A Pilgrimage of the Mind
Doing Theology, especially Historical Theology, is like a
pilgrimage of the mind. Like a pilgrimage, we may find holy relics in the form
of teachings that were once emphasized; teachings which we might at times
forget or not ourselves have known before. Like a pilgrimage we not only follow
Christian thinkers and Saints into the past, but our journey into older days
helps us to more clearly recognize and understand God in the present and into the
future. As the Church has always believed, Theology is not something for anyone
to do alone -although solitude does have its proper place in our contemplation-
rather, Theology is thinking about God and having a discussion from within the
community and through our solidarity with others. We include the historic shaping of our Theology because the thinkers and Saints, who long ago were seeking out God, are still a part of that community; their journeys -their pilgrimages- will continue to shape our minds when we think of God. The purpose of this blog is
to bring this historic and communal discussion, from today's Theology, to people
who would like to know what Theology in the 21st century looks like, by
providing short and personal book reviews that are accessible to general
readers. My hope is that, over time, Concise Theological Reviews may be a good
starting point for readers to find where their interests in Theological Studies
may lie and which authors they should be reading.
Along with book
reviews, I aim to periodically post short biographic information on various
people who have done their part to shape the history of the Christian Church by
their own entrance into the great conversation. These biographic entries will
come from a selection of various Church Fathers, Saints, Theologians, and lay
persons whose lives are especially significant because what they have done adds
a great deal to the Theological discussion. I aim for these biographical
portrayals to be compassionate and ethical descriptions of those lives who may have lived long ago, but are no less real than you or I. These biographic
entries are by no means to be thought of as comprehensive; instead, they should
be thought of as biographic inquiries that introduce us to people we might like
to better meet.
Overall, I hope
that these articles will help someone find their feet in the theological
community and be pointed towards the tools and resources that allow us to come
closer to seeing God more fully together.
