and then utterly surprised. It lives up to the hype. You can see examples of it on their website www.livescribe.com in the community section. Indeed, I posted my test on there, so you can follow along with Jerry Root’s lecture on CS Lewis while I take notes. Be sure to click different parts of the notes in order to jump to different parts of the lecture.

More than this it is expandable. New applications give it a wide potential. This potential is what is pushing me to give the Livescribe a hearty 5 stars. Because while it absolutely does what it says it does, some of the features are previews rather than full-blown capabilities, such as translation. Also, and this is key to me, as of right now the audio and text is limited to the livescribe software. While this software has an amazing ability to search for words that are written, allowing for searchable notes, it does not presently convert the writing to editable text. Meaning you can’t cut and paste. This is a feature being developed, however, so should be available before too long. I heard they are working on getting this out before Fall. There is also no integration with other programs such as OneNote. That too might come with third party applications that are being developed.

The audio is better than one might expect. I have an Olympus digital recorder and the smartpen is far above that in audio quality, especially with the included headphones, though the speaker is surprisingly clear as well.

The battery seems to be very long lasting. I spent most of the afternoon the other day playing around with this, listening to a full hour long lecture, and the battery meter went down about an eighth.

The battery is not removable, which might lead to some issues later as these pens get older and the charge doesn’t hold as long.

Overall, I’m amazed by this pen. It simply works and it works simply. The present features are going to revolutionize note taking by integrating full sound. The expanding potential of the smartpen as the manufacturer encourages 3rd party applications, means there is even more potential on the horizon. The cost is quite reasonable. Even the cost of the supporting products shows Livescribe is interested in getting these into the hands of as many people as possible rather than making an obscene profit off of accessories. For what you get, this is an amazing deal. It comes in a 1GB version, which records 100 hours of audio, and a 2GB version, which records 200 hours of audio, on top of all the digital text.

This might become the most important tool for students since the notebook came out. Better than a laptop, for students and teachers, and much better than a regular pen. I’m extremely pleased and can’t wait to get back into the classroom.

Posted this last year. Amy brought it to mind a couple of weeks ago and I think it quite worth posting again.

The art of loving has to be learnt. We learn it through joy in each other, through the forgiveness of guilt we experience, and through the continually astonishing miracle of the new beginning. In that ‘wide space where there is no cramping’ we accept one another, grow with one another and unfold from one another.

Part of love is friendship, which knows how to combine affection with respect for the other person’s liberty. That means respect for the mystery of the other, and his or her still latent and unrealized potentialities. If love stops, we make a fixed image of each other. We judge and pin each other down. That is death.

But love liberates us from these images and keeps the future open for the other person. We have hope for each other, so we wait for one another.

~Jürgen Moltmann, Jesus Christ for Today’s World

Was happily excited this morning to see that Glen Reynolds of Instapundit has mentioned my book. Not a big mention, mind you, but I really, really appreciate the note.

He noted a couple of things. One that the cover letter made reference to his book, An Army of Davids, and the second that the book is about the topic of the Holy Spirit in a pub.

Of course, as friendly emaily Todd let me know, this wee bit of attention came when the book site happened to be down. I’m taking care of that right now and in the meantime have forwarded links to my personal site here. While that site has a bit more info, I want to include a bit more here, for those who are new to It’s a Dance.

Glen’s book, and his efforts online, have emphasized how an “army of Davids” can bring radical change to all kinds of fields. This is no less true for religion, and my book touches on two very important aspects of this in Christianity. The first is the topic of the book itself: the Holy Spirit. What Glen Reynolds has emphasized as the many banding together to bring challenge and renewal to human systems is an inherent part of Christian theology. That is the work, we say, of the Holy Spirit. However, discussions of the Holy Spirit have consistently been relegated to the back of the theological line. Reasons for this are many but one big one is that a thorough theology of the Holy Spirit undermines hierarchical patterns and empowers all Christians to take a vital role in shaping both local and global Christianity. In pushing for a renewed examination of the Holy Spirit theologians and ministers are opening the door for what can really be called ‘open source’ Christianity. Those interested in how this affects broader culture might find chapter five especially interesting as it deals with a critique of the religious right and how a thorough understanding of the Spirit leads Christians towards different expression of public interaction and personal understanding.

The other aspect is the particular form of church that I have chosen to highlight in my book. Called the ‘emerging church’ it is a renewal movement that has taken off in the last ten years. There is a de-emphasis of buildings and structure and settled form emphasizing instead characteristics that seek to best reflect the mission of Jesus in bringing hope and renewal. The leaders of this movement have utilized technology in all its forms from the beginning, with blogs, podcasts, and other internet tools helping to bring many from around the world into a shared conversation. It is, in effect, the Christian expression of what Glen has emphasized in other fields.

This is a source for both the setting and the approach. While it is a theology book, it’s not a dry one. Rather, it’s a conversation set up between a reporter, a pastor, and some others, taking place in a pub. Essentially, as I was writing it I had my own questions and objections that came to mind. Instead of ignoring these I made them part of the whole. And thus made it an open, and hopefully continuing, conversation.

Thanks for having a look at it. And thanks again to Instapundit for highlighting it.

I put together a wedding section of dualravens. There you’ll find a wedding blog, as well as assorted other information related to the wedding.

We’ll be updating it as we go with such information as registry, location, and all kinds of other thoughts as they come or as they are needed.

Wander over to The Wedding.

When Amy and I were at the Tea Room a couple weeks ago a man walked in with a small group and proceeded to raise a ruckus. He didn’t like the table they assigned. He didn’t like the next table. He got angry and firm, finally taking a table near the back despite the protest of the staff. Quite rude and quite thinking he was the only one in the restaurant.

When he sat down his mother, who likely taught him such behavior, said, “First you give them a chance to do it right, then you help them do it right.”

We laughed out loud. Their assumption of what they were owed did not disguise the fact they were merely boors.

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with such people every day.

But waiters and waitresses do.

The author of Waiter Rant started out thinking he would like to help people as a priest. He began to study for the priesthood but left when the corruption and the scandals started getting too much. Had a degree in psychology and tried his hand in the mental health care business. Also corrupt and scandal-ridden. Stayed honest, got fired.

Wandered around a little. His brother got him a job in a restaurant. Also corrupt and scandal-ridden, but at least there are no illusions. Stays a waiter. Moves to a nicer place. Begins to write about his experiences on a blog. Then in this book.

That’s the background.

The book is a memoir of sorts, but not a typical kind. It’s anonymous. It also dwells on a particular setting and makes particular points along the way. It’s a memoir with a mission, and this is to illuminate the often hidden world of restaurants. The Waiter, as he is known, touches on important concepts such as management, illegal immigration, rude customers, good and bad service, holidays, waiter revenge, hygiene, and assorted other topics. Each chapter has a particular theme.

Yet, these themes aren’t at all obvious at first. The writing is that good. The Waiter is brilliant at showing not telling, that tricky art that foils lesser writers. We are given a story, not a mere rant. He is descriptive, insightful, observing, and honest. The themes are held within an overall story that is his life, a life that has many twists and turns and disappointments.

These disappointments and disillusionment become our boon, however. Because of his background, and his great capability, we are given a wonderful view into an often disguised world. The Waiter brings to bear not only his expertise at his profession, but also psychological and spiritual insights, making this book a surprising deep read. But never overbearing and certainly never self-righteous. The honesty sometimes ventures into the vulgar, but always understandably so. It’s not only the story of a man trying to find his way and providing great commentary as he goes. It’s also a manual of restaurant etiquette and personalities, becoming a mirror to our often unconsidered actions.

This really is a great book, amazing insight and amazing writing throughout. Profound and readable, all while dwelling on often mundane issues. I’m going to be recommending this to most everyone I know.

Now, I sort of wish he went back into the priesthood, or maybe tried out being a Protestant pastor. I can only imagine how good he would do looking at the convoluted world of church life. But, I suspect his mission is greater than that.

He’s a waiter. He’s really a writer. And this book should be bought. Waiter Rant is a brilliant book. Ten stars if I could.

The last few years Wheaton College has started a great custom. It sends various professors out and about, throughout the year, to give lectures at alumni club meetings. These are not just a good way to touch base with other alumni, from all generations, but also a chance to remember why Wheaton was such a great place for learning.

They’ve posted recordings of these lectures online. Well worth having a listen.

Here’s the lectures from this year:

Dr. Lon Allison, Director of the Billy Graham Center

Discovering Your Faith-Sharing Style

How do you share your Christian faith with others? Dr. Lon Allison will discuss how you can discover your God-given style of faith-sharing with those around you. He will present eight styles with practical ways to apply them to your everyday life.

Dr. Ken Chase, Associate Professor of Communication

Digital Delusions and the Future of Christian Witness

The Internet Age provides wonderfully new opportunities for communicating the Gospel to a global audience. However, it can also seduce Christians away from the communication techniques most needed in our culture. We mistakenly look to digital answers to overcome the deep divisions within our society. Dr. Chase will discuss how we must look, instead, to the enduring power of Christian witness to communicate the Gospel.

Dr. Christine Gardner, Assistant Professor of Communication

The Rhetoric of AIDS

Dr. Gardner explores how the power of words shapes our understanding of a disease that continues to claim the lives of nearly 8,000 each day. Drawing on experiences in the field and in the classroom, Dr. Gardner focuses on different spheres of rhetoric—from political to entertainment to religious—and the impact of our words on the Church’s witness.

Dr. P.J. Hill, George F. Bennett Professor of Economics

Capitalism and Christianity: Friends, Foes, or Uneasy Partners?

During the 20th century, market capitalism was found to be the most successful way of ensuring increases in material well-being in a society. This raises an important question for the Christian: What is there in our understanding of human nature that provides insight into the success of a system based on private property and markets? The material success of capitalism also raises important issues about other aspects of human flourishing. What are the moral and ethical implications of a market economy?

Dr. Kristen Page, Associate Professor of Biology

Loving Neighbors: Christian Responsibility in the Created World

We live in a world of much suffering. Patterns of human land-use and resource consumption result in fragmented ecosystems, pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, and ultimately emerging diseases. In her lecture, Dr. Page discusses how we, as Christians in the developed world, must recognize our contribution to the suffering of our neighbors. We are called to image Christ, to live in family, and to respond in love to those around us. Since care for creation is love for our neighbors, we must live with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love toward all creation. By acting as agents of reconciliation, we can truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Dr. Jerry Root, Assistant Professor of Evangelism/Associate Director of the Institute of Strategic Evangelism, Billy Graham Center

C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian: A Showcase for Lewis’ Big Ideas

Every time C.S. Lewis put his pen to paper his aim was to set forth a vision of life. This is not merely true in his work in Christian apologetics, but also in his fiction. Dr. Root explores the background, main ideas, and rhetorical intention Lewis articulated in Prince Caspian. His presentation coincides with the recent release of the new Narnian Film, “Prince Caspian.”

Dr. John Walford, Professor of Art History

Photographic Explorations: An Art Historian’s Sideways Glance

Over the past few years, Dr. Walford has extended his activities from teaching and writing about art history to exploring the medium of digital photography as a further means of artistic expression. In this illustrated presentation, Dr. Walford describes how this new endeavor—which has led to a recent exhibition in Italy, and a forthcoming book of his photographs—has enabled him to combine his art historical training and visual sensibilities and led to engaging fresh audiences through the medium of the Internet, as well as revitalizing his classroom teaching. Dr. Walford’s presentation includes a slideshow of images. View this image gallery as you listen to the lecture.

Jay Wood Dr. Jay Wood, Professor of Philosophy

Virtuous Transformation

Thinking about moral virtues and vices has been a major concern of philosophers since the days of Plato and Aristotle. In fact, philosophical interest in the ways virtues and vices form our character is enjoying a resurgence of popularity at present. Christians, too, have always had an interest in virtues and vices as they bear on Christian character. This lecture will be an exercise in faith-learning integration, as we explore how virtues and vices contribute to our transformation in Christ.

I’ve noted before the fact the Wheaton has its chapel presentations online going back to 2003, and scattered selections before that (one or two even reaching the edges of my own long ago attendance).