Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site bbncc5.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!bbncc5!sdyer From: sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) Newsgroups: net.religion.christian Subject: Re: Contemporary Theology and its flight from the church. Message-ID: <496@bbncc5.UUCP> Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 01:08:15 EDT Article-I.D.: bbncc5.496 Posted: Thu Aug 22 01:08:15 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 15:03:29 EDT References: <1008@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, MA Lines: 24 I guess I am more than a little appalled by the tone (and some of the content) of Gary's latest article. If theology is not, as Anselm claimed, "faith seeking understanding", if it does not work in service to the People of God, what then, do you have left? Not much, except a dessicated, inbred, and essentially secular discipline qualifying for the name "theology" only through historical accident. "Faith seeking understanding" only is meaningful if there is a faith from which to begin, and of course, that faith comes through the Church. Churchmen seem to go their own way and theologians another; if anything, this is the perennial fate of the two groups ("can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em", both sides say.) And, indeed, though theologians are the best qualified to concern themselves with matters theological, I get the distinct impression that Gary sees theologians as the High Priests of the One True Church, rather than key participants in the interpretation of faith for the Church at large, through which their efforts are fully realized. Finally, it is not completely out of order to note that Gary's response to Bob is lacking in several virtues traditionally considered Christian. -- /Steve Dyer {harvard,seismo}!bbnccv!bbncc5!sdyer sdyer@bbncc5.ARPA