By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
The other evening, I was having dinner with a group of friends and we began to talk about the condition of the world. We talked about the recent assassination of the American Ambassador in Libby and the potential extreme Muslim terrorists who may have committed the act. We then began to talk about the presidential…
By: Joy Mindo on October 11, 2012
Africa theologizes through music. The songs reflect the theological trends that are prevalent in society. Africans love music and every event, ideology, personality is celebrated in song. Songs are part and parcel of everyday life. Since theology in the academia is not so prevalent, music and song are the foundation of the theology of the…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
“What would Jesus do? “ Is a question my mother taught me to ask even as a little girl. It is probably a simplistic way of doing theology but it begs me to consider the choices in front of me in that decisive moment. As I have read through the text for this week, Theology:…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
Speak English or Get Out I recently heard a joke that resonated with me. “What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages? – Trilingual” “What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages? – Bilingual” “What do you call someone who speaks 1 language? – American!” As a bilingual person, I thought this…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
It was a rich experience to interact with the members of this cohort in Korea regarding their engagemnent in this dmin journey. What is the motive for engaging such punishment?!?! What is the intended life outcome? What will the dmin journey contribute to life after the journey is over? What questions will be answered? What…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
A few weeks ago I was asked the question, “What is your favorite work of art?” I responded immediately by telling the inquisitive person, “Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt. Actually, it was an easy question. For years now this painting which was skillfully created in 1668, has been the most essential piece of…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
To all those people doin’ lines, Don’t do it, don’t do it. Inject your soul with liberty, It’s free, it’s free. Salvation, salvation, salvation is free. Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.” As I pushed my cart down the cereal aisle today, the Cranberries’ song “Salvation” poured from the intercom speakers. Before heading to the grocery…
By: gfesadmin on October 11, 2012
David Ford opens his book, Theology: A Very Short Introduction by writing about overwhelmings. As I understand it, overwhelmings describe various human conditions and experiences (love, war, poverty, joy, suffering) that are readily present in the human life and which require appropriate reflection and response. This reflection and response can easily be described as theology. …
By: gfesadmin on October 10, 2012
The Westminster Shorter Catechism explains that the chief end of man is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” While, I have heard this line of theology repeated many times, I have never truly understood the scope of its theological depth. To be honest, worship is something that has often been very difficult for me. …
By: gfesadmin on October 10, 2012
“Asato Ma Sad Gamaya; Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya, Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya; Om Shanti Shanti Shanti”. This ancient Sanskrit prayer / mantra is recited regularly by the philosophical Brahmin disciple to his Guru. It translates as follows: Lead Us From the Unreal To Real, Lead Us From Darkness To Light, Lead Us From Death To…
By: gfesadmin on October 6, 2012
“Theology does not invent beliefs; it finds beliefs already among Christians and critically examines them.” This is one of the many helpful definitions of theology that Stan Grenz and Roger Olsen supply in their book “Who Needs Theology. Chapter 5 particularly reminds us that Christians already possess beliefs before they may even recognize that they…
By: gfesadmin on October 5, 2012
Who needs theology?“All do” (Grenz, Olson, p.46). Even @Justin_Buber www.Twitter.com/Justin_Buber and @KimKierkegaard www.twitter.com/KimKierkegaard Enjoy Mashup theology!
By: gfesadmin on October 5, 2012
The wisdom literature section of the Old Testament offers a very practical side of theology, speaking to the institute of marriage, the journey of becoming wise, and the reality of the vanity of this life. Books like Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes each speak to everyday life. Song of Solomon One school of thought…
By: gfesadmin on October 5, 2012
I walked past a Buddhist temple and watched devout individuals burn incense. I observed Hindus in a ritualistic ceremony with a priest chanting ‘slokas’ and briefly watched a video on the glory of the Quran as I shopped at Mustafa, a famous Muslim store in Little India, Singapore. My immediate instinct was to reflect on…
By: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012
When the weather shifts in the Northwest the mornings are cool and the days are warm. Fog happens. It blankets the scenery covering the waters, hovering over the trees tops mysteriously. When you travel through the fog you have to slow down to get your bearings. You are wise not to travel at the same…
By: Joy Mindo on October 4, 2012
In the last two years, I have asked God questions that I would not have dared to ask him in all my ten previous years in theological training and pastoral work. I knew all the definitions of theological terms and I had all the answers, supported by church history, anthropology and missiology. My intellect had…
By: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012
This week we were reading a book on the question ”Who needs theology? (by Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson). The authors are enfolding their answer to this question. ”Who needs theology? And their answer is quite simple: “All do.” (p. 46) So what is the book really about? Grenz and Olson are presenting…
By: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012
About my soul. They thin my heart with little things And my life with change Oh in so many ways I find more missing every day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el75UyYO554 Wilco in their song “Theologians” express the commonly held position from Christian folk thought to atheistic ambivalence about theology: it offers very little about the practical and complex…
By: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012
GayMarie and I were always close, really close. I never knew her mom or her dad but we were inextricably linked by blood and some magnetic relational chemistry. Her mom was killed in an auto accident when GayMarie and I were about 4 years old. After her mom’s death she and her baby sister went…
By: gfesadmin on October 4, 2012
Despite the fact that India has had two millennia of Christian witness, and that coupled with the fact that Hinduism is openly inclusive, the Gospel has not taken roots in the heart of its people. Christians in every generation have continued to ask the question “why”. That still remains one of the biggest challenges for leadership…
