Thinking theologically is allowing our understanding of who God is and of God's ways to shape how we think and what we believe. Consequently, the nature of God and the ways of God (the Kingdom) shape what we do and how we live.
The failure to think theologically results in us living out of our old, pre-Christian ways of thinking. In other words, being a Christian hasn't changed us significantly. We are simply a religious version of our former self. Our lives and lifestyles reflect little significant difference from our previous life ... or from those around us, for that matter.
The lost art of thinking theologically is the by-product of the current focus on beliefs. We can "believe" something - an intellectual exercise - that never touches our heart, much less transforms it. What we believe may even be theologically correct, i.e., orthodox, but it does not translate into practice, i.e., orthopraxy. Doctrines and beliefs seldom transform. The experience of grace does. Beliefs that do not lead us to love as Jesus loved are rooted in faulty thinking, not theological thinking.
The starting place for thinking theologically is the character of God as reflected in the life of Jesus and his teachings of the Kingdom of God! What we believe is to be shaped by the character of God and Jesus' teachings of the Kingdom. Note: The starting place for thinking theologically is not the Bible ... and certainly not what we believe! Thinking from the perspective of the character of God and the ways of God (the Kingdom) moves us beyond using the Bible to defend our beliefs, i.e., "The Bible says ..."
Today's political climate is evidence of this lost art of thinking theologically. It seems to me that many of those who call themselves "Christian" today think more in political terms than theological terms. For example, I have been called a liberal preacher. "Liberal" is a political term that people use when they do not agree with what I (or other so-called liberal preachers) proclaim. Calling me or others "liberal" is a way of dismissing what we teach without engaging in dialogue and theological thinking. It is a way to avoid examining what they believe in light of the teachings of Jesus. Their belief, not the teachings of Jesus, become the standard of what is right or wrong.
Thinking theologically is rooted in a teachable spirit. It expresses a humility that knows there is always more to God and God's truth than what I know. It is part of a commitment to grow in one's understanding of the ways of God and, thereby, in Christ's likeness.
How we think governs how we live. The Spirit of God challenged and changed the thinking of Peter, Paul, and the early church in Jerusalem. That change in what they believed resulted in a change in how they lived. They moved from being in step with their culture - a religious culture, at that! - to being out of step with their culture but in step with the ways of God.
But, then, this blog about thinking theologically may just be my liberal thinking!
Or is it?
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