Initial Thoughts

In college, I wrote my last paper--my "Independent Study"--on Theology and Sex. I will probably use parts of it in my posts, but I don't want to publish it in its entirety as I have hopes of someday updating it and shaping it into a book, or, at the very least, several periodical installments.

As such, I feel like I have my best footing, my best groundwork, laid in that area. I want to visit it in more detail, both with the hope of gaining more insight for that future shaping and with the hope of clarifying some of the details that, due to time constraints, I could not clarify then.

I want to explore Theology and Marriage in more depth. To this end, I want to look both at sex within marriage and at different versions of marriage and how those versions have played out from ancient history to today. I want to look at polyamory, GLBT marriage, monogamy/mono-amory, adultery, committed relationships, cheating. I want to examine our laws and Christian strictures, but I also want to examine how marriage plays out in other religions. Since I'm reading the Qur'an, I'll start with that as my first "other" religion, especially as I've finished reading the Second Surah, which goes into some detail about marriage law and equity within marriage.

I also feel like I have some footing with regard to pluralism, and so I want to explore that in more depth. How do the religions relate to one another? Is one better than another? Does it all come down to how we were raised? Can God be revealed in all religions? Are religion and culture inextricably linked--does one define the other and/or visa-versa?

And I also feel like I have some footing in exploring the historical Jesus. This is probably my favorite part of the New Testament--looking at how the different authors/groups represented Jesus and then trying to put together a picture of what the historical man might have been like. Was Jesus more loving or more violent? Was he a man of action? What do the Gospels and Paul's writings have to say about Jesus? Which version of Jesus is more true: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John or Paul? If we see the differences, how can we believe in them all? Do the differences say more about Jesus or about the political climate of the time/the authors' persuasions? How does knowing the historical Jesus help us today? And how have other religions portrayed him throughout time?

In the same respect, though I have almost no background in it, I would like to look at major figures from other religions: the Buddha, Mohammed, the Dalai Lama, and etc. I am *much* less well-versed in this area, so I think that first, I will read their original texts (insomuch as they exist), and then I will look at their historical backgrounds, much the same way I have approached Christianity although lacking the years of experience I have as a Christian in an evolving background.

And I want to explore extra-biblical texts: Septuagint, Apocrypha, 'newly discovered' writings, and etc. With more familiarity with other religions, I might eventually do the same with their extraneous writings, but that will be far in the future, I'm sure.

As well, I will, from time to time, want to discuss religion in the news. What about separation of Church and State? Should we have Federal funding for Faith-Based Organizations? What about teaching religion in schools--how can we do that and not violate freedom of religion? Should we even try to do so? What about the evolution/creationism/intelligent design debate? Prayer in schools? This may cause me to go on a rant from time to time; sometimes I get worked up about the issues, so this is my 'fair warning' about that, although I will always try to limit my ranting and keep it as truthful as I possibly can.

And, I will want to explore how the Church has handled Christianity over the years. I will pay particular attention to current Church practices insofar as I am aware of them (I don't know everything about every denomination and sect, and I don't know that I could possibly know all of that information without my head exploding!), but I will want to back my thoughts and convictions with historical fact. I'll want to look at why we consider some things 'tradition' that didn't exist with original Christianity, and I'll want to look at the role tradition plays--if we heed it too closely, are we worshipping Tradition instead of God? How should worship work, anyway? Can different styles of worship be acceptable? What counts as worship, what counts as prayer, what counts as being 'religious' vs. being 'spiritual'? Is one better than the other, and why? Is the Church handling the teaching of religion in the best possible manner? How might things be improved? Does all of it even matter--will people care, or should we push for change even if people do not care in the hopes of reform?

Once again, when I gain a firmer footing in other religions, I might explore how their religious institutions handle their teachings--but I expect that to be far in the future.

And I want to be at least somewhat autobiographical with my exploration, because as my Theology professors in college pointed out time and again, Theology is necessarily autobiographical and at least somewhat subjective. We all have our lenses; it is impossible to step completely outside our lenses, and so I know there are areas where I will blind myself unintentionally. I hope that, by being intentionally autobiographical as well as scholarly, I will clear away at least some of my blind spots.

This might all seem overwhelming; I sometimes feel quite overwhelmed by all of these things. I occasionally fall into fits of despair over how much there is to know and to discuss and to study, and I sometimes get the 'big-picture blues': is it going to matter anyway? Is it really going to make the world a better place if I figure out where *I* stand? Shouldn't I be doing more? Rather than sitting here writing about all of this, shouldn't I be out there *doing* good works? Do my charitable contributions really substitute? Wouldn't I better serve my purpose by getting out there, getting others out there, and feeding the hungry/clothing the poor/housing the homeless/sheltering the orphaned/living greenly/etc? To some extent, I think those leanings in me are correct--I do need to be out and doing something to actively help. On the other hand, we need doers and we need encouragers/motivators--people who get our consciousness moving, get us thinking about our actions so that we don't hare off into the unknown without a clear plan/some idea of how we'll be affecting our future. Perhaps my writing will inspire others to at least think and explore on their own, and perhaps those explorations will inspire still others to get up and do good works. Perhaps I will inspire some debate, create some clarity, shed light in dark areas. I can only hope that is so.