Where to begin?

"The problem is that there is obviously no legitimate starting point for theological reflection, and one must begin somewhere."

Walter Brueggeman - (Theology of the Old Testament, p. 17)

I usually like problems. I like them to be brief, well stated and challenging, but I also like them to have a definite solution. For example:

In the infinite series below, what word is spelled by the next 4 letters?

O, T, T, F, F, S, ___, ___, ___, ___, . . .

The problem of establishing a starting point is a bit more complicated. Whether is is a blog or theological reflection, it isn't easy to decide where to start. Breuggeman states the problem briefly and clearly; I must begin this, but . . . where do I begin? I know it is a serious simplification, but I think that, wherever I happen to be, I start from there. The problem behind the problem is that, apart from my physical location, I may not know where I am, and there may not be the public vocabulary to describe a location for intellectual reflection. How many degrees am I from an idea?

I can compare my location to those around me, but that only gives a relative location. I had a friend who saw himself as a radical. He went to a conservative religious university, and managed to get himself suspended by speaking out on racial equality and sacred cows. He was then accepted into a public university, where he found himself to be a flaming conservative. I think I am in a similar location; I am to the left of some and to the right of others. In one group, I am the token liberal, but in another I am too conservative to be taken seriously.

When I am considering physical location, it is not a permanent place. Right now, I am obviously here at my computer. This isn't typing itself. Soon, I will get up and get something to eat. Where I stand on an issue is also temporary; new information will move me and reflection will take me down the road.

Now, if I begin here at my computer and give directions for which way I am going, how can that be relevant to someone who isn't here in my shoes? When, if ever, I call for directions, I want them to give me directions from where I am, not from where they are. When I check Google Maps, I don't want directions from Google headquarters, much less a satellite. It is more difficult when I read a book. The author isn't giving me directions from where I am. He/she doesn't even know me, but soon I feel like I know him, as I come to understand his path. Sometimes that helps me along my path.

From where will I start; I can only start from here. Wherever it may be, here is the only place that I am. I will leave 'legitimate' for another day and wrap this up with a hint on the problem above: The seventeenth letter would be "S".