I’m working on an adult curriculum titled “The Beauty of the Christian Faith.” It explores the basic elements of Christian faith as expressed in the Nicene Creed. I’ll be posting excerpts as they’re done. Here’s the first part of the introduction.
Welcome
Welcome to “The Beauty of the Christian Faith.” In this class, we’ll explore together the contents of the historic Christian faith. In formal terms, this class is an introduction to Christian “theology” and “doctrine.” Our goal is to grow together in knowledge and wisdom so that our hearts are moved deeper into worship of the God who made us and loves us.
“Theology” and “doctrine” are dusty, intimidating words. So why do we call this class “The Beauty of the Christian Faith?” When we say something is “beautiful,” we mean that it is pleasing to experience, possesses symmetry and balance, and stirs up emotional responses of wonder, awe and delight. As you begin to study Christian theology and doctrine, you’ll come to understand that our faith is, indeed, “beautiful.”
Of course, theology and doctrine are not always easy to understand. Quite often, the study of theology and doctrine disturbs settled assumptions and old ways of living. This sort of “holy disruption” is sometimes how God draws us closer to Himself. You will also find that, although most Christians historically have agreed on many things, there have always been areas of significant, unresolved disagreement. This tension invites us to remain humble, and teaches us to love others. In fact, with patience, diligence, prayer, and community, you will see that even these unsettling aspects of our faith are part of its powerful beauty. You will also learn to develop your own perspectives, within the broad stream of historic Christianity, so that you can faithfully commend the truth of Christ in mission to the world.
What is Theology?
“Theology” is the human effort to think and speak about God. In a sense, everyone is a theologian. Everyone must in some way answer the question whether there is a God. The act of answering this question is an act of theology, even for someone who concludes there is no God. Anyone who believes God exists inevitably must have some ideas about what God is like. This, too, is theology. Theology is an unavoidable human practice. It is, in fact, part of what makes us “human.”
“Christian theology” is the discipline of thinking and speaking about God with the community of the Christian Church. Each of the components of this definition is important.
Christian theology is a human act of thinking and speaking. All theologies are constructed with the limitations of the human mind and human language. This doesn’t mean that all theologies are equally valid, but it does mean that all theologies are in some way provisional. It doesn’t mean that we discard or reinvent the concepts and definitions received from the past, but it does mean that we continually return to those concepts and definitions with new context and seeking fresh insight. Faith always seeks understanding.
Christian theology is a communal act. No one can practice authentic Christian theology alone. The community with which Christian theology is practiced is the Christian Church. We say that theology is practiced with the Church to emphasize that no individual stands above the Church. We are each, as followers of Christ, members of his community, his “body” (Ephesians 5:30). We learn from each other and support each other, and all of us together stand in the presence of the “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1).
We also say theology is practiced with the Church because Christian theology is an act of worship. The purpose of Christian theology is not to win debating points or to impress others with our knowledge. The purpose of Christian theology is to exalt and adore and wonder and grow in faith, hope and love, in the presence of our good and beautiful God.
Finally, Christian theology is a discipline. It takes effort and practice and study. It doesn’t always come easily. Its apprentices are many and its masters are very few.
Sources of Christian Theology
Introduction
The sources of Christian theology are scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Every variety of Christian theology draws on each of these sources. One of the first decisions we must make when thinking theologically is how to understand the nature of, and relationship between, these sources.
If you grew up in the Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches, for example, you might have believed that Christianity is all about “tradition.” If you grew up Protestant, particularly in an independent evangelical church, you might think “scripture” is the only source that matters. In fact, these poles are distortions. Neither pole properly reflects the interplay of sources in the historic Christian faith.
It is true that Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants have had very different views about the role of scripture and tradition in relation to each other, and that this remains one of the basic differences between these streams of Christian faith. But properly understood, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism each emphasize both scripture and tradition as sources of theological authority, and each also in different ways draw on reason and experience. The perspective we will develop in this section is broadly Protestant, but we will also interact with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views.