Theologians Today

If you're one of those people who look around at your church and wonder what happened to the congregation that used to be vital and rich with energy for Christ; or one who has been so busy doing the work of Christ in your church and community to think about what has happened to your mainline denominational congregation; perhaps we can gain some understanding through this example. 

Sometimes I click through to articles or blog posts that come up on my Facebook page.  Yesterday was one of those times.  A post entitled, "Occupy Wall Street: On a Theological Pre-Occupation by Catherine Keller" piqued my curiosity so I clicked through to see what it was about.  This is a post that was entered on a blog called "The Theology Salon."  I'm not sure how old the blog is or who has started it but evidently it's sole purpose, at the moment, is to promote theology and the Occupy Movement.

So the blog post begins, "Mysterious, isn’t it—at just about the point when the last hopes for the Obama administration were collapsing, a new ground for hope arises. The chance that this presidency might somehow, despite the impossible obstructions of hypercapitalism, turn the tide of economic, ecological and military destruction was, by the end of the summer, swallowed by the void that waits in ambush. That nihilism waits on the left, that waits in me—the jaded despair that gets too smart to trust again. To have faith in—what? The people? Democracy? Political process? A better future? A just and sustainable planet? The new heaven and earth—i.e. the renewal of the atmosphere and its planet? A god who matters, now? (sorry, but this is a theology blog, yes?)" 

If you weren't curious enough to click through above and read to the bottom of the post to find out who Catherine Keller is here's her tag line, "Catherine Keller is Professor of Constructive Theology at the Theological School of Drew University."  A quick look up of Constructive Theology on the net tells me that this form of theology is an attempt to deal with some of the issues surrounding what has been traditionally known as the field of Systematic Theology.  Nonetheless, Ms. Keller is a theologian at Drew University, which is more to the point that I wish to make. 

Point 1:  Evidently Ms. Keller has put her faith and hope in Barak Obama and his administration based upon the "Hope and Change" presidential campaign of 2008.  Seeing that he hasn't lived up to all the promises that he made her faith and hope is now dashed for this country and for the world. 

Point 2:  Perhaps I'm wrong, I'll concede that because I don't know Ms. Keller personally, but it does seem strange to me that a professor of theology should feel the need to apologize publicly for writing about God, oh, by the way "god". 

Point 3:  The breakdown seems quite evident to me:  Ms. Keller, and perhaps many like her who are teaching in our institutions of higher learning, both public and private, and especially in theological institutions around this country have lost their way.  There is one and only one in whom we should be placing our faith and hope:  that one is God.  God our creator.  God our sustainer.  God our redeemer.

Point 4:  When one puts their faith and hope in human made systems, in human beings before one's faith and hope in God, then there is bound to be disappointment.  Seemingly her disappointment stems from the collusion of government and business, which  I agree is troubling and problematic.  However, greed and will to power has been core to the human condition from the beginning.  Hmmm, isn't that why Jesus came?  To show us the way; to give us an alternative to the greed and power core of our condition; to tell us that we are to put our faith in God, and God alone?

Point 5:  Our young people and especially the potential leaders of our churches are being taught by folks who believe as Ms. Keller believes:  we have to publicly apologize for 'god'.  It makes one pause and ask if they even believe in the Judeo-Christian God. 

You can massage the facts all you want but the truth remains that our country was founded by people who had a tremendous and courageous faith in the Judeo-Christian God.  We are a people who are sinking because we have wandered away from God.  We have listened to those who tell us that this God doesn't exist; this God in not worthy of our faith.  I know this because I was once one of those people and God allowed me to come to the end of myself.  God allowed me to realize that there is no other than God at the center of all that exists.  So I am bold to say: turn now America to be again a nation that is under God.

P.S.  Upon reading further in her blog post you will note that Ms. Keller has now put her faith and hope in the Occupy Movement.  I'm afraid that Ms. Keller is in for another disappointment.  My prayer is that her disappointment will not be one of realizing just how fortunate she was to have been living in this great country because it no longer offers us the freedoms that we enjoy now.  By the way, those are the very freedoms that allow for the Occupy Movement to exist in the first place.