8
THE KNUCKLEHEAD
'
S GUIDE TO COVENANTAL THEOLOGY
virtually every page of this book, I'll be throwing out ropes, life rafts,
handholds, puns, references, kitchen sinks, which I hope you'll be able
to use to pull yourself toward the remarkably original world of Fr.
Keefe's thought. Through absolutely no fault of your own, much of
what I toss your way may do you no good at all.
Think of yourself as being in one of those classes where they teach
you a language by immersion. You've been successful in at least one of
those before -- you did learn English. I am not a great teacher, but if
you hang in there, slowly some things will start to sink in.
This book is a sort of Junior Illustrated Classics version of
Covenantal Theology, but it is still no easy read. Fr. Keefe's ideas are
not just hard to grasp, they're hard to believe. I'll do my best to make
them clear to you, but it's a safe bet that I'll bungle the job sometimes.
It's me, not you.
However, always remember: this book is practically guaranteed not
to make sense to you all at once. In this Knucklehead's Guide, you will
be learning a new language. It's just a fact of life that new languages
begin to make sense to people only gradually. Somewhere around
Chapter 8 or 9, you may actually find yourself understanding most of
what you're reading. This is normal! This book will provide you with
many new things to think about -- thoughts that are much easier to
think using Fr. Keefe's language. You may indeed find that reading it
was worthwhile, in spite of how patient you had to be, not only with
me, but with yourself. So, cut yourself tons of slack -- but also, give
yourself time to allow some of the ridiculously amazing ideas of
Covenantal Theology to register with you. That's how to use this book.
N.B. This is an html-ized copy of a page from the pdf file, The Knucklehead's Guide to Covenantal Theology.