A defense of theological understanding…

Sometimes in the church, I see a dismissal or even a negative judgement placed upon heavy, technical study of theology or the Bible. We should all agree that Christians should read the Bible and participate in Bible studies, but for some people like myself bible study, apologetics, and debate can become a hobby that others then seem to question. I have seen some members of the church question this curiosity and start to worry that high level of study indicate a doubting faith or even an intellectual pursuit of God that ignores faith entirely. I think these judgements are often laid down too quickly and too harshly, so I would like to defend the pursuits of knowledge and theology.

So, studying theology isn’t bad. It doesn’t reflect a weak or questioning faith. It doesn’t mean you lack a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And it doesn’t mean you hold an intellectual pride over others. Young church members who desire to study theology and develop nuanced beliefs can sometimes be talked down to and interrogated for simply asking questions and looking at other viewpoints. I see older members of our churches latch on to their specific belief system or denomination and deny all others as weaker faiths. As a Protestant especially, it is painful to see so many people equate their interpretation of scripture with scripture itself. This lack of ecumenicalism and triage is divisive and destructive to the global church. So, let’s break down this idea of triage. Theological triage is a way of placing doctrinal disagreements into a hierarchy of importance that defines how we discuss those topics and how important they are to the Church. Gavin Ortlund’s book Finding the Right Hills to Die On is a great resource on how to successfully conduct theological triage.

At the top of the hierarchy are first rank issues. These are beliefs that must be held to be a Christian such as the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, or Christ’s resurrection. There is little to no room for disagreement on these topics, and when people doubt these doctrines they should be discipled and encouraged in that journey. Now, any issues below these should not be the basis for “correction”. 

Second rank issues such as baptism or the Eucharist are important and these are the issues that divide denominations. People who are questioning these things should be engaged as well and we should respectfully put forth and defend our personal positions, but a difference of opinion on baptism does not affect one’s salvation. Baptists, Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Orthodox, and many more can hold many different positions on second rank issues, but members of all these churches can achieve salvation. It can be difficult to see people make these levels of doctrine changes, and it should not be done lightly. However, many people feel the need to pursue one denomination or another, and frankly throughout history smart and faithful men have attended all of these churches. As a Protestant, to posit one denomination as the “true faith” is an incredibly difficult position to defend and I ask anyone who dares to make that defense to do so humbly and with much prayer.

Now even further down this list are third rank issues. And these issues should NEVER be cause for division or dissension in the church. However, I do believe that these topics are important to study, develop beliefs on, and respectfully discuss. We should look to Romans 14 as a guideline for these discussions and acknowledge that other people will see things differently and that is okay. The two large topics areas at this level are creation and eschatology. This is where I see the most concern in American Protestant churches. I see many laypeople holding beliefs on these two topics that they believe is the one true view, the only view, and just the Biblical view. And in my experience these views are strict young earth creationism and premillennialism dispensationalism. Now these are views that can be defended biblically, and I won’t argue that here. However, the popularity of these views in the history of the church are relatively new. For creation, there were strict YECs in history but there were also many prominent figures like Augustine who held to non literal days and others later that held old earth views like C.S. Lewis. The story of church history is much less supportive of current premill dispensationalism with that view really only coming into view in the 1800s. Prior to that most figures throughout history have held postmill or amill views. Now, I’m not defending or attacking any of these views here, but I want to make an appeal to all Christians not to die on these hills. Both of these issues are matters of interpretation that do not require the suspension of biblical inerrancy or any other essential doctrines. Holding differing views on these topics does not make you a progressive Christian, or a weak Christian, it just means that you sought the truth wherever it led you. And as Augustine wisely says “All Truth is God’s Truth”. And it hurts me deeply to hear Christian’s feel that they have to hide their views on these issues. How is that creating a welcoming, loving environment in churches when people are afraid to be honest on biblical views? I truly see this as Satan sowing division in our churches by creating prideful men and women who value not being wrong over honest pursuit of truth. If you are one of those people that have faced judgement for minor doctrinal positions then I would tell you to take heart in Romans 14:22,

If you are abiding by the core tenants of our faith and are confident in that, then do not let the judgements of other people sway you or shake you. 

Here’s the thing too, many of us who grew up in Christian homes and in church have developed our views of scripture based on the people who raised us and taught us. For many of us, these people were faithful, intelligent Christian men and women, but we have to be honest to ourselves and come to our own conclusions. There is nothing wrong with questioning interpretations or researching new views or ideas. It is good and natural to do so, and I wish more Christians would. We should believe what we believe for a reason, and that means being able to point to the Bible and say this is why I believe in believers baptism or real presence in the Eucharist or any other view. And sadly I feel that many Christians can’t do that because they just believe what they were told by their pastor. Even worse than that I see in many Christians, including myself, a tendency to build ideas of the what the Bible says on what we’re told and not on what the Bible says. There have been many times when I’ve gone to look for something that I’ve assumed to be true in the Bible and not found it. So, studying theology and deep study of the Bible to develop strong and sometimes nuanced doctrinal positions is good and healthy.

Truthfully, I feel that many people’s reluctance of new or different ideas comes from a place of fear. I truly believe that many Christians fear that study and questioning will lead them places they don’t want to go. This could be denominational change or I think some fear that they will lose their faith by being swindled by the fancy teachings of atheism or other religion. And I understand this, but I feel it equally dangerous to live a life for Jesus based on feeling because feelings change and feelings are deceitful. However, any of these fears should be reduced by a trust and faith in God to watch over us and help us persevere in the faith. God warns us in Col 2:6 to stay rooted in Christ to avoid those pitfalls,

It is also because of these false philosophies that we have a duty to seek God’s truth. As C.S. Lewis put it “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy must be answered… The learned life then, is for some, a duty.” However, because we remain a sinful people that pursuit of knowledge will lead each of us to different places sometimes. That being said, I also believe that if this seeking is done in prayer and with a heart for God then He will protect us on that journey. Those journeys to seek truth and understand your beliefs can be confusing and scary, but you can always find faith and comfort in the simple truths of the Gospel. At the end of each study and journey, I personally have only grown stronger in my faith and love for God.

Now our salvation is wholly dependent on our relationship with Jesus Christ, and this should lead us to a heart for God and a desire to learn more about Him and His word. So often, theology though at times convoluted and over rationalized has led me to incredible moments of awe over the power and beauty and awesomeness of our God. It has led me to a deeper appreciation and love for Him and His creation. And I desire that every Christian have those moments of studying doctrine and coming to a realization over the incredible qualities of God. Just as when we come to love a spouse or friend, we desire to know more about them, the same should happen when we come to love God. It is a healthy outcropping of our faith to study Him through his word and through His doctrines that the church has established over the last 2000 years. To suppress this desire is destructive to the church and to believers.

Like I mentioned briefly above, there is a balance to be struck in every believers life between loving with the heart and loving with the mind. Jesus even commands us to love Him with our minds in Matt 22:37, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” I am the first to admit that a faith built on the mind is no good, and all study must be done in the effort of growing closer to God. And this can be difficult, as it can be easy to separate the knowledge of God from our relationship with Him. We have to remain humble and focused on the utmost good which is loving God and living for Him. The same problems lie in living a faith based on the heart. After all, God’s Word in Jer 17:6 tells us,

So as with any virtue it lies between two vices and we must live in balance. Now for me it has always been easier to live an intellectual faith than a heartfelt one, but I think most of the church these days has the opposite problem. So much so, that I see members of the church demonize the intellect as some form of “overthinking”. They will claim that attempts to understand God are futile as God is beyond human understanding. I certainly agree that we will never fully grasp the power of God, but God is rational. He created a rational, logical creation, and He gave us that same sense of logic and reason. It is because He created us that we can understand His creation and understand Him. It is on this basis that the early scientists who were often times believers began to study and understand this world. Therefore, we can not abandon this part of our faith.

We have to do both, especially as I see evangelism among young people become more like apologetics. There are many young people who have grown up listening to the new atheists and they have real questions and problems with religion that we should be prepared to answer. 2 Peter 2:5 and 1 Peter 3:15 tell us to prepare for me these moments,

This takes study and a commitment to trying to understand why God makes sense and why He is so crucial to this world. Someone recently told me that theology should lead to doxology, and I could not agree more. Studying the faith leads to a stronger heart for God and we can not afford to sacrifice that.