Introducing the “Cancer & Theology” guest blog series

It didn't take long from hearing the doctor utter the word "lymphoma" for me to begin reflecting on my cancer theologically — I doubt it takes any cancer patient long, Christian or otherwise. I hold the belief that all of life is one big theological exercise, that our minute-to-minute actions betray a comprehensive and operative theological framework at work either consciously or unconsciously. That we are inherently theological beings suggests that any life crisis — small, medium, or large — equates to a theological crisis.

Now, there's a reason that my Twitter bio says "amateur theologian," and it's not false modesty. Knowing how to swim does not by definition make someone a great swimmer. Rather, becoming a great swimmer takes years of practice, discipline, motivation, apprenticeships and mentorships, etc. And so it is with theology — we're all theologians, but the greatest theologians among us are defined by the same aforementioned qualities.

Which is why I've asked some of the greatest theologians I know to participate as guest bloggers in a new series here on JakeBouma.com straightforwardly titled Cancer & Theology.

The Objectives

The guest bloggers I have assembled (listed below) will be doing what Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke call deliberative theology or deliberative theological reflection. In their book How To Think Theologically , Stone and Duke define deliberative theology thusly:

"Deliberative theology is the understanding of faith that emerges from a process of carefully reflecting upon embedded theological convictions. This sort of reflection is sometimes called second-order theology, in that it follows upon and looks back over the implicit understandings embedded in the life of faith."1

I've specifically requested that the guest bloggers not reflect on my personal experience with cancer, but rather on cancer generally speaking, as a common human (and therefore religious) phenomenon. Should they choose, I've provided them with prompts such as "What is the relationship between cancer and God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?" and "How is God present during the 'process' of cancer (sickness to diagnosis to treatment to recovery)?" and "Can/does God work through medical technology and advances in medicine in general?" These and other questions will be considered by the guest bloggers below over the course of the next several months. This is the first and primary objective.

The second objective of the Cancer & Theology series is to look at what Stone and Duke call embedded theology or first-order theology and examine how embedded theologies relate to individuals' responses to cancer and the people who have it. Think of embedded theology is the theology that we carry with us in our subconscious, or the theology that has not yet been critically examined.

Because it has not been critically examined, embedded theology can reveal itself as immature and even offensive at times. Embedded theology is what leads people to say such things as "When God closes a door, he opens up a window!" and "God doesn't give you anything you can't handle!" In the face of darkness, there is a felt need to fill the cavernous void with the light of theological truth, and so folks pitch out what they know — often and unfortunately the weak, flickering light of embedded theological clichés and platitudes.

Because what do you say when someone tells you he or she has cancer?

The great Stanley Hauerwas says of suffering that it "makes peoples' otherness stand out in strong relief."2 Part of what makes it so easy for folks to offer up theological platitudes is that it (paradoxically) both increases and decreases our relational distance to the other, in this case the cancer patient. It decreases distance by making a sincere attempt to impart a word of grace to the patient. It increases distance by using the platitude as a means of hastily moving beyond the patient's real experience.

So: I have asked the guest bloggers to provide original one- or two-line alternatives to embedded theological platitudes that walk the thin line between the two — increasing and decreasing the distance between the patient — and that are evident of rich, deliberative theological reflection.

This series exists as much for me as it does for you; I hope we're all stretched in new and imaginative ways in how to think theologically about cancer (and, by extension, other illnesses) and those who have it. I'm beyond excited to discover what the guest bloggers below have to contribute.

The Guest Bloggers

I've done my best to pull together an assortment of adroit voices to contribute to this series. At the time of this posting, the folks who will be lending their theological wisdom include, in no particular order:

Brian D. McLaren ( @brianmclaren ): Brian is an author, speaker, activist, blogger , and public theologian who in 2005 was named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals . He has written a number of books, most recently Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words , and one of which books pretty much changed my life.

( ): Brian is an author, speaker, activist, , and public theologian who in 2005 was named one of . He has written a number of books, most recently , and one of which books pretty much changed my life. Mike Stavlund ( @MikeStavlund ): Mike is a writer, blogger , and semi-pro handyman who is part of an innovative emergence Christian community called Common Table . His first book, Force of Will will be published in the spring of 2013. He's also primarily responsible for the huge Jesus tattoo on my forearm.

( ): Mike is a writer, , and semi-pro handyman who is part of an innovative emergence Christian community called . His first book, Force of Will will be published in the spring of 2013. He's also primarily responsible for the huge Jesus tattoo on my forearm. Martin E. Marty : Martin is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he taught for 35 years and where the Martin Marty Center has since been founded to promote “public religion” endeavors. He writes the “M.E.M.O” column for the Christian Century, on whose staff he has served since 1956. He is also the editor of the fortnightly Context since 1969, and has written over fifty books, most recently Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Letters and Papers from Prison": A Biography .

: Martin is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he taught for 35 years and where the has since been founded to promote “public religion” endeavors. He writes the “M.E.M.O” column for the Christian Century, on whose staff he has served since 1956. He is also the editor of the fortnightly Context since 1969, and has written over fifty books, most recently . Abigail Rian Evans : Abigail is scholar-in-residence at the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center and Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Practical Theology Emerita at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her most recent book is Is God Still at the Bedside?: The Medical, Ethical, and Pastoral Issues of Death and Dying .

: Abigail is scholar-in-residence at the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center and Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Practical Theology Emerita at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her most recent book is . Greg Garrett : Greg is an award-winning Professor of English at Baylor University, Writer-in-Residence at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales, and a licensed lay preacher based at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas. He has written over a dozen critically-acclaimed books of fiction, memoir, translation, and criticism, including Stories from the Edge: A Theology of Grief .

: Greg is an award-winning Professor of English at Baylor University, Writer-in-Residence at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales, and a licensed lay preacher based at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas. He has written over a dozen critically-acclaimed books of fiction, memoir, translation, and criticism, including . Matthew Paul Turner ( @JesusNeedsNewPR ): Matthew is a popular blogger , speaker, and author of several books including Churched: One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess .

( ): Matthew is a popular , speaker, and author of several books including . David Fitch ( @fitchest ): David is a bi-vocational pastor at Life on the Vine and the B.R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He blogs at Reclaiming the Mission and has written several books, including The Great Giveaway: Reclaiming the Mission of the Church from Big Business, Parachurch Organizations, Psychotherapy, Consumer Capitalism, and Other Modern Maladies .

( ): David is a bi-vocational pastor at and the B.R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He blogs at and has written several books, including . Tony Jones ( @jonestony ): Tony is theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis and an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and at Andover Newton Theological School. He's an ardent blogger who has written many books, most recently The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement .

( ): Tony is theologian-in-residence at in Minneapolis and an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and at Andover Newton Theological School. He's an ardent who has written many books, most recently . Carol Howard Merritt ( @CarolHoward ): Carol is a pastor at Western Presbyterian Church, an intergenerational congregation in Washington, D.C. She writes for the Huffington Post and for Christian Century's Tribal Church blog and

has written several books, including Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation .

( ): Carol is a pastor at Western Presbyterian Church, an intergenerational congregation in Washington, D.C. She writes for the and for Christian Century's blog and has written several books, including . Andrew Root ( @RootAndrew ): Andy is in the Olson Baalson chair as associate professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He has written several books, including The Promise of Despair: The Way of the Cross as the Way of the Church (about which I raved ) and most recently The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry (with Kenda Creasy Dean).

( ): Andy is in the Olson Baalson chair as associate professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He has written several books, including (about which I ) and most recently (with Kenda Creasy Dean). Paul Amlin ( @p_amlin ): Paul is a former lay youth worker and currently serves as a pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Marion, IA. He is a survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma.

( ): Paul is a former lay youth worker and currently serves as a pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Marion, IA. He is a survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma. Nate Frambach ( @nframbach ): Nate is an ordained minister in the ELCA and is Professor of Youth, Culture & Mission at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He and is the author of Emerging Ministry: Being Church Today and a contributor to The Hyphenateds: How Emergence Christianity is Re-Traditioning Mainline Practices .

( ): Nate is an ordained minister in the ELCA and is Professor of Youth, Culture & Mission at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He and is the author of and a contributor to . Adam Walker Cleaveland ( @adamwc ): Adam is an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland, OR. He has been blogging at Pomomusings since August 2003 and is a contributor to the book An Emergent Manifesto of Hope .

The Schedule

Starting one week from today there will be a new post in the series, and the series will continue each subsequent Monday until the list of guest bloggers is exhausted — well into June.

Cancer and Theology kicks off next Monday, March 19 with a post from Tony Jones.

Finally, as a bonus, here's a embarrassing photo of Tony and I from 2005 — Embarrassing not because of Tony, but because of my garish goatee and non-ironic Latin t-shirt.