Three young-ish, well-read-ish, and enthusiastic (but not in the bad way) Lutheran laymen talking theology: Trent Demarest, Levi Nunnink, and Matt Fenn are the amateurs in question. Wait. Amateurs? What does this mean? Why would I want to listen to self-proclaimed “amateurs” talk theology? A marvelous question! Let us consider what is meant by the term “amateur.” The word comes to us from the Latin — via the French, mind you — from amator, “lover”, which itself derives from amo, amare “to love.” In the most basic sense to be an amateur is to be a lover of a thing for its own sake. This is what we mean when we bill our show as “amateur theology,” although we will be quick to admit that it is also true that we are not experts or professional theologians. But let’s say that this changes, and we do become some shade of expert, or at least “professional” in the literal sense of the term (*cough*…Trent and Matt are starting seminary this fall…*cough*). Well, if this does happen, we hope that it will augment our status as amateur theologians, as lovers of theology for its own sake, not replace it.