The Nine Lives of DET, pt. 1
Modern theology has demythologized the old yarn that cats enjoy nine literal lives, New Age philosophy notwithstanding.
The particularly modern emphasis would treat the "nine lives" trope as metaphor: Instead of deferring their deepest hopes for eight lines yet to come -- recall the old quip about "catnip in the sky, by and by" -- our feline friends should reinterpret the myth, existentially, to focus on the multiple possibilities for authentic existence in this life. (I will not engage here -- or anywhere else, for that matter -- the perennial debate about whether and how the scope of the general resurrection might encompass our animal companions.)
In his amazing book, Death, the Riddle and the Mystery, Eberhard Jüngel argues that, somehow, our temporal existences as a whole will be resurrected into eternity. Or we might frame the matter as some process theologians do: God subjectively remembers the life events and experiences of all actual entities, incorporating them into the ever-expanding chronicle of all temporal experience within God's own life. If either of these claims are true, God will remember for all eternity everything any of us has ever written -- including anything I myself have written (shudders...). This claim implies no hubris on our part but, rather, entails great humility, for all our posts will live on in the divine memory side-to-side with everything Donald Trump has ever tweeted.
At any rate, today our little blog turns nine years old. And (for some inexplicable reason) I was given the assignment to draft a "whimsical" recollection to mark this austere...I mean, auspicious occasion. So there you have it. Whether for the sake of the ages, or just to entertain and enlighten you during a brief interlude in our slowed-down summer publishing schedule, I offer nine highlights from our archives, one for each year of our operation. You might think of each one as a vignette of eternity; or, barring that, maybe just as something cool somebody once wrote.
Year 1. A Portrait of the Editor as a Young Man.
As everyone knows, DET is the brainchild of W. Travis McMaken, at that time an MDiv candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary, though now he elects to subcontract a great deal of the writing and, in general, the more annoying tasks of blog production. Because theological inquiry is a communal endeavor )etc., etc., etc.) Travis is as taciturn about the mysterious origins of this blog as he is about what his actual first name is. But we have intriguing hints from the maiden post from July 27, 2006. Recall what was going on in those heady days. George W. Bush -- or perhaps Dick Cheney, depending on your perspective -- was President. Most prominent national Democratic as well as Republican politicians were still on record opposing same-sex marriage. At that point, there had only been, perhaps, only three or four big-screen reboots of the Spiderman franchise.
Into those heady days emerged this manifesto. What can the reader of this new blog -- which, as a lone-wolf operation at that time, was called "Der Evangelische Theologue" -- expect to find?
Uh-oh. I suspect I myself have violated, numerous times, the gag order against politics and ranting. Ah well....
The scene at DET has been chill, but hasn't been without controversy -- the central controversy being " Why is your blog’s name in German?" There are two answers:
No comment.
Year 2. Come, Let us Reason Together
One of the exciting projects at DET over the years has been the Karl Barth Blog Conference, which has drawn in stimulating and sometimes fundamentally sound essays from multiple contributors. (This was in fact my own entree into writing for the blog.) Alas, the KBBC as an ongoing project is no more, and yet, like Jeff Bridges' "Dude", the KBBC still abides -- now in the form of book, produced by our editor along with our prolific friend-of-the-blog, David Congdon, that grew out of contributions from the fourth and final conference. From this index one can cull listings for this very satisfying triptych:
Barth and Bavinck Barth and Bonhoeffer Barth and Bultmann
But "Barth and Brunner"? Nein!
Check out this post announcing the first KBBC in 2007.
Year 3. Et Tu, Torrance?
Australian theologian Benjamin Myers is a legend within the (admittedly somewhat narrow) world of theo-bloggery; his wit and insights have set standards for posts that are clear, concise, compelling. (Hmm, do I foresee a TED Talk on "The Three C's of Blogging"?) But can he err theologically? Our position, respectfully submitted is, yes. Check out this post from year three, wherein Travis challenges Ben's interpretation of Thomas F. Torrance. (There seems to be a virtual torrent of interest in Torrance these days, for example in posts by the inveterate theo-blogger, Bobby Grow).
A propos of Ben Meyers' worry that Torrance's realist and objectivist epistemology construes a God who would be a prisoner of divine self revelation -- and thus the secure possession of the church -- Travis has this to say:
Tune in for our next installment, gentle readers, where I will highlight three posts from years four to six.
==================================
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| Carpe diem! You only live once. |
In his amazing book, Death, the Riddle and the Mystery, Eberhard Jüngel argues that, somehow, our temporal existences as a whole will be resurrected into eternity. Or we might frame the matter as some process theologians do: God subjectively remembers the life events and experiences of all actual entities, incorporating them into the ever-expanding chronicle of all temporal experience within God's own life. If either of these claims are true, God will remember for all eternity everything any of us has ever written -- including anything I myself have written (shudders...). This claim implies no hubris on our part but, rather, entails great humility, for all our posts will live on in the divine memory side-to-side with everything Donald Trump has ever tweeted.
At any rate, today our little blog turns nine years old. And (for some inexplicable reason) I was given the assignment to draft a "whimsical" recollection to mark this austere...I mean, auspicious occasion. So there you have it. Whether for the sake of the ages, or just to entertain and enlighten you during a brief interlude in our slowed-down summer publishing schedule, I offer nine highlights from our archives, one for each year of our operation. You might think of each one as a vignette of eternity; or, barring that, maybe just as something cool somebody once wrote.
As everyone knows, DET is the brainchild of W. Travis McMaken, at that time an MDiv candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary, though now he elects to subcontract a great deal of the writing and, in general, the more annoying tasks of blog production. Because theological inquiry is a communal endeavor )etc., etc., etc.) Travis is as taciturn about the mysterious origins of this blog as he is about what his actual first name is. But we have intriguing hints from the maiden post from July 27, 2006. Recall what was going on in those heady days. George W. Bush -- or perhaps Dick Cheney, depending on your perspective -- was President. Most prominent national Democratic as well as Republican politicians were still on record opposing same-sex marriage. At that point, there had only been, perhaps, only three or four big-screen reboots of the Spiderman franchise.
Into those heady days emerged this manifesto. What can the reader of this new blog -- which, as a lone-wolf operation at that time, was called "Der Evangelische Theologue" -- expect to find?
Only God knows. There will be no ranting. There will be no posts (at least I hope there will be no posts) laced with a prophetic posturing or displaying a savior complex. There will likely be little discussion of politics (my grandmother always taught me not to discuss religion and politics in polite company, and since I’m discarding the bit about not discussing religion, I’m going to try to stick to not discussing politics). Also, with any luck, this will be the last mention of ‘postmodernity’ (which I like to call ‘hypermodernity,’ but there won’t be a post on that either).
Uh-oh. I suspect I myself have violated, numerous times, the gag order against politics and ranting. Ah well....
The scene at DET has been chill, but hasn't been without controversy -- the central controversy being " Why is your blog’s name in German?" There are two answers:
First, one acquires a certain amount of intellectual cachet when one uses another language in conspicuous ways and far be it from me to surrender credibility that might be obtained through academic posturing. Second, I am currently studying German and one likes to show off knowledge that one has recently gained.
No comment.
One of the exciting projects at DET over the years has been the Karl Barth Blog Conference, which has drawn in stimulating and sometimes fundamentally sound essays from multiple contributors. (This was in fact my own entree into writing for the blog.) Alas, the KBBC as an ongoing project is no more, and yet, like Jeff Bridges' "Dude", the KBBC still abides -- now in the form of book, produced by our editor along with our prolific friend-of-the-blog, David Congdon, that grew out of contributions from the fourth and final conference. From this index one can cull listings for this very satisfying triptych:
But "Barth and Brunner"? Nein!
Check out this post announcing the first KBBC in 2007.
Australian theologian Benjamin Myers is a legend within the (admittedly somewhat narrow) world of theo-bloggery; his wit and insights have set standards for posts that are clear, concise, compelling. (Hmm, do I foresee a TED Talk on "The Three C's of Blogging"?) But can he err theologically? Our position, respectfully submitted is, yes. Check out this post from year three, wherein Travis challenges Ben's interpretation of Thomas F. Torrance. (There seems to be a virtual torrent of interest in Torrance these days, for example in posts by the inveterate theo-blogger, Bobby Grow).
A propos of Ben Meyers' worry that Torrance's realist and objectivist epistemology construes a God who would be a prisoner of divine self revelation -- and thus the secure possession of the church -- Travis has this to say:
Torrance everywhere emphasizes the personal nature of the Christian’s relation with God and Christ, and so I would suggest that one must understand Torrance on these matters through an emphasis on personal encounter between God and the Christian or church. This encounter is one that occurs again and again in the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus it is one that is permanent.
Tune in for our next installment, gentle readers, where I will highlight three posts from years four to six.
==================================
Follow @jsjackson15
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