Recently, a GodWords reader sent me a personal message in which he stated, “Theology is a LIE!!!”. He may have actually used four exclamation points, come to think of it. Either way, part of his point was that…well, that theology is a lie.
I’ve heard that before. I’ve also heard these:
- I don’t need theology. I just need Jesus.
- Don’t give me any theological mumbo-jumbo. Give me the truth.
- Who needs theology when we have the Bible?
Maybe you’ve heard similar things. If so, please share them in the comments.
It would be nice if we could settle this issue once and for all, but we can’t. We can only chip away at it, hoping that we’ll tip the balance from bad teaching to good teaching. I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating:
Theology means words about God. THEOS = God, LOGOS = word or words. Every time we think about God or write about God or talk about God, we’re ‘being theological’. The very first verse of the Gospel of John says this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Who is John writing about? Jesus, that’s who. Jesus is theology! Even saying that “Jesus is theology” is a theological statement. Christians can’t really avoid doing theology, can we?
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Here’s one: “Jesus is perfect theology.” This is a favorite of Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. The thing is, Johnson is not a fan of many “theologians,” which is somewhat typical of those in what I term the hyper-charismatic stream – to differentiate from charismatics who don’t over-focus on signs and wonders, etc. The problem with that viewpoint, of course, is that it posits a false dichotomy. As you point out, when speaking about God in any sense, we are ‘doing’ theology!
I’m sorry, but the entire concept of ‘god’ is a lie. It’s a tool used by the elite (really, the scum of the earth) to keep humanity under control, passive and too fearful to expose them for the liars and controllers they are.
Unbeliever:
Welcome! What you’ve written is a common idea, but it lacks empirical evidence. HAS religion been used that way? Of course… and it shouldn’t be. Does that mean God doesn’t exist? No, that’s a non sequitur. If you could provide some evidence that God doesn’t exist, I’d be willing to look at it.