{"id":6030,"date":"2015-10-15T17:44:05","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T00:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=6030"},"modified":"2015-10-15T17:49:28","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T00:49:28","slug":"i-need-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/i-need-theology\/","title":{"rendered":"I Need Theology!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/u><\/p>\n

Who needs theology? This question is not only the title of the book I just read, but it is also a personal question that I must answer.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/u><\/p>\n

Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson eloquently argue that every thinking person is a theologian, but not every theologian has good theology.\u00a0 In order to become a good theologian the person must learn the reflective art of doing theology.\u00a0 \u00a0Theology at its best is a never-ending exercise of critical reflection that is rooted on biblical truth, informed by Christian historical heritage, and contextualized to contemporary culture. \u00a0It is not content with knowledge but with wisdom, because its ultimate goal is to be a transformative agent that moves from the mind to the heart to the hand. Consequently, the pursuit of sound theology is an essential endeavor that should not be taken lightly, because, if done well, it will protect the mind from error and lead a Christian to live a holy life to the glory of God.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/u><\/p>\n

I read this book seventeen years ago, only two\u00a0years after it was published. I read it during my first semester of my\u00a0master\u2019s in theology degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. I remembered that it was a good read but I had forgotten how profound it was.\u00a0 This time I found the book highly insightful and could not stop underlying phrase after phrase. I collected about five\u00a0pages full of quotes! \u00a0It indeed hit a chord within me.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4833\"First, the book served as a mirror.\u00a0 It described me in a way as if the authors knew me personally.\u00a0 I even wrote on the margin the word \u201cMe!\u201d on small letters. In describing the professional theologian, Roger Olson says, \u201cNaturally enough, professional theologians attempt to raise their students above\u00a0folk theology by inculcating in them a critical consciousness that questions unfounded assumptions and beliefs. To do this, professional theologians must themselves have a critical consciousness. This sometimes appears to others as skepticism and hostility toward piety and devotion. Professional theologians labor under this perception\u2014often with great agony.\u201d (32) On my spiritual journey I\u2019m always thinking critically, trying to connect the dots of biblical knowledge and constantly evaluating different ideas with this filter. In that sense, I am more analytical than emotional (which can drive my wife crazy!). Consequently, the description of the professional theologian as a person that can be considered by others as a skeptic or hostile towards piety and devotion hits home. When I am interacting with Christians or unbelievers that are more emotional than analytical, I automatically evaluate assertions that seem to be neither objective nor biblical. \u00a0Even when watching the news or a cartoon with my kids, I am always analyzing the underlying message. This process can indeed be described with the word \u201cagony,\u201d especially when seeing people pursue deception dressed as truth. It also feels like \u201cagony\u201d even when respectfully pointing inconsistencies to another Christian, because I never know if the person will appreciate it or be bothered by it.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the book also served as a reminder. Olson points out that the primary role of the professional theologian is to be a servant and to come alongside the sheep to help them grow in their understanding. He says, \u201cAt its best, professional theology functions in a servant role and not a lordly role. That is, the professional theologians serve the Christian community by helping people think like Christ so that they can be more effective in witness, work, and service both in the church and in the world.\u201d (33) As the Lead Pastor of Ethnos Bible Church, I must ensure that we create an atmosphere where people have the freedom to pursue understanding\u2014not mere indoctrination. Where people are taught to think biblically\u2014not just to believe. Even though we have already captured this desire in our value statements and it is reflected in our discipleship and training program, I have to ensure that our church environment remains a place of biblical reflection. I must do this by encouraging people to feel free to ask tough questions and to wrestle with theological difficulties openly, by proclaiming God\u2019s word in a relevant manner, by equipping people with adequate tools to discern between essentials beliefs from theological opinions, and by always doing so humbly.<\/p>\n

Finally, the book also served as a confirmation. After thirteen years of ministry experience, I have felt the need to gain more training in order to lead more effectively. This time I had the desire to do so in a Christian context that would expose me to a more diverse community of theological traditions in order to grow in my theological reflection. I imagine that it would be easier to be surrounded by Christians that believe exactly as I do. Yet, I suspect that at the doctoral level, interacting with the body of Christ more widely will enrich the experience\u2014even if that means to get out of my theological comfort zone. I may identify my current theological position as a non-charismatic or complementarian Christian, but at the end, the word \u201cChristian\u201d is what defines me first. Stanley Grenz accurately points out that \u201cno one theologizes in a vacuum by starting from scratch,\u201d (53) therefore I should make it my goal \u201cto examine critically and to articulate anew already accepted beliefs\u201d (53). This level of reflection, perhaps, is one of my goals in this program, even though we are warned that despite being a healthy process, it can bring unintended consequences, because it has the potential to get us \u201cin trouble with many good Christian people\u201d (53) and even \u201cnecessitate your moving out of a church or denominational tradition.\u201d (140). Now, of course I do not intend that<\/em> to be the goal, but I must be open to that consequence, because ultimately, we are told that those who \u201cdo take the time and trouble to explore the process and products of theological reflection, find their Christian faith strengthened with mental conviction.\u201d (63).<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4836\"<\/a>The last chapter of the book contains a paragraph that resonates with me at this\u00a0stage of my life. It says, \u201cMore important than any exercises is a commitment and determination to grow and mature in thinking through your Christian faith within a community of God\u2019s people and in relation to your cultural context. If you choose to do this, you will inevitably become more effective as \u201csalt\u201d and \u201clight\u201d in the world where God has placed you.\u201d These words capture both the heart of this DMin program as well as the heart of this theologian.\u00a0So, who needs theology? I do!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction Who needs theology? This question is not only the title of the book I just read, but it is also a personal question that I must answer. Summary Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson eloquently argue that every thinking person is a theologian, but not every theologian has good theology.\u00a0 In order to become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"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":[689,198,534,702],"class_list":["post-6030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ethnos-bible-church","tag-grenz","tag-grenz-olson","tag-pastor-pablo-morales","cohort-lgp6"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6030","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\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6030"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6047,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6030\/revisions\/6047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}