Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site scgvaxd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!scgvaxd!dan
From: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (Dan Boskovich)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Contemporary Theology and its flight from the church.
Message-ID: <387@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 21:59:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: scgvaxd.387
Posted: Thu Aug 22 21:59:53 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 13:50:04 EDT
References: <1008@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Reply-To: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 65
Summary: 

In article <1008@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> gary@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (gary w buchholz) writes:
>
>    I would want to treat theology as any other academic discipline and
>    as such, the discipline does not allow "just anyone" to "walk in
>    off the street" and participate as a full member.  The price of
>    admission is much higher than that.
>
>    How many years does one attend medical school before one is qualified
>    to be a doctor ?  How many years of study does it take to pass the
>    bar and become a lawyer ?  Is theology any different ?  Christian
>    theology has a 2000 year history - is this any less a body of
>    knowledge and tradition than either medicine or law ?
>
>    What is the church ?  An association of "doctors" that never went to
>    medical school, or "lawyers" that never attended law school ?  How
>    can they claim for themselves these 'titles' having never devoted
>    any serious study to those disciplines that would allow them to
>    rightfully claim these titles for themselves ?
>
>    The church is a paradox.  It is an association of people calling
>    themselves doctors and lawyers selling snake oil and rhetoric.  Is
>    it any wonder why professional theological societies want nothing
>    to do with the church ?
>
>
>   In all honesty I must say that the church looks as silly to 
>   professional theology as it would look to the AMA if a group
>   of people having no medical education whatsoever were to meet
>   on a weekly basis to chart the future course of "medicine".
>
>   What these "doctors" perceive as "medicine" is, by the 
>   standards of the profession, no more medicine than witchcraft
>   and voodoo magic practiced by witchdoctors.  The extrapolation
>   of the analogy to Christianity and the church are exact.
>
>   If you have no theological talent - then don't bother.  As in
>   the case of medicine, the profession is best served by eliminating
>   those people who show no promise.  To paraphrase Schleiermacher, the
>   church is the site of those who "wanting to be" have utterly failed.
>
>
>  Gary

   You are absolutely right, Gary. The "church" has no right to claim
   equality with professional theologans. They are as different as
   night and day! Why, the church is made up of illiterate carpentars,
   fisherman, tax collectors, and farmers. Who do these untrained men think
   they are, anyway. Why, one of them even spoke of some silly Spirit coming
   that would guide them into all truth. Oh Brother! Imagine claiming that
   having a Spirit within you is better than being taught by learned men.

   On the other hand, these professional theologans have truly arrived.
   There is nothing like historical traditional teachings to keep the
   religious tone to society. Look what a good job the Pharisees did!

   So disregard what the scriptures say about some people having the gift
   of teaching, which comes only through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Just
   keep listening to those learned and dignified Neo Orthodox with all
   the answers. Don't let those church people fool you with this old
   familiar phrase:

   The Letter kills but the Spirit gives life!


					       Dan