Theologizing as Spiritual Practice
Thursday, April 17th, 2008It dawned on me a few years ago, that theology is a dynamic, living thing even though we treat it as a static, immovable set of ideas. By calling it a “thing,” I’ve already set the wrong tone, because theology is not a thing at all. Theology is a process of thinking. By the way, thinking qualifies as “believing” if one needs to expand the definitions. I have never felt the need to distinguish everyday thinking from believing as I generously include all such interior processes as one and the same. Somehow they are connected if I’m faithing and thinking honestly.
In regard to theology, we must have been taught in an earlier era to not think, not challenge, not accept our Christian freedom that claims we are free to study and think and reflect as part of our growth as believers. In truth, I think we are born as theologians and later cut off that part God created in us because we feel inadequate or unworthy. I believe children are born theologians! I love their sense of wonder … their sense of curiosity … their honesty about what they think and the gift of faith they sense innately. It’s later in life we become more cautious and wounded from shame. Some have consequently put a lid on their curiosity and given their brains over to authoritarian pastors who supply them with every thought they should be thinking.
But we can rediscover our need to theologize if we are willing to risk it. Theological studies began for me at Baylor when I was nineteen or twenty and early on I learned theology is way of thinking that pushes one to the fringes of what is known so that what is not known can be considered as a form of exploration. A starting point would be to recognize that the God of creation is a God who welcomes the questioner to ponder the depths of the universe. The risk of this way of living is the price we pay to grow and keeps the fires of thoughtful reflection alive.
When I say theology is “alive,” I don’t mean it’s not without its holding features. Theology is not untethered but is rather attached to every significant relationship. Theology is held by our responsibilities to live up to its meaning. It is held by Scripture although we must admit the Bible doesn’t sit still with its pronouncements and demands and because of that, we study hard to discern its deepest meanings and not get distracted by its superficial or simplistic meanings.
I would also add that theology is held by our commitment to community. This may illustrate our need to be in a community of believers with whom we trust and have deep commitments so we don’t drive the theology of belief off in the ditch of false-faith.
Francis Schaeffer in the 1970’s asked an intriguing question, “How shall we then live?” implying that issues of real life must be connected to faith in order to know how our living could be termed, “christian.” While there wasn’t much I found to agree with Schaeffer’s methodology in utilizing the tools of faith, I do think he got the question right. That’s why theologizing is important. It allows us to ask the questions and make critical decisions about how we will use the toolbox of faith in coming to conclusions.
Most of us don’t accept our status as theologians. We think that’s only for academic-minded persons who have committed their entire lives to diligent and arduous scholarship. Obviously such persons help stir the pot of ideas regarding belief, but even they don’t live in a vacuum. I look upon their work as those who have the power to stimulate and challenge our old worlds so we might then be free to do our work at a deeper level. Like most provincialisms, our home-grown beliefs need to be open to challenge from all corners of faith’s world.
Theology is an art that demands illustration …
Here are a handful of current issues I believe we as 21st century believers should be theologizing about. You will recognize that none of these issues are easy although you may have already done some good work in thinking theologically about them:
Poverty and Economic Injustice The more we sense the leadership of God to meet our community at their point of need, the more we encounter the harsh reality of poverty. There are an assortment of attending concerns (as poverty never exists by itself): education, single parent families, stigmas and prejudices, racism, and on and on we could go. At its core, poverty and economic disparities are issues of biblical justice. Read the Bible through the lens of God’s view of justice and you will sleep uneasy tonight.
Racism Forty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. we’re still struggling to come to terms with the equality of all human persons. Racism is evidence of our fallen nature of sin that would withhold mutual respect based simply upon superficialities of skin color, or ethnicity, or some other notion that minimizes the imago dei (image of God imprinted upon every person).
Sexual Orientation Every religious group I know of is struggling to deal with this pernicious issue. While the Bible has harsh words to say about this personal issue, there is also the noticable silence of Jesus about the issue and the assumption the Bible seems to make that sexual preference is the result of choice. The church clearly cherry-picks the issue while ignoring other issues. I believe the church will eventually level out and be less divisive in the future, but there is much work to do.
War and Militarism Terrorism is not new to our time, but its effect upon our world is felt more deeply than ever before. But what shall Christians do with our moral struggle of waging war in order to protect our energy interests in the Middle East? There are many talking points to be sure, but one of the issues that has emerged in our war in Iraq is the discussion among Christians over the use of torture on prisoners of war. The newspaper just this week carried stories about the support of torture by leaders of the religious right. While I cannot fathom how one can support torture of prisoners of war from a Christian point of view, I do recognize there are other Christians who somehow believe this is a position that faith can support.
See what I mean?
Theology can be a moving target and who can say with absolute certitude that one holds the high ground? How does one come to believe their beliefs are Christian while other points of view are what we might call sub-Christian or even false belief?
In the end, I would encourage you to push the boundaries of what you think and allow yourself the right to call yourself a “theologian.” Faith is not meant to be something taken out of the closet and worn only on Sunday like a sport coat and tie that’s never worn anywhere else. It’s meant to be lived but in order for it to be lived, you must be alive and aware and curious. You must engage faith and think deeply about what it means to be Christian.

