Theology wasn't always about books. In an earlier post I gave a very brief summary of an unexplored avenue in historical theology: genres of theological writing. Those who think books are essential to theology should remember that the academic essay - a 200+ page book with footnotes and technical terms - has replaced the sermon or the biblical commentary as the primary vehicle for theological work since the Enlightenment.
The earliest theological texts were something different from today's theology books. Just look at the first chapter of Anselm's Why God Became Human?, which seems to suggest that the text is a transcription of a conversation for the sake of those who have questions about the faith and couldn't meet and talk with Anselm directly (although this certainly may be a literary device). Most scholars today say that Aquinas's Summa Theologiae wasn't meant to be a theological encyclopedia but instead a teaching guide, something like a plan for a curriculum, that reflected a context where theology was done to address thorny questions that consistently arose from scripture.
Blogs have certain theological and pastoral advantages to books. The format of blogging offers quick commentary on current events (often within minutes of something) and also encourages back-and-forth conversation in a way that is completely impossible with books. In addition, due to the restraints of blogging as a genre, theologians are forced to write without technical terms and to boil down prose to simple snippets. Consider that theology written in blogs has a wider potential readership than most theology books right from the start, and can be a great way for Pastors to do a little faith seeking understanding with the computer-savvy people in their congregations.
Finally, consider that the best theologians writing today know that theology isn't just about ideas, but also about communication - the recent NT Wright conference made me think about this when everyone praised Wright's ability to write and communicate well on both academic and popular levels. Karl Barth and Bernard Lonergan especially among 20th century theologians argued that the task of theology involves learning to be a good communicator. (Barth describes this with the term "practical theology," Lonergan with his idea of the functional specialty of "communications").
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I like the democratization that happens in theological blogging. Accessibility is the central feature of blogs as a medium; anybody can write one, so everyone with internet access can be a part of the peer review. I think you're right that the medium itself pushes writers to envision a broader spectrum of readers, but I wonder if the overwhelming number of blogs actually has the opposite effect in reality: hyper-specialized writers and readership. When very little writing is available, people are happy for any treatment of a topic, but when the quantity of writing (good and bad) is as immense as it is in the blogosphere, people veer toward a very thin, specialized slice of what is available simply to avoid being overwhelmed with information and ideas.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, Craig. I had a prof. say the same thing when I talked to him about a proto-version of this post.
ReplyDeleteOne valuable thing about books is that they take up real space. Books by NT Wright and John Piper sit near each other in the same section at Barnes and Noble, at least giving the possibility that a person from one perspective might leaf through a book from another perspective. I think a major set of ideas missing from my post here is the role of book publishing and how publishing works. Theology publishers tend to focus on particular perspectives (Brazos and Wipf & Stock are more into mennonite/radical perspectives, Fortress Press does the Moltmann, Bonhoeffer and contextual theology stuff, etc). Yet it seems that it's harder to screen a book on a shelf to ascertain whether or not it's "conservative" or "liberal" than a blog. The length and difficulty of some theology books can actually be what "sneaks" people from one perspective into another.
More to think about....