Chapters 2 reading

Contextual Theology: Interesting concepts regarding how we view our worldview in light of other worldviews. How we view others and others life situations always comes with biases and re-appropriation of how we understand someone else's contexts. I think I realized that we need to be patient with others and be good listeners as we engage all people who are basically not our family.

Theology and Popular Culture/ Chapter 3 of Barker:
These chapters both really reflected the beginnings and than post-meanings of cultural theory. I love that we engage with meanings and purposes of what we do in cultural theory. I love that everything comes back to these concepts and that we all have different meanings associated with our experiences. I think this can help tolerance not just culturally but also expand religious tolerance. I think with cultural theory we come to a healthier theology but I believe that contexts with Beavins in contextual theology when we need to see life as wither redemptive or sinful. For me I will pick redemptive, otherwise what's the point? I struggle still with Cobb a bit. I think he is clear in his relating to cultural thoughts and theology but I struggled with one of his later points that theologians were the only ones to be able to see and articulate clearly the meaning of culture. I struggle because there are only a handful of theologians doing the work....On to next week to see his point but it is turning me off.....

Chapter 4 Barker:
I really enjoyed this chapter because it gave me very simple definitions to Philosophical interpretations of culture. I have been wrestling with Derrida and Focault and how I place meaning and how to understanding of that meaning for sometime now. I think these are not the easiest thinkers to wrestle with but undeniably valuable and very important.

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