Sex and the Church

Many of you have indicated an interest in thinking theologically about sex and the body, so I thought that I would share a recent article by the Anglican theologian, Sarah Coakley. She is currently working on a new book (the first of her systematic theology!) entitled, God, Sexuality and the Self: an essay on the Trinity. I bet you would read a theology book with that title!

• "Rethinking the Sex Crises in Catholic and Anglican Churches," by Sarah Coakley

If you read the article, let me know what you think.

Peace,
Chelle

Mary Daly

Here is Mary Daly. I wish I knew the story behind this picture! It cracks me up.

Today in class, we are going to talk briefly about Mary Daly. She was always a controversial character, as she challenged the misogyny of the Catholic Church from the halls of a Catholic institution, Boston College.

As I was researching today, I found out that she had died earlier this year. Regardless of your thoughts about her as a feminist, or her claim that she was 'post-Christian', she remains an important voice to read and consider. She came to speak at my college when I was taking feminist theology. I disagreed with so much of what she said, but she motivated me to think and study.

Professor Daly, great spinster of theology and philosophy. Thank you for stirring us up and inspiring us to re-imagine a non-misogynistic world.

The Filioque

Toby Guise Protesting in London

So, what is the big deal about the filioque? What is the filioque? Well, it is the phrase that was added to the Nicene/Constantinople Creed at the third Council of Toledo (589). Originally it was stated that the Spirit proceeded from the Father. At Toledo the phrase "and the son" was added to this. In this way, the doctrine of the Spirit was changed. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Why is this important? Well, it split the church from East and West in the 11th century. The Eastern Orthodox Church only says "from the Father" while the Roman (Western) Church says "from the Father and the Son".

The Pope was recently in Britain. The picture above is of one lone protester. (Here is a link to the story.) His hope was not for controversy but instead for conversation and unity. We should be talking about these doctrinal differences instead of always being divided over them. Let's have another ecumenical council. It has been over a 1,000 years!

I don't know, somehow this make me smile!

What We Listened to in Class: Thomas Tallis

A few of you have asked about the choral piece that I played at the end of class on Wednesday. It is "Spem in Alium" by Thomas Tallis (c. 1570). Here is what Jeremy Begbie has to say about this piece: "Here forty different voices weave their way in and through each other…. Despite the sonic profusion, it never sounds ‘jammed’ or crowed. There is multiplicity without dissipation, togetherness without mutual overwhelming, each voice being enabled to become more fully itself: ‘As though being ourselves we’re more capacious.’" (Jeremy Begbie, "Through Music: Sound Mix," in Beholding the Glory, InterVarsity Press, 2000, 152.) Thanks, Jeremy. Great description!

Here is what they are singing:
I have never put my hope in another
except in you, God of Israel,
who will be angry yet become gracious.
And all the sins of man
in suffering you forgive.
Lord God, creator of heaven and earth:
look on our humility.

Here is a link to the King Singers singing Tallis's Spem in Alium. It is fun because you can see the vocalists in the eight different choirs, singing all 40 parts. Well, you'll see...

For All Those Football Fans

Here's a little shout out to all those football fans at the beginning of the season. Who says theology doesn't apply to just about any area of life!?! How would you articulate your theology of football?

Enjoy!

Early Trinitarian Sources

Here are some of the earliest references to the Trinity:

Theophilus of Antioch (180 AD), in his To Autolycus, discusses the shape of God's creative activity as Father, Logos and Sophia. Here is a quote:

• "He is God, who heals and gives life through Logos and Sophia. God made everything through Logos and Sophia, but by his Logos the heavens were made firm and by his Spirit all their power [Ps 32:6]." Theolophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum, tr. by Robert M. Grant, Oxford: Claredon Press, 1970, I.7.
  

In another place, he says:

• "the three days prior to the luminaries are types of the triad of God and his Logos and his Sophia. In the forth place is man, who is in need of light--so that there might be God, Logos, Sophia, Man." (the footnote to this: "This 'triad' is not precisely the Trinity, since in Theolophilus' mind man can be added to it.") Theolophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum, tr. by Robert M. Grant, Oxford: Claredon Press, 1970, II.15.
  

Though this is not a perfect articulation of trinitarian theology, you can see how Theolophilus is attempting to put words and concepts to something that was already believed in early Christendom.

Another source of early trinitarian thought is Irenaeus of Lyon (125-203). He also talks about God creating through the Logos and Wisdom (Sophia), but more specifically talks about the Son and the Holy Spirit as the two hands of the Father:

• "It was not angels...who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God, nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things. For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess His own hands. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things..." Ireneaus, "Against Heresies," in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, Edinburgh: T&T Clark; Eerdmans, 1996, Book IV: chapter XX.1.

I hope this helps. If anyone wants to pursue other sources, let me know.

Peace,
Chelle

How Do We Listen?

Many of you have expressed an interest to learn more about contextual theology. My interest in this kind of contextual or critical theology stems from a desire to learn to listen. Often this means that I have to set aside my preconceived ideas (as much as I can at any given moment) and learn to hear what others have to say or to offer. Sometimes I feel threatened, sometimes I simply disagree. The challenge is to hear what others are actually saying, not to project onto others what I think they are saying from my preconceived ways of knowing.

This is a dangerous proposition. Who knows what will happen? How will we change? Perhaps we will learn to hear differently? We might even be significantly transformed in the process?

All of this sounds very mysterious or even frightening, but I would like to offer a bit of inspiration to you for this pursuit of listening well--not only to "the other" but also to ourselves. (Aren't we all in this together?) To help us understand this from a different perspective I will turn to music, my old friend. The following video is a TED talk by Evelyn Glennie, one of the world's foremost percussionists. She is an amazing performer, as you will hear. She is also profoundly deaf. Every time I hear her talk about music, performance and the art of hearing/listening I am deeply moved. She teaches me about myself as she tells me about her own experience in the world. If you want to hear more from Glennie, check out the documentary, "Touch the Sound." (There is a copy in the library.)

So, how do you hear/listen?

Enjoy!
Chelle

Author of *The Shack* in Town Friday

I just wanted to let you know that Paul Young, the author of The Shack (which we are reading for class) will be in town Friday (tomorrow) September 10th. Here are the details:

Paul Young will be at First United Methodist Church near downtown Seattle at 1PM on Friday September 10th. This is a free event. Here is the link for more info.

If you go, let me know what you think.

-Chelle

John Cage's "Rules for Students and Teachers"

John Cage performing 4'33'' at a toy piano

John Cage was a composer whose life spanned most of the 20th century (1912-1992). He was influenced by composers such as Schoenberg, Messiaen and Boulez. He believed in creating compositional space in which musicians and audiences alike could participate in the creation of the music. Cage's style can be thought of as controlled chaos or chance music. For example, he was known to make decisions while he was composing by rolling dice. His most famous piece is 4'33'', which involves a performer with his or her instrument sitting silently for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The purpose of this composition is to explore the sound in the room, the "what might happen" in any given period of time and space. It is about chance in the moment. (A friend of mine performed this piece in a recital. A few of us knew about the piece beforehand, so we brought stuff to throw at him. It was a bit cheeky of us!)

"Fontana Mix" a composition by Cage

Cage is also known for redefining notation, the visual language of music. You can see here an example of his charting of improvisation and preparation--controlled chaos. This can also be called 'aleatoric' music. Often performers are given suggested notes for a given amount of time and they then have to improvise with the material offered. Thus, the performance is just as much determined by the performer as it is by the composer.



Click here to read about a recent dance concert inspired by Cage, performed in a rock quarry. The stage was set up in the round with the dancers in the center and the 150 musicians seated around the outside. The craziest part was that each of the musicians had their own part to play, and each was improvising with a given set of musical ideas. The concert sounds like it was amazing. I wish I could have been there.

Here is John Cage performing one of his pieces, "Water Walk", on a 50's TV show. Fascinating! 



As you can see, his music requires a lot of participation and engagement by musicians and audiences alike. It is not just a matter of just learning notes, or listening to notes and sounds for that matter. Cage's music gives space for listening to others and responding to the whole, or simply for the chance of the moment (e.g., the laughter of a TV audience). Whether or not you like his music, that is a totally different conversation. Mostly, I like the concepts that he is promoting as an example of engagement and participation, even if his music is not really my (or your) cup of tea. 

With this in mind, here are the rules of engagement that I talked about in class. May we learn to play together this year!

John Cage's "Rules for Students and Teachers"

1. Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile. 
2. General duties of a student—pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students. 
3. General duties of a teacher—pull everything out of your students. 
4. Consider everything an experiment. 
5. Be self-disciplined—this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way. 
6. Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make. 
7. The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things. 
8. Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes. 
9. Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think. 
10. Break rules. Even your own rules. Leave plenty of room for X quantities.

"Mozart Mix" by John Cage