How Do You "Do" Theology?

[Barrett Young]

Over at the Parchment and Pen, there is a commenter who has raised a challenge that he will give one million dollars to anyone that can produce a verse saying any of the following: 1) "man, by being born a sinner, deserves eternal punishment", 2) "'Grace' means God's favor extended to the undeserving", 3) "man's eternal condemnation is in any way related to his/her sin nature", 4) "produce a passage where personal sins are mentioned at the final judgment", and finally 5) "an 'eternal' death/consequence related to our position 'in Adam'".

So, being that every one of these positions have been taught in orthodox Christianity, to some extent, for the past two thousand years, what is keeping me from cashing in on this offer? Moreover, what makes this person so bold to offer at least 5 million dollars to someone who presents a simple Bible verse? The reason I can't, and the reason he is so bold, is because we both know that there is no Bible verse that teaches any of these concepts explicitly.

But how have all of these concepts become so "entrenched" in Christian thought if they aren't taught in a verse? Because the Bible is not a Magic Eight Ball. Do you remember Magic Eight Balls? You ask it a question, then flip it over and the answer would float to the top through the murky liquid. Typically, the answers were so vague (like fortune-cookies) that they could apply to anything. But the Bible is not like that. The Bible is not meant to be queried every time I want to know what decision to make. I don't ask the Bible, "Bible, are all men born in sin?" then flip it open to find the answer. "Bible, did Jesus have a sinful nature?" "Bible, do infants go to heaven or hell?" "Bible, what is grace?" "Bible, is our depravity total or partial?" You will search in vain for any specific confirmation or denial of these things. Why? The Bible is not primarily an eight ball and it is not primarily a dictionary. In fact, the Bible is not even a systematic theology textbook! The Bible is a historic narrative of God, His people, and His plan to redeem them, namely, through His Son, Jesus.

So should we seek out the answers to these questions, even though the Bible is mainly narrative? Yes, we do seek out answers. Even though the Bible is not a systematic theology textbook, we create systematic theology from it to see how the Bible is unified on theological issues. Original Sin is not taught in one verse, so I will never win one million dollars. But Original Sin is the teaching of all of Scripture on the state of fallen man. I can never win a proof-texting war with someone in the comments section of a blog, because theology is not derived through proof-texting and it isn't done online. (As a side note, it is interesting that Christians are accused of proof-texting too much, yet we are expected to do so when challenged.)

Theology is studied properly in community, with the whole Bible before you and the testimony of the Church as reference. We have the Bible before us because it is God's complete and final revelation of His will in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, specifically as it concerns His Son. We have the history of the Church as reference because any idea that presents itself that has not been confirmed through the practice and teaching of the Church should be more suspect. There is very little new worth paying attention to in theology. Not that it isn't there, but it should receive more discernment than we typically give it. And theology is done in community because in community we are faced with our sins and we are called to the impossible task of loving fellow sinners. Face-to-face, I can tell when someone is lying to me to avoid their sin. Face-to-face, I cannot merely avoid commenting or stop reading their blog when I disagree. Face-to-face, I must put the truths I've been studying into action or be held accountable. Face-to-face, I realize that the theological issues we deal with concerns real -flesh and blood mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children- people, whether the unregenerate, infants, the unevagelized, homosexuals, Middle Easterners, or the Canaanites. This is how we should "do" Theology.

[Jennifer]

I'm with Jack I'd like this person to ummm.... "show me the money" ;)

[Jack]

"one million dollars"? That's mighty big talk! I'd like to see this big-talker show proof that he/she actually HAS this kind of money. A notorized bank-statement showing such a balance would show that he's not just a Blow-heart! However, it still wouldn't prove that his challenge is correct.

[Michael Patton]

Great post!!