Chamblee54

As with so many discussions, it began with a facebook meme. “If your theology doesn’t lead you to love people more, you should question your theology.” The graphics leave room for improvement.
I would leave the word “your” out of that sentence ~ Other people’s ideologies don’t lead me to do anything. ~ they lead other people ~ Right.. so this would be addressed to them as well. ~ Your is often confused for you’re. One is a second person possessive. One is a contraction of you are. It is good to keep theology, if you must deal with it, as your theology, and not you’re theology. ~ It is so good that I’ve never seen it done. ~ Will I see you at the potluck? ~ I hope so. ~ Substitute the name of an religion that encourages extremism for the word theology in my sentence above
Very few people would use the phrase “my theology.” They would say “my faith,” “my religion,” or something else. As religion has become a dirty word, people are substituting faith. If enough people are hurt by the faith of others, then that too will be seen as a dirty word. Theology stands above the battlefield, which is probably just as well.
One of the philosophical side roads of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is the concept of mythos vs. logos. The idea is that when people see a contradiction between a legend (mythos) and knowledge (logos,) they will usually choose the legend.
Theology is basically a combination of theo, or G-d, and logos. Is this the contradictory combination of mythos and logos? Or is Theo the caretaker brother of Vincent Van Gogh? Should believers cut an ear off if they hear something that offends them?
In America, we tend to see theology in Christian terms. One of the fundamental beliefs of this affair is the concept that the bible is “the word of G-d.” A spin off of this belief is an abundant interest in semantics. Saved or not, the obsession with what words mean is tough to get away from.
Too much food for thought can lead to mental indigestion. Or is that spiritual diarrhea? Maybe this chat should end at this point. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.