The Barbeque School of Theology

We sort of created it in a prof's backyard last night. It's as close as an Evangelical school can get to a "theology of the pub."

It was the kickoff of a summer reading & book discussion group, and some 20-odd (emphasis on odd) students, professors and alumni from the Seminary gathered for picnic food and (non-alcoholic) drink. It was less than a mile away, and a nice night, so I just walked over. And man, I love those salt and vinegar potato chips, but... they realllllly make you thirsty!

They brought in a guest speaker of sorts - a professor of historic Christianity (or some such thing) from the U. He had done his doctoral thesis on Karl Barth and the influence of some 19th century German pietists on his writing. And since Barth was a strong influence on the two authors we'll be reading this summer... it sort of laid the background for some of the threads of pietism we'll maybe see in the book. I think.

The book is "Disavowing Contsantine", a collection of essays by Juergen Moltmann and John Howard Yoder, on the apppropriate roles of church and state. Great fodder for a relevant theological discussion in an election year.

Should be a fun group - if you like making connections between the eschatology of the anabaptists and the ecclesiology of Barth (who, being a Reformed theologian, held to many of the classical positions of John Calvin, but also was open to the lively experiential faith of the pietists.)

Me, I'd rather discuss Karl Rahner's influence on Vatican II, and the overlap of that with Moltmann's strong pneumatological emphasis in his "Theology of Hope". We might be able to relate all that to the theology of the Obama campaign (versus that of McCain's.) But I'm not the host, so.. I'll take what's offered. :)

Oooh, doesn't that sound all just soooo very geeky? And to think I actually grasp a bit of this now. :) Maybe I did learn something this academic year.