Okay, okay

Okay, so in a world where I would reveal my masked subjects, it might be possible that I would agree to the identifications proposed in the comments to the last post. But I'll never tell, so there!

Today I'm in Memphis at grad school and have spent the day puzzling through my class, which is called Contemporary religious Thought (syllabus) and basically covers different thinkers of the last century. Today we were working through what is called process theology, which I have to say contains, in my view, what a whole host of problems. I think it's good to take time sorting through systems like that though, even if in the end you don't buy what they're selling. I think learning to talk with and learn from those with whom we differ is a major skill critical thinking, and can open up so many possibilities of understanding. I don't mean that in a fluffy we can learn from everyone kind of way, either. I just think thoughtful dialogue and the ability to think critically and honestly are useful skills in sharpening our own conclusions. So thanks, process theologians, for the food for thought.

Today we also had a great discussion about whether God created the world from nothing, ex nihilo, or whether he just ordered the world out of its chaos. (Process theologians are not the only people who would argue the latter position.) Particularly, at least some people think that what some places in the Old Testament describe is God becoming master of the chaotic world and giving it form and order. Other places read as though God whips up the earth from scratch, or less then scratch, nothing. Personally, I think that scripture describes it both ways at different times. I believe that ultimately he made the world from nothing, but that accounts like in genesis 1 describe him giving the world order against the forces of chaos to describe the battle god is engaged in from the beginning of creation. He created a world where struggle was possible, where chaos was allowed to have some play. In the end, though, he is at work fighting the chaos, and will be ultimately victorious over it. I need to spend some more time sorting this out though.