I took Systematic Theology I twice at Moody Bible Institute.
That’s right. I failed a class in college. It wasn’t for lack of effort. I came into my undergrad not knowing how to study. So while I had everything memorized I struggled to think critically about the content and lacked the ability to put it all together for the tests.
The fact that I skipped class for 2 weeks at the end of the semester to go to every game of a Cubs 10-game home stand wasn’t related to my getting the first F in my life. OK, maybe a little.
One bi-product of failing that class was that I had to take it again. (Another being that my GPA never recovered!) So, a couple years later I sat in Dr. Marvin Mayer’s systematic theology class again– memorizing, regurgitating, and synthesizing volumes and volumes of information.
That brings me to my point. Theology is ultimately the study of God. And systematic theology is taking what we know about God- dissecting the Bible, anthropology, and God’s works in history… and creating systems of how we think about God.
It’s dissection, based on millions of “if, then” questions. “If this is true of God… then this must always be true of God because we already know God is unchanging and unchangeable in His person, purpose, and works in acts and/or deeds.”
See, how we think about God and what we believe about God is often times oversimplified for public consumption in a sermon or article. We take something very complex, simplify it, and tie it into an argument to prove a point.
The word “biblical” attached to someone’s way of thinking has become a bit of a sore spot for me.
- A biblical view on ____
- What the Bible says about ____
- Biblical marriage, Biblical money management, Biblical golf…
I find that when someone uses the word “Biblical” as a modifier in their description, they are trying to pull a power card. Like… “If you really understand the Bible, like I do, then you have no choice but to see ____ my way.”
So you say “Biblical” and I automatically think, “Probably a weak argument in need of a power word.”
I Find Theology More Art Than Science
I tend to approach another person’s theology from a the vantage point of their systematic theology and go forward from there. I find that this allows me to be far more open-minded than the duality we see so prevalent in society today. (Example: You are either with me 100% or you’re a scumbag, moron, who is probably a communist but definitely not a Biblical Christian like me.)
In other words, I can look at how someone has constructed their argument from the ground up and see the art in it, even if I vehemently disagree with both their starting point and their conclusions. I can see the art in it and acknowledge the beauty in it, even if I don’t buy it.
Why? Because how a person thinks is art. How they construct things is art. How we apply the definitions of words and our understanding of how God might think about things ultimately reflects the Creator.
And I can’t really know my Creator while hating His how his creations think and ultimately create. To love God I must love His people… all of them, those who agree with me and those who don’t.
That leads me to wonder, maybe even dream a little about something. Could we be entering an age where we worry more about the art of someone’s theology than simply sitting there looking for something to disagree with?
Can theology become more art than science?
Image: Rembrant’s The Stone Bridge
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