Thinking and Theology

The Christian church has talked for a long time on the use of human thinking in theology.  Augustine’s great book On Christian Doctrine is one of the first books I read on this subject.  It’s true, faith seeks understanding.

Here are some thoughts on the use or part human thinking (often called “reason”), has in connection with reading the bible and doing Christian theology. 

First, human thinking is never above Scripture.  Rather, Scripture is above our ideas.  To put it another way, our thinking must be directed by Scripture if we are going to understand God Almighty correctly.

Secondly, it is a tool given by God.  We think and know because we were made in his image.  So as we let Scripture teach us we can make Scriptural conclusions, defend the faith as given in Scripture in dialogue and writing, and be built up in the true faith.  Faith is a gift to us from God.  Well, this faith fuels into flame our desire to know and understand the world and theology as God has revealed it.  So by faith we seek to understand and as we understand we live more and more by faith, and as we live more and more by faith, we understand more and more, and so on.  This happens until we come to the full measures of the statures of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).  The tools of thinking and faith are gifts God will give us for all eternity.

Thirdly, how is this tool of thinking helpful?  One, it can be used to make the teaching of the bible clear to people.  Preachers have to be “apt to teach,” so they need to think about how to make the bible understandable (Neh 8:8). Two, thinking critically helps us to understand what is bad and good theology.  Remember the Berean Christians?  They searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul was preaching was biblical (Acts 17:11).  Three, when error comes into the church, or when the church needs to ask herself if she is biblical, thinking is involved.  The church must take heed to her doctrine and approve the things that are excellent (Phil 1:10). 

Romans 12 says, “Be transformed by the renewal of the mind.”  God the Spirit does this transforming work and he doesn’t do it without our thinking.  Thanks be to God for giving us himself and our capacity to think.