The Tediousness of Theology

                                                   The Tediousness of Theology

                                                    By Dr. Juan A. Carmona



One the many things that we human beings experience in one way or the other, or at one time or the other is boredom.  We become bored with the routine of things.  We also, from time to time, become bored with our relationships with other people.  We desire and with for something new.  We think that there is excitement in novelty.  But then the novelty becomes old and we end up wanting something in place of the novelty.

There appears to be no end to the vicious cycle of novelty and boredom.  We read books and other literature that we think are exciting and stimulating, but then we experience the syndrome of tediousness when we encounter so much material to absorb and consume.  Sometimes we experience mental bloating, and I would dare to add, intellectual constipation.

Someone once asked my wife,¨Don´t you find Juan tedious sometimes?¨  To this day, I don´t know and do not even care to know what my wife´s response was to that person.  The fact remains that this person thought of me as tedious, and somewhat boring.  Well, believe it or not, I get bored with myself from time to time and long for novelty.  But as soon as the novelty wears off, I go back to my ¨tedious¨ routine.

An example of this is, when I was a boy of five, I had a slipper which I carried in my hand, pretending that it was a train.  I would go around the house, making noises and making imaginary train stops. My parents bought me an electric train which I enjoyed for perhaps two days, seeing it move around the tracks.  But after the second day, it became boring and I went back to the routine of the slipper.

Since my mid-teenage years, I have obsessed with theology and with theological issues.  Whenever I acquired on a certain issue of Scripture and/or theology, I thought that I had reached the apex of theological knowledge and thought that I was an ¨expert.¨  I would debate with friends and associates in the church.  Sometimes the debate or dialogue would entice other people to join the conversation, and at other times, it would alienate people from me.

Because my wife is my biggest cheerleader, we often talk about theological concerns and issues.  She has a keen and very open mind, and likes to ponder on these things.  We ¨kick¨ issues back and forth.  But then I sense that she finds the discussion heading in the direction of tediousness, and then we change the topic of discussion.  We then begin to talk about family, friends, and social issues.

How do we solve the tediousness of theology (God-talk)?  Do we discard it altogether?  Do we relegate it to secondary status among other topics?  Do we shelve it for another occasion?

As a person with an inquisitive mind, and who suffers from the syndrome of ¨the need to know,¨ I would not advocate or promote dropping the subject altogether.  Neither would I advocate for making it of secondary concern.  Theology (God-talk) is my passion.

I am more inclined to integrate theology with life.  In other words, I always pose the question, ¨what, if anything, does God have to do with this?"  If some day you wish to join me in theological chit-chat, I would be most happy and grateful.  Let´s talk about God.  What do you say?

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Juan A. Carmona