To God be the glory
We have often heard it said that our purpose is to glorify God. The Westminster Confession even says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” But, how do we glorify God? What do we do that brings God glory? Here are a few passages of Scripture to help us think about this:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV)
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6 ESV)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)
By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others… (2 Corinthians 9:13 ESV)
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12 ESV)
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV)
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. (1 Peter 4:15-16 ESV)
We certainly bring God glory by thinking rightly about him, as the Spirit renews our minds and we are conformed to his kingdom instead of to this world. But, we also bring God glory by acting in a right manner, both in our character and in our relationships with other people as we walk in the Spirit. These are not distinct ways of bringing God glory, but they should coexist. Thinking rightly about God cannot exist apart from acting rightly in response to God. If we are not bringing God glory through our actions, then we are demonstrating that we are not thinking rightly about God and are therefore not bringing God glory with our thoughts and attitudes. When the Spirit changes our thoughts, he also changes our actions.
Are you glorifying God and causing others to glorify God because of your actions and your service?
Counting the cost
What does it cost to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? A few hours each week? A change in vocabulary? Not going to R-rated movies? Not getting drunk? 10% of your income?
What if following Jesus Christ would cost your life? Would you still choose to follow Christ? If professing “Jesus is Lord” would cause you to be reviled, shunned, beaten, even killed, would you still profess publicly and confidently? Here are links to two stories about believers who counted the cost, and decided that Jesus was worthy of their life and their death:
Strider from “Tales from Middle Earth” describes an incident when the secret police come into a village and call all of the villagers to a meeting in a post called “Standing up and being counted“:
Out in Ithilien where the majority of the population is Ismaili they are notorious. If a local goes by a foreigner’s home to have any kind of discussion there is a good chance that a member of the secret police will be waiting on their doorstep when they get home. If they don’t like the answers to their questions then a person could lose his or her job or be threatened in a variety of ways. Most people live in fear these guys…
The head of the secret police stood up and addressed the crowd. After just one or two pleasantries he looked back to Kili and Fili and asked them if they had in fact become followers of Jesus as they had heard. Kili replied that yes, they were followers of Jesus. Then he asked, ‘Why?’ Fili replied that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life and that because Jesus was in fact God’s son that they had to follow Him.
Dave Black‘s wife, Becky Lynn, describes the life of several Ethiopian evangelists in a recent report on his blog (Friday, March 7 at 7:15 am):
D & E, because of severe persecution (imprisonment, stoning, eviction and inability to find merchants willing to sell them food) for the past 3 months, have taken a time of rest in Gondar, and are now repositioned in another village. This new village is on the road toward Sudan. Please pray for them to remain strong & willing to suffer for our Lord. And pray for His grace and provision as they begin a new ministry in this new village. They are planning to remain in this new village for a period of time, to allow the hostility in the previous village to die down; then they plan to return to the first village & continue the work. Also pray for the new believers in the first village. They need discipleship. In the short time (about 3-4 months) that D&E were able to operate in the village, many came to Christ; even while they were imprisoned, they led 5 to the Savior!! Of course, now these new believers are also facing persecution (shunning, beating, etc.) by the Orthodox. As you pray for D&E, please also remember these new believers who are the spiritual children of D&E.
Have you counted the cost? Is following Jesus and speaking up for him worth your status, your health, your death?
Love your neighbor again…
Jonathan at “Missio Dei” has written another excellent post called “Love Your Neighbor“. In the post, he recalls a conversation in which someone was struggling with the enormous number of issues that affect us and the world around us every day. Jonathan says:
[T]he temptation is to want to solve…every problem. Things press on us. They shout at our face…NOTICE ME. It’s hard not to want to notice, to give real issues our time and attention. I’ve often thought of throwing it all to the wind and serving as a missionary in a war torn country. I’ve actually looked into work for NGO’s and positions at the UN. But ultimately I didn’t feel called.
And as I stood there listening to my friend, I began to wonder if Jesus was somehow taking a weight from us when he said, “Love your neighbor.†What if we needed the reminder that we’re not called to solve every problem. We can’t. He’s simply asking us to love right where we’re at, to bring love to those we are already in relationship with. These are the people we are most likely to bring restoration to. These are the people we are most likely to touch in a significant way.
What if we’re not called to solve all the worlds problems? Just the ones that we’re called to. And they live right next door.
I can’t end world hunger. But, I can provide food for a neighbor who is in need. I can’t free the oppressed of the world. But, I can help a neighbor who is struggling to find a job or start over after a difficult situation. I can’t solve all of the world’s problems. But, I can listen to and care for the neighbor who is struggling, discouraged, depressed, or lonely.
But, in order to love my neighbor, I must know my neighbor.
A Theology of the Ascension
We often hear about the importance of the crucifixion and the resurrection in developing our understanding of God – our theology. But, what about the ascension? The ascension – Jesus being taken up into heaven after his resurrection – is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:9-11. In the same passage, Mark also mentions that Jesus is seated at the right of the Father, often called the station of Jesus.
But, what does the ascension do for our theology? We know about the importance of the crucifixion and the resurrection. Is the ascension important for us today? There are a few passages that demonstrate the importance of the ascension.
First, consider John 16:7 –
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7 ESV)
According to this passage, the Holy Spirit came to us because of the ascension of Jesus. If he had not ascended, the Holy Spirit would not have come.
Next, consider Ephesians 1:18-20 –
…that you may know… what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places… (Ephesians 1:18-20 ESV)
According to this passage, the resurrection through the station (which would include the ascension) is a demonstration of God’s power toward believers. This is a power that we can know.
Finally, consider Ephesians 4:8-10 –
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:8-10 ESV)
According to this passage, because of the ascension Jesus gives gifts to believers. In the context, this is spiritual gifts, which are given through the Spirit. So, this passage is related to John 16:7.
Are there other passages of Scripture that can help us understand the importance of the ascension of Jesus in our understanding of God and our relationship with God?
How do you find the time to pastor?
A few days ago, Bert asked a question that I’m often asked:
How do you find time to pastor, work full time, work on your PhD, and blog meaningful posts regularly? I have often said that there is no such thing as a part-time pastor so where did you find the extra hours in the day?
I answered most of his question in a blog post called “How do you find the time?” But, in this post, I hope to answer his question about pastoring. How do I find the time to pastor while working a full time job, working on my Ph.D., being a husband and father, and maintaining a blog?
One of the reasons that I wanted to answer the question about pastoring separately is that my understanding of what it means to be a pastor is not the traditional understanding. So, I want to take the time to explain what I think it means to be a pastor. A few years ago I was asked to be an elder/pastor for Messiah Baptist Church. I would be one of four pastors. This was a very serious decision for me, so I spent a long time reading Scripture and books about what it means to be a pastor.
At first, I did not want to accept the responsibilities and duties that come along with being a pastor. I did not think that I would have the time to pastor as well as be a husband and father, a full time employee, and a student. As I studied what it means to be a pastor and as I considered this decision, I noticed something: the scriptural description of an elder/pastor is not what we usually mean when we call someone “pastor” or “elder”.
Elders/pastors spend much of their time with administrative duties: maintaining buildings, planning, organizing, recruiting, and financing. These types of activities are not the scriptural responsibilities of pastors. It is not wrong for elders/pastors to do these things, but the activities should not be seen as “pastoring“. Also, elders/pastors are often considered to be the only or primary teachers, preachers, visitors, counselors, ministers, and leaders. While Scripture certainly indicates that pastors/elders should do these things, these are also the responsibilities of all believers.
While pastors/elders are very busy people, many times the “busyness” is related more the expectations of other people instead of the responsibilities that God gives to elders through Scripture. In fact, a few years ago, a good friend of mine who is a pastor at a mega-church told me that he has to schedule one hour a week to spend with a discipleship group, otherwise he would have not time to actually disciple people. Why? Because his time was spent doing other things – things that were required of him by his job description, the people on his staff, and the people in the church, but things that were not required by Scripture.
So, how do I find time to pastor? I find time to pastor by recognizing that discipleship is my primary responsibility as a pastor, just as discipleship is every believer’s primary responsibility. I spend time with people, caring for people, listening to people, teaching people – sometimes one on one, sometimes in small groups, sometimes in large groups – through email, instant messaging, phone, and face-to-face meetings. I do not set office hours, but instead I spend as much time as possible with people.
However, I recognize that I am not the extent of the discipling that goes on around me. Therefore, I encourage others to spend time with people, and I encourage people to seek help through already existing relationships. If someone has a problem, they can call me or another pastor, but they do not have to call a pastor. Instead, they can call a friend or a neighbor. Many times when people are helped, I know nothing about it until later. Praise God! I do not have to have my hand in everything. God is perfectly capable of taking care of his children without me.
What about organizing, planning, recruiting, etc.? Again, God is perfectly capable of taking care of these things through his people – not just through the pastors/elders. I do not spend time thinking up programs, planning how to carry them out, asking people to take part, and making sure the programs run well. Instead, I encourage people to serve as God gifts them and as he gives them a passion for that service. Then, I – along with the church – help them in whatever ways they need help. We do not have set programs as a church, but it is amazing the amount of ministry that is going on through the members of the church, because they have been freed to serve as God has gifted them.
What about teaching and preaching? In this case, the pastors do take on more of a responsibility. While I would love for people to show up at a church meeting having prepared a teaching, our church is not ready for this yet. Therefore, the pastors have taken on the responsibility of providing someone to teach each Sunday. That does not mean that we teach every Sunday, but we teach more often. We also ask other people to teach, and we help them as they study Scripture and prepare to teach. I’ve also decided to study along with whoever is teaching that week. So, even though I am not teaching next Sunday, I am continuing to study as if I were going to teach next Sunday. It may be that God wants me to say something, even though I am not scheduled to preach.
By the way, except for helping to make the preaching schedule, there is very little that I do now that I would stop doing if I were no longer an elder/pastor. Why? Because I do not serve because of an office or position. I serve because God has gifted me and provided me opportunities to serve. I was doing all of these things before I was a pastor, and I will continue doing them if at some point I am no longer recognized as a pastor.
It takes much less time to focus on people than to focus on the organization. God’s heart is with people, and that’s where my heart should be as well. When I find myself started to yield to the expectations that other people or that the system places on me, then I may no longer be doing the things that God wants me to do. That’s when I must check my focus, and return to loving and caring and teaching and leading people, which I think is the responsibility of the pastor as well as all followers of Jesus Christ. (See my series on elders that starts with “Elders (Part 1) – Introduction“.)
So, how do I find the time to pastor? Because I am a pastor, but not that kind of pastor.
Reward in the Sermon on the Mount
As I mentioned in the post “The Audience for the Sermon on the Mount“, I recently taught through the entire Sermon on the Mount. Like I said, I did not teach every section of the Sermon, but instead I pointed out the structure, the major themes and emphases, and suggested a purpose for the Sermon.
One of the major themes that I noticed in the Sermon on the Mount was the idea of reward and treasure that runs through the Sermon. In Matthew 5:12, citizens of the kingdom find great reward in heaven in spite of being persecuted because of Christ and righteousness. In 5:46, there is no reward for merely loving those who return that love. In 6:1-18, we are not do charitable deeds, pray, or fast in order to be rewarded by men. Instead, we are to do those things for God and trust him to reward us.
In Matthew 6:19-21, we should not concern ourselves with earthly treasures, but instead we should seek heavenly treasures. If we treasure earthly things, then our heart is set on earthly things. If we treasure heavenly things, then our heart is set on heavenly things. In 6:25-34, Matthew explains that these earthly treasures can reveal themselves as clothing, food, drink, even life span (health). Instead of focusing on these things, we should seek the kingdom and righteousness.
I think there is a purpose for these twin threads of reward and treasure. Sometimes, it is suggested that the more “righteous” things we do on earth, the more stuff we will get when we get to heaven – crowns, mansions, etc. I think this interpretation misses the point. Matthew is not trying to change our focus from earthly stuff to heavenly stuff.
Instead, Matthew is shifting our focus from earthly stuff to God himself. God should be our reward, our treasure, or – the psalmist says – our portion. If God is not enough – if we think we need God and other stuff – then there is something wrong with our heart – our heart needs to be fixed.
If we do our good deeds, or pray, or fast so that people notice us, then our heart is not in the right place. But, if we do our good deeds, or pray, or fast so that we will get stuff in heaven, then our heart is not in the right place in that case either. Instead, whatever we do, we should do for God and we should allow him and him alone to be our reward – our treasure.
As I studied through these threads of reward and treasure in the Sermon on the Mount, I recognized that many times my focus is not on God. He is not my treasure. I need a changed heart.
How do you find the time?
I’m often asked how I find the time to do the things that I do. For example, a couple of days ago, Bert asked the following in a comment:
How do you find time to pastor, work full time, work on your PhD, and blog meaningful posts regularly? I have often said that there is no such thing as a part-time pastor so where did you find the extra hours in the day?
In this blog post, I’m going to discuss everything except pastoring. I’ll discuss pastoring in another post later.
To start with, like everyone else, I am only given 24 hours each day. And, while I try to be a good steward of my time, I will admit that I often waste time doing unproductive things. Also, you should know that I read and write quickly. I am not trying to brag, its just a fact of life. My wife would be the first to tell you. I also try to plan ahead, especially for school work. If I know that I have a paper due, I start it very early to give myself plenty of time to do the research and to write the paper.
First, I work full time as a web developer for the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’ve been working in this capacity for just over 5 years, and I love it! Not only do I get to work with awesome people, they are also very flexible with my work hours which allows me to take classes. One thing that helps with my time management on the job is that I take a very short lunch break. I almost always bring my lunch from home, and I have found that it does not take me an hour to eat my lunch. So, that saves me alot of time each week.
Second, I teach adjunctively for Southeastern College at Wake Forest, which is associated with the seminary. In fact, my class is located about 100 yards from my office – very convenient. I only teach one class – New Testament Greek – for 3 hours per week. I have also set aside one day per week when I meet with students for a coffee break for about 30 minutes. Besides this time, my students know that I’m always available outside of class, and I have even given them my home and cell phone numbers.
Third, I am a Ph.D. student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’m currently taking two seminars – one in the Gospel of John and the other in Old Testament Theology. These seminars meet for a total of 5 hours each week. We also have a heavy reading and writing load to go along with these seminars. This semester, my writing load is shifted to the second half of the semester, so I have not started writing yet. Most of my reading will be finished by the time I start writing. Like I said, I read and write fast. This takes me less time that most people think, but it still takes alot of time.
Fourth, I am a husband and a father. I probably should have put this first – it would have been more spiritual. I always try to set aside time for my family, and Margaret, my wife, helps me with this. We usually eat dinner together at night, and occasionally, Margaret and I will have lunch together during the day. I try to do very little school work on the weekends in order to set that time aside for family. (Although, sometimes I have to read and write at night.) Also, I choose to read and write at home instead of at the library. I realize that there are probably more distractions at home, but those distractions are my life. The distractions are more important than my studies. I can fail at school and remain obedient to God, but I cannot fail in my marriage and as a father and remain obedient to God.
Finally, I blog. I have been blogging here at The Assembling of the Church for almost two years. I’ve talked to several people in person about the way that I blog, and it seems to be unique. I rarely, if ever, write a blog post in one sitting. I always keep a long list of “draft” blogs that I’m working on. (Currently, I have 15 blog posts in “draft” mode that are in various stages of completion.) I work on these “draft” posts 10 or 15 minutes at a time whenever I have time. For example, I will often work on blog posts when I’m taking a break from reading or writing. When I publish a blog post, I probably started writing it several days – sometimes several months – before I finally publish it. Sometimes, as with this post, I write on specific posts in order to finish them, but usually I don’t care when I finish a post. (Even this post, which I wanted to finish quickly, took me several days of writing in small increments of time.) The exception would be when I’m writing a series. I’m usually 75-100% finished writing a series before I publish the first post. So, blogging takes a very small amount of time for me.
There are several aspects of my life that allow me to do the things that I do, the most important being the grace of God. The graciousness and concern of my family also plays a huge role in allowing me to work, go to school, and publish this blog (which I consider to be part of my studies and discipleship). Also, the fact that I work, teach, and attend classes on the same campus saves me alot of commuting time. Finally, my ability to read and write fast makes it look as if I spend much more time reading and blogging than most people realize. This routine works for me and my family for now. Things may change, and if they do, I can promise you that my family will not be left out of my schedule.
Theological Sources – Conclusion
In this series, I want to discuss the various sources that inform our theology – that is, our understanding of God. For an outline, I will use John Wesley’s Quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. I realize that this is not new information for many of my readers. However, perhaps we can all help ourselves think about this important topic.
My understanding of Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience have all worked together to shape what I think about God – my theology. Your understanding of Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience have all worked together to shape your theology. While Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience may all be object (real things), our interpretation of them is subjective.
This does not mean that there is no reality. I believe there is reality, and I believe that God is part of that reality. Again, however, this is part of my theology. There are many who believe that God does not exist, or that many gods exist, or that everything is a god.
Our theology is our attempt to understand that reality. Our interpretation of Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience all play a part in that attempt to understand reality. The subjectivity of our attempt at understanding reality does not negate the objectivity of reality itself. (By the way, Jeff suggested Nature as another theological source. This is very intriguing, especially given the modern attempt at developing a Natural Theology. I have not thought through Nature as a theological source, but if you want to discuss it in the comments, please do so.)
Now, if God is part of that reality – and I believe that he is – and if God communicates to us – and I believe that he does – then I must add him to my theological sources, especially his indwelling presence through the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, it is true that God communicates to us through Scripture. And, it is true that God communicates to us through Tradition, Reason, and Experience. However, Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience are not the totality of God. God is a person that exists apart from Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. And, God is objective – not subjective. However, just like the other sources of theology, our understanding or our interpretation of God’s communication with us is subjective.
My theology – my understanding of God – is not perfect. It is wrong. However, my understanding of God can grow closer to the reality of God himself as I allow him, Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience to all work together to inform, grow, and mature my theology. Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience apart from God will not grow my understanding of God. This assumes, of course, that I allow God to use these various influences to modify my theology. For example, Calvin spent many years developing his theology. Today, people continue to study and hold to his last edition, sometimes to the point of vilify any who would disagree with this particular version of Calvin’s theology. I wonder how Calvin would have changed his theology in later editions if he had lived longer. (By the way, I’m not picking on Calvin at this point. The same could be said of many theologians and their followers.)
Furthermore, many people study Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience – and other theological sources – apart from the indwelling presence of God. Many times these people will understand the words of Scripture, the teaching of Tradition, the logic of Reason, and the meaning of Experience better than God’s own children. However, this does not mean that their theology matches up with the reality of God. God must be recognized as the primary theological source.
The reality of God is not different from God as he is described in Scripture, but the reality of God may be different from our understanding of Scripture. This is true of all of the theological sources. The reality of God defines the sources, not the other way around. Similarly, our faith is not based on what we think we know about God, but in the person of God himself, even recognizing that he is different than we think he is.
Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that we can know nothing about God. We can. I am not saying that it is impossible to understand anything about God. It is possible. However, as the Proverbs teach us, we must trust completely in God himself – the real person that he is – not in our own understandings – even our own understandings about God. When our understandings about God are wrong, we must trust God to reveal those to us in whatever means he chooses. If our understandings about God are correct, then we also must trust God to confirm that to us, again in whatever means he chooses.
Furthermore, we must be very careful that we do not condemn someone because their understanding of God is different from our own. Yes, I recognize that there are times when Scripture instructs us to distance ourselves from certain beliefs, and we should do this. However, today, it is rarely the case that I see two believers separating because one denies that Jesus is the Son of God or that Jesus came in the flesh or because one of them refuses to work or is divisive or even because one of them continues to live in unrepentant sin. Primarily, when I see two believers separating themselves from one another it is because their understanding of God differs in another area. I could produce a long list here, but I would probably leave out too many.
The questions that I feel we must ask ourselves at this point is the following: If we can recognize that we do not fully understand God and that God continues to work in our lives to refine our understanding of himself, why do we not allow God the same freedom to work in the lives of other believers? God is real. He is present. He is working. He is communicating. He cares about his people more than you think. He is able to bring them to a better understanding of himself. Perhaps, by remaining in fellowship with other believers, God may even use them to bring you and me into a better understanding of who he is.
As I finish this conclusion, I want to leave with some questions for discussion: 1) Do you agree that God in the person of the Holy Spirit must be the primary source of our theology? 2) How do you see the Holy Spirit working through the other sources? 3) Is it possible for us to rely on the other sources (even the words of Scripture) to a point that we do not rely on God himself?
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Theological Sources Series:
1. Introduction
2. Scripture
3. Tradition
4. Reason
5. Experience
6. Conclusion
Theological Sources – Experience
In this series, I want to discuss the various sources that inform our theology – that is, our understanding of God. For an outline, I will use John Wesley’s Quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. I realize that this is not new information for many of my readers. However, perhaps we can all help ourselves think about this important topic.
Writing about and discussing Experience as a theological sources is probably more difficult than discussing all of the other sources put together. However, just as Scripture, Tradition, and Reason affect our theology – our understanding of God – whether for better or for worse, Experience also affect our theology – again, for better and for worse. Experience includes events that affect our senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. But, Experiences also includes events which affect only our cognition and our feelings: emotions, dreams, visions.
These Experiences and our interpretation of these Experiences inform our theology. Similarly, our pre-existing theology colors our interpretation of our Experiences. It is difficult – if not impossible – to break this cycle. In fact, it may be that Experience is so powerful that it becomes the primary source for our understanding of God, whether we realize it or not. Thus, we hear many people who understand God as being cruel and uncaring due to painful experiences in the past. Experience is real, and our theology must account for Experience.
Of course, there are extremes to Experience just as there are for the other theological sources. For some, Experience becomes emotionalism which controls their entire life. For others, Experience is never to be trusted and never to be considered. Either extreme can lead people to misunderstand how Experience is truly affecting their understanding of God.
Also, there is interaction between Experience and the other sources of theology. For some, Experience is so strong an influence that it can trump Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. For others, and in other situations, Experience is merely one of several sources that work together to inform their understanding of God. Again, Experience and Reason can override Scripture and Tradition. Or, Experience and Tradition can override Scripture and Reason. In reality, their are a multitude of way in which the different sources work together in a person’s theology.
Often, Experience is dismissed because of “subjectivity”. The argument is made that since Experience is “subjective” then it must not be allowed to inform our theology, although perhaps Experience could reinforce our theology. However, this argument fails to recognize that only the interpretation of Experience is subjective. The Experience itself happened (either in the physical realm or the psychological real) – it is an objective, real event. Furthermore, the interpretation of any of the theological sources (Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience) is subjective, not just the interpretation of Experience. Instead of dismissing Experience as “subjective”, it is much more beneficial that recognize that Experience does inform a person’s theology in some way.
As with Scripture, Tradition, and Reason, it is dangerous and unhelpful to dismiss the affect that Experience has on a person’s theology. Instead, by examining our own theology and the way that Experience informs our own theology, we can better understand what we think about God. Plus, in considering the Experience of other people, we can also better understand their theology. Also, at this point it is beneficial to examine the interaction of all four theological sources. We also need to continue asking ourselves if there are other theological sources that impact our understanding of God.
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Theological Sources Series:
1. Introduction
2. Scripture
3. Tradition
4. Reason
5. Experience
6. Conclusion
Theological Sources – Reason
In this series, I want to discuss the various sources that inform our theology – that is, our understanding of God. For an outline, I will use John Wesley’s Quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. I realize that this is not new information for many of my readers. However, perhaps we can all help ourselves think about this important topic.
When we think of Reason, we usually think of various methods that help form ideas, concepts, and arguments. Reason is also the ability to connect various ideas, concepts, and arguments through various forms of synthesis and analysis. We use phrases like “think”, “consider”, “decide”, “rationalize”, “use logic”, etc. to describe what we mean by Reason. For many years, Reason was considered to be objective – using various formulas that always yield the same results. However, in the last few hundred years, people have realized that Reason is actually subjective.
We use Reason to develop our theology in different ways. Reason helps us connect ideas that we find in Scripture (interpolation), and Reason helps us complete ideas that are not found in Scripture (extrapolation). But, Reason doesn’t only work in the realm of Scripture. We also use Reason to define and defend our Tradition and our Experience. Reason explains why we accept certain conclusions (“sounds reasonable”) and why we dismiss other conclusions (“sounds unreasonable”).
Some people separate Reason from faith, seeing Reason as an exercise in discovery and explanation while faith is acceptance without discovery and explanation. I think the two definitions overly limit what is meant by both Reason and faith. Reason can be exercised through faith, and faith can be confirmed by Reason. The two can go together. However, it should be noted that if a person views Reason as the opposite of faith, then this will also inform a person’s theology.
How much do people depend upon Reason? Again, this is a difficult question to answer, because it changes from person to person. Some would say that all beliefs should be rationalized, while others would say that we should not attempt to rationalize any beliefs. In fact, either view is a type of Reason – rationalization or the lack of rationalization or somewhere between the two extremes.
Reason often works to defend our view of Scripture and our Tradition – even our Experiences, but we won’t get to that until tomorrow. Then again, we often change our Reason in order to defend other sources of theology. For instance, many people will dismiss certain arguments because the conclusion disagrees with their understanding of God, but the same people will use the “dismissed” arguments when the conclusion agrees with their understanding of God. So, as with Scripture and Tradition, it is difficult to know when Reason is informing our theology and when theology is controlling our Reason.
The interaction between Scripture, Tradition, and Reason is often hard to delineate. Perhaps, it is not necessary to determine which particular source let to a certain understanding of God. However, it is interesting that we often allow some theological sources to override others. So, we are willing to let Tradition and Reason team up against Scripture, or we let Scripture and Reason alter Tradition. We may even accept a certain view from Scripture and Tradition even if that view of God goes against our Reason.
What is important at this point is to recognize that all the sources work together to inform our theology. When we recognize that Scripture, Tradition, and Reason (and Experience) all inform our understanding of God, we can begin to understand why we hold to our theology. It also helps us to understanding how other people hold to their theology. Perhaps we can also begin asking other question about theological sources. For instance: Is there another source or other sources that should inform our theology?
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Theological Sources Series:
1. Introduction
2. Scripture
3. Tradition
4. Reason
5. Experience
6. Conclusion