Pub Theology by Bryan Berghoef

Author:Bryan Berghoef [Berghoef, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781621893585
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2014-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

2. Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God, 23.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. 1 John 4:7

6. Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal, 73.

7. Wills, Saint Augustine, 9.

8. Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God, 18.

9. Gulley, The Evolution of Faith, 33.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid., 35.

13. Ibid..

14. Ibid., 35–36.

15. Ibid., 80.

16. Ibid., 81.

10

Found and Lost

Reflections on the Spiritual Merits of Losing Your Way

All journeys have secret destinations

of which the traveler is unaware.

—Martin Buber, The Life of the Hasidim Said

The world is a book,

and those who do not travel read only a page.

—Saint Augustine

Unless we change the direction we are headed in,

we might end up where we are going.

—Chinese Proverb

I recently traveled to a relatively large city that I was unfamiliar with: Belfast, in Northern Ireland. I had never been there before, so I watched a Rick Steve’s video on the region, perused a guidebook or two, and picked up a map of the city at the airport. All the usual things one does when entering unfamiliar terrain.

My first instinct was to chart out a plan for what to see in the city. So I made a list in my head. First stop: a used bookstore near Queen’s University, which was a gem of a place—old dusty books, some on shelves, some scattered haphazardly; dirty, marked-up tables with melted candles on them serving as both cafe and reading area. I nearly picked up an old Paul Tillich volume, but it proved to be out of my budget, not to mention a bit hefty to lug around the city, so I settled on a paperback for three pounds—Violence, by Slavoj Zizék.

Next I wandered over to the University to sit in on a class. Somehow I ended up in a lecture for Accounting 101 rather than “Irish Culture in Art and Image” (so much for planning!). Fortunately Zizék got me through the class. Then I stopped in at a pub for some food and my first Guinness in Ireland, as recommended by the guidebook. Great stuff. So far so good. All according to plan (mostly).

The next day I decided to do it a little differently. I left the guidebook in the hotel room. I refused to consult the map. I stepped out the door onto the street, and amidst the busyness of taxis, buses, and pedestrians, acted like I knew where I was going. I had no idea. I just walked. And walked. And walked. And as I walked, with no real destination in mind, I began to notice the shops, the pubs, the people. I saw several old churches. City hall. Turned up an alleyway. More shops. Should I keep going this way? I have no idea where I am. Yet as I was getting more and more “lost,” I felt a profound excitement —this was new territory, there were places to discover, and I felt as though on the edge of discovery. This was a journey. This was living. Planned is certainly OK, but the unknown somehow allures.

Is this not true in relationships? The relation to the other, says John Caputo, is “bracing but risky business.

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