Have you ever heard someone in your church dismissively say, “Theology isn’t for me” or “I don’t think theology is important; we just need to love Jesus and love people”? While I understand the sentiment behind these statements, as a pastor it grieves me. Far too many people in the church see theology as an abstract academic discipline with no bearing on the day-to-day Christian life. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Theology is inescapable. Every Christian is a theologian. Every Christian, by definition, knows God, thinks about God, and makes statements about God. The very word “theology” means a word (logos) about God (theos).

Christian theology is simply talking about God in a distinctly Christian way based on the Scriptures. And if everyone is a theologian, the central question becomes: Is his or her theology distinctly Christian? Recent findings give cause for concern.

True theology points to God

LifeWay Research recently studied the theological knowledge of 3,000 adult Americans. The study focused on key theological areas of the faith and revealed several areas where Americans differ from historic, orthodox Christianity.

Almost half (45 percent) believe there are many ways to get to heaven. The same percentage say the Bible was written for each person to interpret as he or she chooses. More than half (59 percent) of evangelicals believe the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person. And 29 percent of evangelicals believe God the Father is more divine than Jesus. Where are Americans, and especially evangelicals, getting their theology?

Human beings didn’t invent God, and because God exists independently from human experience, theology cannot originate from human thought or experience. Distinctly Christian theology takes its starting point from the belief that God has revealed Himself in His authoritative Word, the Bible.

This is significant because the Bible stands as a testimony to the free and intentional act of self-disclosure on the part of a transcendent God. The task of theology has to do with knowing the true God and developing an integrated knowledge about Him in light of His self-disclosure.

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