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<\/p>\nFolk theology from a recovering Pentecostal.<\/p>\n
If Grenz and Olson can lean on Peanuts <\/i>metaphors in their book, Who Needs Theology?\u00a0 An Invitation to the Study of God,<\/i> then I suppose I can pull out the big guns: Calvin and Hobbes<\/i>.\u00a0 Calvin and his stuffed tiger\/imaginary friend, Hobbes, are serenely lying under a tree, contemplating\u00a0life.\u00a0 Hobbes asks, \u201cDo you believe in God?\u201d\u00a0 After a ponderous moment, Calvin replies emphatically, \u201cWell, SOMEBODY\u2019s <\/i>out to get me!\u201d\u00a0 This sentiment sums up much of how modern Christians view God.\u00a0itisexam<\/a> A wholesale, societal departure from sound theology has created an environment in which a theological free-for-all can easily develop.\u00a0 In many Evangelical circles, the church has assigned the duty of theologizing to the Academy, finding very little use for it in the \u201creal world\u201d\u00a0 We remain content to hold onto emotionalism and oral traditions passed down through successive generations as a hollow substitute for thoughtful reflection about God.\u00a0 At least this is the case in my particular brand of Evangelicalism.\u00a0 Have you ever heard (or uttered) these pithy little catch-phrases?\u00a0 \u201cLet go and let God!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cToo blessed to be stressed!\u201d\u00a0 Or how about this one, \u201cGod is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good.\u201d\u00a0 Most folks who proudly display these bumper-stickers would be hard-pressed to articulate a sound theological underpinning for these sentiments.\u00a0 Then, when a genetic heart condition is diagnosed and the question of bad things happening to good people is raised\u2026 well there\u2019s no room for that conversation.\u00a0 Or worse, the one with the illness must be harboring some kind of hidden sin that is \u201cblocking the flow of Jesus\u2019 healing virtues.\u201d2 \u00a0We need sound theology.\u00a0 We need it bad.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n In truth, everyone engages in theology at some time or another in his life.\u00a0 Whether or not it is sound<\/i><\/b> theology really is the question.\u00a0 Like Calvin (the one with the stuffed tiger) and Charlie (NOT the one whose name ends in \u201cSpurgeon\u201d), we all reflect on the existence and nature of God and his interactions with mankind even if we do so accidentally.\u00a0 When we do, we are engaging in theology.\u00a0 I wish I could say that all of my theological musings are fir Who needs theology?\u00a0 I suppose I do\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God. <\/i>Downer\u2019s Grove: IVP, 1996). 10, 27.<\/p>\n
\n He is essentially a human, with human qualities, only bigger and (of course) better.\u00a0 When we consider that this book was written 20 years ago, Grenz and Olson\u2019s words ring prophetic: \u201cWe fear that Christianity may be in danger of becoming a mere \u201cfolk religion\u201d (unreflective believing based on blind faith in a tradition of some kind), relegated to the realms of sheer subjectivity and emptied of public credibility.\u201d1 \u00a0Is this not an apt description of the world in which we presently live?<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Screen-Shot-2014-10-15-at-11.40.36-PM.png\")
mly anchored in a deep desire to know more about my Creator.\u00a0 But the reality is, I am not much different than my fellow humans.\u00a0 I instinctively explain his behavior in terms that are couched in my traditional folk theology.\u00a0 He makes sense to me inside of that very narrow frame.\u00a0 And so long as I am disease-free, have money in the bank and my children are all squeaky-clean I can comfortably remain there.\u00a0 But when the harsh realities of life force my head out of the sand, I hope I have a firm theological underpinning that will not crumble.<\/p>\n
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