Many Have Gone Before Us
Who Needs Theology, followed by, A Very Short Introduction to Theology, followed by a 500+ page student textbook on theology is enough to make me cry for mercy!
I’m not sure where to even start with Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction. While yes, this is an introduction to theology, McGrath chose the comprehensive approach compared to Ford’s, A Very Short Introduction. The gift of McGrath’s book is how clearly it is written and the great job McGrath did in outlining the sections and chapters. This book will serve as a great resource in years to come because the chapters so easily can stand on their own.
I greatly appreciate McGrath taking the first hundred+ pages walking us through the history of theology. McGrath reminds us that theological conversation has been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years. We aren’t the first people to ask the questions we are asking and that truth brings me great comfort. I am not on my own in my wrestling. While I might have new thoughts, those new thoughts just join the conversation of the people and traditions that have come before us.
A few days ago I took my 6-year-old daughter and her friend out for ice cream. Her friend’s mom asked me to because her daughter had a lot of questions about God and needed someone to ask. Why do we always assume the pastor has all the answers? (-: After ordering ice cream we sat down and I was drilled with questions. “Why does God allow people to die?” “How can God hear me talk yet I can never see Him?” “Why did God have to kill His son on the cross?” 6-year-olds know more about God then I give them credit for. My daughter and her friend enjoyed asking the questions more then they actually wanted answers. Sitting with my daughter and her friend I couldn’t help but be reminded by McGrath that these 6-year-olds are asking questions that have been asked for hundreds and hundreds of years. That should be enough of a reminder to us that it’s not about obtaining the answers but entering into a relationship with God.
I can get easily overwhelmed when I feel the pressure to know all the answers. As a pastor I always feel inadequate so I was really thankful for McGrath giving us a lens in which to read his book. Theology is not something to be mastered but it is about Jesus. McGrath says one of the landmarks is the fact that, “the validity of the church’s ministry and preaching did not come to depend upon the holiness of its ministers, but upon the person of Jesus Christ. The personal unworthiness of a minister did not compromise the validity of the sacraments.[1]” Thank goodness! This theological journey doesn’t just rest upon my shoulders. I join others, those living and those already dead, that have wrestled with difficult truths about God. I join with others that our pursuit of holiness, or lack there of, does not get in the way of Jesus. I am thankful I get to learn from people and traditions that have come before me and I am most grateful that this is something I am not called to master but I am called to Jesus.
[1] Alister McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction (Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 2011), 18
About the Author
Nick Martineau
Nick is a pastor at Hope Community Church in Andover, KS, founder of ILoveOrphans.com, and part of the LGP5 cohort.10 responses to “Many Have Gone Before Us”
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Nick,
I thought you could only have these conversations on a dock. ; )
I love how you paint the picture of six year olds asking the same questions that the Church has asked for centuries. There is a real sense of unity with believers who have gone before us and with whom we will spend eternity. We realize that we are part of the same conversation. It is so important to remember “that it’s not about obtaining the answers but entering into a relationship with God.” The answers may help us understand that relationship, but they never supersede it.
Maybe the secret is eating ice cream on a boat dock!
One of the great reminders all these theology books has brought back to me is the thought that question asking builds relationships, not necessarily answers.
That is so cool that how you teach theology with ice cream. I need a few classes Nick, Rocky Road is what i like and im ready to listen! lol. Great that you had the opportunity to hear and listen to children that is a sign that you can relate to everyone! When children our asking questions that deep we need to listen to them more. Blessings!
It’s not really a surprise but I honestly think my kids have taught me more about God and theology then any course or book!
Nick, you said:
“We aren’t the first people to ask the questions we are asking and that truth brings me great comfort. I am not on my own in my wrestling.”
I find it comforting to know that we are connected to a long lineage of questioners. Our questions are stacked on top of the ones raised hundreds and even thousands of years ago! There’s not a whole new to be asked, just new contexts in which to inquire.
Good stuff!
J
It’s King Solomon that says, “There’s nothing new under the sun…”
Nick, Obviously your deepest theological question these days must be “How can a good God let a good team lose the World Series in game seven on their home field?” I feel your pain and I hope your own words of wisdom, “While I might have new thoughts, those new thoughts just join the conversation of the people and traditions that have come before us” bring comfort to you. Others have asked the same thing about God and their teams for centuries. 🙂 All kidding aside, I did think that was a powerful point and main set-up of McGrath’s text and was a good “take home.”
After reading your blog post I wanted to add to your “theory.”
“This book is not designed to be read in a week…” AND…This book is not designed to be read in a week when your favorite team is in the World Series…
Sorry for your loss 🙁 ……. kind of, at least as much as I can as a former Bay Area follower
Nick – You hit a certain chord with me with the quote you used on how our relationship with God is not based on the “holiness of its ministers, but upon the person of Jesus Christ. The personal unworthiness of a minister did not compromise the validity of the sacraments.” My Church History midterm was this week (taking an equivalency course). The Donatists from Augustine’s time would disagree with you and McGrath. They believed the sacraments’ validity were based on the pastor’s purity. The church did not agree, and thus we can now live under the theology you offer. And how grateful I am. I don’t think I could live under the pressure of having to know all the answers or being unable to make any mistakes. I’d much rather eat ice cream and enjoy six year olds 🙂