{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Sgwrs Tei Bow","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy","author_name":"Clarke Roberts","author_url":"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/author\/clarke-roberts\/","title":"Ordinary Theology - Taking It Seriously | Bow Tie Talks","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"94wDupGftE\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2015\/03\/18\/ordinary-theology-taking-it-seriously\/\">Diwinyddiaeth Gyffredin \u2013 Ei Chymryd o Ddifrif<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/cy\/2015\/03\/18\/ordinary-theology-taking-it-seriously\/embed\/#?secret=94wDupGftE\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Ordinary Theology &#8211; Taking It Seriously&#8221; &#8212; Bow Tie Talks\" data-secret=\"94wDupGftE\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.clarkeroberts.co.uk\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","description":"Theology; a word that confuses most. Even within academic circles, people aren&#8217;t really sure what theology is all about. Truth be told, there are a number of different ways to approach answering the question: &#8220;what is theology?&#8221; For most, it would suffice to say that it is an academic subject which focuses on the religious belief and ideas found within major religion, namely in this case, Christianity. But there&#8217;s a problem with this. Whilst it is entirely accurate to say that theology is an academic discipline (I should know, I have a degree and a Master&#8217;s on the way!), for those within the Christian faith it is so much more than this. People use theology to govern their lives, they use it to understand life&#8217;s great mysteries yet, in the midst of all the theologising done by ordinary people, it&#8217;s left to the academics to determine what is theologically &#8216;right&#8217; and &#8216;wrong&#8217;. This simply won&#8217;t do anymore. We live in a world where every aspect of our lives is governed by somebody higher up the pay scale than us. Can we really allow our faith to suffer the same? Theology, for the most part, has been conducted by the clergy or by people who have a long and complicated string of letters after their name. These people take the ideas that have been posited before them, attempt to make sense of them, and then offer their own thoughts and ideas as to how best apply them to today&#8217;s context; in some cases, it&#8217;s decided to scrap such ideas all together and pursue a new path of believing. What is seldom acknowledged, is how these new theologies and ways of thinking apply to those who make Christianity what it is; those people without whom, Christianity would not exist. People like the little old lady down the street who has attended the same church every Sunday for her whole life, or the man who spent his youth in a religious family and to this day maintains his Christian faith whilst working in a hotel restaurant. These people haven&#8217;t necessarily been to university, and if they have they probably didn&#8217;t study theology, yet when they sit in the pews on a Sunday morning they&#8217;re expected to listen and accept the theological musings of the man\/woman stood in front of them. How are they to make sense of the theological jargon spewed out by clergy and theologians alike? I&#8217;m guilty of this myself. Whenever I speak to my mother (no longer a believer but relevant to this story), I hit her with a fist full of Christology, attack her with theodicy and finish the job with a salvific kick to the chest. These words mean next to nothing for the ordinary believer, so why aren&#8217;t theologians and the clergy changing the way theology is done? There are a few theologians and academics who are attempting to solve this problem. Thanks to the likes of Jeff Astley, Leslie Francis and Ann Christie who have awarded [&hellip;]"}