{"id":15603,"date":"2017-11-30T20:22:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T04:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=15603"},"modified":"2017-12-02T09:09:41","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T17:09:41","slug":"doing-good-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/doing-good-theology\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Good Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson\u2019s Who Needs Theology<\/em> is a clear and accessible book for anyone who wants to deconstruct their worldview of modern religiosity, church jargon, and legalism and find out how they can understand and participate in good theology that fits God\u2019s plan for their lives.\u00a0 To accomplish this goal, the authors use clear and concise language that defines, describes, and helps the reader desire a deeper knowledge of God.\u00a0 I see many connections between Who Needs Theology<\/em> and my dissertation research question that focuses on who needs to defend against spiritual warfare.\u00a0 This post will leverage Grenz and Olson\u2019s theological treatise in hopes of improving my lived theology voice, narrowing my research topic, and increasing my knowledge of God.\u00a0 Grenz says that \u201cFaith is the mysterious element\u201d that uses conviction, insight, and a changed heart to catch a glimpse of how God works his sovereign will in the world.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the 2017 Cape Town Advance my faith has been inspired by what Dean Conniry called \u201clived theology.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Using the right theological vocabulary to \u201cspeak meaning\u201d into the lives of others is the goal of the Armor of God (AOG) theology.[3]<\/a> Theology means \u201cGod-thought.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Christian theology, according to Grenz and Olson, is the process of \u201cseeking to understand\u201d what the heart already knows.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 In the past 15 years of sharing the AOG as I travel around the world and work in hard to reach places, my heart tells me that people need Christ and Christians need help answering God\u2019s spiritual call to arms.\u00a0 I hear an angelic battle cry in my spiritual consciousness that drives me to seek people and places where the Holy Spirit can use my life to share and encourage people with an inspired message on how to defend, overcome, and advance the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 I think, if I am critically analyzing Grenz and Olson rightly, that the AOG is a kind of Christian theology because it answers some of life\u2019s ultimate questions.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Narrowing my research topic on spiritual warfare fits the direction where Grenz and Olson are trying to guide their readers in developing a personalized theology.\u00a0 They say that \u201cgood theology moves beyond stating truths.\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 For example, exploring the significance of Isaiah\u2019s warrior motif and the Pauline metaphor of Roman armor to symbolize Christ as our defense against spiritual warfare helps me tighten the scope of my research.\u00a0 I wonder if the AOG meets the three criteria to form a \u201cintegrative motif\u201d to help systematize it into a coherent theology?\u00a0 I believe the AOG ministry can provide a needed theological bridge that can connect Scripture, Christian heritage, and church culture with the problem of spiritual warfare.\u00a0 For instance, the AOG theology is biblical (Eph. 6:10-18), it is wholly Christian (Paul tells only believers to put on the whole armor of God), and it is Culturally current (the contemporary church is struggling to resist Satan and defend against his spiritual schemes).<\/p>\n

Knowing God and reflecting the image of Christ is my personal hallmark purpose. Until I read and researched this book through the reviews and critiques of others I did not realize how much of theologian, according to the authors, I already was.\u00a0 They say that the knowledge of God is a theology. \u00a0They also said, \u201cSatan is the greatest theologian in the universe.\u201d[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Even demons, according to the Apostle James, know there is only one God.[9]<\/a>\u00a0 As I reflected on the idea of Satan as a theologian, I felt anger, disgust, and even anxiety.\u00a0 I ask what does that really mean to Christology, to spiritual warfare, and to me?\u00a0 The tension in my heart and soul regarding the threat of Satan and his demons schemes to destroy the church and ruin my personal testimony are only offset by my confident assurance that God reins!\u00a0 Biblically speaking, God reins over Satan, and He promises to preserve and deliver the church and me from the evil one.[10]<\/a>\u00a0 So, like Grenz says, the final eternal solution for humankind is not the acquisition of knowledge, power, or position.\u00a0 Instead, the theology that answers the question that drives humankind is rooted in an abstract element of faith, conviction, insight, and a changed heart.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

In summary, Who Needs Theology<\/em> is an excellent primer for more research and reflection on what it means to be a present-day theologian.\u00a0 My review of this book helped me improve my description of my lived theology voice, narrowed my research focus, and increased my understanding of where I am in relation to God\u2019s will.\u00a0 I will use Grenz and Olson as references for additional bibliographical research and support for personalizing my AOG theology. \u00a0\u00a0This book was important to my research on spiritual warfare because it helped me gain a deeper knowledge of my role and responsibility to share \u201cgood theology.\u201d[12]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Finally, this book encourages readers to begin with a \u201chumble spirit that acknowledges our fallenness and finitude\u201d before doing theology. [13]<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson. Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God.<\/em> Kindle ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996) Location 103.<\/h6>\n
[2]<\/a> Chuck Conniry. \u201cDminLGP8 Best Program of its Kind\u201d (lecture, Commodore Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa, September 20, 2017).<\/h6>\n
[3]<\/a> Ibid.<\/h6>\n
[4]<\/a> Grenz, Who Needs Theology<\/em>, 62.<\/h6>\n
[5]<\/a> Ibid., 83.<\/h6>\n
[6]<\/a> Ibid., 304.<\/h6>\n
[7]<\/a> Ibid., 402.<\/h6>\n
[8]<\/a> Ibid., 1231.<\/h6>\n
[9]<\/a> James 2:19, ESV.<\/h6>\n
[10]<\/a> Psalm 97:1, 10.<\/h6>\n
[11]<\/a> Grenz, Who Needs Theology<\/em>, 103.<\/h6>\n
[12]<\/a> Ibid., 330.<\/h6>\n
[13]<\/a> S. M. Garrett. (2008). Reformed and always reforming: The postconservative approach to evangelical theology. Christian Scholar’s Review, 38<\/em>(1), 171.<\/h6>\n

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Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson\u2019s Who Needs Theology is a clear and accessible book for anyone who wants to deconstruct their worldview of modern religiosity, church jargon, and legalism and find out how they can understand and participate in good theology that fits God\u2019s plan for their lives.\u00a0 To accomplish this goal, the authors use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"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":[198,532,1039],"class_list":["post-15603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grenz","tag-olson","tag-spiritual-warfare","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15603","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\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15603"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15623,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15603\/revisions\/15623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}