Saturday, March 15, 2014

God Speaking

It is often noted that there seems to be some sort of spiritual danger associated with the systematic study of theology. It is as if the topic has harmed people.

It is not surprising really. In theology God speaks to us. If we are not prepared to listen we are not positively affected by the encounter and more likely we are negatively affected by the encounter.

You see one of the great issues with systematic study of theology as a profession or in seminary is approaching the topic with weariness. It would be like listening to the words of our spouse and simply not caring what they are saying.

If we are honest it is difficult to always care what God has to say. Some moments I'd rather simply sit and watch a sports game on TV than care what God has to say to me.

I admit on a few occasions I have simply woken up on a Sunday morning and decided not to go to church simply because I wasn't in the mood to hear what God had to say today.

I feel that in the end I am better for these decisions. I attempt to approach God with sincerity and when I cannot find the sincerity in myself at times I do not approach God.

There is nothing so hollow as religion that sees no importance in how we approach God. Programs where people read through scripture in a set time have the danger that people may be tempted to read to stay on track even if they don't care what the book of the bible is saying.

Sometimes less is more. I always feel a little theology or a little scripture studied with sincerity is better than a large amount of scripture or a large amount of theology studied because it should be.

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