I want to invite you on a 13 week journey this September, October, and November.

It is part book club, part theology class, and part crowdsource experiment.

Six years ago I developed the ABC’s of Theology and it got a great response. I have had fun teaching it several times and even re-blogging it once since then. I have recently modified it and would love to invite you to engage these topics with me in a live real-time dialogue through the 26 units.

You don’t need a theology degree – or any degree- to be a part of this. My hope is that anyone who is interested in such things can join in and that I will break down any lofty concepts into digestible bites.

So here is the basic idea:

  • For each letter of the alphabet I have picked 2 or 3 concepts that form a complimenting and contrasting lesson that opens up a dialogue about some core-concepts in contemporary theology.
  • Each week will cover 2 letters so that we make it through the whole alphabet in 13 weeks.
  • I will email you the PDFs a week ahead of time so that you can prepare.
  • I will make an intro video to each letter (and topic) to invite wider conversation.
  • Those who are available will meet for one hour a week via zoom and give a lively 30 minutes discussion to each letter. Email reflections will also be integrated.
  • I will take that conversation and modify the PDF accordingly.
  • At the end of the 13 weeks, the 26 PDFs will be assembled as an eBook that you will receive for free.

Why ‘Modified’ Theology? We live in amazing time when everything is being tweaked, updated, renovated, remixed, sampled, customized, and retro-fitted. Theology is no different. The last 50 years have seen a wonderful growth in modified theologies: Feminist, Liberation, Black, Contextual, Postmodern, Latin American, Indigenous, Womanist, Asian, African, Reformed, Neo-Orthodox, Radical, Radical Orthodox, Queer and every imaginable combination.

What used to be called ‘normal’ theology is now required to be modified as well. What used to be called regular theology, is now European, or White, or Classical, or Patristic, or Traditional, or Western, or Enlightenment, or American, or Fundamentalist, or any number of helpful clarifications.

Every theology is a modified theology. We never start in a vacuum and we never start with a blank slate. There is a givenness to theological reflection because it comes to us as a gift.

Ours will be doubly modified. I will modify the original PDF to reflect what I have learned in the past 4 years and it will be modified again after our zoom & email conversations.

The Schedule:

Sept 3 – A & B

Sept 10 – C & D

Sept 17 – E &F

Sept 24 – G & H

Oct 1 – I & J

Oct 8 – K & L

Oct 15 – M & N

Oct 22 – O & P

Oct 29 – Q & R

Nov 5 – S & T

Nov 12 – U &V

Nov 19 – W &X

Nov 26 – Y & Z

Topics (and sub-topics) :

A is for Atonement (also Adiaphora and Apophatic)

B is for Baptism (and the Body) more than a metaphor

C is for Christology  (and Constructive Theology )

D is for Deconstruction  (and Death of God)

E is for Empire (and Evangelical)

F is for Fideism (and Feminist)

G is for Genre (and Globalization)

H is for Hermeneutics (also Heaven and Hell)

I is for Infallible, Inerrant, & Inspired

J is for Justification (and Justice)

K is for Kenosis (and the Kingdom)

L is for Liberation (and Logos)

M is for Metaphor (and Metaphysics)

N is for Neoplatonism (and Narrative)

O is for Open & Relational (and Orthodox)

P is for Perichoresis (and Post-Colonial)

Q is for Quest for the Historical Jesus (and Queer Theology)

R is for Revelation (and words that begin with ‘Re’)

S is for Salvation (and Second Naivete)

T is for Theopoetics (and Technology)

U is for Universalism (and Ultimate Concern)

V is for Vatican II (and Voluntarism)

W is for the Word of God (and the Wesleyan Quad)

X is for X-ray (and Xenophobia)

Y is for Y2K (and Youth Ministry)

Z is for Zebra (and Zionism)

How To Get Involved: You can either email anEverydayTheology@gmail.com or let me know on the Public Theology FB page that you want to be a part of it and you are in.

Now – If you can give $13 dollars – $1 for each week  or $26 – one for each letter of the alphabet or whatever you can do, that would be great.  If not, don’t worry about it – I want everyone who is interested to be involved in this conversation.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BoSanders

Paypal: paypal.me/BoCSanders

Venmo: www.venmo.com/Bo-Sanders-4

Please comment below or email with any questions or clarifications that are needed.
I hope that you will consider coming on this journey with me.

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