At the heart of all theological inquiry is the question [...] Moses asks of God, “Who are you?” And closely related to this query is the questioning of ourselves as theologians, “Who are we to do this task?” I do not presume to offer conclusive or exhaustive answers to these perplexing questions in this brief paper. However, I believe there are some methodological insights to be gleaned from the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), a twentieth century Swiss theologian, which can guide us as we consider these questions. I want to draw on two elements found in the work of Balthasar: first, the idea that the starting point, or first word, in theology is beauty, and second, that through participating in the dramatic action of God, we move toward friendship.
As we seek to foster theological education in the Vineyard, I believe these guidelines can help us nurture and cultivate the sacred space of theology while helping us guard against various pitfalls such as becoming too restrictive in our theological framework (reductionism) or being formed by the pressing issues of the day (domestication). When we begin with beauty and wonder, allowing the creative glory of God to attract and overwhelm us, theology becomes a sacred place of discovery, revelation, ongoing fascination, and ultimately, transformation. When we are careful to match our methodology to the nature of theology’s subject, a God who is characterised by dramatic engagement, we gravitate to educational settings and tools which emphasise encounter and foster a culture of mutual trust and collaboration. In other words, by doing theology we should become lovers of beauty, able to recognise the glory of God in its various forms, and we should become better friends, both of God and of each other.
