What's in a name?

The name of the blog is "The Embedded Theologian". I'm an embedded systems developer, and a pastoral theology student, so I thought it would be interesting to combine the two when I named my blog. I also liked the wordplay inherent in the name. While it describes who I am (an embedded developer and a theology student), it also carries the connotations associated with "embedded journalist" - the idea of someone who is not part of a group, who is still attached to that group. As Christians are called to live in the world, and yet not be part of the world (John 17:14-15), "embedded theologian" seems to be an accurate description of the Christian life.

Later on, it occurred to me that I should see if there were any existing references to embedded theology. A quick Google search turned up a couple of references, including the following definition in an Amazon review of How to Think Theologically (by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke):

Embedded theology is that kind of theological content that is in us without our necessarily being aware of it.

I haven't read How to Think Theologically - this is the first time I've even encountered the book. The idea of embedded theology, though, is an interesting one to me. Part of what attracts me strongly to the Christian faith as described in the Bible is it's empirical nature. Particularly in the New Testament, there is a strong emphasis on faith as an intellectual exercise. The idea is that you have faith, not because someone tells you to believe, but because you have examined the evidence presented and accepted the Bible's testimony about the nature of God and Jesus Christ. This exercise of intellect is what leads to faith. Given the context of the times in which most of the NT was written, the encouragement to revisit assumptions about the nature of God and the Messiah seems pretty obvious.

So, now I have three different aspects reflected in the title of this blog. First, a statement of who I am. Second, a reminder of what I am in relation to the world around me. Third, a warning that my preconceived notions about the way the world works (theologically or physically!) are something not to be accepted, but examined. I'll strive to keep all three aspects in mind as I consider topics for examination.