Out of context theology (A contest)

February 10, 2008 · 51 comments

Although taking things out of context is a logical fallacy and generally a bad idea, there's no doubt that it can be funny. In the realm of theology, things can get particularly amusing.

Take, for example, the following quote from page 116 of James K.A. Smith's Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church (Baker Academic, 2006):

"The church would do well by learning to ride whales."

Here's the deal. Look through whatever Christian/theological/philosophical books you have (excluding the Bible), and find a quote that looks ludicrous out of context. Post the quote in the comments; you can post as many as you like. Whomever posts the quote I think is funniest will receive a copy of Tony Jones' The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier when it comes out in March.

There is but one rule: Quotations must be single sentences or paragraphs in their entirety, with no ellipses. For example, although the author surely uses all three of the following words, the quote "I... hate... Jesus Christ" won't work in this exercise. Unaltered sentences as found in the original text only, please.

Have at it!

UPDATE: The contents ends Monday, February 25 at 12:00pm CST. A winner will be announced/contacted shortly thereafter.

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  • http://www.fuzzyorthodoxy.com J Mac

    Whilst this is not in print, I thought it was hilarious. The previous principle of a Bible College in England once said, during a lesson centred around the robbers at either side of Jesus during the crucifixion, more specifically talking about whether or not the one who asked for forgiveness got it, and exploring some of the implications that arose out of that peice of scripture he said to one student who kept making ridiculous comments “You Can’t bade your entire soteriological theology around one man dying on a cross.” The classroom errupted!