Theology is Lived

Theology is not something that is found primarily in text books. Theology is something that is lived.

You see there is a great connection between living and theological belief. You cannot separate living and believing.

Theology is often thought of as something in academic life or something one reads in a book. But really you see for someone studying the discipline it is really something lived.

You wonder why some theologians are so great in preaching and teaching and you often see why when you look at their life. You see theology is about knowledge but we can only truly understand theology by living.

Often the theology of academics is very dull. Why? Often they have not lived much. It is not their fault their profession is far more time consuming than most full time positions. They have little time to get out of theology in the class room and text book.

Theology is something that only truly forms by living and by interacting with the world. You see we can be a part of the world but not really engage it or live in it if we are too busy. This is the case with academia at many times.

Simply the theology has not entered the world in a real sense and the theology is poorer for it. Truly strong theology needs to have interacted with the issues of the day and seen the world.

We need to be different from the world of course, but if theology has never set foot into the world than it is very theoretical in nature. And theology is not as much of a theoretical discipline as it is thought. It is a discipline of living well in the world before God.

This is what is meant that as Christians we are to "be in the world but not of the world." You see if we isolate ourselves from the world we fail to follow the commands of Jesus. This is one flaw of many Christian groups who try to isolate themselves more and more from the world.

Often there are groups who err in the opposite way and move into the world and forget that they are to be separate. You see we are to be set apart as we are in the world.

Theology and Living

Theology is a discipline which is learned by living.  On the surface it appears to be something from a book, an all important book, which must be intellectually understood and then practically applied.

Really though theology is learned by living.  We often learn theology more through life than we would expect.  You see the bible speaks of sin and our self and we encounter sin and our self in the world.

The bible is always speaking to us directly confronting us in every aspect of our life with our actions and comforting us in every aspect with the life and death of Christ which surpasses all knowledge.

You see theology is always practical.  It does not appear so at many times and many preachers see the need to try to explain in the practicality.

I more enjoy just trusting in the practicality of God's word.  Just read and learn and enjoy.  Many texts do not have an easy practical application to know in the quiet of ones home or study.

You see it is when we enter the world suddenly we meet something and theology becomes practical.  Often in a way we do not expect.

That is why I personally am unconcerned with the practicality of theology.  It's use will become known in our lives as we live out our faith.

Often the practical application from the sermon will not be the practical application in my life.  To be coy, a sermon is an exposition and proclamation of God's word not a foretelling of the future of course.