Maybe its just because of how things are with me spiritually and mentally at the moment, but i really am wondering about the worth of studying theology, any more? I don't know what drew me to it to begin with and some other christians I knew were concerned of me getting into it. I guess I was feeling something had happened with my relationship with God, maybe I had drifted and I thought theology would help fix that. I suppose in a sense I went into it for the wrong reasons. Now I feel lost (though to be honest I have felt lost for years)
The thing I find with theology is that a lot of it tends to be rather academic. And often it doesn't clarify what the Bible means. For instance I have been reading RT Kendall's Calvin and English Calvinism - while this is very well written and researched it still doesn't seem to tell the reader how Faith is to be understood biblically. It goes into great depth about how Calvin differed from the English Calvinists and Puritans in his understanding of Faith, and that Calvin may not have been a "Calvinist". It has excerpts from Calvins Commentaries. Fair enough I suppose that there is a important difference to make clear. But in the end who was correct in their understanding of faith? A lot of people talk as if faith is something we do, while others say it is a gift, its resting in Christ, its not something we can work up.
Honestly I don't know what I am theologically - I might be pelagian, semi-pelagian, Barthian, bultmannian, lutheran, calvinist, or a hodgepodge of them all!!
Another thing is Theology tends to skew how one understands the Bible, you tend to read it through your own theology.
Is it impossible to believe in miracles today (as Brunner and Bultmann assert?). If it is then isn't the Resurrection a miracle? Bultmann interprets it as Christ was raised in the disciples hearts, not a physical resurrection. How does one become able to believe in miracles, in this day and age? How important is it to believe them literally? There are a those who would say Jesus didn't walk on the water, he was standing on a sandbank under the water, and that Jesus didn't really multiple two fishes and five loaves to feed 5000 people, what happened was he inspired people to share what they had brought. Is it ok to believe that, or must we believe them literally? What about the resurrection? This is all said to be the impact of the Enlightenment. Despite all my theological reading I am still finding it really hard to believe. The church isn't exactly always a welcoming place for people who continue to struggle with believing.
The thing I find with theology is that a lot of it tends to be rather academic. And often it doesn't clarify what the Bible means. For instance I have been reading RT Kendall's Calvin and English Calvinism - while this is very well written and researched it still doesn't seem to tell the reader how Faith is to be understood biblically. It goes into great depth about how Calvin differed from the English Calvinists and Puritans in his understanding of Faith, and that Calvin may not have been a "Calvinist". It has excerpts from Calvins Commentaries. Fair enough I suppose that there is a important difference to make clear. But in the end who was correct in their understanding of faith? A lot of people talk as if faith is something we do, while others say it is a gift, its resting in Christ, its not something we can work up.
Honestly I don't know what I am theologically - I might be pelagian, semi-pelagian, Barthian, bultmannian, lutheran, calvinist, or a hodgepodge of them all!!
Another thing is Theology tends to skew how one understands the Bible, you tend to read it through your own theology.
Is it impossible to believe in miracles today (as Brunner and Bultmann assert?). If it is then isn't the Resurrection a miracle? Bultmann interprets it as Christ was raised in the disciples hearts, not a physical resurrection. How does one become able to believe in miracles, in this day and age? How important is it to believe them literally? There are a those who would say Jesus didn't walk on the water, he was standing on a sandbank under the water, and that Jesus didn't really multiple two fishes and five loaves to feed 5000 people, what happened was he inspired people to share what they had brought. Is it ok to believe that, or must we believe them literally? What about the resurrection? This is all said to be the impact of the Enlightenment. Despite all my theological reading I am still finding it really hard to believe. The church isn't exactly always a welcoming place for people who continue to struggle with believing.
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