Tradition

I have been reading and thinking a great deal about what and how I will be presenting material this Fall in the class dealing with Christian Theology. Now all of this comes from a question that arose in one of my classes this past Spring. When after saying several times "Well Lutheran Theology on this is..." and the participant replied, "You keep saying Lutheran Theology, why don't you say Christian Theology?" As I attempted to answer the question, rather poorly, I realized that when we say Christian Theology, what we really mean is our specific denomin-ational theology. And this is shaped by our traditions. So, what are traditions?

Professor Phillip Cary of eastern University says: "Tradition means the handing down of wisdom (both practical and theoretical) from one generation to the next." He goes on to explain that Christian theology is the centeral intellectual activity of the Christian tradition, consisting of critical reasoning about what should be taught in the Christian community. This concise statement really blew me away, because this is what I was trying, in my particular rambling way, to get at in my classes last year when we explored the order of worship and the two creeds we recite in worship. Actually, as Lutherans we confess three Creeds, but for the practical reason of needing to get home from worship before sunset only use two in worship.

I would like to get us thinking about tradition in the way that professor Cary uses the word and see how that changes the way we look at what we believe. Believe in what you may ask. And that is exactly what I want to think about, believe in anything. Tradition and belief are two very powerful agents of stability; and, they support each other. I keep going back to Tevi in 'Fiddler on the Roof' when he proclaims, "Without tradition we would be as unstable as a fiddler on the roof." Consider some traditions outside of our faith community, such holidays, certain birthday celebrations, where and how we take vacations. all of these help us to define who we are and how we relate as individuals and as part of a larger community. I probably tend to ruminate about these things more than more normal people because that is just the way I am, and it has been reinforced by training in psychology and anthropology- be careful about letting your children study either field!

Tradition and belief, the two mutually supporting agents shape us, not only in what we believe, but also what questions we can ask about what we believe. And they provide both the lenses through which we view life, but also the filters that limit what we ask about the three fundamental questions we ask at some time in our lives. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Belief will eventually lead to a discussion of the question, "What is sound doctrine and what is heresey?" Again, for those of you who journeyed with us last year we had a brief discussion of the various beliefs that jostled for acceptance in the church. If you missed this or want to review, the lessons are available at the church website. My opening statement from these discussion about what happened after 'the great commission' (Matthew 28: 19-20) still holds true and we will look at how some of the problems were addressed and doctrine came into being in the first several hundred years of the church after we became Christians. I hope to see you in September, bring two things: an open mind and good questions.

Peace,
Clyde Beury