Family Happiness

Last week I perused Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy seems to have a knack for capturing the emotions and interpersonal dynamics of maturing love. Family Happiness is a short story narrated from the perspective of Marya, a young woman, as she grows up. The first half of the book is filled with the tension of love's beginnings while the second half of the book grapples with love's complexities and perseverance. 

Near the end of the story, after living through an assortment of love's triumphs and tragedies, Marya listens as her husband, Sergey, wrestles them free from their past:

"Don't let us try to repeat life," he went on. "Don't let us make pretences to ourselves. Let us be thankful that there is an end of the old emotions and excitements. The excitement of searching is over for us; our quest is done, and happiness enough has fallen to our lot. Now we must stand aside and make room–for him, if you like," he said, pointing to the nurse who was carrying [their son] out and had stopped at the veranda door. "That's the truth, my dear one," he said, drawing down my head and kissing it, not as a lover any longer but an old friend. 

There's something beautiful about Sergey's assessment of life. There is a conscious turning away from excitement toward happiness in the latter part of it. Richard Rohr describes this stage as "a bright sadness and a sober happiness". I don't think I'm not there yet. But I hope to be. Right now it seems strange to think of my wife in these terms. A friend? Certainly. An old friend? Not quite. Maybe there will come a day. Here is my takeaway from Sergey: I will try not to repeat life; instead, I will step aside and make room for my children as they learn to embrace the emotions and excitements of love's beginnings.

Christian Education in a Secular Age

Last month I wrote a blog post about how I was reading Charles Taylor's A Secular Age for a conference paper proposal I was writing. Last week I submitted the proposal and I hope to hear back by the end of the month about whether it will be accepted. If accepted, I'll be presenting the full paper at Christian Education in a Secular Age, an online conference hosted by Briercrest Seminary. 

In an interesting twist, after submitting the proposal I received an email from one of the conference organizers who noticed my focus on pastoral education. She put me in touch with one of her colleagues who was looking to collaborate on a round-table discussion about clergy resilience and the implications for pastoral education. After an email exchange, I agreed to join Margaret Clarke, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Briercrest, and Beth Fisher, a PhD candidate a researcher involved with Wycliffe's Wellness Project in a roundtable discussion at the conference. I am humbled and honoured to be at the virtual table with these two researchers. We are going to meet at the end of this month for some initial planning and brainstorming. I look forward to seeing where the conversation leads.

Theological Education Between the Times

In the coming months I'm going to review a book called Beyond Profession by Daniel Aleshire. I have not read it yet so I will refrain from making comments until I do. It is one of seven books in a series of writings focused around the theme, Theological Education between the Times (TEBT). Actually TEBT is not just a book theme, it's a project. Organized by Candler School of Theology at Emory University as a way to "reason together about the ends of theological education ... and to do this work in diverse communities that respect difference and resist domination" (https://tebt.candler.emory.edu/about), the project was launched in 2014 out of a recognition that the world was changing and theological educators needed to wrestle with the shifts.

Some good books have already been written, before the TEBT series, dealing with the future of theological education. Looking Forward With Hope edited by Valentín (I wrote about it here) and Disruption and Hope edited by Wheeler are two worthy contributions to the the future of theological education.

One of my favourite chapters in Valentín's book entitled "The Change We Need: Race and Ethnicity in Theological Education" was written by Willie James Jennings. Jennings woke me up to issues of "a centred white male subject" in most theological schools. I'm thrilled to see that Jennings has written one of the books in the TEBT series called After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging. That will certainly be on my "to read" list once I am finished with Beyond Profession.

Jacques Ellul on technology

French historian, sociological, and theologian Jacques Ellul had some interesting insights about technology. In chapter thirteen of his book, Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, and Politics: Conversations with Patrick Troude-Chastenet, Ellul was asked, "How would you summarize the main thrust of your work on technology?" Ellul responded:

I would say that I have tried to show how technology is developing completely independently of any human control. Carried away in some Promethean dream modern man has always thought he could harness Nature whereas what is happening is that he is building an artificial universe for himself where he is increasingly being constrained. He thought he would achieve his goal by using technology but he has ended up its slave. 

Ellul, like Marshall McLuhan, Martin Heidegger and others, writes about the influence of technology on human being. Here, Ellul appears to suggest that technology acts autonomously from humans and in ways that subjugate people. However, unlike colonization where one group exerts their will over another, technology is generally embraced willingly and freely by those who use it. As we build our digital universe we begin to function within technological perimeters and limit our potential for being human. Human being gives way to technological being.

I think the application here is obvious: Be careful in your embrace of technology because you may find it's hold on your to be highly constrictive. So put down your phone, close your laptop lid, shut down the tablet, take off the smartwatch and go for a walk, pick up a book, spend some time in contemplation and meditation. You will find yourself set free.