Open Source Theology

Open Source Theology is mentioned in an article by Eric Krangel at newassignment.net along with a number of other open source religions. I think we just about get differentiated from Yoism, The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn, and Discordianism.

There is a lengthy and largely hostile discussion of Open Source Theology and the theological aberrations of some its contributors taking place at Grace-Centred Forums. I was tempted as I read to point out that the opinions expressed sometimes fell short of the site’s name, but fortunately someone has already done that for me. Anyway, I’m sure they have some legitimate gripes.

This thread seems to be circling around some very important issues of first principles in the formation of Christian communities. I’d like to sketch out what I see to be these first principles.

There’s an article about open source religion and Open Source Theology by Tina Gasperson on NewsForge here.

Hi all,

I’m new to all of this, so please forgive me if I say anything untoward.  I’ve just read your ‘rules of engagement’, and I’m a bit puzzled by the sentence that ‘Biblical and theological scholarship will have to subordinate itself to the missiological imperative’.

My problems’ this: If we do subordinate everything to this imperative, then I think we end up with an unending loop that makes it impossible to understand who we are or what mission is.

If theology is the intellectual expression of the community, and if theology is subordinate to mission, then the community is subordinate to mission. But then, if mission is about bringing people into the community, that would mean that everything in the community is subordinate to bringing people into the community.

Human beings could be just a fluke of nature. Like the dinosaurs and just like all things on this planet. They come into being and then dissolve. Religion comes out of a high density of people trying to answer questions that are not answerable. Why are we here? What is the point of life? What happens when we die?  These are very unsettling questions. All kinds of civilizations have come up with answers to these: Greek Mythology, Egyptians, Native Americans, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Indigenous people before they get imperialized, Hindus, and Buddhists. If all these people have come up with different answers to these very questions then it is proof that religion is invented. Where would all these answers come from if it was not invented? A specific religion can put to rest where they came from simply by saying they came from God. Can we really trust the word of people 2,000 years ago? Not to say these people are not trustworthy, but instead that we just do not know what happened back then. Parts of stories get left out. History books are written by victors. Things happen.

I’m sure people will be interested to hear that Open Source Theology has been given a Hall of Shame award by Ingrid Schlueter on her ‘Slice of Laodicea’ blog. It looks like I’m going to have to take much of the credit for this honour:

Any source will do. Truth is contextual. There are no fixed standards. Don’t like hell or think it’s relevant anymore? Redefine it. Reimagine it. Discard it. This website does more to show where emergent is headed than most I’ve seen lately.

The work, A Brief History of Time, is an original work. It is significant because it reveals a direct connection between Genesis and the book of Revelation. It is significant because it reconciles all discrepancies found in a chronological reading of Genesis I, and it is significant because it reconciles some apparent impossibility found in the remainder of Holy Scripture. It does this through a simple understanding of the text with a consistent, systematic understanding for the meaning of key terms. There are three reasons and a premise that give this work a very weighty position regarding Truth\God’s Holy Word.  

(I feel that Paula’s penguins deserve a home of their own because they have to do with how discussions on this site are structured rather than with the general question of what a renewed theology looks like - Andrew.)

What if the posts were just a bit more organized. For example:

Penguins can fly

Andrew says: Penguins can fly because:

1 (p) They have wings.

2 (p) something else very clever about flying penquins