By the way, Brandon's been away visiting his folks for the past month or so, and I haven't had too many ideas lately of what to post on (though I'm hoping we can pick up on our "Identity" series again soon), so that's why it seems like we've been dead or something.
I've mostly been busy with school and work- My cohort is finishing up Hebrews through Revelation for the Summer and will then be taking a break to start a class in the Fall called "Contemporary Issues in Theology"... So I'm stoked about all of that and very much ready to have a few weeks break! (I'm planning on getting Starcraft 2 and jamming thru the campaign and whatnot! =D)
Anyway, introductory comments aside, back to the title:
"Theology Isn't Just For Theologians"...
I think most of y'all know that Brandon and I are Bible College students. But we're not super Christians and never will be. We're there to know the Word of God. Knowing the Bible is very important and will be one of our main goals, as Believers, throughout this life on earth as it not only expands our knowledge, but brings us into the very presence of God by knowing His thoughts, and calls us to love others as He has loved us.
Joshua Harris recently wrote a book called "Dug Down Deep" about this very topic: Theology and why it matters. I haven't read it yet, but the best line of thought I've heard from it is this:
"We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true"A.W. Tozer put it this way in his "Knowledge of the Holy":
"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.So, why is theology important? How can Tozer say this is the most important thing about man?
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. (1)"
For starters, theology just means "the study of God". "Theo" means God, while "ology" means the study of. So, that's what I mean when I say that. While I'm addressing the Christian God of the Bible, everyone has a theology. But obviously, the best way to understand life and God and the only valid one that conforms to reality is through the mind of the God: The Scriptures.
That being said, lets take one more step backward: Foundationally, theology is important because what one believes about Christ (the God-man) will determine his eternal future: Eternal Life or eternal damnation. I covered that in my post on the Gospel, but this post goes one step further for us as Christ Followers:
What you believe about God will affect the way you live too post salvation (sanctification).
If you believe God is a personal God as the Scriptures teach, you will probably live that way as well- loving people as God has loved you- sending His Son to die for you.
If you believe God is about as big as an action figure, you probably won't conduct your life in view of His omnipresence, divine nature, or sovereignty.
If you believe God isn't truly good, you will probably view God's Word differently, look at the people around you through that idea, and have so much less of a reason, and power too, to live in a way that has an eternal perspective.
Anyway, I could go on, but what I'm combating in this post is the idea that laymen are just to attend church and let what the pastor has to say flood their mind. No; God has given each of us a mind to understand Him and has written in such a way that allows us to understand what he has written (in a literal, normal reading of the text) and each of us as believers should be reading and meditating on His Word daily to know Him, continue to know Him, and live in light of that knowledge.
In closing, here's a really cool video that I got that Joshua Harris quote from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2DUKPUKgAI
"We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true"
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