If the Christian life is all about love, why do we need to
bother with doctrine and theology at all?
In summary, we need doctrine, because what we believe
determines how we live. If our beliefs are false, the way
we live will be wrong. And, of all our beliefs, the most
powerful ones are about God.
1. The Study of God
Theology is, literally, 'God Words' - the study of God.
What could be more important?
Over the years, many Christians have told me, one way or
another, that they have no interest in, and no need for theology.
They certainly have no interest in theology, that is clear.
But no need of theology? You can argue that a bird has
no need of aerodynamics: it just flies. But human beings
cannot just live - we have to think, to reflect. We have to
understand.
People cannot function just as machines, even when they claim
to believe that this is all they are. Human life needs to
have value and purpose, and the only place where these things can
be found is in God.
Modern people tend to reject the early chapters of Genesis.
They say it is just a myth, a story that explans where we
come from and what we are.
But if we reject Genesis, we need to find another myth.
The questions do not just disappear. Where do we come from?
If the answer is not "We were created by a God of love,"
what answer can we give?
People sometimes tell me: "We come from nothing." This
may be science. It is certainly theology. The
question is - is it good theology?
And what are we? Genesis teaches that we are people,
created in the image of a personal God. Throw away Genesis,
and what have we left? We are a collection of chemicals and
electrical impulses. Where is human identity and
personality in this story?
If we discard the teachings of Genesis - if we get our theology
wrong - we don't only lose sight of who God is, we lose sight of
ourselves. We no longer understand what it means to be
human. Without theology, we have neither God nor humanity:
only the blind laws of physics, changing matter that comes from
nothing and goes nowhere, from one meaningless pattern into
another.
2. The Place of the Mind
There have always been Christians who held strange views about
the mind and its place in God's plans. Some people have
thought that you can find God and experience salvation simply
through reason; others say that because you cannot do this, the
mind is therefore unimportant. The traditional Christian
view avoids both these extremes.
2a. Insufficient
The Mind on its own is insufficient:
We cannot understand God
We cannot attain salvation through reasoning
2b. Important
We are to worship God with our mind
He wants us to understand Him
2c. Integrated
The Biblical pattern is to have the mind and heart and soul all working together. They are all needed.
We are to offer God the very best of everything - and that includes the use of our minds as much as the use of our bodies and money.
3. The Mind in the Bible
3a. In the Old Testament
Wisdom and understanding
3b. In the New Testament
In Jesus' teaching, the mind is the source of our behaviour