timothyu

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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?

Read my last post. Jesus had it pretty well covered with His two commandments and the Lord's prayer. As for evangelical theology.,.. ok evangelical philosophy on scripture.
 
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☦Marius☦

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Read my last post. Jesus had it pretty well covered with His two commandments and the Lord's prayer. As for evangelical theology.,.. ok evangelical philosophy on scripture.

Once again, if that is your opinion then why bother posting here when the girl is clearly asking for help with her studies in college, and not for some alternate perspective on Christianity?
 
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timothyu

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

Yes, the foundations, the scriptures but not the theology.
 
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fhansen

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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!
To study and know the nature and will of God. Not an easy task by any means .
 
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timothyu

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Once again, if that is your opinion then why bother posting here when the girl is clearly asking for help with her studies in college, and not for some alternate perspective on Christianity?

Yes I understand. They are new and must not consider there is an alternative to theology.
 
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☦Marius☦

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Yes I understand. They are new and must not consider there is an alternative to theology.

Why do you assume it is your place to give it when not asked? I'm not trying to be rude but I am really getting sick of every single thread on this board that could actually be constructive and interesting getting derailed by the same few people that post some vague unrelated word salad.
 
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timothyu

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To study and know the nature and will of God. Not an easy task by any means .

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
 
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timothyu

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Why do you assume it is your place to give it when not asked? I'm not trying to be rude but I am really getting sick of every single thread on this board that could actually be constructive and interesting getting derailed by the same few people that post some vague unrelated word salad.

What you say is what the early gentile church said, our way. That is the difference between institutional Christianity and actually living it. One likes to be in control while God sets us free.

Everyone has the right to know there is an alternative to man's traditional ways. It is what Jesus came to teach. The world desperately tries to hold onto it's own and away from the Kingdom.

But I shall move on so you may continue to hover to hang onto what you hope is one of your own, and the world of man continues to splinter Christianity and form new denominations built upon differing theology. The scriptures stay the same fortunately..
 
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☦Marius☦

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What you say is what the early gentile church said, our way. That is the difference between institutional Christianity and actually living it. One likes to be in control while God sets us free.

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Jeremiah 23:18
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.

Romans 16:17-18
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
 
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☦Marius☦

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What you say is what the early gentile church said, our way. That is the difference between institutional Christianity and actually living it. One likes to be in control while God sets us free.

Everyone has the right to know there is an alternative to man's traditional ways. It is what Jesus came to teach. The world desperately tries to hold onto it's own and away from the Kingdom.

But I shall move on so you may continue to hover to hang onto what you hope is one of your own, and the world of man continues to splinter Christianity and form new denominations built upon differing theology. The scriptures stay the same fortunately..

Could you sound more condescending and self certain? Yes the scriptures have not changed, neither have the teachings of the apostles and Church fathers- Which is why the Orthodox Church has existed unchanged for 2000 years following those teachings, while individuals so certain of their own wisdom over the wisdom of the men who studied directly under the apostles or knew Christ personally, divide the church. It is not us, who are an institution that constantly create new factions. You accuse, but what evidence do you have of any kind of consistency? You seek to divide people on this very board! Trying to insert your own beliefs into unrelated topics causing descent. Yet you accuse us as being the divisive ones when we, members of completely different Churches, are putting aside our differences to help the OP out.
 
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timothyu

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self certain? Yes the scriptures have not changed, neither have the teachings of the apostles and Church fathers

Contradiction there. The Apostles taught the Gospel of the Kingdom. Church fathers of the institutionalised church taught their philosophies to fill in for the removal of the Gospel of the Kingdom to have Christianity still make some sense.

And by the early gentile church I should have stipulated the later institutionalised church of the Roman gentiles post Paul.
 
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timothyu

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Yet you accuse us as being the divisive ones
My divisiveness is between the world of man and the Kingdom as Jesus taught. That is divisiveness over far greater things than the petty differences of man.

If it males you feel any better that divisiveness brought on by the Kingdom goes right back to Jesus and had the same effect it is having here. Have you considered defending the Kingdom over the institutions of man? You would be welcomed by the HS.

And there is nothing personal here against any denomination. This is a matter of separation of Kingdom and this world.
 
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☦Marius☦

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Contradiction there. The Apostles taught the Gospel of the Kingdom. Church fathers of the institutionalised church taught their philosophies to fill in for the removal of the Gospel of the Kingdom to have Christianity still make some sense.

And by the early gentile church I should have stipulated the later institutionalised church of the Roman gentiles post Paul.

Oh yes I forgot that you believe the Church ceased to be the true Church after the Gentiles "infiltrated" it. Forget the fact that the fathers such as St. Ignatius as St. Polycarp were literally hand picked by the apostles. St. Ignatius even met Christ as a child.
 
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timothyu

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Oh yes I forgot that you believe the Church ceased to be the true Church after the Gentiles "infiltrated" it. Forget the fact that the fathers such as St. Ignatius as St. Polycarp were literally hand picked by the apostles. St. Ignatius even met Christ as a child.

Your time line is not my time line. Those who based Christianity on the same foundation as the Roman empire instead of the Kingdom were a long time building but they did take over in the end.
 
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kiwimac

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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!

Theology is nothing more or less than the ways in which humans understand and speak about God. The word itself is made up of Greek 'Theos' and 'Logia' which can be translated as 'Speech about God.' There are as many different theologies within Christianity as there are Christians. However not all of them are official. Those theologies defined by the councils of the undivided Church (up until around the late 780s CE.) are the official ones.

They are:
The First Council of Nicaea in 325,
The First Council of Constantinople in 381,
The Council of Ephesus in 431,
The Council of Chalcedon in 451,
The Second Council of Constantinople in 553,
The
Third Council of Constantinople from 680–681 and finally,
The
Second Council of Nicaea in 787.

Evangelical theology is one of those which the undivided church would probably not have supported but which seems to be the ground of being for most US churches.
Definition: Wikipedia:
Evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, transdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has had a long presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.

Its origins are usually traced to 1738, with various theological streams contributing to its foundation, including English Methodism, the Moravian Church (in particular its bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf and his community at Herrnhut), and German Lutheran Pietism. Preeminently, John Wesley and other early Methodists were at the root of sparking this new movement during the First Great Awakening. Today, evangelicals are found across many Protestant branches, as well as in various denominations not subsumed to a specific branch. Among leaders and major figures of the evangelical Protestant movement were John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Harold John Ockenga, John Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The movement gained great momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries with the Great Awakenings in Great Britain and the United States.

It is important to realise that most orthodox churches are not holders of evangelical theology while still preaching the evangel or Good News.
 
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zelosravioli

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(I wanted to be positive, 'but' people here stating that 'theology' is somehow ungodly or unscriptural, is actually negative, if not confusing)

Christian Theology is just where you naturally end up, or belong, as you learn and study more and more scripture.
1. Scripture 'is' theology.
2. In a sense Theology is what happens when you open your bible (and pray).
3. Basically, Theology happens when you actually start to study scripture.
4. Technically, Theology happens when you really begin to absorb what your studying, when you experience the depth and richness of it all and want even more. You may get overwhelmed by the immensity of it all and because Gods law, and His character, and His salvation.. everything is so well intertwined, then you see the importance and necessity of each individual part being a part of the whole. Then you begin to see the sense of understanding the many principles and teachings of scripture as doctrines - that's what happens when you have to much information... but don't worry we have to do that when we learn alot about 'anything'. I see 'doctrine' the same as I see the tabs at the top of the page, I use them to find what I need to, quicker and easier.
When someone asks, or when we're discussing for example: Grace, Sacrifice, Heaven, The Holy Spirit or the Divinity of Christ, etc. our studying Theology helps our mind find the information quicker - and more importantly, we want to be as 'accurate' as we can when sharing Gods Word.

Having said that, I believe, after much study, that the goal and motive behind Gods Word is 'love' (as some whom I have disagreed with have wisely said).

At the end of the day the fruit of our study should be love. Love with God and love for one another - if we don't get that, we're missing the point of all our theology. Love is the greatest doctrine of all, and God is Love!

Thirdly, yes, be careful there are many strange books and teachers in the centers of Theological seminaries, I recall the great Dr J Vernon McGee called them 'cemeteries'. So always Pray for discernment, God willing, for all.
 
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Radagast

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It is important to realise that most orthodox churches are not holders of evangelical theology while still preaching the evangel or Good News.

It's important to realise that Barth uses "evangelical theology" in a quite different sense from most people today.

Here, in case the OP is interested, is an evangelical view of Barth: What Should Evangelicals Make of Karl Barth?
 
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marineimaging

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Has anyone considered simply following and living by His will?
Worked for the earliest followers of Jesus.
My granddaughter is at a theological college. But to answer has anyone...? Hasn't everyone? I think we all do. Just in different ways. I accepted Jesus at 9 years old. Hardly a PhD level decision. I lived like the devil in me many times. But when I came home (like the prodigal son) I sought a deeper understanding, not a deeper belief. I believed. I followed. I did. But I wanted more just for the sake of knowing more because I am a wanting to know more person. I love the study. There is nothing wrong with being a student of our sovereign God.
 
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twin1954

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Everyone has a theology. Theology is simply thoughts of God. Some theologies are more philosophy based and some are more Scriptural. Even atheists have a theology.

Now true Scriptural theology would begin with the character and Person of God according to what He has revealed of Himself in His Word. Those are called His attributes. They reveal to us the nature of God and lay a foundation for study on the works of God.

The study of theology, if done properly, will give you a better knowledge of Scripture. Systematic theology will help you grasp the whole of Scriptural teachings instead of theology based on proof texts and snippets of passages taken out of their context.

Take it slow and it will come to you. I am still learning theology after serious intense study for many years. I find the things of the Scriptures reveal something new on a constant basis.

But first and foremost read the Scriptures. The Spirit works through the Word and will give you light and understanding if you seek it with all your heart.
 
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Tree of Life

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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!

My favorite definition of theology is the one supplied by Dr. John Frame. He says that theology is the application of Scripture to every area of life.
 
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