Theological Empathy, Theological Conversation, and the Christian Community
Not all theology is the
same. Not all theology is good. That is, there are theological positions that
are destructive and must be opposed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this. So
did Karl Barth. These two theologians were among those who stood against the
German Christian movement that sought to Germanize theology, a process that
both denied Jesus’ Jewish origins and made church members open to the anti-Jewish
policies of the German regime. All theologies that dehumanize people must be
opposed strongly, for they are not of God. At the same time there are plenty of
theological positions where there is disagreement, but they neither dehumanize
nor destroy. The question is, can we find an arena where we can listen to each
other and learn from each other, even if at the end of the day we end up
disagreeing with each other? Richard Beck, a psychology professor, blogger, and
intuitive theologian, suggests that the key is theological empathy.
Beck suggests that what worries us will pull our …
Beck suggests that what worries us will pull our …
