timothyu

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This is your opinion, and completely unnecessary in regard's to OP's topic. She didn't ask for a sermon on the morality of theology or different peoples opinions on what God thinks of theology. Preach less, answer more.

If you look back you will see I simply said in answer to the topic

Theology is defined as religious philosophy. Philosophy is basically confusing the obvious then making a fresh opinion. Taking for instance what Jesus taught and making it into a new religion better suited to the philosophies of man limited to worldly thinking than to the otherworldy will of God.

Theology confuses. Scripture clarifies.

The outcome? The blind write books to lead the blind.


All the rest you call a sermon was answering questions posed to me.
 
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☦Marius☦

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!

Hi Victoria. I went to Bible College too, but my first Evangelical Theology courses were in high school. I was confused at first too don't worry!

Theology is the study of God, of his nature, and his relation to the universe.

Theology in an Evangelical setting will likely include study of the nature of the Holy Trinity (how three can be one), of the Hypostatic union (The union of Christ's divine and human natures), and God's relation to the universe in relation to time, space, and matter.

It can be quite a mind exhausting subject. I would say ask alot of questions on here on your faith relevant board or on the theology board. Just as a warning I recommend going on your faith specific board and specifying in your topic that you want only evangelical views on theology. Otherwise all kinds of people on here with varying degrees of sanity (probably from studying too much theology), will derail every post you make. I might not agree with evangelical theology, but I respect a person's right to study it without getting preached at by random people.
 
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☦Marius☦

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If you look back you will see I simply said in answer to the topic

Theology is defined as religious philosophy. Philosophy is basically confusing the obvious then making a fresh opinion. Taking for instance what Jesus taught and making it into a new religion better suited to the philosophies of man limited to worldly thinking than to the otherworldy will of God.

Theology confuses. Scripture clarifies.

The outcome? The blind write books to lead the blind.


All the rest you call a sermon was answering questions posed to me.

I read your original post. It was more concerned with preaching against theological study than actually providing a definition. I realize you think that theology breeds contempt and disunity, but not all of us agree with that sentiment.
 
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Cis.jd

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!

IMO, good theology helps make sure your faith is rational and intelligent.

Let me give you an example of arguments from people in this forum with bad theology:

- We have had christians here who supported the killing of babies in the OT and all evil is erased "because God said so". theology helps us understand what really happened here so you don't make a mistake and see God as evil... or be evil yourself by having sheep mentality and not seeing anything wrong with it.
- Some people here think no one should be upset from animal cruelty "because they are not made in the image of God".
- Some people here said the sick hospitalized Jews who consented in taking euthanasia just minutes before the Nazi's stormed in the hospital are going to hell because they committed a sin against the holy spirit.

Theology is needed because it helps prevent stupidity and unreasonable faith like you see here. It also helps when conversing others with different faiths who don't see the rationalism with what you believe.
 
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PloverWing

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!
I like Barth, but I don't know that I would have assigned him as the very first theologian to read in a theology curriculum, partly because his ideas can be difficult, and partly because he makes more sense if you've read some earlier theologians first, for background.

Can you tell me anything about your curriculum? What theology/religion classes have you had so far at your Bible college? What other theologians have you studied in your current course? Have you talked about the pre-Reformation theologians, or the Reformers, or liberal theology? (If I were teaching a theology class, I'd look at all of those eras before introducing Barth.) Do you have any kind of textbook to accompany your primary source readings?

Good luck on your quiz. What is the other book that the quiz is based on?
 
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timothyu

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I read your original post. It was more concerned with preaching against theological study than actually providing a definition. I realize you think that theology breeds contempt and disunity, but not all of us agree with that sentiment.

I gave the common definition and stated institutional theology had an alternate option. The choice is Victoria's depending on whether she wants to follow a denomination or go free range, preferably in Jesus' pasture, not man's. Like with God, the choice is hers.
 
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St_Worm2

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Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on.
Hi Victoria, sure, there are plenty of folks around here who should be able to help you understand your theological schoolwork. Why don't you start off by telling us about two or three of the specific topics or ideas that are giving you the most trouble (and ask us any questions about those subjects that you'd like to as well) and we'll go from there :)

Yours and His,
David
 
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Neogaia777

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!
I had that same problem with my philosophy classes I took, I honestly don't know, as I'm not a big theologian anyway...

But I'll pray for you...

God Bless!
 
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klutedavid

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!
Christian theology presented in a simple form can be very rewarding.

For example you might cover some interesting topics such as the following.

The attributes of God

The revelation of the Christ in the scripture

The incarnation

The Trinity

E.t.c.

Have fun.
 
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mark kennedy

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!
Welcome to the real world Neo, theology can be pretty tough to get a handle on. Karl Barth isn't that bad if you give him some time I think you will benefit from his work. Remember 'Jesus loves me this I know', that was the most important theological statement he believed he ever wrote. No matter how much theology you study you will always go back to the basics, it's the only way to make sense of it. Some of the best theology comes from the writings of the Apostle John, especially the epistles, and those are some of the simplest books in the New Testament.

Theology is tough, there are no two ways about that. Give yourself some time to adjust to the systematic approach because a systematic approach to the subject can yield invaluable results.

Grace and peace,
Mark
 
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mark kennedy

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I had that same problem with my philosophy classes I took, I honestly don't know, as I'm not a big theologian anyway...

But I'll pray for you...

God Bless!
Really? I loved philosophy but it yielded little with regards to theology for me. I've always thought in order to be a competent theologian you should really know the Scriptures. Not all do, some have some serious reservations about the Scriptures as a matter of fact. Which is why my theology isn't all that great, but I would rather work on expositions then systematic theology anyway.
 
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Neogaia777

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Really? I loved philosophy but it yielded little with regards to theology for me. I've always thought in order to be a competent theologian you should really know the Scriptures. Not all do, some have some serious reservations about the Scriptures as a matter of fact. Which is why my theology isn't all that great, but I would rather work on expositions then systematic theology anyway.
I didn't mean that with any disrespect to being an actual theologian or anything, and I just realize now, that it could have come across that way, the way it was worded...

I actually may know more about it, than I actually think I do maybe though, but my main source is the Bible, and Christian TV, radio, ect, and they talk about a lot of theological concepts and ideas, I think, and I've heard many of the terms before and know what some or most of them mean, but, what I meant was, "I'm not a well versed person in actual theology" is more what I meant...

God Bless!
 
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marineimaging

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Hi there, my name is Victoria, and I am currently in Bible college and one of my current classes is Christian Theology and I am really confused. I am reading a book called Evangelical Theology written by Karl Barth, and I am just overall confused, what is theology? What is the point to theology?

Theology currently does not make any sense to me, is there any way that someone would be able to explain theology to me in a way that would make sense to me and help me understand what is going on. I have to read a bunch of the book, and tomorrow I have a quiz on a different theology book from the same class. I just do not know what to do as theology is seeming to make no sense to me. Thanks!
In church we study the Word in a somewhat simplistic manner meant for the average person. I.e., we might discuss the route Joseph and Mary took, who the Magi were, the facts about Jesus tarrying before going to call Lazarus from the grave. And in our Bereans class we will take a more in-depth look at the Word of God that is in the Bible and we might open up commentaries and look deeper into the nature of Paul, of Timothy and Peter..., of Rome and Greece and how they play a role in Biblical life. But theology is the deeper study of the nature of God. It is using the Bible as a compass yet studying the nature of why God is. That's about it in it's simplest form. The average person studies who God is to them, whereas theology is seeking the PhD of WHY God is to the world.
 
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mark kennedy

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I didn't mean that with any disrespect to being an actual theologian or anything, and I just realize now, that it could have come across that way, the way it was worded...

I actually may know more about it, than I actually think I do maybe though, but my main source is the Bible, and Christian TV, radio, ect, and they talk about a lot of theological concepts and ideas, I think, and I've heard many of the terms before and know what some or most of them mean, but, what I meant was, "I'm not a well versed person in actual theology" is more what I meant...

God Bless!
I can identify with that, I've been into Calvinism for a little while now, sometimes I find myself getting lost in the details. I'm familiar with your posts and as far as I can tell, your fine. I just think a systematic theology can be invaluable in organizing doctrine, you just have to have the patience to learn how to navigate it. I like Calvinism but then again I like long standing traditions, Calvinism certainly qualifies.

As far as philosophy, I am intrigued by Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Ethics but have a hard time reconciling them to anything theological. I guess a pursuit along those lines is an acquired taste.

Grace and peace,
Mark
 
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Neogaia777

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I can identify with that, I've been into Calvinism for a little while now, sometimes I find myself getting lost in the details. I'm familiar with your posts and as far as I can tell, your fine. I just think a systematic theology can be invaluable in organizing doctrine, you just have to have the patience to learn how to navigate it. I like Calvinism but then again I like long standing traditions, Calvinism certainly qualifies.

As far as philosophy, I am intrigued by Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Ethics but have a hard time reconciling them to anything theological. I guess a pursuit along those lines is an acquired taste.

Grace and peace,
Mark
I failed in my first year of Philosophy, and didn't take any more after that...

Needless to say I don't know much about it, especially anymore, it was a long time ago, I would need a quick refresher to remember anything from it really...

God Bless!
 
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timothyu

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Some of the best theology comes from the writings of the Apostle John, especially the epistles, and those are some of the simplest books in the New Testament.

'comes from the writings' as it does from all scripture, but it is rarely in scripture. Look at that from the standpoint of Jesus when He told Peter truth came from the Father, not the opinions of man (when He asked who they thought He was).
 
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timothyu

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The average person studies who God is to them, whereas theology is seeking the PhD of WHY God is to the world.

Has anyone considered simply following and living by His will?
Worked for the earliest followers of Jesus.
 
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Radagast

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Hi Victoria, sure, there are plenty of folks around here who should be able to help you understand your theological schoolwork. Why don't you start off by telling us about two or three of the specific topics or ideas that are giving you the most trouble (and ask us any questions about those subjects that you'd like to as well) and we'll go from there :)

Great advice!
 
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☦Marius☦

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I gave the common definition and stated institutional theology had an alternate option. The choice is Victoria's depending on whether she wants to follow a denomination or go free range, preferably in Jesus' pasture, not man's. Like with God, the choice is hers.

Did she not say clearly evangelical theology? You imply that one has to go "free range" to be in Jesus' pasture. Once again your opinion. How about just helping a person in need in stead of trying to convert them to your way of thinking hmm?
 
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☦Marius☦

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Has anyone considered simply following and living by His will?
Worked for the earliest followers of Jesus.

The earliest followers of Jesus wrote the foundations of all Christian theology, as did the men they appointed as elders.
 
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