DARING THEORY - Mut zur Theorie

*** The German original to this text was posted here yesterday. 

Rev. Schilling, who sent me this post, was part of our team of volunteers for the Bibel Dialogues for many years - and has been a steady supporter until today.

Summer vacation time has started. And this year, for known reasons, it is rather limited. No travelling to faraway places, but maybe the closer places are attractive, as well. „Come, let’s take a look at that,“ people say and quickly make a plan.

Taking a look is a good thing. Seeing something other than one’s own four walls. Even the ancient Greeks knew about that, this looking at things and called it theory. Theory to them meant to take a look at, to observe the world. The term was originally comprised of the words theos (God) and horao (to observe). So, the Theorists wanted to observe the divine by way of looking at the world and how it works. Naturally, they did not do this just for fun or to pass the time. No, looking at the world, understanding how it works, and observing the divine were meant to serve life – it was to serve our living in community in this world! They knew: “What I observe, what I take in and experience, will have an influence on how I plan and live my life. One might say as well: The images that we see shape us. And so it is not at all unimportant what we look at and what we choose to influence us.

„I keep my eyes always on the Lord,“ a person prayed ages ago (Psalm 16,8). He was probably also a theorist. But: He did not imagine God just like that. Instead, he imagined God before him. For the sake of his life, he looked for God. How? By listening to how others experience God, by celebrating God with them, by being mindful of the world as creation and by rejoicing in the diversity that is humankind. Can we … do we want to follow this theorist?

Summer vacation time has begun. Yes, maybe we need to spend our vacation in close vicinity, wherever and however that may be: These days are an opportunity to look at our lives with God, to be at leisure and a theorist.

Rev. Klaus Schilling