The Humbling Power of Theology

Over at Sola Intellectum a necessary supplement to my recent "pseudo-controversy" with Donald Miller (an apt title, I am still perplexed at the whole thing) has been written and I think its great stuff. Here is an excerpt:

the idea that academic theology is the tool of the pridefully intellectual, who adopt their complex mental constructs and sophisticated philosophical system as idols that are worshipped instead of the living God. This, of course, is a crass caricature of theology, but a common one.

There is perhaps nothing more overwhelmingly humbling than studying theology. Pursuing theology as an academic discipline (which is the theology that Miller is critiquing, after all) entails with it the imposing and overwhelming notion of intimately familiarizing oneself with intellectual history of the world from Thales onward (ca. 500’s BCE), as well as the individual theologies propounded by certain theologians, philosophers, etc. In so doing, one is (pace Miller) constantly reminded of the inadequacy of one’s own intellectual powers, and the limited horizons of our own knowledge as individuals...

In other words, theology as an academic discipline constantly and acutely reminds the theologian that he is but a little person, who is as nothing, not only before the world, but before the true object of his study, the God and Father of Jesus Christ. With this comes the realization that even our greatest works, laboured on for perhaps whole lifetimes – even, dare I say, the Church Dogmatics – are as nothing. Like Thomas, we realize that our work is as straw. Theology, then, is not a discipline of the proud, but of the humble.

.

I cannot agree more with these sentiments. While again, not denying that studying can (and often does) lead to arrogance, in my own experience there has been no more humbling experience than a devout studying of theology, philosophy, history and linguistics. As I wrote in an earlier post, the sheer enormity of the task takes little time to reveal how small one is, and how great our God is. Certainly one does not have to be an academic to be saved (something I never said, but which I explicitly say now to hopefully avoid any more irate responses) yet like AJ said it is a crude caricature to picture academic theology as an ivory tower imposition of system and control. I would say academic theology to me has become just as much an act of humility and discipleship as I get to know my God deeper as any other act of worship.

Everyone should also just hop on over to AJ's blog in general (see my sidebar for the link, Sola Intellectum), AJ does great work, and has some very good recent post's on T.F. Torrance's concept of contingency, and a very interesting video link to a lecture by Sarah Coakley on God, Providence, and the Evolutionary Phenomenon of cooperation. Go check it out!