oa Pleidooi voor een theologische LAT-relatie

1Bewerking van het afscheidscollege als hoogleraar vanwege de Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk bij de RU te Groningen, gehouden op 2 november 1993.

In his valedictory lecture given at Groningen University, Dingemans made as plea for ecclesial theology and religious studies to work together in the public theological faculties, in a relationship of Living Apart Together, because they need each other. Following the anthropologist Clifford Geertz he distinguishes between ‘experiment-near’ and ‘experiment-distant’ concepts. Experiment-near concepts incline towards isolation, using a religious language that is unintelligible for modern people. Experiment-distant concepts may become abstract and unrecognizable for religious people. The heart of a theological faculty should beat in a hermeneutical enterprise of ecclesial theology and religious studies. In practical theology for instance sociological and psychological research asks for a theological interpretation and for a thorough reflection together.