Posts Tagged ‘Ed Cyzewski’

Ed Cyzewski, author of Coffeehouse Theology, wrote an excellent post on the Christian response to California Supreme Court’s upholding of Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, thus, banning gay marriage. Wherever individual Christians find themselves in this debate, Ed offers good advice, which is, Christians must first and foremost be focusing their time and energy on the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven (which I’m pretty sure Jesus said first). Read his post “Mourning Proposition Eight: Dragging Jesus Through the Mud and Wasting $85 Million” here.

“I’d rather not rant about this Proposition Eight business. I think it’s more appropriate to mourn this mess spear-headed by Christians and Mormons…“

Overview: Coffeehouse Theology is wrapped around the idea of contextual theology. As Ed explains, contextual theology

“recognizes that all theology takes place within a local cultural context. This cultural context colors our reading of the Bible and produces a wide variety of locally made theologies…[it] also reminds us that each local understand of God has strengths and weaknesses, and we can fill in some of these holes by listening to other local theologies” (pp. 36-37; emphasis mine).

Contextual theology breeds humility and understanding. It is not systematic. It does not seek to fit everything within a box. It allows theological study to breathe.

Theology should not only be for personal growth, but it should also transform us into the people of God that the Father needs for his mission. Thus, every Christian is in some sense a “theologian.” We all must reflect on God (theology = the study of God) in order to pursue Christ and his mission, and we are all contextual theologians because we are all contextual beings.

 Ed shows that theological diversity doesn’t plague the Body of Christ. Rather, theological diversity should be celebrated in such a way that it allows communities to see the beauty of Scripture more intimately. For Ed, this doesn’t blur everything into theological relativism, but it remains distinct from clearly defined, “black-and-white” dogma. Contextual awareness (so to speak) allows one to approach theology from a standpoint of humility rather than prideful naivety.

Key themes: diversity, unity, contextual theology

What I didn’t like:

What I (kinda) didn’t like was Ed’s treatment of tradition. I tend to take a little stronger of a stance with tradition (you can see some of my thoughts here). Where I think Ed falls short from my own understanding is that he sees tradition as a guide, whereas I believe we must yield to tradition over our own interpretations unless we have good reason to go against it.

Also, I found the book to have a strong evangelical slant (mainly, salvific notions), but I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing (indeed, I am evangelical). I just wonder if it would hurt the book’s popularity amongst other audiences, which would be a shame.

What I liked:

Overall, Ed does an excellent job at popularizing much of what is written elsewhere in works from theologians such as John Franke. Ed takes ideas and expounds on them, creating a read made possible for the average church-goer. Whereas I would not recommend a high school youth group member who’d like to go “deeper” read The Character of Theology (by John Franke), I would recommend, however, that he or she read Ed’s book.

I also enjoyed the fact that Ed added a discussion on the purpose of tradition. Even though I disagreed to the extent to which Ed takes it, tradition must be involved, and, for its inclusion, I applaud Ed. Tradition is often neglected in most evangelical books on theology. Some may think it smacks of the rejection of Sola Scriptura, but I would reject that notion.

Also, Ed takes some time to involve the global church, which I believe is often neglected by American Christians. Often, American theology is often treated as the theology, as if Christ was a blue-collar, Ford-loving, Nike-wearing, patriotic, middle class, white, American male. This is most certainly not true, and the global church makes up for our theological brevity.

Who would like it: The first-year seminary student, the first-year bible college student, the novice theologian, and the layperson interested in theological studies. It is a good beginner’s guide to theology. Perhaps one day there will be a Contextual Theology for Dummies written by Ed Cyzewski.

My rating: 8 out of 10 (1 – I would use it for kindling for a camp fire, 10 – I would force it upon someone; 8 – I would keep it and give another copy to someone else as a gift)

Overall Conclusion: Reading Coffeehouse Theology was definitely worth it. I had previous knowledge of contextual theology, but Ed gave me a greater appreciation for it and has fused its importance in my mind. So, if you like theology, I think you should read this book. Coffeehouse Theology clears away some of the mistakes we make, brings the reader to theological humility, and jump-starts the Christian into a better, more unified relationship with Jesus Christ and with other Christians elsewhere. Great job, Ed!

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.

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Ed Cyzewski (MDiv Biblical Theological Seminary) works as a freelance writer in the nonprofit sector of southwest Vermont. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life, an introduction to contextual theology as well as the Coffeehouse Theology Bible Study Guide and aCoffeehouse Theology Discussion Guide. He can be followed at:

• inamirrordimly.com (theology and culture blog)
• edcyz.com (blog on writing)
• @edcyzewski (Twitter)

Buy Coffeehouse Theology at Amazon.com here.

[This is an overview of Ed’s book. I plan to go into more detail in the near future, but let’s start here…]

My friend, Tim, and I always have this debate – DH or not to DH? If you are familiar with Major League Baseball, DH is short for “designated hitter.” Baseball was designed so that every player who played the field would also bat and vice versa. That is, of course, until the DH was created. The National League remains in the classical viewpoint–all fielders bat and all batters field. However, the American League decided that, since most pitchers when batting look like they’re under the influence (of course, in the AL there are many under all types of “influences” per se), they would appoint a “designated hitter” to bat for the pitcher. Thus, AL pitchers do not bat, but, instead, they hand it over to some guy jacked on ‘roids, who hits about 30 home runs, 125 RBI’s, and gets paid millions of dollars per season for playing ½ of the game (can you tell my bias?).

I am an advocate for the pitchers to bat, probably because I’m more of a purist and think bunting and “suicide squeezes” put strategy into the game. Tim, however, thinks the DH is a fabulous idea (though he’s wrong, of course!). So, the debates go round and round.

It wasn’t until today that it hit me – the reason I like the NL way is because I’m a fan of the Phillies who play in the NL, and the reason Tim likes the AL ways is because he’s a fan of the Yankees who play in the AL (and who are everything that’s wrong with baseball). It is because of the context in which we watch baseball. My context for the majority of the season is my Phillies (World Champion Phillies, by the way!) playing other NL teams – they all have their pitchers bat. Tim spends much of his season watching the Yankees (come in 3rd place, err…) play other AL teams – they all have DH’s. My context influences my arguments for and against the DH.

Here’s where we translate this into theology. It’s the same exact way! The premise of Ed Cyzewski’s Coffehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life is that one’s context influences his or her theology. He calls this “contextual theology.” For instance, due to my context, I will read Scripture as a white, Anglo-Saxon, northeastern American, middle-to-high class, male individual, and, in turn, my theology will reflect this. On the other hand, you’ll read it differently because our context is different.

Tim and I discuss the purpose of the DH in baseball, but neither of us is wrong. Our contexts are just different. Likewise, when I read the Scriptures and bounce my theology off my friend, he and I may come to the table with different conclusions. Neither of us is incorrect. We are just different.

Ed makes it clear that this is not an “anything and everything goes” theology. There are some things that are distinctively Christian (i.e., points in the Nicene Creed), but, on other interpretive elements, there is room for diversity. Tim and I never, ever debate if there is actually a sport called baseball or if 3 strikes is a strikeout. They are assumed, but we can debate other elements.

Diversity should promote unity, not destroy it. We can learn to appreciate the interpretations of others. I’m not going to read the Bible the same way a Latin American does, so I actually need his or her interpretation to see what I’m missing. As Ed states,

“Theology isn’t about constructing an arsenal of knowledge that we use to shoot down the beliefs of our ‘opponents.’ Theology is about loving God and one another more perfectly…Just remember, our goal isn’t agreeing on every point, but rather better understand the God we all love. From that perspective, we can dance with these partners because we share a common love, even if we express and understand that love in very different ways” (pp. 214, 216).

Tim and I may never agree on every single detail of baseball, but we sure love baseball. You and I may never agree on every single interpretation and theological viewpoint, but I have no doubt we love the same God very much so; and in our love for him, we can draw closer to him and each other.

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.

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Ed Cyzewski (MDiv Biblical Theological Seminary) works as a freelance writer in the nonprofit sector of southwest Vermont. He is the author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life, an introduction to contextual theology as well as the Coffeehouse Theology Bible Study Guide and a Coffeehouse Theology Discussion Guide. He can be followed at:

• inamirrordimly.com (theology and culture blog)
• edcyz.com (blog on writing)
• @edcyzewski (Twitter)

Buy Coffeehouse Theology at Amazon.com here.

Highlights of the week:

1. The Super Bowl was absolutely exciting. Big Ben - great pass! Holmes - even better catch! Although, I think the most important play was Harrison’s pick-6 at the end of the first half. We’ve had two awesome Super Bowls in a row. The only difference this year is that I wasn’t cheering another team to lose as much as I was last year when the Patriots were in it.
2. Giselle has been learning like crazy. She can now say (in this order too) - “da-da,” “no,” and “ma-ma.” She’s also been making us laugh non-stop with all of her antics. We love her so much.
3. Amanda and I have been rocking out to Rock Band 2. I never thought I’d ever play video games with my wife, but we have a lot of fun doing it.

Books I’m reading: I’ve really been enjoying Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life by Ed Cyzewski. I’m almost done, and I will be blogging about it some more later. I already placed a quote on the site.

Disappointed by: Scot McKnight (not him, keep reading) mentioned that he was disappointed that supportive evangelicals didn’t state that they were upset with Obama’s decision to overturn some pro-life policies. So…here it is- I am upset with Obama’s decision to overturn specific pro-life policies and support for pro-choice policies.

Job update: slow! or at least slower than I’d like. I’ve gone on multiple interviews but no offers. *sigh*

Seminary update: I had off of class last night, but my next class is with Peter Enns, and I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve mentioned Peter Enns on this site numerous times so you can see how much he’s influenced me.

Looking forward to: Amanda’s birthday is tomorrow. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to do anything so I’m making sure we do. She deserves it.

I’m reading Ed Cyzewski’s book Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life. I will be blogging about this to greater extent at some point in the near future, but have you ever read something and said, “I have to read this quote to someone right now!”? Well, I’m at Starbucks right now, and I don’t think the baristas would appreciate this as much as my readers (all two of you) would. I loved (!) this quote by Ed.

In respect to the balance of individualism and unity in the church:

“To this day, the church hasn’t figured out how to reconcile individualism and unity. Why do we have so many disagreements, divisions, and books outlining views on baptism, the end times, women in ministry, homosexuality, and even the orthodoxy of the Orthodox Church? Perhaps expecting to arrive at a clear and simple meaning from the Bible creates an impossible situation that simply leads to more divisions. We might say that the modern world gave us the wonderful gift of the Bible in the hands of the masses, yet it also shows us that individuals aren’t quite capable of handling it on their own” (p. 120).

–Cyzewski, E. (2008). Coffeehouse theology: reflecting on God in everyday life. NavPress: Colorado Springs.

• Highlight(s) of the week:

1. The inauguration of President Obama was exciting, as expected. I look forward to the next four years with great anticipation.
2. I had a few job interviews lined up so it’s nice to know someone is interested in me.
3. I had a good conversation with someone about the emerging church. Basically explained that it’s not perfect, but much of what’s going on within it are good things.
4. Had a snow day yesterday, which allowed me to catch-up on some much needed sleep (which I’m losing some more of tonight).

• Disappointed by: (1) the reason I am up at 4 AM this morning typing this is because Giselle won’t sleep so…yeah. I think (I hope!) she’s teething. (2) Amanda and I are sick. Amanda more than me. (3) All the “hate” I’ve been hearing from people about Obama, the emerging church, and differing theological views. It’s just wearing on me.

• Books I’m reading:

1. The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones - on hold for…
   
2. Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life by Ed Cyzewski

• Job update: had/have a few interviews. I hope to get a job full time, but two part-time is acceptable right now.

• Seminary update: finished the class on preaching. I have to hand-in a short essay, and then it will be complete. Next class is with Peter Enns, who I’ve quoted numerous times on this site, so I look forward to it.

• Looking forward to: (1) the next 4 years. Just interested more than thinking “Obama’s the messiah” type of thing. (2) Giselle to fall asleep. Is it bad to set up a pack-and-play in the basement and let your child “cry it out” there? I just may do it. Haha! but seriously. (3) Getting better. (4) Finding a job. I feel like it’s right around the corner.