To be changed

We are all theologians.

You don’t need to take a theology class at a seminary to be a theologian. We all have beliefs about God. Even atheists have a theology.Theology is a system of beliefs and thoughts one holds regarding God and God’s interaction within our lives. Perhaps someone might say my theology is different. Some may even say that my theology is “wrong,” grounded in something reckless or beyond belief. Regardless, after much study, prayer, fasting, and discussion with other Christians, I have formed a system of beliefs about God that I stand upon. It is my theology. Yet, even my own theology is not beyond questioning.
In fact, it is by asking questions that I continue to form my theology. As a child, I am sure that I drove my Sunday school teachers mad with all kinds of strange questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible stories. Some of the answers I received were challenging and some were shallow. As I have continued to ask question, my childhood theology has shifted, blossomed, and now I can better articulate my systems of beliefs and thoughts – my theology.
Hopefully we all ask questions about God and the mysteries of our Faith. Questions help us think through some of the answers that we have been given all of our lives. Questions help us examine our beliefs and our motives for the way we think, act, and speak. Questions are good because we have a tendency to love answers. We all want answers to our questions.
We are rather uncomfortable with uncertainty. We get antsy when questions are left unanswered. However, our desire for answers often leads us to settle for something less than the whole Truth about the character and community of God. So many pastors and churches (in my experience and probably yours as well) offer “pat” answers. Today, many popular “Christian” authors offer a cotton-candy “gospel.” It is a “get-rich-quick” scheme to theology. “Pray this prayer;” “Follow these steps;” “Send a check today;” Do these things and your problems, conflicts, and question will all just disappear. These answers are not only false, but they might not even address your questions.
Simply put: Questions will either make you stretch to find clearer answers or reinforce the answers you already held. Either way, by asking questions, about even the basic tenants of our faith, we are better off for it.
Jesus knew the importance of asking questions. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is recorded to have asked 89 questions; in Matthew, 85; and in Mark, 47. When reading through the Gospels, you will encounter one question after another. Many of these questions were questions given as answers.
Jesus didn’t offer “pat” answers or easy outs. As you red through Mark, for example, you will encounter only a few occasions when Jesus did not answer the challenging questions of his rivals or disciples with a question. Often he would never answer their questions. He would leave them with their questions. And he rarely explained his teachings to the crowds. Pastor and author Stephen D. Jones writes, “Jesus shaped a questioning community, where his closest disciples felt very comfortable asking him questions and receiving his questions.”
Sure we have an answer: The Truth in the person of Jesus Christ. But we, Christians, don’t have all the answers. This is why we need theology. Theology is a mystery and it should be. We should be cautious of “easy” answers to tough questions. We should seek deeper understandings of what we think as individuals and as a community. Most important, we should never be afraid to ask, “Why?” When we settle for answers, we stop growing. Our relationship with God becomes stale. Our worship becomes predictable and routine. The fellowship in our community withers away. It is imperative that we ask questions. As Rev. Jones states, “We will find God is not only in the answers but also in the questions.”

What do you, the theologian, think