Friday, May 13, 2005

Where is between?

I asked a few questions about UU Christianity in an earlier post. I wonder what language there exists between "Its all mystical nonsense like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny" and "There is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness."

In the last year, I have read the entire Bible and all three volumes of Paul Tillich's systematic theology. I've always said that as a person from an unchurched background I was able to explore Christianity, Judaism and Islam in much the same way that other UUs might explore Buddhism or Native American spirituality.

After two years of seminary, I have a newfound appreciation for the questions of Christian theology and the tensions that are mediated in the Bible. I know some of my colleagues resent the time we have spent on the Bible, and would never take the time to study Tillich because of his Christianity or because of the difficulty.

I appreciate contemplating the dialectic between the eternal infinite transcendent and the present finite immanent.

Given this I'm never sure whose side I am on in the great UU theological catfight. I wouldn't say I am a Christian but I'm sure my atheist friends would feel like I am not one of them anymore.

If I was a Christian I would adopt a Tillichian doctrine of the spirit with an understanding of God as the infinite ground of being. I know that I could say the same thing in panentheist terms, process theology terms and Buddhist terms (among others).

2 Comments:

At 3:21 PM, Blogger PeaceBang said...

Aw, it's not a catfight, is it? Really?

I prefer to think of it as a heated family squabble over dinner.

 
At 10:31 PM, Blogger jfield said...

My friend Mike once had his brother throw a steak knife at him during a dinner table squabble.

 

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