Theology, Part One

Psalm 42

As a deer longs for flowing

streams,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

the face of God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me continually,

“Where is your God?”

These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng,

and led them in procession to the

house of God,

with glad shouts and songs of

thanksgiving,

a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you disquieted

within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again

praise him,

my help and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of

Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

at the thunder of your cataracts;

all your waves and your billows

have gone over me.

By day the LORD commands his

steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I walk about mournfully

because the enemy oppresses me?”

As with a deadly wound in my

body,

My adversaries taunt me,

while they say to me continually,

“Where is your God?" 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you disquieted

within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again

praise him,

my help and my God.

  The study of theology is a great challenge and a great joy.  We are challenged by the complexity and breadth of who God is and what he has revealed of himself.  There are many things which we do not understand about ourselves, and others, as created beings, which oftentimes drive us to despair, losing hope in anything better.  Yet, God has revealed himself through Scripture and through various other ways to be one who loves, who reaches out into the depths of our being and allows Himself to be known by us.  The hope found in the depths of God lift us up out of the muck and mire which so often entangles and points us to a higher understanding of life and our own being.   Understanding of God is a treasure for which upon discovery a person will sell all they have in order to obtain.  This is not a treasure to be kept in secret, locked away where no one else will find it.  Rather, this treasure cries out, demands, to be shared and passed along so that all people will delight in the bounty that is God.  What a joy this is to learn and study the nature, aspects, and being of God!  It behooves us to look continually deeper and deeper into who God is so that we may be able to on our own, and in sharing with others, gain a more excellent grasp of the treasure that we have been allowed to take part in.

Introduction to Theology

I.  Informal Definition of Terms

     The word theology comes from the Greek words theos, meaning God, and logos, which means word or thought.  It means, to put it simply, the study of God. 

Unlike other religious texts, Scripture seems to give us an impetus to collect thoughts and seek to further our understanding of who God is beyond simple, axiomatic statements.  The first chapter of Luke sets out a systematic approach that the author took in order for the truth to be set out clearly.  Avoiding the verbal visions as found in the Koran and the Book of Mormon, the author carefully investigated and laid out stories, connections, and arguments which were handed on to him by eyewitnesses.  This scrupulous study results in an orderly presentation which allows us to gain deeper insights into the activity of God as Jesus.

Paul, in the book of Romans, gives a systematic treatise of his theological thought.  His message of the power of God to salvation expounds the gospel in systematic form.  Paul presents to us interrelated facts which need to be explained in a coherent framework which he so ably communicates. 

In II Timothy, chapter 2,  Paul charges Timothy to be strong in communicating the message which Paul was given, and gave to Timothy, to others who would be able to teach even more.  Four generations of students/teachers are presented here.  And from a line like this, we find ourselves here at Seminary, having been taught by one who was taught by one who was taught, etc., continuing the line unbroken to Christ.  As we now learn, and teach, we are keeping this line of the gospel alive until Christ returns.  The teaching which we have been handed, we must hand over, paradidwmei, entrusting the apostolic teaching to which the Church must be faithful to others, depositing within them the hope and confidence we have been given.

-Bray says that “theology now is… the study of God which presupposes, as a condition of its existence, that such an activity is both possible and meaningful.”  He continues by saying that the “heart of all theology is nothing less than to know God, and to make him known.”  (Bray, 24)

Theology is a response to the Bible, an attempt to understand the meaning and content of what has been revealed, and to bring coherence to God and man, problems and answers.

We are responding to God, answering his invitation to know him which he gave in Isaiah 55, and in various other passages.  We are invited to come and seek him.   Even though the ways of God and man are entirely different, the coming of Jesus has given us an interpretive experience which allows us, and one might even say forces us, to follow and explore the thoughts and activities of God.  We are, however, reminded to watch out for human wisdom.  Paul states in the second chapter of I Corinthians: 

“Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish.  But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.  None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’ these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within.  So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is form God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed upon us.  And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.”  (I Co. 2:6-13)

     The wisdom of God is beyond our own understanding.  But we have the mind of Christ (I Co. 2:16)  and the counsel of the Spirit which allows us to gain some understanding of our Creator.  The depths of God are revealed to us by the Spirit, who searches the depths not because the depths are unknown, but because it is known and so worthy to be explored.  We are challenged and invited to work a greater depth of knowledge, understanding, and response of God.  Anselm called this “faith seeking understanding.”  It is a response to the dynamic of Christian growth within us, at first helping our unbelief (Mk 9:24), then leading us further on into maturity, answering Paul’s prayer in Ph. 1:9-10, “that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless…”  This pursuit takes us from belief to belief, from faith to faith, so that we may know and grow in faith.  I passionately agree with Paul in this regard when he says “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

 

II.  A Formal Definition

A.  Theology is a Discipline…

A consideration which must be put forth is that theology is not a casual pursuit done by those who have the time to ponder mysteries, but rather theology can be an academic exercise, pursued by those trained in the tools and methods of serious scholarly work.  The question, however, arises about exactly where does theology belong in academics.  Is it an objective science?  Does it fall into the realm of philosophical studies? Literature? 

     Some answers which support placing theology into the world of objective science:

1.  Discipline has a definite object to study.

We want to study God.  However, a difference arises—science puts its object of study under a microscope, can test, and re-test its theories.  We ourselves are the ones under the microscope looking up through the lenses to view the desired object.

-Bray talks about the issues which point out the differences between science and theology (Bray 18ff):

The issue of epistemology -- the way which we understand that what we do – is a major point that must be looked at. The primary source of our knowledge is the Scriptures.  Otto Weber states, “The thesis of the unique authority of Holy Scripture in the Church is an axiom: it cannot be established from some other source, but rather it is the expression of a fact which establishes everything else” (Weber, 18).  This is not, however, an exhaustive source of understanding.  The point is that Science uses as its base of information a clearly laid out Scientific method.  Theology simply, no matter what the arguments might be otherwise, cannot follow this method.  We cannot experiment with God, checking our results with another, independent, set of experiments.  Bray says, “the result is that the natural sciences have a different database, a different procedural method and a different attitude to unresolved paradoxes.”  The question does arise whether science is the best model to follow.  The Heroic model of Science is less than heroic these days.  And the attempt to attach a set boundary of laws upon the nature of God tends to limit our ability to see the expansiveness of his being.  Following science limits us in our looking at God, and can twist around the relationship.  Bray – “People have the power to analyze things which are inferior to their own being, but they cannot treat their Maker in the same way.“   We are limited by are point of view, looking up.  The response to this in recent days is to ignore this fact and turn it around to fit our analytical methodologies.  We act as though it is God under the microscope for us to scrutinize.  Although still thought of as nominally divine, we feel able to shape and mold him into something which better fits how we think, rather than letting him mold and shape our thoughts from what he truly is.  It is interesting to note, though, that as the sciences advance there is more common ground.  In the field of cosmology, for instance, very little of what is found can be actually proven by prior scientific methodology.  Black holes rely, not on observing the actual object, but on the effects of the object which prove their existence.  And much advanced thought relies more on personal belief, i.e. static, expanding, or shrinking universe, than objective science. 

Theology is also marked by a definite need to identify one’s own presuppositions before embarking on a study.  A scientist does not need to establish a belief in gravity, while theologians do, these days, need to identify their underlying views on the supernatural.  Can miracles happen? Is God personal?  These answers, and others, vitally affect the view of any evidence or structure of thought, and cannot be answered by objective science (which as a course tends to deny any existence or possibility of supernatural).  Science also requires duplication, but as Otto Weber puts it, “Christian doctrine is necessary as a scientific interpretation of what is absolutely unique, which stands in its uniqueness over against everything general, universal, and given, namely, the revelational event and the witness to that event”  (Weber, 13)

2.  Discipline treads a consistent path –we can mark an accountable path

-Hence, the existence of these books, these notes, the lectures, and countless other written documentation on what has been believed and established.  Theology does not need to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.  Questions have been asked, and dealt with, since the beginning which allow us to follow along where we’ve been led rather than blindly striking off on our own.

 3.  We can give a measure of progress.  Real things are accomplished.

-We can, but are we always building?  The reformation was a huge re-examination of a thousand years of theological build-up.  Fuller Seminary was a response to fifty years of Fundamentalist theological build-up. Though, I guess science is the same way, which is why the term “paradigm shift” originally was applied by Thomas Kuhn in regard to scientific studies.  Theology had Luther, science had Einstein.

-I feel that the appeal to science as a model is outdated.  Theology is not, as Bray puts it, “a science like biology.”  The enlightenment has ended, and science is no longer the undisputed king of academia.  It is easy to want to look at theology as a whole, but I think that it is instead a conglomerate of fields with a common goal of discovering God.  Bray states that “historically speaking, Christian theology has developed in a context of ancient Greek theology and Roman law.”  This, to me, seems to reflect more of Bray’s own interests than the whole of theology.  While a part, it really is bigger than just these two.  As the NDOT puts it, “In the modern world, “theology is often used in a comprehensive sense, embracing all the disciplines involved in a university course or in training for church ministry.”  The independent fields which come together in theology include history, literature, philosophy,  philology, and others.  I have noticed that three disciplines, each with their own emphases and methods, stand out, and often battle, in theological studies.  A theologian can be a historian, a philosopher, or a philologist.  Though one may think that mastering all three is the ultimate goal, there are fundamental differences between the three which will always cause an one to be emphasized in each individual’s study.  This triumvirate of learning was embodied by the great 19^th century trio of Lightfoot, Westcott, and Hort.  Lightfoot was the historian, Hort was the philosopher, and Westcott was the exegete.  Together they successfully battled the forces of liberal heresy. (ch. 2 of The Interpretation of the New Testament, by Stephen Neill and Tom Wright).  To get into the specifics of how these fields interact and operate would be a paper, nay a book, unto itself

     B.  …Pursued by the Church…

  Theology is something which Christians do in historic community.  (Though this doesn’t always happen). 

  -Weber, “…Christian doctrine, however it is structured, is Church doctrine, that it is a work of the believing Community or an event within this Community.  For it is precisely at this point that the personality, historicity, temporality, and concreteness which are characteristics of the Christian faith are to be seen.  If faith were only an individual relationship or attitude toward Christ then it could imply a Christ conceived as one’s own idea” (Weber, 22).

  -The question arises is whether theology is the exclusive domain of the church?  Tertullian, in his Prescription Against Heretics, makes the argument that those outside of the Church have no right to even ask the questions, because they do not accept the revelation, and thus can make up anything they want to.  “Where God is not, there truth also is not” (Tertullian, chap. ILIII).  Using a technique of Roman law,  the prescription, Tertullian argues that if one does not accept the basic traditions of the Church founded in Scripture, then one does not have the right to add to the discussion.  This thought avoids wrangling over Scriptural authority and interpretation and strikes at the feet of those outside the church, because, as he so wisely puts it,  “a controversy over the Scriptures can, clearly, produce no other effect than help to upset either the stomach or the brain” (Tertullian, chap. XV). An interesting thought in dealing with those who spend their lives studying something they do not believe in.

          How this theology is pursued:

1.      Done in Academy.

 A necessary danger, because while it is crucial that there does need to be a high level of concentrated thinking, academia can become somewhat removed from the life of the Church.   A contrast does need to be pointed out between the academic theology done in Seminaries, and Christian undergraduate institutions, and that done in secular centers of higher education.

-The contrast is that seminaries and undergraduate institutions, hopefully, have as the basis of their thought basic underlying beliefs which direct and inform the study.  Faith in God is, ultimately, always a matter of faith no matter how learned one is.  These institutions take as foundational the basic truths of Scripture and tradition to build upon, while other institutions tend not to accept the same underlying presuppositions.   Tertullian again:  “Of so much importance is it to them not to have any proofs for the for the things which they maintain, lest along with them there be introduced damaging exposures of those things which they mendaciously devise”  (Tertullian, chap. XXII).

2.      Done in pulpit. 

The middle ground, responsible for taking serious study on the Bible and Tradition and communicating it in a relevant manner.

-The pastor is the one reading both the academic theology, hopefully, and engaged in the direct ministry to the people.  The continual task is the proclamation of the theology.  Weber – “The Church’s existence is based upon the Word of God which is spoken to it, received and proclaimed by it.  It exists in that it receives, and on the basis of its act of reception it speaks and acts” (Weber, 22). The pastor is essential in the proclamation of the Word.  He is also responsible for the training up of his flock, teaching not only the propositions, but the methodology.  A pastor who does not teach his church how to think theologically on their own in a responsible manner fails his duty.  Gordon Fee, in his book Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God,  quoting a professor of his from graduate school says, “Everyone has a theology [that is, some rudimentary view of God and the world on the basis of which they live]; the question is not whether you have a theology – you do – but whether you have a good one” (Fee, 1).  It is the role of the pastor to teach his flock to have and hold a good theology.

The minister’s duty in dealing with theology is to, as Weber says, “consider thoughtfully what, in truth, the essence of Christianity has to do with real man and what its relationship to man’s self-understanding really is”  (Weber, 27).

3.      Done in Pew. 

There are two myths to look at in this regard:

a.      the people in the pews are the source of heresy.

-There are certainly as many, if not more, theologically educated heretics now and in the past.  Pew people tend to keep a reverence and awe which can be lost in education.

b.      the people in the pews are the source of the purest theology.

          -There are certainly some people outside of professional theology who have a better grasp of who God is than many who are trained.  But, there are also a fair number of educated, passionate Christians who are models of Christian living as well.  Pure theology is not so much a matter of education, but of an awareness of who God truly is and our relationship with him. 

We need to listen to hear the dynamic of what is happening and see how

we can support, or correct, it. 

-I would say that is the most important area, though sadly often maligned and forgotten.  Christian history has shown us a repeated emphasis on a so-called “higher calling” of professional Christians.  Yet, the ones in the pews are the ones who are dealing most intensely, oftentimes, with theological questions, yet not in the highly valued theoretical areas. For it is with these people that theology gets away from the conceptual and propositional and becomes something real.  Theology in the workplace, in the marketplace, is what true theology is.  Where the rubber meets the road so to speak.  Or, as Fee puts it, “where belief and the experience of God run head-on into the thought systems, religions, and everyday life of people”  (Fee, 2).  Theology is useless if it does not interact and become relevant to a person’s life.  Those in the pews are the soldiers in the front, even behind the lines.  While the officers have good knowledge and study, the soldier often has practical wisdom and the ability to follow through with the knowledge which is quite important.  And, interestingly, this is who Jesus spent most of his time with, because they were oftentimes better able to accept what he had to say. 

                        Bray - Theology is not pursued with the same intensity by other religions.

Why?  Because God is not a problem for others.  The problem of understanding the Trinity gives us a powerful intellectual and spiritual challenge.

-Gerald Bray talks about the ability of an atheist to avoid theological pursuits (though, oddly, it is not always the case that they do so), but that as believers in God, and especially as believers in a God who we can know, “it is impossible to be indifferent to the supreme being;  the God we worship is a person we know and who changes human lives” (Bray,14). An atheist is the only one who has a reason not to pursue theology.  If one believes that there is a god, or gods, it would seem to be quite essentially that one discovers the nature of the god.  Christians have an even better reason, they have a God who desires, demands even, that we learn to look into his nature.  I am struck by the continual imagery of a lover, or spouse, in our relationship with God.  This is not a business relationship, or necessarily a king-subject relationship.  Rather, God seeks us in love, to grow ever deeper in knowledge of him, and become continually more and more intimate in our relationship.  He reveals himself to us through the writings we have been given (Scriptures) and through the person and work of Jesus his Son.  These dual aspects of the Word help us understand the thought and expression of the Divine One.

C.  …In which we consider the content of our ministry…

1.      The work of Theology is a necessary check and challenge to ministry.  It serves ministry in helping to define and expand our roles and relations in our Christian lives.

2.      The work of Theology is a servant of ministry, serving as an apologetic.

-It is very difficult to discuss, promote, extol the virtues of a God one does not know.  In fact, this has been done, and is still done in the world.  Those without an adequate theology attempting to present God in their own design, and in doing so portraying falsehood, and maybe even turning some off to Christian doctrine.   Woe to those who cause the name of God to be blasphemed. 

3.      Theology informs our worship

-How does one honor and adore a God one does not know?  Theology is getting to know God in an intimate way, understanding his ways and personality.  The more we know about him, the more we can know him, and the more we can pour our heart into worshipping his Glory and Majesty.

4.      Theology informs our nurture and structure within the Church.

-If we know God, and know our position relative to him, we can better understand how to communicate and act within our communities.  A breakdown in theology can lead to all sorts of problems within a church.  Paul’s issue with the Corinthians seems to boil down to a lack of their understanding how God, especially the Spirit, works in the life of a community.

5.      Theology informs outreach.

-A knowledge of God and his ways is essential in presenting him to those who do not know him.  Also, our passion is important in reaching out.  One who knows intimately the glory and wonder of God is so much better able to present this in a contagious way.

D.   …Critically, that is, by the standard of the Scriptures…

-NDOT, “That Scripture mediates the authority of the God who gave it and the Christ to whom it testifies, that it does this by presenting the realities of salvation-history in their universal significance, and that it cannot have authority further than it is in an appropriate sense true (for falsehood has no right to rule) are points of widespread agreement.”  (J.I. Packer, “Scripture’, NDOT, pg. 630).  Which is why it’s called the canon.  It is the measurement of our beliefs and the framework to what we know.

E.  …With the Guidance of our confessions and our history…

          Christian traditions (in a broad sense)

-Vincent of Lerins, “Here someone may ask: since the canon of the scriptures is complete, and is in itself adequate, why is there need to join to its authority the understanding of the church?  Because Holy Scripture, on account of its depth, is not accepted in a universal sense.  The same statements are interpreted in one way by one person, in another by someone else, with the result that there seem to be as many opinions as there are people… Therefore, on account of the number and variety of errors, there is a need for someone to lay down a rule for the interpretation of the prophets and the apostles in such a way that is directed by the rule of the catholic church.  (McGrath, 50)

-Johan Adam Mohler, “Tradition, in the objective sense, is the general faith of the Church through all ages, manifested by outwards historical testimonies; in this sense, tradition is usually termed the norm, the standard of Scriptural interpretation – the rule of faith.”  (McGrath, 64)

F.  Under the direction of the Holy Spirit…

              as we pursue the truth with a heart that is open and aright we will be led by God.

     -NDOT, “The help of the Holy Spirit must be sought throughout, for only the Spirit enables us to see the meaning and bearing of scriptural principles and to realize the reality of God as the texts set him forth.  (Packer, pg. 630).

G.   …Mindful of the limitations of our faith and our knowledge…

We must understand that we really do not understand God, nor do we understand even   ourselves. 

Throughout history there have been cycles in which theology is more, or less, open to inquisitive thought.  During the second century virtually any question was allowed, and the answers, or suppositions, helped to define our beliefs in this day and age.  For a long while, after the defining councils and during a strong rule of the Church, questions about God went through a contraction.  In our own era, however, we are finding that anything once again goes, and that there is a renewed openness and broadening of our theological interests and questions.

III.  The Authority of Theology

     How do we know what we come up with is in reality true to who God is and what He is doing in this world?

     John Wesley, while not a formal systematic theologian, came up with a model which lays out what the issues involved are.  This is not found in specific writing, but rather was expounded by Albert Outler from Wesley’s voluminous printed sermons.  It can be called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.  There are four points to examine:

A.  Scripture   B.  Experience  C.  Tradition  D.  Reason

     A.  Scripture

Scripture is an authoritative source of information to which must be given prominence.  We must, however, remember that we our involved in Scripture.  It is not a book of magical utterances, but rather writings which rely on proper interpretation.  With this in mind we must know that:

1.      Scripture is to be understood by coming to know what the author originally intended in his writing.

2.      We must understand the cultural context of both the intended audience and the readers.  It should be seen how the Scriptures have been interpreted and working in the lives of a broad range of people.

-Packer, “Scripture expresses and mediates the authority of God, which means, formally, his right to be believed when he speaks and obeyed when he commands; and materially the sum total of declarations and directives by which he requires us to live.”  (NDOT, 627ff.)

-Basically, we need to realize that our interpretations may or may not be what was intended.  There have been countless denominations and movements which have made an interpretation the basis of their beliefs.  Hermeneutics is so very important.  The Bible is indeed authoritative, our interpretations may be less so.

B.    Tradition

While not authoritative, Christian tradition can be informative in helping us understand the broad range of experiences and interpretations which have arisen in similar contexts.

  -A.N.S. Lane, in his article on Scripture and Tradition in the NDOT (p. 631ff.), gives a brief overview of different understandings of tradition:

1.      Coincidence view – “The Church teaches what the apostles taught, which it receives from the Apostolic Scriptures and from the apostolic tradition.  Scripture, tradition, and church are assumed to teach the same one apostolic message.” 

The problem with this is that some noticed some variance between the earliest traditions and the later.

2.      Supplementary view – “tradition is needed to supplement Scripture, to provide teaching not found in Scripture.  The belief that apostolic tradition supplements Scripture as a guide to practice is found early, but it was some time before theologians came to defend beliefs which they acknowledged not to be found in Scripture.”

 He quotes Barth in saying that “the correct attitude to tradition is summarized in the fifth commandment:  honor your father and mother.  We must honor our theological forbears and listen with respect to the voice of the past, but we are not bound by it.”

-I have heard it said that everything original in Christian thought was developed before the year 500, everything since is commentary.  I myself have said that if one thinks that they are saying something original in Christian theology, then that person just hasn’t read enough.  It’s amazing to study the early Fathers and realize that they handily dealt with issues that we struggle with today.  It is a sad aspect of the modern Protestant Church, and especially those in the evangelical/fundamentalist tradition, that our effective history (meaning the history which we refer to and are dependent on) is so brief.  We need to teach and show those in the church the wisdom of the past.  There were great Christian thinkers and examples before C.S. Lewis and Chuck Swindoll. 

C.   Reason

Our minds have been blessed with the ability to understand the world around us.  Although caution must be used in its use, logic and reason can be appropriately utilized in coming to understand theology.

Christianity is not an unreasoned mysticism, rather there is a thread of understanding to be followed in the Gospel.

-This is so important to realize.  We must have faith, but we can also think within our faith.  Now that is a rarity among world religions.  This is a tricky pendulum, though.  One side is an over-dependence on reason, i.e. the German liberalism of the 18^th century.  On the other side is a rejection of reason, i.e. the anti-intellectualism of ‘30s Fundamentalism. 

  There is some danger to be found here.  As Paul said, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world.  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.  For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…”  (I Co. 1:18ff.)  Now faith combined with reason, that’s something indeed!

D.   Experience

My own experience, and that of those around me, is an aspect of what we know is true.  It is appropriate to ask, What has God done in me?

  Yes, it is!  I am not wholly dependent on a Wesley or Calvin to define my Christianity. There is room for creativity and engagement within theology.  The tendency is to elevate these men, and others to a point way beyond our reach.  But, they were men and women like us, and not one of them was without sin, or even controversy among their peers.  God works within each one of us, and if we yearn to listen, to flee from sin and embrace his Spirit than we can see a aspect of God which may be new to us, and useful to others.  This is the great thing about tradition, if I may go back for a bit.  Tradition encompasses both reason and experience from not only myself, but the countless myriad of Christians who have fought the good fight and finished the race.  Working together, sharing with each other our experiences, our reasonings, our whole hearts, is essential in the life of a Christian community.  God far to immense for us to grasp on our own.  But, coming together as a body, with Christ as our head, we come to a much more complete knowledge of the One who calls us.

IV.  Specific Disciplines and Terms within Theology

     A.  “The Whole Task of Theology”

The task of theology is to take from the Bible and tradition, adapt general principles of understanding,  and be able to apply these to specific ministry settings.

Bible ` Principles ` Advice

1.  Bible

This is the realm of exegesis.  Scholars proficient in understanding the culture, language, and context of the New Testament, the Old Testament, Intertestamental literature, and other historical literature point to the specific meanings intended by the authors, and derive theological understandings from these.

2.  Principles

The realm of Systematic Theology.  Drawing from the Biblical exegesis and other traditions, general ideas about God and man are formed.  Anything that can help us understand ourselves and God is worthy of informing us of these principles.  History, Philosophy, the Arts, and a multitude of other areas of interest can inform our collection of knowledge.

          3.   Advice

The realm of the ministries of the Church.   Pastors and lay leaders taking the exegesis of the Bible, and the principles derived, and applying to specific contexts, situations, and opportunities.  This advice can be through preaching/proclamation, counseling, evangelism, apologetics, liturgy, and ethical answers.  

We find that problems will arise when one or more of these is shoved aside or left unengaged.  There are also issues which come up in looking at this flow.  The Bible, for instance, gives us little encouragement to draw out general principles.  Systematic Theology can be thought of as generally irrelevant, becoming a weak link in its philosophical wanderings, and can become bracketed in its focus, leading to suspicion by those in the Church.  And the advice can separate itself, focusing on current ideology and losing its vital and unique connection to the first two.   It is, therefore, vitally important that these areas remain accountable to one another, questioning the correctness and vitality of the conclusions.   All three are interrelated and vital to the health and efficacy of each other.  There is not a vacuum or bubble in theological studies.

-Weber, “Wherever in dogmatics individual theologians are at work in the service of the Church, their endeavors can only be significant if they address the query to the Church of whether its proclamation is ‘right’ proclamation, that is , whether it is really the proclamation of the Word of God or perhaps the mere use of the Word for a self-interpretation of Christian man, whether then it is in truth ‘service’ of the Word or Lordship over the Word.  In short, the purpose of Christian doctrine is to submit the proclamation of the Church to the criterion of its commission and thus to help it to be relevant to its mandate. “  (Weber, 24ff.)

V.  Theology and Contemporary Challenges

A.  Attitudes toward Theological Challenge

There are a variety of attitudes that can be expressed toward theological challenges.  Some may be open, some closed, some nervous, some afraid, some eager, some too eager.  It is important to listen for the need that is being expressed in dealing with theological difficulties.

-We must be aware of the questions that are being asked, or not being asked.  Only occasionally are these questions made explicit for the answers that are given. 

B.  Denominational and Traditional Differences

One way of determining attitudes and approaches in dealing with theology is by looking at the different denominations and traditions which inform an individual’s perspective.

C.   Challenges in Contemporary Theology

          -J.B. Webster, from his article “Contemporary Theological Trends in NDOT (p. 162ff.) – “Contemporary theology is characterized by such greatly divergent methods and proposals that any neat map of the territory is exceedingly difficult to draw.” 

              “Questions of method are to the forefront, and the last two decades have seen substantial work on such issues as theological pluralism, historical relativism and the nature of change and continuity in theology, as well as some sophisticated work on patterns of theological procedure and the ecclesial character of theology.”

          -He continues by discussing the increased interaction of theology and sociology in studying the social context of Christian faith and thought.  In addition, over-arching theories of dogmatics have been largely put aside as scholars become increasingly specialized and more interested in tearing apart than building a whole.  The doctrine of creation and natural theology are beginning to return in emphasis.   Sin and atonement are out, and pneumatology is in.  The social world of religious practice is reviving an interest in ecclesiology.  And who can hide from the great influx of eschatological writings, especially those written for a popular audience. 

          -It can be said that theology today, as a discipline is “more methodologically sophisticated and more engaged in serious debate with the classical texts of the Christian faith.”  There is a resurgence of responsibility, as well, within theological circles of the great need and duty to be constructive and take part in ministry.

Revelation

I.   The Dilemma

     Isaiah 40:13 - “Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him?  Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice?  Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?”

     Job 11:7 --  “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?  It is higher than heaven – what can you do?  Deeper than Sheol – what can you do?”

A problem arises when we ask ourselves how can we really know God.   Can we search and come to know God on our own?

          John 17

 -Our eternal life is dependent on our knowing God, but the fact is that sin in our lives blocks us from this knowledge.  To know God is to live but we are blocked from knowing God because of sin.

     John 3:19 –  And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”

          Come to think of it, we have a problem even knowing ourselves, let alone one higher than ourselves.  Calvin said that we must get to know ourselves, but this is only possible if we know God.  Our identity and existence is found in God.  So who is He?

     Calvin, “…it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.  For (such is our innate pride) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity.”  (Calvin, 38)

     Blaise Pascal, “If there was no obscurity, humanity would not be aware of its own corruption.  If there was no light, humanity could not hope for a cure.  Thus it is not only right for us that God should be partly concealed and partly revealed; it is also useful, in that it is equally dangerous for humanity to know God without knowing its own misery or to know its own misery without knowing God…”  (McGrath, 19)

-So, we need to know God, but we cannot because of who we are.  Now that’s a dilemma indeed.

II. “The Knowledge of God and of God’s Mysteries is

   Revealed from Faith to Faith.”

A.    “Knowledge of God”

1.      The Knowledge of God as Experiential

Derives from Hebrew understanding of God.  Facts and Ideas are not as important as an instinctive knowledge of someone, God in this instance.  An intimate understanding where a person knows another person’s character as well as their own.  This is not a philosophical understanding, but rather a knowledge of the heart.  Israel is called to know God in this way.

-They are called to know God as lovers know each other, intimately and steadfastly.

a.      Israel knows God instinctively by understanding what God has done in the past. 

An example of this is the Exodus experience, where God’s character is shown in history. 

-This is one of the distinctions of Judaism – the historical dependency.  There may be the occasional deficiency in activity or theology, but what is essential for the truths of Judaism as compare with other religions is the fact that God was active in history on their behalf.  We may not have from Israel’s past an elegant religion, intellectually and spiritually exquisite, rather we have a series of events and power which shows God’s active hand and influence.  Pharaoh may have been able to argue the metaphysical philosophy of Israel’s claim to unique status, but it was difficult for him to argue with a wall of water, drawn apart for Hebrew passage, then suddenly returned to its usual status without regard for the Egyptian army.

Psalm 77 – I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.  I think of God, and I moan;  I meditate, and my spirit faints.  You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.  I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.  I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit::  “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?  Has his steadfast love ceased forever?  Are his promises at an end for all time?  Has God forgotten to be gracious?  Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”  And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”  I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; I will remember your wonders of old.  I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your might deeds  Your way, O God, is holy.  What god is so great as our God?  You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.  With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendents of Jacob and Joseph.  When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.  The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.  The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; our lightning lit u the world; the earth trembled and shook.  Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.  You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron..

 b.  The testimony of Israel is to still know God in the present.