The Collected Life & Sayings of Dwight the #theologycat, Part II
My #theologycat Dwight shares his wisdom.
Gentle reader,
What follows is a largely complete account of Dwight's #CATechesis from the date of his last Church Blogmatics collection to the present.
Dwight is reveling in God’s providential sustenance of all creation, & he invites you to notice how God will sustain you today.
Dwight’s color pattern, which is slowly coming in, is called “blue point.” He thinks this is an example of seeing with the eyes of faith, because it looks gray to him.
Tucked in the blanket basket, Dwight is thinking about mother hen Jesus longing to gather his chicks under his wings (Matt 23:37).
Dwight has thoughts on how to read theology well. Today’s lesson: don’t impute things to the author they didn’t actually say.
Dwight interrupts his regularly scheduled week to note his family’s joy that the cat that was lost has now been found! He was asleep in the coffee table. For 6 hours.
Dwight is pleased to announce the 2nd ed. of Practicing Christian Doctrine has been submitted to the publisher.
Dwight's breed carries a mutation that causes color changes in relation to body temp. If we understand it right, his color will keep changing & deepening for a year or so, the darker areas marking coolness. Bodies are pretty neat.
Dwight reminds us that things often get better if we eat something & get some sleep. An angel had to remind Elijah (1 Kings 19), but Dwight is happy to be the cat to remind us. He’s always up for a catnap and a snack himself.
Dwight is getting bigger, but, remember, he’s at least half fluff. This is true of many theologians.
Dwight heard that domestic cats are now considered an "invasive alien species." He invites you to consider the theological implications of your own invasiveness.
From his favorite not so secret lair, Dwight is quoting Psalm 139; “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”
Dwight is quoting Sarah Coakley; "prayer provides the context in which silence in the Spirit expands the potential to respond to the realm of the Word, and reason too is stretched and changed beyond its normal, secular reach." Dwight isn't reasonable, but he is a prayer.
Warning from Dwight: we're in a CATechetical crisis! 73% of those surveyed think Jesus is a created being.
Dwight is quoting Charles Wesley;
"Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heav’n, to earth come down, fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art. Visit us with thy salvation; enter ev'ry trembling heart."
Though the dog pretends resolutely that Dwight doesn’t exist, he does exist, as does his love for that dog. This is an analogy for spiritual things.
Dwight is considering the enormous weight of sin & the gracious loving mercy of a God who would redeem it all.
Dwight is quoting Margaret Atwood; “She said you could believe in Gilead or you could believe in God, but not both.”
Dwight knows that God is good & assures you God is not the author of suffering.
Dwight is quoting Lamin Sanneh;
“It is important not to see missionaries as leaving such deep footprints that converts had little to do except trace them.”
Dwight is thinking about Francis of Assisi stripping down to his birthday suit & “returning” his clothes to dad.
Dwight, with his flock, watching through the night. Dwight, a fluffy lion, purring & terrible to behold. Dwight, an ensign of the peaceable kingdom.
Dwight is quoting Sanneh again today; “any foreign culture is native to Christians and any motherland is foreign.”
Dwight is singing Psalm 121
“He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
While Dwight is well aware that the doctrine of scripture as the norming norm is no magic bullet, he still believes it’s the best way through the theological woods. He’s suspicious of bullets anyway, but he likes walks through the woods.
Dwight is running through the house at top speed, thinking about the great cloud of witnesses & running the race with perseverance. He is hard to photograph running though, so here he is being held like a baby.
Dwight is quoting Mrs. Whatsit; “Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.”
Dwight got to hang out with these friends of 20+ years today;
“If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” Ecc 4:10.
Dwight knows that Christians are, indeed, monotheists; it’s just that we’re trinitarians first. The doctrine of God is rather surprising.
Dwight suggests a lot of bad theology is marked by a bizarre naïveté about the God/world difference & the analogical nature of God language.
Today, Dwight is sharing this excellent theology of work from a fellow #theologycat
When a mouse darts from its den O how glad is Pangur then! O what gladness do I prove When I solve the doubts I love!
So in peace our tasks we ply, Pangur Bán, my cat, and I: In our arts we find our bliss, I have mine and he has his.
Practice everyday has made Pangur perfect in his trade; I get wisdom day and night Turning darkness into light.
Dwight knows the first limit for every analogy for the divine rests in the Creator/creature distinction.
Dwight is doing a neat trick where he lies on his back and stomach at the same time. Isn’t creation good?
Dwight knows that to pray to lift one’s heart up to the Lord is to invoke a mighty power.
Dwight is contemplating the goodness of God and also the possibilities of pouncing on his canine companion.
Last night Dwight managed to consume half a tray of cookie dough. Thank God he managed to avoid chocolate poisoning. Tasty, tasty things can kill you. That might be a theological point, but Dwight does not want to face it head on.
“Praise the Lord from the earth,
You sea monsters and all deeps,
Fire & hail, snow & frost,
Stormy wind fulfilling his command” Ps 148:7-8
Dwight’s first snow. If sea monsters can give praise, so can winter.
Dwight thinks using the word "sola" for 4 or 5 different things at once is a super audacious and fun rhetorical move for describing a theological platform. #solapurring #solacatnaps #solapouncing #soladeogloria #theologycat #catechesis
No cat water for Dwight; he wants dog water! And a bite of dog food to prove he belongs. This all reminds him of the grafting in of the Gentiles & the blessed fact that we are "no longer strangers and aliens, but...citizens... & members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19).
Ready for the first Sunday of Advent. Dwight has no idea what’s coming. That's a parable.
For #Advent Dwight is pondering Luther’s triple advent of Christ.
1 the manger
2 in glory
3 in our hearts
Dwight thinks he’s perfectly hidden, but Cranmer knows to pray, “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.”
Follow Dwight's day to day catechesis on my facebook, twitter, or instagram feeds. Dwight merch is available at my Redbubble store. This post contains associate links, through which I receive a small payment, should you choose to click and make a purchase. Thanks for enjoying Dwight with me!
Grace & peace,
BFJ
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