What is theology?

What is theology?

Theology is derived from the Greek words, “theos” for God and “logos” for word, or subject, or topic of discourse.  The combination of these two words forms the word theology.  Theology from these two words has the means, “the study of God.”  In Called to Believe: A Brief Introduction to Christian Doctrine, edited by Steven P. Mueller, theology is defined as “words about God.”

It’s important to note that there are many different theologies because there are many different views of God.  Theology will be approached in a completely different manner depending on which h words about God are being studied.   If a Hindu sacred text is being studied, then the study of the “words about God” will be very different from the “words about God” from the Islamic Qur’an, the Jewish Talmud, or the Christian Bible.  Theology can be approached from many different worldviews also, such as, atheism or feminism.

Christian theology is the study of how God has revealed himself to mankind from the Bible.  It mainly focuses on how God has acted towards his creation, us, and what he wills and wants for us in our lives.  Within Christianity there are numerous branches of study.

Historical Theology – This branch of theology looks at the history of the church and the various theological movements in teachings, emphasis, and practice within the life of the church.

Exegetical Theology – This branch of theology “brings out” the truths of scripture by discovering what the message would have meant to its original audience.  To accomplish this aim, the historical and cultural context of the writing must be examined, as well as the literary context and type of writing and the original language needs to be examined, as well as interpreting each passage of scripture with other passages of scripture.  Once the original message, purpose, and intent of any given passage of the Bible is determined, then exegesis is properly prepared to apply that timeless truth of scripture to a modern day audience.

Pastoral Theology – This branch of theology focuses on the day to day application of theology in the lives of Christians.

Apologetics – This branch of theology focuses on defending the faith.  Many people ask complicated questions concerning the Christian faith, such as, how can you trust the bible to true, or why would an all-loving God send people to hell?  Or how about, all religions are just different paths that lead to the same God, so why must Jesus be the only way?  These questions and many others are asked both within Christendom, but Christians, and by people who are outside of the church, so this branch although often times ignored within certain groups of Christianity plays an important role in the church.

Missiology – This branch of theology focuses on the study of missions.  How should the church go about spreading God’s word?  How should the kingdom grow?  Answers are in scriptures, but answers also lie in studying cultures, psychology, trends, history, and through analyzing demographics.

Systematics – This branch of theology is essentially what the “What does the Bible Teach?” section of OC Apologists centers around.  Systematics is taking the whole of the Scriptures and putting the word of God into understandable categories to form doctrines.  Doctrine is simply an organized, system, of instruction.  That is what systematic is, taking the bulk of God’s word and narrowing the scope of an individual topic, such as sin or the nature of God, and siphoning it down into concise bullet points of information.

And what is the purpose of Theology?

The main purpose of Christian theology is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This should be the ultimate aim of Christian theology, to always point to the work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.

The secondary purpose of Christian theology is to produce growth in a Christian’s life in the realm of knowledge and understanding of God.  This isn’t however just head knowledge.  An example would be a sports fan knowing all the stats of his favorite quarterback from high school to the NFL.  However, if he sees that quarterback on the street, does he know the quarterback?  Does the quarterback know him?  No.  The knowledge is just intellectual, and it’s not intimate.  The goal in the growth of knowledge of God in theology is to produce growth in the intimate knowing of God.  Just as a husband and wife grow to know one another deeply, and in a way that no one else knows them, so to the Christian theology when strives to seek a continual, intimate knowing of the Lord in the lives of Christian believers.

The Source of Christian Theology

The source of Christian theology should be scripture alone.  The Bible is the word of God and all Christian teachings should align with it.  Everyone can have multiple sources of information concerning God, such as pastors, parents, friends, church denominations, traditions, experiences, and even human reason.

These other sources can be very helpful.  Learning from standing on the shoulders of Christians that have gone before or who have studied a certain topic more than us should not be condemned.  However, the teachings of certain people and groups differ from one another, and they can’t all be correct.  Sometimes traditions can lead us astray from God and become trappings of religion, especially if the original intent and purpose of the tradition has been lost in time.  Experiences can be very deceiving, especially since not everyone will share the same experiences in their relationship with God.  Reason as a tool is necessary; just read through the list of various theological branches of study, they all require the use of the mind.  However, the mind and human reason is tainted with sin, and the wisdom of God is foolishness to the wisdom of man.  Therefore these other sources of theological information must always be subject to scripture.

Scripture alone should be the ultimate source and norm of our theology!

Andy Wrasman2 Comments

“I’m Ready to Die for Mohammed.”

Today on Sept. 11th, 2012, Muslims in Egypt scaled the US embassy walls in Cairo, captured the American flag, tore it to bits, and burned it outside the embassy walls.  Apparently, they are made because America is making a film that insults the prophet Mohammed.  The name of the film isn’t given, nor is the American film company.  I wonder if these Muslims actually think that the American government is making the movie?

Check out the guy’s sign on the far right of the above image.  It says on the bottom, “Ready to Die for Mohammed!”  Why would he be ready to die for Mohammed?  Shouldn’t he be ready to die for Allah?

According to a Yahoo News article, “Washington has a big mission in Egypt, partly because of a huge aid program that followed Egypt’s signing of a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The United States gives $1.3 billion to Egypt’s military each year and offers the nation other aid.”

As America remembers Sept. 11th, 2001 in our way, the Muslims overseas remember it in their way!!!

For more information, check out the following article:

http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-angry-film-scale-u-embassy-walls-163506344.html

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

Samsara – Christianity Today’s Movie Review

I like reading movie reviews from Christianity Today.  I like the reviews that are connected to a Christian worldview, and sometimes I especially like the discussion questions that are present at the end of each review.  Without even seeing the movie, Samsara, the discussion questions at the end of the Samsara movie review are great to use in religious/spiritual conversations:

Samsara

Filmed in 25 countries over five years, a beautiful moving picture book of the world.
Mack Hayden

 

[ posted 8/31/2012 5:31 ]
Samsara
our rating

3 Stars - Good
mpaa rating

PG-13 (for some disturbing and sexual images)
Directed By

Ron Fricke
Run Time

1 hour 42 minutes
Cast

N/A
Theatre Release

August 23, 2012 by Oscilloscope Pictures

Samsara. The name begets an aura of distant mystery. What kind of film is this? A journey into the unknown or a treasure hunt spanning continents? An elixir guaranteeing meaning to all shades of existence, sought for high and low? The latest project from Ron Fricke (1985’s Chronos and 1992’s Baraka) answers a subtle yes to all these suggestions while reaching even further. His camera traverses the globe with the fervency of a Cortes, the ambition of a Magellan. Still, his greater purpose is to create not a travelogue but a dialogue. The far-away wonders and nearby concerns presented are meant to encourage us to allow the world to illumine itself and our souls.

If narrative structure is necessary for your cinematic enjoyment, Samsara will probably dissatisfy. One viewer may perceive it to be a kaleidoscopic masterpiece while another may see it as an unwelcome flashback to college art history slide shows. No dialogue is exchanged between characters, no soliloquies pass the lips of any personage. It’s a silent documentary, accompanied by ambient music and the even louder soundtrack of the viewer’s own thoughts. A variety of landscapes, faces, and circumstances pass in and out of focus bereft of any explanation.

Buddhist monks and a communal work of art Buddhist monks and a communal work of art

The breadth of life depicted here refuses to be framed or unified. Diversity is the highest virtue. Toward the beginning, a group of Buddhist monks gathers around a patch of ground to create a work of art, communally crafting a mandala—a spiritual tapestry made of colored sands, as delicate as it is intricate. Close to when the curtains fall, the same monks are seen destroying what they have created—not with any sense of malice but perhaps a hint of fatalism. The end was as inevitable as the beginning. What happens in between creation and destruction is life, life, shining life. Fricke sets out to display it all. Fantasies and nightmares, the serene and saddening. Questions are posed by portrayal alone. What is man’s hand in both the assembling and dispersal of the tapestry? The personalities, the architecture, and the threatening wild all seem to support different conclusions. And perhaps that’s what Fricke wants the viewer to take away in the first place.

An infant awaits baptism An infant awaits baptism

Samsara is a phenomenally ambitious film. Shot over the course of five years, spanning continents, it sets out to encompass the whole world and life from infancy to cessation. The cinematography captures all the myriad elements of earthly life with vibrancy and colorful abandon. Think The Tree of Life meets National Geographic in motion. Each scene is composed according to its own needs. Still, this fly-by-night set of moving pictures is able to maintain its strange unpredictability without becoming a mere series of vignettes. Inexplicably, Fricke was able to make different countries, different peoples, and different shooting styles cohere without losing each scene’s originality.

While often evoking wonder, any study of life’s light can only be seen by darkness’s occasional display. Disturbance comes unexpectedly and without warning. Interposed with the mundane or joyful are factually based and surrealistic examples of fear and evil. Animals are mistreated, the aftermath of catastrophe is analyzed, and a nightmare plays out in an office cubicle. There is the desire to turn away, the cringe you wish did not exist. Especially when couched in so many other real life images, Fricke refuses to spoon feed. If we are to have his vision of human existence, cradle to the grave, we are to have a vision that includes the righteous and the wicked.

A Mursi tribe girl from Ethiopia A Mursi tribe girl from Ethiopia

Faces take up most of the screen time; the human visage is the most useful metaphor for the human soul. By staring into the eyes of so many different people, the spectator’s self is brought under greater scrutiny. Interior monologuing reaches an all-time high as uncomfortable seconds while by, faces staring directly into the camera and, by extension, directly into the audience’s hearts. In its best moments, the film unnerves or enlightens by creating the sensation that it is watching you. A look into the eyes of African or Tibetan citizens makes life both more intense and sublime in North America

The Christian’s sense of mission might be deepened by films such as these. On one hand, it seems to be a practical ode to postmodernity. “Can you not see how different we all are?” “How silly to impose an exclusive system of belief on such an endless world?” But through each scene, a little more of the beauty and brokenness found in every human artwork and personality is revealed. The tapestry is created and then destroyed: this is an absolute. Even more so is the desire for resurrection, for a more beautiful and indestructible tapestry that we have yet to even understand.

Talk About It

Discussion starters

  1. What is the value of travel in the Christian life? Can seeing other ways of life help us better understand our own?
  2. The film’s more disturbing sequences are deeply unsettling. Are nightmares as essential as lighthearted dreams to the human condition?
  3. Do you think the director’s worldview is detectable here? If so, do you think it can be considered compatible with Christianity?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Samsara is rated PG-13 for some disturbing and sexual images. There is one truly frightening sequence involving a man in an office cubicle as well as some scary images involving deformities or human cruelty to animals. Another scene takes place in what appears to be an erotic dance club somewhere in Asia. The breasts of African tribal women are also seen in a different sequence.

 

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

Rip Van Winkle Fell Asleep

I heard a song called, “Rip Van Winkle” and a line in the song says, “He went to sleep” and “When he woke he had grown old, he had grown old.” Here are some of the thoughts that came from hearing that song:

A barren, rock valley is filled with a sea of monsters.  Blood-thirsty vampires share company with werewolves and various undead beings of the night.  Ogres, goblins, and demonic figures of various sizes, shapes, and colors wield swords, clubs, spears, axes, and maces.  Some of them sit upon ferocious, dragon-like creatures.  They all gazed up the slopes of the valley.  Deep, angry growls filled the air.  Yellow-stained fangs gnashed.  In rage, they even tore at their flesh with razor-sharp claws.  Their hatred was channeled upon a band of humanity on top of the valley wall.  A great battle is about to erupt, except none of the men are ready for battle.  They stand empty-handed in their daily clothing: doctors, lawyers, farmers, construction workers, truck drivers, students, clerks, baristas, and others.  Fear grips them all.  Their enemies below are thirsty for blood.

From nowhere, a man atop a majestic white horse appears in the midst of the hopeless resistance, if they should even be called that.  He is clothed in a white robe with a breastplate of sparkling stones, twelve stones, just like the breastplate worn by the high priests of ancient Israel.  The evil army’s confidence vanishes at his entrance.  Smiles came to the men; they knew this man, and so does the demonic horde below.  The rider is Jesus.  At once, the rag tag battalion atop of the valley is adorned in white robes and similar breastplates, each now with a sword in hand. With Jesus, their fear is gone.  The white horse sprang up onto its hind legs to fall into a gallop down the valley walls.  The Christians surge down with him to greet the army of darkness in battle.  That’s when my friend awoke.

This dream, which my friend Danny had during the summer of 2010, is reminiscent of the famous Battle at Helm’s Deep in J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings.  The men of Rohan were greatly outnumbered against the dark forces of the Wizard Saruman.  It likely would be the last battle for the Rohirrim, but at the break of dawn, the Wizard Gandalf appeared mounted on a white horse with reinforcements, only a thousand strong, but with the light of the rising sun they charged to meet the darkness of evil.  Darkness chose to flee into the forest where they were slaughtered.  For J.R.R. Tolkein, who was a Christian, this scene must have symbolized the Light of the World, Jesus, breaking into the darkness of Satan’s kingdom.

Dreams as vivid as Danny’s, which serve as alarm clocks to arouse the dreamer to the spiritual war of this life, aren’t given to all dreamers.  The mythologies and fantasies of men throughout the ages serve as additional wake up calls to the supernatural battle between good and evil.  Too many people hit the snooze button and choose to sleep like Rip Van Winkle.  In case you aren’t familiar with Washington Irving’s story, Rip was quite a lazy fellow who avoided profitable work.  When America was still under British rule, he went into the Catskill Mountains with his dog and rifle.  Intending to only take a short nap in the woods, Rip fell asleep for twenty years.  When he awoke, he discovered that he had slept through all of the American Revolution.  Life had passed him by.  Are we going to be like Rip?  Will we be disinterested in the important chores of life? Will we sleep through the war over the souls of men? Or will we choose to fight like the heroes of Seventy-Six, the men of Rip’s days who joined the revolution?

If the conjectures that can be drawn from these images are correct, there is a battle of epic proportions occurring in this present life.  Embracing such imagery and applying it to my life is simple for me.  My favorite movies involve bloodshed, and as a rather competitive man, who loves contact sports, I live life with an aggressive mindset and attitude.  The application of this battle imagery isn’t as easily digested for everyone.  Society as a whole is stepping away from engaging conflict and controversy.  Ignoring contradictions in various worldviews and seeking pluralism at the cost of the exclusive truth-claims is becoming normative.  Political diplomacy, harmony, tolerance, compromise, and assimilation are far more accepted and approved when conflicts arise, not just in international matters, but within all facets of life.  The code of the Wild Wild West is dead.  Keeping up with the Kardashians and other stars of reality shows is of higher importance than following conflicts in the Middle-East.    The image of the Church being an army and Christians being at war isn’t a popular message for the masses.   However, when dealing with teachings of the church, revelation trumps feelings, popularity, and the spirit of the age.

It should go without saying that pizza-inspired dreams and fictional fantasies shouldn’t be the driving force behind Church teachings on the battle between God’s light and Satan’s darkness, but if such widely accepted myths are actually symbols of a real struggle, then what parts should be taken literally, and which images are only metaphorical?  Personal tastes need to be set aside and God’s Word must become the source and norm of Christian theology.

Or here is another call to “Wake Up!”

Andy WrasmanLeave a comment

Hinduism – Connecting Hindu Beliefs to the Gospel of Jesus Christ #2

Paul spent time in the market place, observing and interacting with the Athenians.  When he was asked to address their questions about the message he was sharing, he first began by praising their religiosity.  He acknowledged the gods they worshipped and used an idol they had built to the unknown god as a connecting point to present Jesus, “the unknown god.”  He then quoted one of their poets, not Scripture, to make another connection to the Gospel.  He started with them, where they were at in their relationship and knowledge of God, addressed their questions and concerns, and built a bridge to the Gospel.
About 500 BC, there was a big shift in Hinduism.  It was during this time that the Upanishads were written, as a collection of meditations and teachings based on the Vedic texts.  Upanishads means “sitting near.”  This gives the image of a pupil sitting near a teacher learning.  I relate the Upanishads to the Jewish Talmud.  The Talmud consists of a massive quantity of writings from Jewish priests and teachers on traditions, history, and interpretation of the Scriptures.  I also liken the Upanishads to the footnotes in many Study Bibles – an explanation of the text and a backdrop to the history and traditions of the time the texts were written.  However, the Upanishads take more liberties for personal interpretation than the Talmud and Study Bible notes.
It’s from the Upanishads that some key teachings of Hinduism arise and take root.
Brahman – Brahman is the divine essence that is at the heart of all things in the universe.  This teaching ultimately says that there is only one divine reality and that we are all united in it, in fact we consist of it.  This one divine reality also means that there are not many gods, just Brahman.  I like to think of this as the Force in Star Wars – it’s all things.  Hindus compare Brahman to salt in water.  It’s there, but you don’t see it, and it’s in all parts of the water and can’t be separated from the water (but it can be, right?).
Atman – At the same time that all things are one, we still maintain our individuality.  Brahman at the individual level in humanity is called Atman.  Atman can be compared to our soul – that which makes us unique.
Maya – This word means illusion.  The reason we don’t see and grasp the divine oneness of all things is because of Maya.  It’s just an illusion that we see ourselves as separate from one another.  This illusion is what brings rise to selfishness, pain, and suffering.
Samsara – Samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth.  When our bodies die, the divine within us does not.  Our soul is reborn into a new body.
Karma – This is the moral law of cause and effect.  Karma determines the direction of our rebirth according to Hinduism.
Moksha – This is liberation from Samsara and the yoke of Karma.  When a person reaches Moksha, they are no longer reborn but are completely united with Brahman, once and for all.  Little is said about how to obtain Moksha in the Upanishads.  It’s essentially up to the individual to discover self-realization of their oneness with Brahman, thus escaping bondage to worldly existence.
Making the Connection between Hindu Beliefs and the Gospel of Jesus Christ
At first glance, it might be difficult to envision how a connection from these Hindu concepts can be made, but it can be done.  I’d like to be adamant that these connections, in no way mean that Christianity and Hinduism have the same teachings!  That is far from the truth.  All I am doing is pointing out similarities, which can then open the door for presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For example, it’s very easy to say, “Oh, Christians hold a similar belief.  We believe the same thing concerning ___________, but we don’t believe ___________.  Instead, the Bible teaches _________.”
Hindu Teaching:
Brahman – Brahman is the divine essence that is at the heart of all things in the universe.  This teaching ultimately says that there is only one divine reality and that we are all united in it, in fact we consist of it.
 brahman
Christian teaching:
Acts 17:28 In this verse, Paul is recorded as having said, “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”
Connecting to the Gospel of Jesus
 
Christians hold a similar view as Brahman in that we believe that it is from God that we live and move and have are being.  Colossians 1:17 even teaches that Jesus holds all things together.  However at the heart of each and every one of us, Christians disagree with the Hindu understanding that all is divine.  Christians however recognize that all things in the universe have come from God, but that all things do not consist of God, because God created the universe out of nothing by speaking it into existence.  This however does not mean that we believe God is far off from us.  Paraphrasing what Paul shared in Acts 17, God is still at the heart of all our lives; we have our being because of him, and he determined the times set for us and the exact places that we should live.  In this way, Christians agree with Hindus that God is at the heart of all things, but we certainly would not say that all things are God.
Jesus is very near. Everything that lives and breaths, because of him. In Christianity, God is at the heart of all things; Christ holds all things together. However, this does not mean that all things are divine as Hinduism teaches.
This still has not made a connection to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The connection to the Gospel will come in the next blog post by connecting Karma, the cosmic law of the universe in Hinduism, with the Law of God, and Moksha, the liberation from Samsara, with the pardon from the penalty of breaking God’s Law found in the Gospel of Christ.

Andy Wrasman7 Comments