Today I would like to talk about an aspect of my education that is perhaps little known to friends, especially outside of my church.  In 2004, I went to a Bible program called the Ambassador Bible Center, where my favorite class was a course called Fundamentals of Theology.  While the course was particularly interesting to me, it seems as if the material went over the head of a lot of my classmates, and given the importance of bible students in having a firm grasp of theology and how to avoid being taken in by heresy, it is important to have a firm grounding in this subject even if one does not have the native inclination to be a bookish intellectual (i.e. someone like myself).

Let us therefore divide this musing, for the sake of organization, into several related concerns.  First, let us examine the reason and purpose for ordinary believers to understand and be able to apply the rudiments (i.e. fundamentals) of theology, a field that because of its very technical language is daunting to most people who nonetheless are very interested in the subject material of theology (even without realizing it due to being scared off by the words used in theological works).  Second, let us examine, in light of the reason and purpose for ordinary believers to understand and apply theology, how to go about equipping people who often lack confidence in their intellectual abilities with the skills necessary to help guide and instruct others in their home congregations as budding theologians.

The Purposes of Studying Theology

Why are we here?  This is the point to begin in examining the study or theology and many other endeavors.  In order to do something the right way one must be clear about one’s goals and purposes.  The Bible gives at least two direct reasons for why ordinary believers should understand the basics of theology.  It would do well to examine them in the context of what a grasp of theology offers someone who has no ambitions for office or power but who nonetheless wishes to apply the truths of scripture and avoid being deceived by the trickery of evil men.

In many ways, the purposes of servants within the congregation of the faithful as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11) is the same reason that believers as a whole should develop a competence in the fundamentals of theology:  “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).  In order to avoid being deceived by the plotting of overly ambitious ministers seeking their own personal following or to avoid being caught up in heresies that sound good but end up leading one away from the divine truths of scripture, one has to know something about theology.  Mainly, one has to be able to understand the ground rules of working with the Bible applying it in its proper context, rather than being caught up in speculations by engaging in improper treatment of the Bible (violating the context of scriptures, pitting verses against each other to look for contradictions that do not exist, and so on).

Another purpose expressed in scripture for believers without intellectual ambitions to know the basics of theology is mentioned in Hebrews 5:12-15:  “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.”  Theology is the solid food of Christianity, understanding how to apply scripture in one’s life, how to recognize the difference between true statements from scripture and false ones.  Those who wish to be profitable servants of God (as we are all called to be) must develop some capacities to handle the subject of theology.

Within these the general subject of these two reasons there lies a third one, an issue discussed in Titus 3:9-11:  “But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.  Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”  There are all kinds of people who are religious hobbyists, who have some sort of pet subject that they seek to preach and promote without connecting it to the scripture as a whole.  While all of us have certain interests, we must know how to separate the expounding from scripture from personal speculations that are useless and unprofitable, and distinguishing between the two requires a firm foundation in the general study of the Bible as well as the development of a whole biblical worldview wherein one can profitably study one’s own particular subjects of interest without neglecting the big picture of biblical truth that one’s studies form a part of.  In short, one must understand enough of the whole to faithfully and usefully perform one’s own distinctive part.

Let us further examine what is most relevant about this third topic, as it provides the easiest payoff for the would-be student of theology.  All of us have some subject of interest in the Bible.  We all have some book of the Bible (or at least passage), or some theme that is deeply personal to us based on our own life experiences.  What an understanding of theology does is equips us to uncover and relate the full biblical context of that particular subject or theme or concern so that we can share it with others and provide useful insight for other brethren.  It should be noted that the godly purpose of all gifts is serving and benefiting others through the practice and development of those talents.  Learning theology allows us to turn our own biblical personal interests into useful Bible Studies for the edification and teaching of our friends and family and fellow brethren.  We all benefit from the wide diffusion of the skills in the handling of scripture and the ability to do so with an appreciation of the full Bible context.

On The Instruction of the Fundamentals of Theology

Given these important purposes of everyone developing basic skills in how to study and handle the tools of theology, let us briefly examine some of the ways that the subject of theology can be taught to a wider variety of people than is currently the case.  Let us examine first the need to teach people how not to be afraid of the subject (and its daunting vocabulary), as well as show them how much theology they already know (without necessarily being aware of it).  Additionally, we must also provide them with practical applications of theology so that the subject ceases to be merely abstract and intellectual and can be seen to serve a practical purpose.

The first thing about theology that is very daunting for people to study who are novices to the field is the language.  Theological works are usually written by intellectuals for intellectuals (and not really anyone else).  However straightforward the language of theology is to those who enjoy reading and writing about it, most people are scared off by the big words.  In order to teach the subject it is first necessary to make people familiar with the language in a straightforward way.  For example, the word “systematic theology” may seem daunting at first, but in reality it is simply a matter of showing the consistency of the Bible’s doctrinal positions, making sure that we believe the same thing today that Abraham believed, that David understood, and that Christ and the apostles taught.  As Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), we ought to understand what he was all along and live by that standard ourselves.  Likewise, the word “hermeneutics” is difficult, but it really means “rule of interpretation,” or simply the standard by which we accept that a statement about the Bible is true.  For the most part, these rules are pretty straightforward:  “the Bible cannot contradict itself,” “clear scriptures explain unclear scriptures,” “verses of the Bible must be understood in context,” and “scripture often has dual or multiple fulfillment.”  These rules are not that complicated, but the fancy labels attached to the rules often scare off people before they realize how much theology they already know.

This is the next sort of task that is important to accomplish.  Just as the bourgeois gentleman of Moliere’s play was unaware that he had been speaking in prose all of his life, most people are unaware that they already have interests in and knowledge of theology.  For example, many of the “rules of hermeneutics” that I stated above are commonsense rules that people know–but they are unaware that these are the fundamentals of theology.  Likewise, many people have an interest in theological matters like “bibliology” (the doctrine of the Bible, including aspects of inerrancy and divine inspiration), “Christology” (the doctrine of Jesus Christ–and the importance of understanding Him to understanding the meaning of many scriptures), “Ecclesiology” (the doctrine of the church–including the roles of various offices and the brethren as a whole), or “Eschatology” (the doctrine of last things, specifically prophecy as it relates to the “end times”).  Many people have very strong interests and extensive knowledge in these matters, without even realizing that they are central to the study of and understanding of theology.  Knowing that one already knows a good deal about the subject of theology makes the rest of the subject a lot less threatening.

Again, as much of what is written about theology is very abstract and intellectual (which is part of its appeal to me, but can be seen falsely as useless by people of a less theoretical bent), it is necessary to teach theology to many people to show how it is practical to understand the subject.  Most of the practical use of theology comes in making connections between scriptures and in applying the scriptures to our daily lives.  For example, an understanding of theology helps turn dusty biblical genealogies and dry legal codes (see 1 Chronicles, Exodus chapters 20-24, the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and so on) into useful study materials.  Many of my blog entries have dealt with the relevance of understanding the Bible to military affairs (a subject of wide interest to many young men who may lack any interest in learning Greek and Latin-based words), and others deal with the application of biblical laws to such issues of contemporary relevance as sex before marriage (and the high price for dishonoring a young lady by seducing her).  Clearly these matters are “practical” to a great many people who may not be aware of the theological work that is involved in understanding what the Bible says about a given subject.

After all, it is an easy thing to say that the Bible speaks about all kinds of things and that the Bible is our ultimate authority, but in order for such claims to be more than mere slogans, we need to know what the Bible actually says.  We have to study it, see how it applies to us here and now (and what it means to have a biblical worldview), and then do the hard work of living by what the Bible says and backing up our beliefs about doctrine with actual practice.  No one said theology was an easy thing to live, but it is definitely worth it, if you have an interest in salvation.

Conclusion

One must remember that for many people the Fundamentals of Theology is not a graduate class for people who are already self-aware intellectuals (such people are fairly rare in the general population anyway), but rather an introduction to a subject few of them really understand and many of them probably have no natural interest in whatsoever.  However, given the importance of understanding at least the basics of theology and its usefulness to areas where believers already have a strong interest (understanding the Bible and sharing what they know with friends and family), theology is certainly a subject others should be aware of, given the large amount of occasions where believers have to explain their beliefs on such matters as the nature of God, or what Holy Days they keep, or what foods they eat (or don’t eat) and why.  All of these are theological matters, and so if we want to be ready to give an answer about our beliefs (1 Peter 3:15) we need to know something about theology.  We must first, learn, though, that the subject is nothing to be afraid of, but instead something that is much more practical and straightforward than it first appears to be.

Since all of us desire to preserve the integrity of doctrine from heretical views, and all of us understand that as kings and priests of the Most High God (1 Peter 2:9-10) we are given the responsibility of learning how to explain and model and enforce the biblical standard of behavior for others in the future, as well as with our brethren and for ourselves here and now, all of us are aware, at least vaguely, of the need to learn how to understand and apply the Bible.  However, it is one thing to know that we need to do it but a much more difficult matter to go about and learn how to do it.  It is the job of a course like Fundamentals of Theology to make that as easy a task as possible for as many people as possible.