Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God<\/em>, ironically point out that all of these positions on theology are essentially theological statements made by people doing theology.\u00a0 Theology is essential to human experience.\u00a0 However, Olson and Grenz are not content to simply point out the inconsistent thought in critics of theology, instead, they want to help people understand what is good theology and how it is actually beneficial.<\/p>\nAs a student of theology, I readily have to admit, that Wilco\u2019s weariness of theologians often does ring true. \u00a0Theology can be used as sword to conquer and exclude.\u00a0 More than once, I have read papers or books dealing with theology that have been soul sucking and dry, and not imbued with mystery, beauty, or an appreciation of how it can change and touch my life.\u00a0 Also, I have known more than a few friends who have lost the faith completely because of their academic study of theology.\u00a0 Maybe you have had similar experiences.\u00a0 I have even the feeling that Jesus himself (who was of course a theologian without pretense) might agree, since he also went up against the theological elite of his time, people who thinned out people\u2019s hearts with little things.<\/p>\n
Conversely, when I have had those epiphany moments where I saw how an apparently abstract theological concept can actually speak into how I live my life and treat others, and change me throughout, then I have to wrestle with Wilco.\u00a0 Theologians do know about my soul, and theology can touch it and transform it, and the world around me.<\/p>\n
Still, as a Christian serious about his faith, and passionate about theology, I want to find that tension between experience, complexity, humanity, faith, reason, and theology.\u00a0 Ultimately, in a world of shifting meaning and hyper subjectivity, we still need something to stand on, something to define the limits of what to believe and how to live.\u00a0 Christian faith is predicated on the historic reality of the life of Jesus Christ, and the truth claims of witnesses to his resurrection.\u00a0 We should not deny this.\u00a0 Therefore, as Olson and Grenz point out, theology has its critical and defensive task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From here, Olson and Grenz make an essential and clear contribution to what constitutes good theology. \u00a0For them, theology must be contextual and constructive.\u00a0 It must speak into the real life situations of those it proposes to address.\u00a0 It must be like Jesus, who took on culture and language to communicate his love for the world.\u00a0 Here I wonder, if the ambivalence towards theology would be so strong if we truly developed fully contextual, life giving and moving theologies?\u00a0 Would the change affected in our passion for a theology that works, and creates real change even draw more people into relationship with Jesus?\u00a0 I think so. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, Olson and Grenz are careful to warn us against the trap of allowing our culture and context to fully alone inform our theology.\u00a0 Here the authors suggest a \u201ctrialogue\u201d or reflective conversation between Scripture, history, and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a survey our churches and movements often caught between folk theology and pure rational fence building theology, I see the move to a greater constructive and contextual theology as the only way forward.\u00a0 Theology must touch the heart of the people it is meant for.\u00a0 It must provide practical solutions and reflections on our current cultural and philosophical milieu.\u00a0 Theology must work.\u00a0 Here I am reminded that we take a page from the playbook of such Christian anthropologists as Charles Kraft and Paul Hiebert, who urge the careful study, listening, and appreciation of culture, to find the connection points of the gospel to culture so that the message of Jesus can be best communicated.\u00a0 To speak in the heart language of the receptive culture is the ultimate aim.\u00a0 At the same time careful cultural exegesis must seek out the parts of the culture that are incongruent with the gospel, and seek to change them. \u00a0We must then become conversant with out culture and context.<\/p>\n
As Christian leaders are we listening to the culture around us?\u00a0 Are we seeking to make our theology practical and contextual?\u00a0 Does our theology work, or even make a difference?\u00a0 Are we in theological dialogue with the Bible, our culture, and tradition?<\/p>\n
The church does not need less or more theology.\u00a0 It needs good theology.<\/p>\n
As Christian leaders let us commit to good theology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
About my soul. They thin my heart with little things And my life with change Oh in so many ways I find more missing every day http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=el75UyYO554 Wilco in their song \u201cTheologians\u201d express the commonly held position from Christian folk thought to atheistic ambivalence about theology: it offers very little about the practical and complex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,198],"class_list":["post-1107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-grenz"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}