Scattered Thoughts

If you have never seen the show Man vs. Wild, you are missing out. It is on the Discovery chanel but will be released on DVD soon. This is one of those shows that took me by surprise, mostly because I never watch the discovery chanel and am not a huge fan of nature shows. The show features Bear Grylls, reknowned mountain climber and author, who intentionally gets himself stranded in places where other people often get stranded or die, and he then shows what he would do to try and survive. It sounds lame, but there is something strangely enticing about the main character, there is a humility or genuiness that makes you stick around and draws you in. Anyway, after months of discussing, my wife and I finally agreed we should learn more about Bear. On the Discovery chanel site, they ask him to list the ten books he would want on a dessert island, here are 3-6 of his list:
3. What's So Amazing About Grace?, by Philip Yancey

4. Messy Spirituality, by Mike Yaconelli

5. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom

6. The Cross and the Switchblade, by David Wilkerson

The whole list is interesting, and if anyone is qualified to answer this question its Bear, but it lead me to a larger question, "Why read theology on a deserted Island?" Certainly there is a very clear, undeniable reality to theology who is God. God names and shapes theology, otherwise theology is useless. There is however another point, namely that theology is always for something. Theology never stands on its own, in isolation. Theology exists for the people of God, as a means of naming our experiences with God. I really like all the books Bear puts on his list, but if I am on a desert island I wonder if Messy Spirituality is a big need for me. The very thing that makes "spirituality" messy is missing- other people. Likewise the absence of others changes radically what grace is. Grace is amazing specifically because it is not grace in a vacuum. As one of my professors was fond of say, "Theology that is absrtacted and objectifies God, is no better than pornography."

On an entirely different note, Josh made a play in his t-ball game that I have never witnessed in a t-ball game before. He caught a line drive and then doubled the runner off of first. Then he went into this sort of happy, arm flailing, excited dance after. Lots of fun, it was really amazing. Even more amazing, from the time the ball left the bat, I was sure Josh was going to catch it. He really is getting to be that good.