Strap Yourself to a Tree With Roots

Jim West writes:

Well it seems to me that too many theological students don't have roots in anything. They are, to paraphrase James, without anchor, tossed by every wind of thought that blows off the sea of confusion. Anchored in nothing they toy with everything until they are so confounded that they despair and abandon their studies. I would urge them, and their professors, to find a theologian to "model" and learn that theologians position inside out. Then you can diverge from them when you feel you need to. Until you have a center, you have no periphery.

I couldn't agree more. I think this is very true of many disciplines and fields, not just theology. Finding a role model in your field that resonates with you will definitely help ground yourself while you try and find your own voice. I have done so (without perhaps fully realising what I was doing) in both general religious studies and theology with Mircea Eliade and Rabbi AJ Heschel (The latter's influence being fairly obvious to anyone who reads this blog with any regularity). I see a parallel in Bob Dylan, who in the beginning of his career modeled himself on Woody Guthrie, whose work had resonated with the young Dylan. Once Dylan had established himself as a musician he began exploring the field and finding his own unique voice.


Topic: theology, Bob Dylan, Heschel.