WHAT IS MEANT BY THEOLOGY?

In the simplest terms theology is what a person believes about God.  More exact, theology is what you believe about God from the study of the Bible.  A person’s ideas of God may come from other sources, such as nature, but for Christians, the Bible is the main source of knowledge about God and His truths.  When a person arranges information from the Bible into categories or subjects it is called systematic theology.  Studying the Bible and coming up with what we believe the Bible is saying about God and all He reveals is called doing theology.  Over a lifetime, persons build up more information about God and His truths.

Because the Bible is God’s word it is our authority for what we believe. However, our theology is only as right as our right understanding of the Bible.  This is where problems develop.  Persons differ in their understanding of what they think the Bible is saying.  Therefore, we have different theologies among believers. 

For example, people have different eschatologies, that is, what the Bible says about future things.  There are people who believe there will be a thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth at the end of our history.  Others believe there will be no millennium on earth at the end of history.  Both views are based on an understanding of what the Bible teaches. 

Another example concerns how a person is saved, that is, how a person is made right with God.  Some have a theology which says God saves us by His own determination and that we have no part in it.  Others say we choose salvation by the free will given to us by God.  These opposing theologies have been called Calvinism and Arminianism.  They continue to be involved in a centuries-old debate over God’s sovereignty versus man’s free will.  There are many other differing theologies besides the two examples just given.

How does the common person learn his or her particular theological views?  It seems to me that the common person’s theologies (my own included) are often learned from our churches as we involve ourselves in various classes or seminars taught by teachers.  Those teachers teach from materials found in various books or articles that are written by persons holding to certain views of the Bible.  Those views in books and articles are usually derived from a more formal education, as found in a Bible school or seminary.  Many Bible schools or seminaries form their theologies from writings of persons in the past who they respect, such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Saint Augustine, and so forth.  Many schools and churches come out of certain theological backgrounds and so that is what they believe and teach.  We tend to believe what we have been taught from the perspective of our traditional upbringing.

I would like to comment on what I have seen among many of us who hold to different theologies.  (1) We tend to believe our theology is the right one.  After all, we have studied, and read the other side, and we believe we have answered our opponents and stand on the truth of the Bible.  We get ourselves into a position where we cannot hear the other views because we have already been convinced they are wrong.  (2) I have noticed that nearly every theology has some point which does not seem to fit well with what the Bible seems to be saying.  It is as if persons of a particular theology are trying to force those points into agreement with their theological views.  (3) Every theology seems to have some valid truth that is missing in my own theology which I have a hard time letting myself integrate lest it require that I change my views.

Have you ever noticed that when you say something there is often a “but” response from someone else?  It seems like anything we say has another side to it and people are often quick to point it out.  There is a principle I have learned from a science discovery that I often apply to my view of life.  It is this:  The truth lies simultaneously at both ends.   To negate one truth or the other is to miss something that can keep us in proper focus.  As a result of my observations of how people hold to their theologies I have decided I need to do theology differently.   I must not simply accept what has been handed down to me and try to reinforce the rightness of it in my own mind to the exclusion of something else.  I  need to consider what each theology has to offer and weigh it against Scripture by seeing if what that theology says is what the Bible seems to be saying. 

How do I do theology?  Here are some ways I prefer to do it: 

(1) As I engage in the daily reading of Scripture, I usually ask the Holy Spirit to show me the truth about a matter.  I believe God’s Spirit can give us insight as we read and if we don’t understand something, and we ask, He will often give an answer. 

(2) I don’t negate other theologies but I try and learn more from them about the Bible’s teachings.  I read a lot of differing viewpoints about various subjects and I try and assimilate into my thinking what is Biblically true about that particular view.  I like to read what others say on a subject because, as it has been said, “there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors”.   Therefore, my theology may include what I perceive to be accurate assessments of Scriptural teaching presented in the differing theologies. 

(3) I try to be aware of my own biases and tell myself that it is ok to believe something I disagree with, but the Bible seems to say it.  Therefore, what the Bible says is what I need to accept.  I put my questions on hold until further information is made available to me.  I tell myself that it is ok not to have all the answers.   I also remind myself that sometimes mystery is involved and I need to accept something as true without having to reconcile it in my mind. 

(4) I consult “experts” in language if I think it will help me to more accurately understand a Bible word or phrase. 

 (5) I realize that the Bible was written to people living in a certain context with particular needs that God wanted to address.  I have found that people sometimes have problems that need to be addressed by a truth of the Bible, which may seem contradictory to other Bible truths.  But they may need the seemingly contradictory truth at another point in their life.  Both truths are necessary for a balanced life, but those truths may seem to be contradictory apart from their proper contexts.  In these cases “the truth lies simultaneously at both ends” principle makes sense. 

The important thing to know is that the Bible is God speaking and that He wants us to understand what He is saying.  Doing theology is the way we arrive at what He is saying and the resulting knowledge is our theology – what we believe about God stuff.