Surprise, Surprise

Is this any surprise at all? Eduardo posted his results to a “which theologian are you?” quiz.

You scored as Karl Barth. The daddy of 20th Century theology. You perceive liberal theology to be a disaster and so you insist that the revelation of Christ, not human experience, should be the starting point for all theology. Anselm 100% Karl Barth 100% John Calvin 87% Paul Tillich 67% Martin Luther 60% Augustine 53% Friedrich Schleiermacher 53% Jonathan Edwards 40% J?rgen Moltmann 40% Charles Finney 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Unsurprisingly, I am most likely my friend Karl… Karl Barth, that is. Perhaps a bit more surprising to me is that St. Anselm was tied with Barth for being the most like me — it offered a tie breaker round in which I could choose between “Man's main sin is failing to give to God the obedience that we owe him” or “All Christian theology must begin with the revelation of Christ.” Given that I selected the later, I was affirmed as a true Barthian according to Quizfarm.

Beyond Anselm and Barth, I find it unsurprising that John Calvin is third on the list, given some of my clearly Calvinist/Reformed answers. It is more surprising that Tillich comes up next, although I did not completely deny the Tillichian questions; Luther and Augustine also make sense as being over fifty percent like me. I'm a bit surprised I wasn't more like Jonathan Edwards, although I did not make the hell and brimstone questions top priority among my answers, despite my agreement with them.

Which theologian are you? Post your results in the comments section.

Yoga: Physical Exercise or Religious Practice?

I originally wrote the following as my first assignment in a class based on the Academic Study of Religion, September 7, 2002. A recent discussion on Yoga made me think of this piece, and it seemed like a good time to post it online.

According to a report by the Himalayan Academy’s Hinduism Today publication, a schism has occurred between Christians and Hindus in the former Soviet Republic of Slovakia (“Slovakia”). The situation revolves around a simple question: “Is Yoga a Hindu religious practice or physical exercise?”

In this particular incident, the question arose when a variant of Swami Maheshwarananda’s “Yoga in Daily Life” program was considered for introduction into Slovakia’s school system. According to the Hinduism Today report, the plan was to offer the class to help alleviate back pain in the students. However, critics of the program have suggested the exercise is much more than a simple substitute for Tylenol.

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Missing

Well, I've been all but missing from the blogosphere, so maybe this is appropriate.

Please, please forgive me,
But I won’t be home again.
Maybe someday you’ll have woke up,
And, barely conscious, you’ll say to no one:
“isn’t something missing? “

You won’t cry for my absence, I know -
You forgot me long ago.
Am I that unimportant…?
Am I so insignificant…?
Isn’t something missing?
Isn’t someone missing me?

Even though I’d be sacrificed,
You won’t try for me, not now.
Though I’d die to know you love me,
I’m all alone.
Isn’t someone missing me?

—Evanescence, Missing

How are y'all anyway?

Deafening Silience Follow-up

Over the past few weeks, I revised my play, Deafening Silence: the Tragedy of Private Alan Michelson in numerous ways. The most important, perhaps, was adding an interpretive essay at the end dealing with the serious theological issues it brings up. It isn't anything heavy, but considers the big issues of the play, at least in passing: the problem of evil, the verification and falsification debate and the ability (or lack thereof) to lose salvation.

From a story standpoint, I also introduced several pages of new material that helped smooth out the scenes, create what I hope is a more natural, realistic pace and so on. Couple that with improved wording, and I think the play is a lot better now than it was in early September.

How long is it? It is a featherweight if you compare it against Shakespeare's works. Compared to its inspiration work, Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, it weighs in about 14% shorter. It is about 33% shorter than Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. I'm just guessing, but I'm presuming with its size, it would take 60-90 minutes to stage, at most.

If anyone who has already received a copy would like an updated release, please let me know. Also, if anyone else is interested, just give me a holler.

A Theology of Pluralism: Out of Context

Part One in a Series on the Problems of Religious Pluralism

I am working on getting this piece published, so I decided against posting it here on this blog. I'm sorry about the inconvenience.

A Difference of Opinion in One Part

Ed asked me if I would put my Difference of Opinion: A Look at C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud into one long document as opposed to three separate parts (part I, part II, part III). I actually wrote this originally as one long, 12 page piece and I now present it (below) to you in that original form, subtracting the extra introductory and conclusory materials that were added to aid the reader when I turned the piece into three separate parts. I should also add that credit should be given to Dr. Armand J. Nicolai, author of the Question of God, for the idea of comparing C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud.

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A Difference of Opinion: Leaping to Conclusions

Part Three in a Three Part Series on C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud

In the first two parts (part I, part II) of this series, I considered two major issues on which C.S Lewis and Sigmund Freud differed dramatically. On the other hand, we ought not discount the similarities in the arguments of the two men. Both Freud and Lewis advocated their ideas as key to improving civilization as a whole. Freud saw the atheism as the eventual pinnacle of evolution, although he conceded that the question of whether people would truly be better without God was up in the air (61). According to Freud, in an era casting away illusion, people would enter a time when λογος or reason would become the god of civilization (it is interesting that Freud chose a name used in the Bible to reference Christ as the “name” of his new atheistic god), eliminating what he feels to be a clear illusion for something that appears not to be, namely, science.

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Unsatisfactory Simplicity

On its surface, pure Theravada Buddhism seems like an attractive worldview. There is plenty to like about it: it features philosophical simplicity, and its middle path, while restrictive, might seem like a peaceful respite to many who want to escape the hectic everyday world. Unlike the expanded worldviews that are often built on top of Buddhism, it seems that one could argue that there is little to assert as even a potential conflict between the components of Theravada Buddhism.

So why does there seem to be a tendency for almost all cultures that have Buddhist roots to add on additional layers of complexity, such as savior-like Bodhisattvas, various other similar concepts or even the elevation of merit making? Why not keep the system simple and focused on the self? Yet, while this might seem a bit puzzling at first, as anthropologists and other observers of such things will note, Buddhism has not appeared in any substantial fashion within a society without the addition of elements that start sounding like ideas from theistic religions. More correctly stated, the composite religion of most Buddhists is quite theistic, or at least, animistic, indeed.

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Ratzinger's It

In case you've been in a cave all day, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (78), has been chosen as the new pope under the name Benedict XVI. He is the first German to serve the office since the sixteenth century. It is a bit of irony, I suppose, that the last German pope, Andrian VI, presided just after the beginning of the Reformation schism and I believe the last German pope before that, Victor II, was the first pope elected after the Great Schism of 1054; take that for what you will. The new pontiff does not look to be too much a of friend of ecumenism, having previously criticized the Protestant churches that have established dialog with Rome. On the other hand, his orthodoxy is a good thing in many ways as opposed to electing someone who might have been inclined to lead the church in too liberal of direction.

Ratzinger has previously served as prefect of the “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” better known by its old name: the Inquisition.

On a Lighter Note
And, timely enough, a theologian friend of mine passed on a little humor concerning the Cardinal turned newly elected Pontiff. The story goes that Cardinal Ratzinger dies and goes to Heaven. When he arrives there he waits with two other theologians to talk to God. The first one goes to see God, and comes back weeping. “How could I have been so wrong for so long,” he sobs. The second theologian is nervous but goes in and comes back out weeping and exclaiming “How could I have been so wrong for so long?” Then the Cardinal goes in to see God. Soon after God comes out weeping and says “How could I have been wrong for so long?”

Baptists

I know I have several Baptists reading this, so perhaps one of you could straighten me out on an issue that is confusing me. How exactly are the Primitive Baptists and Free Will Baptists of the nineteenth century connected to the modern day ABC and SBC? At first, I thought perhaps the two present conventions descended from one or both of those groups, but I almost get the feeling that the precursor to the present mainline Baptists actually had the Primitive Baptists and Free Will Baptists split off from it.

Any light that can be provided would be appreciated.