In college I served at a country church in East Texas of about 20 people. In one conversation with the music minister, he exclaimed: "Theology? Who needs theology? If you want theology, go outside and look at a flower." I never have forgotten that statement. Not because it rings of some profound truth, but because I never completely understood what he was trying to say. For my reformed friends, I highly doubt he was referring to your T-U-L-I-P acronym. If I had to guess, I'd say he was pushing against the misconception of theology as ONLY being about lofty head knowledge that never intersects with everyday life. After all, what's more common than a flower? Jesus even used them as an example to teach about God's provision (Matt 6:8).
In a sense, he was right. Who needs theology IF it doesn't intersect the practical areas of our lives at some point and influence the way we relate to and understand God? I've noticed that many people are not interested in theology until the big questions in life fall into their lap. A friend dies in a tragic car wreck, a teenager begins to questions his/her religious upbringing, one's prayer life becomes stale, etc. The problem with this approach to theology is that it is often too little too late. Since one has not devoted considerable time into their own understanding of God, he/she must rely on popular religious colloquialisms that usually offer little to no guidance or substance for their current situation: "Everything happens for a reason," "God is good, all the time," "God never gives us anything we can't handle," etc.
To be sure, there are varying degrees of truth that can be found in these expressions. But if that is all they are, expressions uttered in a time of crisis, then they are of no lasting value. These phrases are often not deeply held convictions about God, but simple attempts to make oneself feel better about a present circumstance. This is NOT the kind of faith God desires for us. This kind of faith is reactionary. It turns to religious ideas and language when times are tough as a crutch. That's why we DO need theology. It doesn't assure that life won't throw us curve balls, but it helps us have a faith that is consistent, deep, and rooted before, during, and after the storm.
In the aftermath of the Aurora tragedy, I couldn't help but pick up on two theological views held by men who have made it their goal to have a correct view of God that intersects their life at all points. Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, states in his blog: "Christians know that God is sovereign, and that nothing is outside of his control. We also know that he allows evil to exist, and human beings to commit moral atrocities." In other words, he points to God as allowing Aurora to happen. Some use all kinds of tedious qualifications, such as "God didn't do it, he just allowed it," but Mohler does not deny his sovereign control over tragic events such as this. This deep seated conviction comes from his reformed theology, and shapes every manner in which he relates to God.
In a sense, he was right. Who needs theology IF it doesn't intersect the practical areas of our lives at some point and influence the way we relate to and understand God? I've noticed that many people are not interested in theology until the big questions in life fall into their lap. A friend dies in a tragic car wreck, a teenager begins to questions his/her religious upbringing, one's prayer life becomes stale, etc. The problem with this approach to theology is that it is often too little too late. Since one has not devoted considerable time into their own understanding of God, he/she must rely on popular religious colloquialisms that usually offer little to no guidance or substance for their current situation: "Everything happens for a reason," "God is good, all the time," "God never gives us anything we can't handle," etc.
To be sure, there are varying degrees of truth that can be found in these expressions. But if that is all they are, expressions uttered in a time of crisis, then they are of no lasting value. These phrases are often not deeply held convictions about God, but simple attempts to make oneself feel better about a present circumstance. This is NOT the kind of faith God desires for us. This kind of faith is reactionary. It turns to religious ideas and language when times are tough as a crutch. That's why we DO need theology. It doesn't assure that life won't throw us curve balls, but it helps us have a faith that is consistent, deep, and rooted before, during, and after the storm.
In the aftermath of the Aurora tragedy, I couldn't help but pick up on two theological views held by men who have made it their goal to have a correct view of God that intersects their life at all points. Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, states in his blog: "Christians know that God is sovereign, and that nothing is outside of his control. We also know that he allows evil to exist, and human beings to commit moral atrocities." In other words, he points to God as allowing Aurora to happen. Some use all kinds of tedious qualifications, such as "God didn't do it, he just allowed it," but Mohler does not deny his sovereign control over tragic events such as this. This deep seated conviction comes from his reformed theology, and shapes every manner in which he relates to God.
In another post, Dr. James Denison, Founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture and theologian in resident for Texas Baptists, asks "Could it be that [God] is both caring and real, but that he permits us to misuse our divinely-given freedom even when the consequences grieve him and harm his children?" Denison's view assumes that because of God's choice to grant people freedom, things happen that are indeed outside of his immediate will and control. For Denison, this is not a God that is limited by the world, but one in where God has limited himself for the time being. This is a profoundly different view from Mohler's, but like his, it is one that impacts the way Denison sees and serves God in all of life.
Both views are "orthodox," but they are also mutually exclusive. If you hold to one, you cannot hold to the other. Furthermore, both of them have implications that can influence other areas of a person's faith and understanding of God. Theology is not as simple as picking and choosing what to believe when you want to believe it. It is a life long endeavor that is not reactionary, but pro-active in discovering how one's view of God impacts every facet of life. Theology DOES matter. Don't wait until the big questions come up to figure that out.
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