I Could Also Do Some Yardwork...*

So I'm stalling. I'm supposed to be translating a bunch of theological texts from German to English in preparation for a test and I'm thinking I should really write a post for my blog.

German to English. It's not a labor I particularly think is fruitful. It isn't the "Why do I have to read a bunch of old dead white guys?" argument. I value the contributions of a lot of dead white people. But a.) everything that I have to translate is already available in my native tongue and b.) most Christians are no longer European or tied to the Western philosophical traditions that frame Enlightenment Colonial Christianity (in that regard Barth is an old dead white guy that is very valuable).

Okay so I understand there is a value to my being able to do it. That's fine. And I am not one of those who thinks there's an inherent value to not doing things the way they've been done before or simply because someone is a straight white Christian male they have nothing valuable to say, but things are changing. The average Christian is a deeper shade of brown, poor and does not necessarily use a Western lens to interpret scripture and traditions or equate Euro-American hegemony with Christianity. This isn't necessarily what is being demanded when one is expected to be competent in English, German, and French (it may be, but it isn't necessarily so), but the time is coming when it will be a quaint affectation to quote Luther, Calvin or other state church apologists. Anyway, I'm just wasting time. I have more important things to do and this is just my way of procrastinating (from the Latin pro, meaning for, and cras meaning tomorrow).

In any case, perhaps after the final act of the Great Islamo-Christian War, the remnant of the Church that is left will not be as tied to the Enlightenment model of Christianity. Won't that be nice?

You know, I think I'll ponder that idea a bit more later.

*This headline is a very good joke.