God is the "the Truth." The Bible is the "truth about the Truth." Theology is the "truth about the truth about the Truth." Fundamentalism is the "truth about the truth about the truth about the Truth." Christian people live in these many truths about the Truth, and, because of them, have not "the Truth." Hungry, beaten and doped, we had forgotten theology and the Bible. We had forgotten the "truths about the Truth", therefore we lived in "the Truth." It is written, "The Son of man will come in the hour when you do not think and on a day you do not know." We could not think any more. In our darkest hours of torture the Son of man came to us, making the prison walls shine like diamonds and filling the cells with light. Somewhere far away, were the torturers below us in the sphere of the body. But the spirit rejoiced in the Lord. We would not have given up this joy for that of kingly palaces. (Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand, pages 72 and 73 - © 1969)Don't ditch theology - it's important. But consider John chapters 14-15, and the book of 1 John.
I recently finished listening to the book Crazy Love (which, incidentally, I highly recommend; more on that another time.) The author, Francis Chan, recommended that you read 1 Corinthians 13, and instead of skimming it over, stick your name in the blanks.
[name] is patient, [name] is kind... by the time I got to the end, like Chan said, I was lying.
Knowing God is about abiding in Him. It's about obeying Him out of an incredibly deep love for Him - because God first loved us. It's showing God's love to others - and having a burning passion to know God more, and an endless desire that others would know God. It's not a stuffy, dry, purely academic subject. Again, though, I'm not saying to ditch theology. That's really important - otherwise you could very well be a heretic, a blasphemer, and an idolater.
Be balanced. Beg the Lord to make the following verse true in your life, as I'm crying out for Him to make it true in mine.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)
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"Again, though, I'm not saying to ditch theology. That's really important - otherwise you could very well be a heretic, a blasphemer, and an idolater."
I'm a bit confused here. What exactly do you mean by your second sentence above? I know theology is important, but how could the absence of it turn you into a heretic, a blasphemer or an idolater?
Thanks and God bless,
India
India, I believe that theology is the most important aspect of Christianity, because this is the only way in which we can truly know God, and what he is like. It is the absence of correct theology that has led to heresies such as the Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses. Without theology, it is impossible to know God, or His Son, or to understand Jesus's sacrifice on the cross.
Hi India,
Just piggy-backing on that, defined simply but accurately, theology is the study of God. If we don't have a Biblical theology, it is easier to fall into the traps of different heresies and perverting doctrines... which don't just limit themselves to the head, but affect a person's whole life.
It's a question of whether the God who is supposed to be at the center of every person's life is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, James, John, and Paul - or whether it's a God whose character and attributes are a creation of our minds, the result of wishful and idolatrous thinking.
But, again, nobody should stop with the common misconception of theology...leafing through dusty old books from the Middle Ages. What's in our heart manifests itself in our thoughts, words, and actions. Biblical theology has to be lived out!
"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." - Luke 6:45
Anthony
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