What a great name for a place to hold a Theology Pub in downtown Toronto!
My buddy, Triple D (aka Dr. Darryl Dash - though he'd rarely, if ever, use the title) was the instigator for the Theology Pub Toronto. Here's the motivation for his instigation;
Here’s what I’d love to find: a group of people who get together and:
Eat. There has to be food. Something happens when you turn to others around a table and eat steak and kidney pie or whatever, and lift a glass together. The whole experience becomes relational.
Discuss theology. I am tired of pragmatism. We need to get practical but we can’t start there. We can’t just emote, neither can we only talk how-to’s. Ideas have the power to change the world. I love sitting together with others who are not just wrestling with what to do but who are talking about what to think, who are dipping into some of the best thinkers of the past, and who believe the good stuff is found at the theological, not the methodological, level.
Are open but orthodox. Some of my best interactions have been when people from different backgrounds and beliefs are thrown together. Some groups I’m part of are too insular. I want a group that is orthodox but in which we benefit from those who think differently. In other words, it has to be a group in which we talk about our differences honestly but without getting all polemical.
Care about mission. If people like Christopher Wright are right (and I think they are) and mission is the basis of the entire Bible, then good theology will propel us into mission. We should become a group of people who are changing the world around us. [All emphasis and links are from Darryl's original.]
Imbi, Liam and I have thoroughly enjoyed all the Theo Pubs we've attended and we look forward to the next one on November 22nd @ The Bishop and Belcher at 7pm. (Though I don't think Li will be back from Europe yet.) If you're in the Toronto area and find the above quote from Triple D compelling, please join us.
NOTE: Imbi took the above shots, which is why she isn't in them - and this was taken at the 2nd location for the TheoPub - which was a restaurant on The Danforth.
