True Theology

There is a verse in the bible, in the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, which I have kept in mind for weeks. I have wanted to read the letter in its entirety, but I have now reread chapter 2 several times, continuing in ch. 3, but reversing to ch. 2 again.

It is the 5^th verse. In most bibles, that is a segment of a sentence, and this sentence can best be understood in its immediate context, so let me share this with you.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

You see the setting. What made me pause with verse 5 was the simple truth that our faith, both coming to faith and living in faith, rests in the power of God. It does not rest in ‘wisdom of men’. It does not rest in the science of relating to texts. Theology is by the definition of the term words, teaching about God. It deals with delving into the depths of God. That is true theology. And in the same chapter, Paul brings to light how this works:

“10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

‘Theology’ has developed as an academic field, a study of text and interpretation, and in many cases there is no evidence of true theology – no insight into who God is and how He is real in our world, no connection to the community of believers (the church) – and it exists as an academic exercise. It is a game. It has no consequence for life. Well, perhaps it does, to some extent, but not the type of consequence we would hope for. It has a clear destructive element: ruining faith and boasting in human cleverness. This is not true theology. Only one who is lead by the Spirit of God, where God himself reveals insights into his nature, lives in a relationship which foster true theology.

I can sense resistance from my scholarly friends: I see their hardened faces, sense the oncoming attack: for where will this lead? Will we see self-proclaimed ‘prophets’ with newly claimed insights, which will lead groups of believers down a sectarian path?

Wait a minute.

What do you have to offer?

We have now an actual tradition of text based scholarship, where the various texts of the bible have been treated as different categories of texts, some as myths, story narratives, reflections of society, which is a historical document, but with intentions of interpretation. Some texts are liturgical and as such have limited function. This tradition I am referring to is not uniform. It has some basic features: it sees development of the Israelite religion as a human based evolution, where texts and events may relate to how people experienced their lives. The received texts are in many cases analysed on the basis of theories of origin, and the layers of origins are debated. Consequently, a given text, for example Genesis 1-11, is broken apart, dissected according to potential textual substrata. One argues for sources, which also may have come from different time periods, but each with its possible agenda.

The nature of this ‘Textology’ is speculative. The scholars are free to use fantasy, free to test out possibilities of how these sacred texts have come about.

Why would anyone delve into such a non-scientific endeavor? It is all for the scientific believability of the texts, some claim. And, naturally, I am inclined to want to pick apart their claims and any of their arguments with the simple hermeneutic tool of naming their sources and substrata and make their own ideas imbecilic.

I do think, honestly, that the onset of what is generally called ‘liberal theology’ had the intentions of saving the biblical material from stupidity and to elevate it to the acceptable level of scientific inquiry. The ones who dealt with texts of biblical material did not want to be left in the dust of oblivion to the new scientific methods in the natural sciences. They wanted to define and establish a just as valid scientific method which would deal with history, philosophy, texts of any historical value, actually for all the aspects of humanities.

For the church it has become rather destructive, for in stead of educating young men in the many aspects of living with God, learning dependence of the Holy Spirit to enlighten them, they went down the path of ‘human wisdom’, neglected the goal and purpose both for their life and for the life of the church.

Now to the next passage of Paul’s letter:

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

The folly of modern textologic scholarship on the biblical material is that too many think themselves more clever than God, wanting to pass judgment on the texts, either by historicism, mythic interpretation, constructing language-related options based on suggestions and random claims, you name it – but perhaps more the need to bonk a former scholar in the head with ones own new and better understanding.

Bible on the altar in Vrådal kyrkje

I have yet to see how any of this academic activity has benefited the church or a believer. It does not bring people to God. It alienates them. The authority of the Scriptures is put in severe doubt. Confusion abounds.

A couple of years ago I was attending an international conference for scholars of the Old Testament (IOSOT) in Munchen. I delightfully recall one of our hosts, a local bishop in Bavaria, who challenged the whole group of scholars to make sure their endeavors would benefit the life of the church! It was not received well by most. The scholars’ academic work was necessarily far above such pragmatic matters.