Bye Fuller Bye Bye...

Last quarter at Fuller! After this quarter I am officially finished with my theological studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. I have stated, "As soon as I am done with Fuller, I can finally start studying." Being forced to study certain disciplines at Fuller has been difficult, since it involved pretending to be concerned about issues which I am not concerned. I think Seminary spreads people too thin, since it is completely impossible to study everything, so why not focus and study a certain discipline. This is considered a "concentration." I am convinced though that merely studying does not change behavior, nor does it make anyone more loving. Also, merely seeking God does not allow people, outside of study to be able to engage culture contextually, because they won't know how various traditions have engaged the culture in the past; learning, then acting accordingly. Merely following culture could develop into a civil religion, where we simply reiterate the Christendom model.

Kelly Brown Douglas, a marvelous female African American theologian has written in her book, "What's Faith got to do with it?" Black Bodies/Christian Souls that our Platonized Christian traditions have caused our faith to demonize the black body. Separating the "flesh from the Spirit" can cause us to believe that our human flesh is evil, which is not what Paul meant in Romans. She has contended that this Platonic thought influenced Christendom and is therefore a damaging force in Christianity, because if the cross is the dominant paradigm of our faith, then if the cross should be demonstrated by societal power, it could become a part of this civil religion. We could then use the cross as justification to sacrifice that which we have demonized, which is usually found in "the other". Kelly Brown Douglas also points to Augustine as the one theologian most influentail in developing Platonized Christianity into a Christian dogma, through the Nicene/Chalcedonian confessions. She points to the fact that why is the life of Jesus not discussed in the Nicene Creed? Her answer is that Jesus' life doesn't matter in Platonized Christianity, because "the cross" had become to dominant symbol of promoting power of other people.

I too continually struggle against my own projection onto "the other", because it is easier to project our anger, frustration, and insecurities onto other people, whom we consider lower than us, than to deal with them, face the reality in our life, and in turn as Miroslav Volf says in Exclusion and Embrace, "understand God's truth inside the reality of our life." I think that this is a beautiful statement because reality is "frickin' difficult sometimes!" We must face that we have objectified people, not treated other human beings as a subject, meaning that they think, feel, and desire to be treated as human beings and that I continually place my own desires for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (or property) above my understanding that "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it." (Psalm 24:1 and I Corinthians 10:26) Of course I am speaking out of my own experience, but I use the term "we."

In one of my classes today I referenced racism in regards to societal factors which do not allow the poor to participate in activities which cost a lot of money, therefore many of the poor are relegated to activities which incorporate much more communal living. I was told that I was "wrong" on three different points in regard to economics. I embrace being wrong and it being pointed out, because I said, "Finally, someone cares enough to say that I am wrong or that I bring up a good point."
I can't pretend I didn't chuckle a bit though, because in Scripture I see those who exclude others, especially as a result of wealth being one day "shut out" themselves from the eschatological kingdom. We need to start looking at the activities in our lives to see if our daily activities reflect communal living or not. If they don't, then we should start to question whether our benefits are from God, or part of my human greed. If I am participating in communal activities, even if they are small, this is a great start towards the inclusiveness of the kingdom. If my activities simply reflect greater cultures obsession with wealth, I should reflect upon this so that it does not draw me away from the eschatological kingdom in the here and now. (N.T. Wright)