Weathercock near Waupoos, Ontario
What to do in Lent, 2013?
What if I were to begin to update my theology?
Who would seek medical advice from a Doctor who did not have the latest medical methodology?
Would anyone submit to serious surgery where the surgeon was using 19th, or 20th century methods? What if your pharmacist was trained in 1980, and has not taken any courses since?
Our scientific knowledge is expanding exponentially. Lawyers, teachers, and even financial advisors use the latest in knowledge and theory. Why not theologians? There is a possibility that the church at the local level (congregations) is not keeping up with the latest developments in theology. Maybe my task in Lent is to begin to update my theology?
Theologian Bruce Sanguin writes*:
“There are ways to update our faith, of course, but unfortunately these can’t be downloaded directly to our neocortex. Updates in the life of the Christian tend to be for more unsettling. This is because our religious beliefs and practices form the core of our identity. When we identify ourselves with our beliefs, an update can feel; like we’re being torn apart. Nevertheless, if we want to function optimally as people of the Christian faith, updating is even more critical in the realm of faith than it is with our computers. The predominant virus that slows us down is called “outdated beliefs.” Updating, I contend, is a work of God’s Spirit in an evolutionary universe.”
“if we want to function optimally as people of the Christian faith, updating is even more critical in the realm of faith than it is with our computers.” Hmmmm….
* from “Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos by Bruce Sanguin, page 29
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