Theology vs. The Bible

"Theology is a specialized, professional language, often employing obscure (Latin and Greek) terms that are never used by anyone but theologians, as if theologians live in and talk about a different world from the one mortals inhabit. Theology functions sociologically like other professional languages--to keep people out and to help the members of the guild identify one another. Whereas the Bible talks about trees and stars, about donkeys and barren women, about kings and queens and carpenters." - Peter J. Leithart

We take for granted the use of everyday language. Our lives are grounded in narrative so much so that we don't even really notice anymore. Scripture is also written in primarily a narrative format, and when it is not narrating a story, it is written as prophecy or prose. So where does our formal system of theology come from? What do we mean when we say that there are "timeless truths" in Scripture which fit nicely within a coherent set of doctrines? Some of us (myself included) use it to refer to the system of beliefs commonly called Reformed Covenant Theology while others refer to Dispensationalism, Catholicism, etc. The problem with such systems is that they tend to be gregarious to the extent that they breed exclusion. We are no longer a diversified body, we are, instead, a collection of body parts disassembled on the machinist's floor. Each part has the audacity to claim it is attached to something it calls a "body" while the other parts laugh at the utter foolishness of such a claim, undaunted by the reality that they are in a similar predicament.

So what do I propose? Well, I propose that my system is right but not to the exclusion of others. We should have open eyes and ears to see and hear God's truth no matter what "ism" it is attached to. The intellectuals among us should climb down from their ivory towers and mingle with the vulgar on a regular basis so they can see what their writing looks like. In other words, we should be living what is written in the Scriptures concerning goodness, righteousness, beauty, truth and love rather than systematizing it. Now, I have a degree in philosophy so I'm all about a good coherent and cogent systematization. What I, here, wish to combat is an intellectual following of that system at the expense of a physical and spiritual living out of that system. Theology has a tendency to confine God to an abstract box of natures and characteristics which are then hotly debated amongst the fragmented body parts. This isn't just true about God either; we see it in variations on the Lord's Supper, baptism, Scripture and even the gospel message.

In the city of God there is only one people; in the kingdom there is only one King. Here on earth, then, we witness and participate in what amounts to civil war. Why? Because we pit our theologies against one another. We like to test our intellectual mettle against our fellow Christians because it's too much work to pit it against the world. God has given us a revelation which enables us to topple empires and shape nations and we use it to tear down churches that don't agree with us according to every jot and tittle. I certainly don't mind the occassional spat and light-hearted sparring, but too often we (myself included) are guilty of kidney punching and not accidentally. It is cliche to recommend that we let Scripture shape our theology as a solution; that is what we all believe we are already doing. However, if we let Scripture shape our life then it will be obvious who has the right kind of knowledge. Let us pursue the divine as the divine pursues us: with a love that sets the heart of stone on fire.