Donald Miller on Theology

A few weeks ago we were looking at theology (among other things) as an idol during the "Chasing after Religion" portion of our Yellow House study on idolatry. We talked a bit about how theology and religion could simply become a search for knowledge instead of experiencing a relationship with Christ. And beyond that, how arguing about issues in theology instead of discussing them reasonably and with respect and love for the other party will only serve to push others away, not to mention causing unnecessary divisions in the Body of Christ. All this resulting in us idolizing our own understanding of theology instead of maintaining our focus on God.

Donald Miller posted a blog post along the same lines today. It's from the new introduction to his re-released book "Searching for God Knows What" (which now I want to go read again.) Here are a couple excerpts from the post.

"You might think I am saying truth should be thrown out, that theology doesn’t matter. But this is not what I’m saying at all. What I’m intending to illustrate is our drive to define God with a mathematical theology has become a false God rather than an arrow that points to the real God. Theology can become an idol, but it is more useful as guardrails on a road to the true God. Theology is very important, but it is not God, and knowing facts about God is not the same as knowing God."

"What I came to understand, then, is Christian conversion is relational. It is not theological or intellectual any more than marriage is theological or intellectual."

"Can a person have bad theology and be a Christian?

Has your theology ever been corrected, and were you really a Christian before?

Is your theology all worked out now so you have no more reason to study, and if not, are you a Christian?

If you believe a person’s theology has to be right to be qualified for Christian conversion, then you are saying a person comes to know God, in part, because he has right ideas, and I respectfully disagree. Do I think right theology is important? Absolutely, but I do not believe it has any agency to convert anymore than directions to the doctor’s office have the power to heal.

I have a friend who countered, adamantly, that unless a person understood and agreed with the theological idea of total depravity, he could not be a Christian. I asked my friend when it was that he understood the idea himself, and he answered his sophomore year in seminary. I asked him, then, when he had become a Christian, and he told me when he was in the third grade. His reasoning was obviously insane, and I don’t think he is alone."

"What I’m saying, though, is that God doesn’t exclude someone from his saving grace because they don’t have the correct theological checklist. And for those of us who judge and condemn them, why would we stand in opposition when the God we love and serve is himself so adamant about being in relationship with them just as He is with us?"

God uses little people to do BIG things

Inspiring, Empowering, Delight-filled, God-glorifying

After an innocent question from his 6 yr old daughter, Jon Acuff, blogger and author Stuff Christians Like, decided to set a goal to raise $30,000 by Dec 31st to build a Kindergarten for kids in a low income area of Vietnam.

This morning he posted the idea for the first time and asked his SCL readers to join the cause: read the post here.

Hearts overflowing with generosity, the SCL readers came through big time. Right now, less than 24 hours after the original post, over $30, 500 has been donated. Read about it here.

Yesterday, in the 4 and 5 yr olds room we talked about David and Goliath and how God can use little people to do BIG things. How he can swoop in to save his people with just a boy and a rock. He just did it again. He used a blog... an online group of his people... to give kids in an underprivileged area a chance to go to school and to learn about Him.

If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is. To quote Bob's last two sermons, live generously and light a candle in the darkness... and watch how God will use you to bless others.

Not finished

Once a month in the 4s & 5s room at church, a woman named Patty comes to read a story to the kids. Patty sits in an electric wheelchair. She doesn't have any use of her legs as far as I can tell and I'm guessing that her arm motion and speech used to be smoother too. Patty's always enthusiastic when she comes in to see the kids; she asks them questions throughout the story and lets them honk the horn on her wheelchair before she leaves.

This week Patty read them a story about a caterpillar named Hermie who just wasn't satisfied with life. Throughout the story Hermie's friends tell him to be patient, that God just isn't finished with him yet. Of course as you might guess, at the end of the book Hermie changes into a beautiful butterfly.

After Patty was done reading the story, I walked with her back to the sanctuary to help her with the doors. As we went down the hallway she told me a bit of her story. It went something like this: "I just love that story. You know it's true: God's not finished with any of us yet. I used to be a professor. Did you know that? Yes, a political theory professor. I never did like the 'publish or perish' atmosphere much. Then I had my accident. I was on my bike and a car hit me. Now, I read to the kids here at church and at the school. And you know what? I'm in my element! God wasn't finished with me yet and he's still not finished. And he's not finished with you either."

Man, what a blessing! I talked all of 3 minutes with this woman and she totally just rocked it. Her outlook on life is so encouraging and it's obvious that she completely trusts God with the entirety of it. So many times I see where I am as a daughter, sister, friend, disciple and I'm not satisfied with it. Part of it is me not putting in the effort necessary to move forward sometimes, and part of it is not believing that God will make it happen. But I know that he's not finished with me and just because I screw it up doesn't mean that he can't take it and make it into something beautiful. So if I keep seeking him (keep walking even though sometimes I stop) and trust that he knows best, I can be confident that change will happen. He's not finished with me yet and I think last Sunday he totally knew that I needed to hear that and I needed to hear it from Patty.

dawk and alister, pt 1

With the upcoming 'themester' at IU regarding evolution, I've been thinking through my own viewpoints (albeit incomplete) and extending my knowledge through conversations with friends and literature from scientists and theologians. Today I was talking with a bio professor that I work with (who also happens to be a full time pastor!) about Dawkins' imminent talk coming up on campus. He mentioned that he finds Dawkins' arguments relatively easy to deal with simply for the fact that Dawkins doesn't really seem to understand faith or religion at all.

Tonight, I began listening to this conversation between Dawkins (RD) and Alister McGrath (AM). AM is a Christian theologian who also has a PhD in molecular biophysics. About 12 minutes or so into the video, RD makes a point that Christians should not (cannot) use improbability of nature and living things as a reason for God because the existence of God is just as improbable. That is, he comments that God popping into existence is just as improbable as a complex organ (the eye) popping into existence. I think this in itself goes to show his lack of understanding. AM tries to explain that God is not IN this natural order... He created it. He is outside of that which he created. And despite all improbabilities, you can say that we are here right now in this moment (including our eyes and other complex organs) so at some point you have to make a decision about what improbability is least improbable.

RD goes on to say that if AM believed in a "God that evolved I'd be much happier." Whoa, RD. Again, there's some basic theology you're missing, I think. To believe in a God that evolved would mean that there was room for improvement. That God was not perfect to begin with; that he developed in some way. Again, this is putting God into our natural order that we (try to) observe here on Earth, instead of realizing that He is outside of all that; He's supernatural. RD also mentions that he would be more comfortable with the idea of a simple God. Really? Why do you want to make God wimpy? Why would you be more comfortable with a God who constantly changes or who is simple in our human minds? It seems to me that RD wants to work God into our framework. That he thinks we're the ones that figure it all out and God should fit into our way of being, into the natural world he created. It's kind of like saying that if a man builds a house, he will be part of that house in the same way a wall is; that he would settle as the house does, he would need to be painted and remodeled and developed as the house is. When actually that's not the case at all. The man would be able to interact with the house but he will never BE a part of the house in the way that the wall is (I realize this analogy isn't perfect, but maybe you get my point).

Anyway, that's it for tonight, but there will probably be more to come on this. :)