One of the greatest tragedies in the church today is that so many people think theology is boring.
I have even encountered people who think that “theology” is a Christian curse word. They seem to think that one can either have Christian love or Christian theology, but not both.
What they fail to realize is that this idea itself is a theological belief, and a sadly mistaken one at that. It’s just poor theology to think that Christian love and Christian theology cannot co-exist. I am convinced that true Christian theology, when rightly taught and understood, will lead to Christian love.
The foundation of Christian love IS Christian theology.
If someone wants to reject Christian theology as dry, dusty, boring, and irrelevant for modern life, they should at least make some effort to learn what it is they are rejecting before they reject it. I find that most people who reject theology as irrelevant have never really taken the time to learn any real theology.
The emphasis there is on “real.”
Lots of people think they know what Christian theology is, when in reality, they only know some popularized, week-kneed, insipid form of theology that does not reflect real Christianity at all. Of course they’re bored, if this is what they think real theology is!
One of my favorite theologians is Dorothy Sayers, and in her book Letters to a Diminished Church, she perfectly summarizes this popularized (but completely false) version of Christian theology as follows:
Q: What does the church think of God the Father?
A: He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed on man conditions impossible of fulfillment; he is very angry if these are not carried out. He sometimes interferes by means of arbitrary judgments and miracles, distributed with a good deal of favoritism. He likes to be truckled to and is always ready to pounce on anyone who trips up over a difficulty in the law or is having a bit of fun. He is rather like a dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.Q: What does the Church think of God the Son?
A: He is in some way to be identified with Jesus of Nazareth. It was not His fault that the world was made like this, and, unlike God the Father, He is friendly to man and did His best to reconcile man to God (see Atonement). He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to Him.Q: What does the Church think of God the Holy Ghost?
A: I don’t know exactly. He was never seen or heard of till [Pentecost]. There is a sin against Him which damns you forever, but nobody knows what it is.Q: What is the doctrine of the Trinity?
A: The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the whole thing incomprehensible. Something put in by theologians to make it more difficult—nothing to do with daily life or ethics.Q: What was Jesus Christ like in real life?
A: He was a good man—so good as to be called the Son of God. He is to be identified in some way with God the Son (q.v.). He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He had no sense of humor. Anything in the Bible that suggests another side to His character must be an interpolation, or a paradox invented by G. K. Chesterton. If we try to live like Him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.Q: What is meant by the Atonement?
A: God wanted to damn everybody, but His vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of His own Son, who was quite innocent, and therefore a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don’t follow Christ or who never heard of Him.Q: What does the Church think of sex?
A: God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided the parties (a) are married, and (b) get no pleasure out of it.Q: What does the Church call Sin?
A: Sex (otherwise than as excepted above); getting drunk; saying “damn”; murder, and cruelty to dumb animals; not going to church; most kinds of amusement. “Original sin” means that anything we enjoy doing is wrong.Q: What is faith?
A: Resolutely shutting your eyes to scientific fact.Q: What is the human intellect?
A: A barrier to faith.Q: What are the seven Christian virtues?
A: Respectability; childishness; mental timidity; dullness; sentimentality; censoriousness; and depression of spirits.Q: Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?
A: No fear!
As I teach and write about Scripture and theology, I have discovered that the above descriptions perfectly represent the theology of many Christians.
When I teach about Genesis 1–2 and science, people get upset that I am seeking to understand these passages in a way other than the one endorsed by the Creation Science Institute (which really isn’t science at all…)
When I write in my book The Atonement of God that God was not angry about sin, and did not need Jesus to die so that we could be forgiven, people get upset that I am presenting a God who looks and acts just like Jesus Christ instead of like a Hitlerian Zeus.
When I write about sexual innuendos in the Bible, I get nasty emails from people about how I have succumbed to the sexualized culture of modern America. Don’t I know that sex if of the devil except in the case of procreation?
Anyway … one of the early goals of my writing and blogging was to “Bring Scripture and Theology to Life.” This had a double meaning: I not only seek to teach Scripture and Theology in a lively way, but also so that people learned how Scripture and Theology affected their lives today.
I hope I am accomplishing this through my blogging, my books, and my podcast. Very soon I will be adding some theology courses on my blog as well … Stay tuned for more details!
You r a real breath of fresh air. Blessings
I must say my instant reaction is “Yes, you are right about that. Utterly boring!” And the theology portrayed by Dorthy Sayers is horrific. Too much of that still survives in the church regrettably. Am looking forward to your teaching on the matter. I think the word “theology” is very pedantic and academic, and it’s this that puts me off and makes me think “boring”. Is there not a better term? Or are you just out to redeem the term?
Theology which can be defined as the study of God’s Word culminates to a deeper knowledge of the Creator and the proper way to take care over those created in His image and the environment as well. All Christians are some sort of a theologian. Theology helps us to love intelligently and appreciatively. Theology needs some
sacrifice (hard study and meditation on the Bible) and the fruit is so sweet that I cannot express in words.
Nothing is boring if you dig deep enough. Every idea reaches out with tendrils to other ideas. But theology can be unimpressive to an empiricist.
Absolutely right, Jeremy. I cannot agree with you more. What theology means to many, if not most, Christians (even though most wouldn’t want to admit it) has aptly been summarised. When those who call themselves Christians have no clue themselves about true theology, how would one expect an atheist or an agnostic to agree on it?
Well said Jeremy, thank you!
“I study theology and I love everyone, and so does my God! And If you don’t love him, he’ll burn you alive forever and ever and ever!”
Yeah, you can go to Hell with this demon of a God you worship.
Marissa,
I believe in God, but not the god you describe there….
You’re no Christian then. Ever since Justinian called that synod and anathemized Universalism and Conditional Immortality, Christian dogma has been that anyone who doesn’t make it to Yahweh’s celestial North Korea spends eternity on fire.
Eh…. that may be one brand of Christianity, but I reject and condemn it as loudly as you do. It has nothing whatsoever to do with what Jesus taught or who God truly is. That view of god is truly “satanic.”
Funny how “God” doesn’t seem all that bothered about this. Not a single instance of the clouds parting and a voice booming “Cut that crap out, you sick torture fetishists.”
I mean, he’s all-knowing, so he KNOWS this is what people think. Shouldn’t he be concerned about this blasphemy being not only common but majority opinion?
“boring” is a relative term and based on personal preference.
True point!
You are indeed accomplishing it. This is a great post 🙂
Anyone who thinks theology is boring should read your new book, “The Atonement of God,” which is without a doubt the best book I have read on the topic. Unlike some books about theology, the book is written in language that most of us can understand.
To be fair, some (other) theologians are so awed by their depth of knowledge and huge vocabulary, that they feel it necessary to allow the rest of us to witness the wise and wordy heights to which they can ascend. Rather than awe, however, we may experience boredom.
You do an excellent job in the book, Jeremy, as you do in the podcasts and blog. Sometimes the masses are slow to recognize true quality work.
Thanks, Sam. This means a lot to me. You have taught me that theology must lead us to live and love like Jesus if it is true. Thanks!
Most of the organized church has been taken over by an aggressively anti-intellectual movement. Knowledge is propped up as an enemy to attack. There are a number of reasons for this. One, by discouraging knowledge and just repeating ethics and cliches, they can control people to do their bidding instead of God’s bidding. When one studies true theology, by going to the text, not proof-texting or cherry picking, but engaging in grammatical-historical exegesis, being honest with the text, discarding confirmation bias and presuppositions, God moves and transforms hearts and minds. On the laity’s end, knowledge is sometimes attacked because in reality some people aren’t really searching for God, instead they’re looking for some emotional experience, or a psychological pep talk that makes them feel warm and fuzzy. Others are looking for God…sort of…on THEIR terms. They create an image of God they PREFER and cherry pick select scripture to support it. Theology exposes this though, and thus another reason why some hate theology.
There are others reasons as well.
Yes, I am so tired of the cliches too, and a Christianity that seems only to be concerned with sin management … do this, don’t do that. There is so much more!
How do you know that your God is real?
I would love to be interested in theology, but most theologians put me off. They are overquestioning, faithless, lacking in zeal for the Word, they seem to think it is their duty to rubbish the scriptures. They play down the amazing role the Holy Spirit played in building the 1st Century Church. Where are the theologians who do not do these things?