{"id":10188,"date":"2016-11-09T21:57:47","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T05:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=10188"},"modified":"2016-11-09T21:57:47","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T05:57:47","slug":"seek-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/seek-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Seek Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Truth\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sorrow was the primary emotion I felt when my daughter, McKenna, a freshman at George Fox University, called me to discuss the reactions of her classmates to the new presidency.\u00a0 The folk theology that entered their evening discussion was: \u201cGod allowed Trump to win the presidency because men are the ones who are supposed to be the leaders.\u201d\u00a0 When she adamantly protested the theology of this, she was stunned when the girls chimed in with: \u201cIt\u2019s true. Women are too emotional and would make poor presidents. God made us to follow and men to lead.\u201d\u00a0 Growing up in an egalitarian home and church life, she was stunned at the overt discrimination to women, and responded flippantly, \u201cWell that\u2019s not how it is in my home.\u00a0 Both my parents lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Privately, I heard her sad, small voice as she asked, \u201cMom, they said the Bible says women should not teach and should be silent.\u00a0 Is that true?\u201d I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued with, \u201cYes it\u2019s true but it\u2019s taken way out of context.\u201d\u00a0 I encouraged her to meet with a ministerial, professional, or academic theologian and to become a lay theologian as she pursued truth on the controversial subject.\u00a0 It was one thing for me to oppose this teaching and offer different theological perspectives that marginalized me, but for my daughter to be in a private university and in the minority of healthy, reflective theology was heart-wrenching.\u00a0 My heart ached for her because I knew to disagree with theologians or theological beliefs is not a kind journey, but a necessary one if truth is to reside within our hearts and minds.<\/p>\n

This is why we need good, sound theology.\u00a0 So discrimination is not reinforced with folk theology that teaches principles, beliefs, and values counter-culture to the work and life of Jesus Christ, and the good news is made culturally relevant for us to have healthy community.\u00a0 According to Grenz & Olson, good theology: grounds us, clarifies our understanding of the gospel, discovers truth, convicts us to live righteously, tests our dogma, and teaches us about God.\u00a0 It is anthropocentric (human-centered) but insufficient without theocentric theology, or in otherwards, it is a relational experience with God and inclusive of all who want to learn about their Creator.\u00a0 If we want to grow in our faith, we need to be reflective theologians so as to better understand the nature of God and the relationship He has designed for His creation.\u00a0 The more we know about God, the more we can teach truth with accuracy, relevancy, and consistency.\u00a0 This provides a safe culture for people to belong with, grow in, and become a unified community where we adhere to the Christian beliefs of dogma and doctrine, while allowing fluency with our opinions.<\/p>\n

If \u201c\u2026the primary purpose of theology is neither to divide nor to unite, but to discover and protect truth\u201d (Kindle, 576) then becoming a reflective theologian invites the hearts and minds of all of us.\u00a0 Good theology is active in response to the discovered truth impressed upon our heart and mind as it \u201calways moves from the head to the heart and finally to the hand\u201d (Kindle, 412).\u00a0 As we discover the truth, theology demands we live out that truth as we embody the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us.\u00a0 Oh and there\u2019s a happy ending. As I finished writing this, my daughter sent me this text after watching a short Utube clip in chapel (I included the clip at the end):<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my school when our pastor said \u201cthere is healing of people of color and women that needs to be done from this election”.\u00a0 I’m in the right place Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Point George Fox…thank you for teaching good, sound theology.<\/p>\n