Prayer after a picnic breakfast with my children

The writing is paltry and dry here, so I'm going to borrow a lyrical post from Ben Myers, to give you joy. The material world, in its innocence, its tangibility, is illuminated by our knowledge of God, and our love for him. Or, more correctly, our awareness of his love for us. Surely this is theology at its best! Theology gladdens our hearts, expands our souls, and anchors our daily pleasures in deeper Joy.

Theology that leads us into doxology.

Prayer after a picnic breakfast with my children

As a Theologian One Can Never Be Great

“With horror I read [a] statement that I was the greatest theologian of the century. That really terrified me…. What does the term ‘greatest theologian’ actually mean? … As a theologian one can never be great, but at best one remains small in one’s own way…. Let me again remind you of the donkey I referred to [earlier]. A real donkey is mentioned in the Bible, or more specifically an ass…. It was permitted to carry Jesus to Jerusalem. If I have done anything in this life of mine, I have done it as a relative of the donkey that went its way carrying an important burden. The disciples had said to its owner: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ And so it seems to have pleased God to have used me at this time, just as I was, in spite of all the things, the disagreeable things, that quite rightly are and will be said about me. Thus I was used…. I just happened to be on the spot. A theology somewhat different from the current theology was apparently needed in our time, and I was permitted to be the donkey that carried this better theology for part of the way, or tried to carry it as best I could.”

[Karl Barth, “Speech on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday Celebrations,” in Fragments Grave and Gay, 112]

Whoa, nelly!

This is - inspiring, much. Demanding, much. Beautiful, entire:

...theology requires a far great scholarly range than does any other humane science. The properly trained Christian theologian, perfectly in command of his materials, should be a proficient linguist, with a mastery of several ancient and modern tongues, should have a complete formation in the subtleties of the whole Christian dogmatic tradition, should possess a considerable knowledge of the texts and arguments produced in every period of the Church, should be a good historian, should be thoroughly trained in philosophy, ancient, medieval and modern, should have a fairly broad grasp of liturgical practice in every culture and age of the Christian world, should (ideally) possess considerable knowedge of literature, music and the plastic arts, should have an intelligent interest in the effects of theological discourse in areas such as law or economics, and so on and so forth. This is not to say that one cannot practice theology without these attainments; but such an education remains the scholarly ideal of the guild...

- David Bentley Hart.

Found here, with thanks.