Monday, January 28, 2008
Glazed Eyes and Bored To Tears
"So, you’re a junior, right? What subject do you enjoy the most?” Erm… “Well, I enjoy many aspects of my education, but I’m most passionate about theology, actually.” Blink, blink. Say again? Theology? For a teenager? And a girl? That’s… interesting.---------------
A wizened old man sits hunched over a desk. It's strewn with scattered papers, and heavily laden with books by greats like Athanasius, Augustine, Luther and Edwards. In the flickering candlelight, he pores over Calvin’s Institutes of Religion with scholarly intensity. Mmm… he pauses, and scratches at his white beard. What a beard, too. It’s spilling over his chair and onto the floor. He looks almost as old as those texts he’s reading. Ah, that’s it! He snatches up his pen again. Far from an adiaphorous controversy, Simi Pelagianism undermines the efficacy of the penal, substitutionary atonement… he drones on to himself in a slow, flat voice, as his pen scratches noisily on the paper.
This… is a theologian. Right? Well, yes and no. Yes, he could call himself a theologian. Thankfully, however, the beard is not a prerequisite. (I’m glad. Frankly, I like my chin the way it is.) And just because he can spout off long words about free will doesn’t mean a thing.
The portrait I painted is exaggerated, but you get the general idea. There is a common, curious misconception floating around the church: Theology is dry, dull, inaccessible, mostly irrelevant, and far too difficult for the average person’s comprehension. Let the pastors and the teachers and the brilliant minds deal with it. The rest of us should read our Bibles, of course, but we can't all be expected to devote ourselves to the diligent, earnest study of theology.
This misconception is rarely stated explicitly, but it is shouted out, clearer than words, in the pointed silence surrounding the subject of doctrine. And so, a generation of Christians is being raised that takes more interest in lipgloss than wrestling with the holiness of God, and can boast more knowledge about their iPods than the salvation purchased for them with the Savior's drops of blood.
The consequences of this are not light. Wherever the study of theology is neglected, our perspective on God warps. Disillusionment and doubt settle in, because we misconstrue the character of God. We flounder about in a sea of confusion, because we have not cared to learn how to "rightly divide the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). We become like leaves, blown here and there in the wind by every stray doctrine, as Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:14. This is a tragedy. Thus unequipped, how can we hope to triumph in the world, with a faith that we don't even know?
Wayne Grudem said it well.
“I do not believe that God intended the study of theology to be dry and boring.(Systematic Theology, pages 16, 23, 29)
Theology is the study of God and all his works! Theology is meant to be lived and prayed and sung! All of the great doctrinal writings of the Bible (such as Paul’s epistle to the Romans) are full of praise to God and personal application to life. Nowhere in Scripture do we find doctrine studied for its own sake or in isolation from life. The more we know about God, about His Word, about His relationships to the world and mankind, the better we will trust Him, the more fully we will praise Him, and the more readily we will obey Him.”
Theology, dry? Try ineffably glorious, unspeakably thrilling, supremely delightful, utterly mind-blowing, and breathtakingly beautiful. Inaccessible? Not by a long shot. Irrelevant to daily life? It is far, far more applicable, life-transforming, and rewarding than anything else you could ever study in the world. I'm not a huge advocate of the white beard, but as Christian young women, we should all aspire to be theologians.
Click here to read Part 2.
---------------
Speaking of theology, do check out our friends' new blog, Forthright Fixation. These girls are truly passionate about cherishing their Savior above all else--and it shows. It's worth your time, and a bookmark, too.
Follow us on Twitter!