So what?...

The past couple days I had the privilege of attending the 2010 Wheaton Theology Conference where the focus was on N.T. Wright's work on Jesus and Paul and so included papers read by those that were both critical and in support as well as a response and sessions by Wright himself. As I am relatively new to the whole theological world and likewise have no formal training, a good portion of this conference went over my head. This largely stems from not understanding a lot of background through New Testaments studies as well as where each speaker was coming from. Given this, however, there was still much I was able to retain as well and I'd certainly much rather be learning from people of their capacity rather than below mine. I think it was fair to say their collective iron was able to sharpen my aluminum.

One of the presentations during this time was by the couple Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. The way they presented was a dialogue of sorts in that they asked questions that folks might likely have and sought to answer them as well. They were certainly the most socially-focused of all presentations and practice this by engaging in organic gardening in Canada(and also Walsh has done some writing/work on/with homelessness). Also, through their presentation and the sharing that took place with Wright, we learned that Walsh and Wright debated many times early on in their studies over the importance of what they were studying. Walsh always sought to bring Wright to task on his work by providing the helpful question of "So what?" To be sure, this certainly is an important question that should constantly be before scholars(as well as people with other disciplines within Christendom) as they argue the seemingly nit-pickiest of items(clearly a subjective statement and not to be taken across the board as hopefully this blog will try and show from my viewpoint!).

Indeed, this question of "so what?" is certainly helpful for even the likes of this conference in general. While some have done an excellent job of comparing and adding on to why over 1100 people would be showing up for this conference, it still begs the question. This conference was not being simulcast to multiple churches in many countries(although incredibly, free mp3's as well as video are up). This still remains a significant feat within the world of Christian scholarship(as compared to annual SBL meetings), but will the effects of this be felt in the church at large? The world at large? Even Wheaton at large? Personally, I think if Wright's talks were taken to heart by the influential there(and specifically his talk on Paul) the ramifications of it could be absolutely monumental. It was an energizing experience for me and convinced me even further of the importance of Bible study and also Wright's potential influence he could continue to have for the catholic church(especially with Jeremy Begbie's nudging). He spoke of most churches falling into a category of teaching of either the cross or the kingdom, but rarely both. To me, this is incredibly apparent as I have experienced both sides and found them wanting.

Years ago when our family first got a DVD player, we were excited to find out that with that we would get five free DVD's. One of these were Stargate and it was on two sides as I suppose it was a longer movie. Being new to the world of DVD's, I put it in as I would any other and thought nothing of it. After watching until the end, I could not help but be extremely confused and frustrated by the movie as a whole as it completely lacked cohesion and as such seemed incredibly shallow. In case it has not already been figured out, I had put in the second half of the movie and completely missed out on the first. This same identity crisis that I associated with the movie(and still have to this day because I never chose to bother going back to it) is largely similar to that of the church body. The sides of the kingdom or the cross don't dare associate too much with the other side lest they offend those they might want to enter into the fold. With this, however, I think those that are outside the church are subject to seeing a lifeless church that is lacking in cohesion and incredibly shallow.

Wright, sharing the words of Paul and echoing them through to today presented us with the need of unification and called us all, as Jesus did, to understand our role as kingdom dwellers and an announcing of a new lordship that the powers can not simply say no to. This was most definitely a rousing speech to a captive audience and I think there was a spirit amongst a majority of us to instantly want to "turn the world to rights," and yet in spite of this there was a nagging question that persists today as the excitement of it all has died down and "reality" has set in again. So what?

While I plan on taking more seriously the study of the Bible and prioritizing it over other things that I spend/waste my time on, as I went shopping with my wife at Meijer today I noticed the zeal in that room last night was not found in maneuvering the cart amongst people that were blocking the aisle, walking to slow, or just living their life. Indeed, the fruit of patience was not first and foremost in myself and so this question of "so what?" really took shape there as well. Walsh and Keesmaat proclaimed that if we were seeking more after kingdom ethics than what we had to say might be received by more than "a small circle of friends," I believe this still largely misses out on a good majority in the west. What of the average shopper or employee of Meijer?

I wish I had a settled answer for this, however I'm hoping that the question of "so what?" never leaves me as I seek to learn more and become more in the likeness of what I worship.