But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Gal. The formal study of theology involves many of the characteristics of learning any established and long-explored field of study. Theology is studying God. As we approach the study of God, we need to consider the purpose for our pursuit of this knowledge. . Theology, the pursuit of knowing God in Christ, is the poetry of life. It is Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. We have no doubt seen how some people use Scripture as a weapon to hurt other people. The unquenchable thirst after knowledge of God will bring us to Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord. Dr. Craig Barnes, President of Princeton Theological Seminary put it so memorably in his work, The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life: “The primary symptom of a soul that has become sick is that it becomes blind to the poetry of life.”. The Apostle Paul is saying that the Galatian Christians not only knew about God, but they had an intimate knowledge of God in their own lives. Charles W. Christian is managing editor of Holiness Today. In short, theology is a set of intellectual and emotional commitments, justified or not, about God and man which dictate ones beliefs and actions. The study of God and of His Word leads us to the glorious doctrines that change lives. I mean to to say that after we have studied “knowing God” in the Old Testament, New Testament, and have catalogued our findings into a systematic theology, as we have observed God’s Word and ways in historical theology, we come to see that theology is “knowing God” for the purpose of living (and dying, which is, for the believer, a continuation of life). Salem Media Group. One would say, “I am too busy in life to come to know the Giver of my life?” It really is quite ludicrous, isn’t it? Why? Influenced by the airborne spiritual pathologies of a post-Christian culture, such muddle-headed assertions from the mouths of believers unwittingly support the ungodly ideas in the “world,” which they would otherwise oppose. The Real Purpose of Theology. Our Savior once told some who had trusted in Him that conversion was not the end, but the beginning: “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). . Knowing Him and following Him restores our humanity, removes the “birth mark” of a sinful nature, and places us on an ever-expanding experience of God’s remodeling of our lives from the inside out. Thus, there is a beauty about theology that transcends, even resists, categorical truths that remains unapplied in the human soul. To study theology properly, one must learn nuances of theological language, including terms that are difficult to pronounce. Theology, the thirst for knowledge of God in our lives, is equated with love by the Apostle John: “We are from God. of I generally don’t hold the student responsible for a boring subject but rather the teacher. He lived the life we could never live and died the death that should have been ours. Loosely translated, this phrase means, “As we worship, so shall we live, and so shall we believe.” Our worship is connected with our theology and these are connected with how we live out the Christian faith! In the Reformation? The eminent Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in his classic theology, “Love Alone is Credible,” these words: “But if we view creation with the eyes of love, then we will understand it, despite all the evidence that seems to point to the absence of love in the world. (From The Book of Common Prayer). He was crucified for our sins. Holiness Today But we are His image-bearers. 29:29). Christian theology is knowing God through Jesus Christ our Lord. For Balthasar, our humanity is realized as we receive “the love offered …by the divine heart that breaks for us upon the Cross.” And this theological message is a powerful conduit to the human heart, “for the world, love alone is credible.” And God is love. Yet even the prophets, like Jeremiah, who warned of judgement, wept exceedingly when their prophecies at length became judgement. I sometimes hear about “pie in the sky by and by.” Those who have said this to me wanted to stress that Christianity — that is biblical theology — offers nothing for the here and now. No, I enjoy reading theology books, and the bigger they are, the better. I think of the great J. I. Packer in his book, Knowing God. It cannot be otherwise. The mouths of fools are their ruin, 4:8-9, emphasis added). To know Him, to follow Him, to pursue Him with all of your heart, soul, and mind is to increasingly shed the darkness of a fallen world and walk into the soft golden beams of celestial light; a light that warms, illumines, and guides you into the perfect freedom you have dreamed of for so long. Lecture 2, Scope & Purpose of Theology: Why do we continue to study theology even after many learned scholars have developed comprehensive systems of thought? Theology must always culminate in lives transformed by the power of the Gospel. The Gospel of the Resurrection is the action, the supreme miracle, by which God, the unknown God dwelling in light unapproachable, the Holy One, Creator, and Redeemer, makes Himself known: ‘What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this set I forth unto you (Acts 27:23).". This will surely lead not only to strife within that particular Christian community but will lead to heartache by the one who is espousing it. I’ve heard it said that the greatest sin of a history teacher is to make history boring. Theology is not an esoteric inquiry into metaphysical ideas that are disconnected from living (and dying). The purpose and role of moral theology is to instruct believers on the teachings of their faith, and to guide their behavior in day to day life. Men and women of good will, therefore, may disagree. The definition of theology is simply “the study of God.” Two Greek words—“Theos” (θεός)— God — and “logos”(λόγος)—combine to create the word “theology.” The emminant scholar, Louis Berkhof, asserted with brevity and precision: “The New Testament has the Greek equivalents of the Old Testament names. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:6-7, ESV). What is the purpose of Christian theology? Holiness Today is the denominational magazine for the Church of the Nazarene. Thankfully, God has left us with a kind word. What is dull or boring about the plan of God to redeem fallen humankind by making a covenant that God will provide what God requires? The culminating truth of Christian theology is the Person of Jesus. The words of a whisperer are like del…, It is not right to be partial to the guilty, Copyright © 2017 Holiness Today. True theology that is revealed to us from God’s Word can divide: truth from error. Out of the fullness of this love we are able to express His love to another. We are called as Christians not to sign up to a certain doctrinal statement but to follow a certain way of life. The great twentieth century English professor and essayist, Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957), wrote of theology as the “divine drama.” In her remearkable book, Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine, the Oxford scholar asserted: “. We were told throughout the Scriptures that we should not be speculating about the meaning of a mystery not revealed. To know the love of God. For ’El, ’Elohim, and ‘Elyon it has Theos, which is the most common name applied to God.”, Jeremiah called Israel to recall the priority of theology, that is, of “knowing God:”, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord’” (Jer. A fool’s lips bring strife…. Such intimacy not only opened their consciousness to their Creator but also to themselves. But there is another thing that theology must never be. To receive His eternal gift of life in Christ Jesus is to not only know but experience this divine love. Elders, The Metaphysics of Being of St. Thomas Aquinas in a Historical Perspective(Brill, 1992). In the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries? We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. Theology, the science of salvation, is also the science of revelation, whose purpose is the salvation of mankind. . Indeed, this kind of knowing God is filled with love, gratitude, and the “communicable” attributes of God impressed into our lives. When I say “dogma,” I’m using the word in the same way that Dorothy Sayers did in her essay.
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