12/15/2023 0 Comments Theological reflection definitionWhen our embedded theology proves inadequate or simply incorrect, deliberative theology carries us forward. It helps us to stay faithful to the gospel in each new age. But deep down we know that to truly know anything requires work.ĭespite its frustration and heartache, deliberative theology is important. We all want to be right and to feel secure in our convictions about life. It takes what we have been taught and asks the important question: Why? Deliberative theology requires honesty and openness that is difficult. It is “the understanding of faith that emerges from a process of carefully reflecting upon embedded theological convictions.” It questions what has been assumed or taken for granted and holds it even at a certain distance for critical assessment. The second type of theology can be referred to as deliberative theology. Nevertheless, everyone has embedded theologies. Some of our embedded theologies change or are discarded. They can be big things like whether God exists or if Jesus was the Christ, or they can be smaller things like how we dress on Sundays or where we can worship God. Our embedded theologies would include everything we thought as children that we may or may not still believe today. Some would describe embedded theology as being similar to a Christian cultural heritage or the presuppositions and assumed beliefs that one holds. It is our first understanding of the faith and the subsequent actions and practices that it entails – those things that have been learned and reinforced by the examples of our environments. Embedded theology is what we gather implicitly from our church surroundings. There are two types of theology that we all have: embedded and deliberative. It is a deceivingly simple idea that is also complex. I love the idea that Christian theology is at its root a matter of faith seeking understanding. This back and forth movement encourages humility. In it they argue that one fundamental aspect of being Christian (and I would argue being human) is that we ought to intentionally think – and to think theologically.įirst, we need to understand what theology is, which they define as a “seeking after understanding – a process of thinking about life in the light of the faith that Christians engage in because of their calling.” Because theological reflection is a process, it centers on two common practices: listening and questioning. Recently I read a book called How to Think Theologically by Howard Stone and James Duke.
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