The And Social Justice Advocacy - 1697 Words

In coming to seminary, I had two goals in mind: first, I am interested in interfaith dialog and social justice advocacy, and second, I wish to become a chaplain. As a Christian who holds some unorthodox views, I have wondered what this would look like in practice; how do I preach a word that is true to my beliefs, is theologically sound, and is of spiritual value to the receiver in their own context? At the very basic level of my theology, I believe in a creative force that has brought all things into being, and this force is the ground of all being; it holds all things together and wishes to move all things toward the force’s goal for creation. We can call this the numinous, the mana, the Supreme Being, God—for my theology the term is†¦show more content†¦I see religious rituals as attempts to recreate the foundational experiences of a religion. In this way I do agree with my church’s doctrine that sacraments confer grace. However, I believe that grace is conferred in many ways in our daily lives. The sacraments are unique in their communal aspect; sacraments are something we share as a faith community. There are a number of Christian doctrines that I do not completely embrace. I would not say I reject them, instead I would say that we really have no way of knowing them to be true, and there are other equally acceptable interpretations of the subjects of the doctrines. Among the things that are considered essential to Christianity that I hold lightly are the doctrines of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the cross as being salvific. Let me unpack this a bit. I have a deep and abiding love for Jesus; at the very least I see him as a prophet. Is he divine? I simply don’t know. He could be divine, because I believe that God can do anything. But did God become incarnate in Jesus? How can we know? I have the utmost respect for those who hold to the orthodox Christology of the church. However, I have learned too much at seminary to not leave room for doubt about Jesus’ divinity. If Jesus was divine, that is wonderful; but if he was not, that does not change my love fo r him or my desire to follow him. This brings me to my soteriological views. I believe that Jesus’ saving work was done in his life, in his