Paralysis by Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Recently, at the center stage of international news was the discovery of an ancient church in Chiapas, Mexico. Ever since a dam was built in the region, the ancient building was covered with water, disappearing not only from sight, but also from the memory of the faithful. In these past days, however, the water receded and the beautiful church made out of rock was once more revealed.
This discovery illustrates my experience of reading the fifth edition of Christian Theology by Alister McGrath. More than two thousand years have passed since Jesus built the church on the rock. Yet, like the forgotten church in Chiapas, the heritage of the Christian church throughout the centuries can be covered by the waters of ignorance, risking also to disappear from the minds of the faithful. This ignorance can be costly in three ways. It can lead new believers to think that they are the only ones dealing with some theological issues, completely unaware of the writings of many Christians who have dealt with these same issues throughout the centuries. It can also lead to denominational arrogance, making believers think that their local church or denomination is the only one that has gotten it right. In the worse cases, it can also lead people to embrace heresy, without realizing that the ancient church has already debated and defined these key doctrinal convictions.
SUMMARY
Page by page, professor Alister McGrath helps the waters of ignorance recede slowly, by helping the reader unveil the complex and beautiful theological heritage of the church—from ancient times to modernity. He does so with an informative rather than indoctrinating approach, maintaining a neutral perspective as he takes the reader through a summary of church history, a description of the tools used in theology, and a detailed explanation of the major doctrines of the Christian faith. He helps the reader learn about significant theological ideas that have transpired throughout church history, and how these ideas and events have shaped the way the global church is today—with all of its denominational and doctrinal complexity. His goal is that the readers will discover a fascinating world that will ignite in them a passion for the study of God.
REFLECTION
McGrath recognizes that his goal is not to tell people what to believe; instead, he seeks to “explain to them what has been believed, in order to equip them to make up their minds for themselves.” (xxiii). Yet, as much as I agree with his goal, I find it necessary to point out the dangers of this journey. Having walked the path of academic theology for more than two decades now, I’ve come to realize that both ignorance and knowledge of theology can be equally costly. This is due to the fact that the waters illustrated above cannot only keep people in ignorance, but they can also drown faith. When I was in my second year of graduate theological studies, I was learning to swim in an ocean of perspectives on many of the subjects included in the five hundred pages of McGrath’s book. I was being equipped with knowledge in order to make up my mind. However, there was a point in which I started drowning, and I started questioning the very existence of God. Thankfully, I was surrounded by an academic community that I could talk to and pray with, which helped me in the process. Consequently, I came out of the water stronger and with deeper convictions. Sadly, I know of other cases of people whose faith did not survive the process. Wanting to come out of the waters of ignorance, they ended up drowning their faith in the waters of knowledge.
So, why is this the case? The last thing you want to experience when you are swimming is to suffer from paralysis. Yet, this is exactly what can happen in the study of theology. There are so many views and so many arguments, that some people can end up suffering from what I call “paralysis by analysis”—that is when a person becomes content with being aware of all of the views but committing to no one. When theology simply becomes a collection of opinions, it can lead some believers to conclude that there is no objective truth, and that faith is founded on a relative epistemology. This is the place where many people in the journey of theological discovery can take the wrong turn. I believe that it is our responsibility as theological educators and pastors to equip the new believers not only by exposing them to the vast array of theological perspectives, but also to help them develop a criteria to navigate through the waters of knowledge.
So, how c
an Ethnos Bible Church help new believers as they embark on this journey of theological discovery? Based on my survival experience, I humbly suggest four principles that helped me in my own journey, and I hope they will also help the ones under my pastoral care. First, we must provide the new believer with an atmosphere of theological reflection in our ministry; a place where people feel free to ask and think out loud without the fear of being judged for their inquisitive mind. Secondly, we must help the disciple distinguish between a possible and a plausible interpretation. That is to say, just because somebody came up with a theological perspective on an issue does not mean that the perspective is plausible. Making this distinction helps the new believer avoid concluding that theology is epistemologically relative. Third, we must help the disciple understand that plausible theological views are the ones that best connect the most dots of biblical evidence on the topic. For instance, imagine a page full of dots. A person can draw some lines that connect some dots, leaving some others completely disconnected. However, another person may masterfully connect each dot, revealing a beautiful image that suddenly makes sense of all the dots. That is the picture of what plausible interpretation looks like. The most plausible interpretations in the ocean of theological views are the ones that include all the biblical evidence on the topic—not just selective sections—and they do so in a cohesive way. Finally, we must help the disciple understand that the most plausible interpretations are not always the ones that give the best answers, but the ones that ask the best questions in light of the biblical evidence.
Well-equipped disciples know what the Bible says, what the church has thought, and have the discerning tools to understand why they believe what they believe. My hope is that our ministry will facilitate the journey of theological discovery in community by thinking about the process of theological education in this holistic way. By doing so, we will cause the waters of ignorance to recede as the disciple learns to swim in the ocean of theological reflection, never to be worried of suffering from theological paralysis or drowning their faith.
About the Author
Pablo Morales
Pablo Morales serves as the Lead Pastor of Ethnos Bible Church in Texas. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Ministry degree in Leadership and Global Perspectives at Portland Seminary in order to understand what it takes to develop a healthy multiethnic church.7 responses to “Paralysis by Analysis”
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Thanks Pablo,
Your blog gave a great metaphor that shaded a real meaning on Christian theology, as I read it the words from 2 Tim 2: 7, flashed before me and I was stirred within my heart to share with you and others, this scripture, “Always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”. Paul was writing inspiration, about the gullible women loaded down with sins and being led away by men who are false Christians. These women were “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” They lacked genuine faith and were incapable of committing themselves to God and his truth. They were only committed to idea of a God, without having the genuine life of God. It sounds like babies…Christians today.
You can be ever learning, but never come into knowledge of truth., says (2 Timothy 2:7). When I see Christians “Ever Learning”, mean they read the Bible, study it and even believe it to be true, but even the devil knows and believe, (James 2:19), so learning and believing isn’t! enough! What it means to “come into the knowledge of truth” is to experience the truth in your heart! That mean you experience Jesus, the living Word, the Word wrapped in flesh, the Truth, the Way, Life in your heart as the scripture is opened to you and become an experience to you!
Why we don’t have it? These two verses 5 and 6 answers the Why, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”, and “ For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts”.
We must know the Bible is alive and active! According to (Hebrews 4:12, it is not a book to read and learn from. It’s an experience. If we have never experienced the bible as being alive, I want to encourage you that if you desire it to come to life for you, it will.
Paul gave young Timothy, the experience that any young leader need to learn from their mentor.Timothy had been privileged to watch Paul in action – listening to his preaching, observing his lifestyle, studying his professional goals, and learning from his leadership qualities such as faith, love, patience, endurance. Paul had made himself a role model for his younger colleague and disciple, so that when his time for responsible leadership arrived he would know how to react and what to teach.
Your blog was profound, I applause you as a young pastor, may God face shine upon you and give you grace, it is an honor to serve with you. Thanks Rose Maria
Rose, the verses that you shared are very relevant. It is true that some people study but their knowledge does not produce maturity. As you said, they are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. I believe that spiritual maturity is the fruit of growing in understanding (not just knowledge). That is why we need to ensure that our theological education in our church is well-thought through. Salvation is the first step I want to ensure the person understand and has experienced. Once the person has this foundation, then we can build upon it. I used this approach in marriage counseling and discipleship. Otherwise, the outcome of any training we can provide will always be limited by the spiritual condition of the person.
Thank you for your encouraging words!
Pablo
Hi Pablo. I like the metaphor with the new found church in Chiapas. Your first principle for your church is to create a safe place where new believers can be inquisitive without judgement. How have you done this? What has worked? Also, I find, some people at the Hub have been around the church(es) for a while and require that same safe space. For example, adults that were raised in the church often feel like they were never allowed to be inquisitive. I wonder what would work for them as well.
Aaron,
Thank you for reading my post! I agree with you that the space for an inquisitive mind must be provided for everybody-new and old believers alike.
You asked me, “How have you done this? What has worked?” I believe it’s a mix of things. Let me share some of them; not as an expert (as I am still learning), but as one who is continuing to walk this journey of discovery. I’m sure there’s more to say, but to avoid loading you with more reading (: I’ll just mention seven things that come to mind.
1) Teach Christian identity over denominational identity. When denominational identity is the priority, then the teaching tends to look down on any other church from a different doctrinal persuasion.
2) Explain different views with respect and humility. Sometimes, there may be a class or a sermon when we are representing what other people may believe about the topic. We should avoid ridiculing others because they think differently. We should also avoid portraying our views with an arrogant attitude.
3) Give solid biblical evidence for your view and explain why you disagree with another view on biblical basis. When people see you going back to what the Bible says, it inspires trust, because they see you reasoning biblically. Sometimes, people simply argue a point because “we baptists believe so” or because “our founder taught us this way.”
4) Differentiate between essentials of the Christian faith and non-essentials beliefs. Making this distinction helps people feel free to dialogue about different perspectives on non-essentials. It is freeing when we can openly say “no one really knows; we can only speculate about this topic; yet this is our take on the subject.”
5) Encourage people to think critically. It is one thing to hope that people feel free to ask questions. It is another thing to encourage people to be inquisitive. We say things like “don’t turn off your brain;” or “feel free to disagree with me on this issue;” or “you can ask me anything at any time; I’m here to help you grow in understanding.”
6) Welcome questions and pursue understanding. One of our children asked in our church one day, “Who created God?” The teacher responded with “That’s a good question!” She then gave the child a simple explanation, but then we gave the parent some information to follow up with the child. We try to do the same at any level. If a person wants to know about evolution/creation, we point them to additional materials like videos, books, or websites.
7) Provide intermediate theological training. When we created our ICT (Institute of Christian Theology), we wanted to help people grow in their understanding of key doctrinal areas. Creating an intentional context for advance reflection is a key element in creating this kind of atmosphere that I described in my blog. For instance, right now we are attending sessions on creation/evolution from a group of Christian scientists (icr.org). We intentionally pursue these opportunities as an effort to create understanding.
That’s it for now! Thank you for asking!
Pablo
Thanks Pablo. This is helpful and a lot to consider…..
Beautiful introduction, Pablo! You really captured the imagery of theological knowledge being once again revealed and revered within Christendom.
I love what you said about the foundation and restoration of faith. You suggested, “…the heritage of the Christian church throughout the centuries can be covered by the waters of ignorance, risking also to disappear from the minds of the faithful.” Many Christians who place their hope in Folk Theology would defend the right to ignorance. They would see it as having simplistic faith; however, you pointed out that faith must be revealed through theology. It is the antithesis of ignorance. Why do you think many churches uphold a standard of ignorance rather than encouraging their congregants to engage in intellectual discussion? Do you think that we’re seeing a Christian culture preparing men and women to delve into theological reasoning? Tullian argued that “Scripture, is capable of being understood clearly, provided that it is read as a whole” (McGrath, 14). Is this good theology? Can one understand Scripture simply from the text, or should we utilize other tools to give us historical context? How have Christian leaders misled their organizations by adopting a Sola scriptura mindset? Is there a feeling of disloyalty when utilizing contextual books alongside Scripture? How do we change this mentality?
Coleen, thank you for your encouraging words. The blog prompted many questions in your mind, and I intended to address them all. I spent almost an hour writing and my laptop froze. So I lost everything I wrote! I’ll attempt to write a much more concise answer now and we can perhaps leave the rest for later conversation.
Your questions had two main categories. Let me rephrase them to make it easier to address them in a shorter section.
Issue 1: Is the church succeeding in equipping Christians to be engaged in theological reflection? This is a complex issue that has implications with the church, pastors, and academic institutions. We heard in Hong Kong that one of the main needs in Africa was to train pastors with theological education. This need is echoed throughout the globe. If the church is to succeed in the next generations to equip Christians to think biblically and produce sound theology, we must first start by equipping pastors and church leaders with the skills to do so. This is crucial because normally a local church becomes the reflection of the senior pastor. If the senior Pastor lacks theological education, so will the church. An additional challenge is found with academic institutions. Many of them have theologians training pastors to do ministry, yet, the very theologians teaching have not had extensive pastoral experience. Normally, this phenomenon can translate into a disconnect of theological reflection from ministry relevance. What I mean is that some of the issues addressed in the training have no ministry relevance; they can be nice theoretical ideas that have not been shaped by ministry experience. So, the desired outcome of thinking Christians is a direct result of relevant institutions equipping pastoral leadership with the adequate tools to do ministry.
Issue 2: Is it good theology to think that the only thing we need is just the Bible but not the extra biblical tools to help us interpret it? I believe that any serious theologian will agree that biblical interpretation is a complex exercise best done in community using a variety of tools, like knowing the original languages, using lexicons, understanding cultural context, etc. Yet, this is not to say that a person cannot understand anything unless they use these extra tools. The Bible has a lot of truth that is clear on the surface reading, and a lot of additional treasures that require more digging. That’s why theological reflection has different layers of depth. So, it is important that as we disciple new believers we expose them to several of those dimensions by giving them the tools needed. One of my favorite experiences is discipling new believers. It is amazing to see how much they start understanding and how they start connecting dots only by listening to the dramatized Bible in audio that we give them. They can indeed start understanding and doing theology on the surface level, because not all truth requires digging into the text. Also, as I mentioned above, theological reflection is best done in community, because by thinking with others we are able to refine our understanding to a degree that cannot be done alone. In fact, this is how the early church fathers dealt with the theological challenges faced at the beginning of the church and produced some of the key Creeds that we still uphold today. They debated issues in community and brought their conclusions and agreements into the Creeds. In contrast, isolated theology was typically a signature of heresy. And this is part of the point that Tertullian is arguing about.
Your quote says “Scripture, is capable of being understood clearly, provided that it is read as a whole.” (14) You followed this quote with a question: Is this good theology?
The answer is both, “no” and “yes.” On the one hand, it is not good theology if the quote means that we should not use extra biblical tools to aid our biblical interpretation (as already pointed above). Yet, on the other hand, the answer is “yes; it is good theology” if the quote means that we do not need extra revelation from God mystically given to gnostics in order to understand the Bible, because the Bible can be understood by itself. I believe that the second meaning is what captures Tertullian’s point. The quote continues, “However, he conceded that controversy over the interpretation of certain passages was inevitable. Heretics, he observed gloomily, can make Scripture say more ore less anything that they like. For this reason, the tradition of the church was of considerable importance.” (14) He argues against Gnosticism, which claims to receive private revelation from God in addition to, or in place of the Scriptures. His point is that the Bible is clear enough and we need no new revelation in order to understand it. If you are interested in reading more about the Patristic period, McGrath has another book that includes a selection of readings from that period. It is called, “The Christian Theology Reader.” There’s another similar book with nice quotes from the actual church fathers called: “Readings in the History of Christian Theology” (Vol 1) by William C. Placher.
After all, I did end up spending another hour!