What is theology? As a seminary student, I was exposed to various explanations of theology, good and bad. Helmut Thielicke’s, A Little Exercise for Young Theologians and David Wells’ article entitled “Theologians Craft,” in Doing Theology in Today’s World were among the better, well-balanced essays.
However, while reading last night I came across one of the most stimulating essays on theology I
have read. In an address to the Free Protestant Theology Faculty in Paris in 1934, Barth said:
Of all the sciences that stir the head and heart, theology is the fairest. It is closest to human reality and gives us the clearest view of the truth after which science quests…It is a landscape, like the landscape of Umbria or Tuscany in which the distant perspective are always clear. Theology is a masterpiece, as well-planned and yet as bizzare as the cathedrals of Cologne and Milan…but of all the sciences there is none which is so beset with difficulties, none which is so beset with dangers, as theology.”
First the masterpiece, then the dangers.
Note that Barth joins head and heart, intellect and affection, in the quest for truth and knowing God. Elsewhere Barth has written, “the theologian that does his work without joy is no theologian at all.” True theologizing requires more than a half man, no head or heart. In knowing God we do well to steer clear of cold intellectualism and directionless emotionalism. God demands that we know him with all our faculties, including our wills, and seeks to enliven our affections through the organ of truth.
Barth is also aware of the dangers when man tries to articulate God. He writes that theology does not exist in a vacuum…but “in that providence between baptism and communion, in the realm between the Scriptures and their exposition and proclamation.” In other words, theology is not inspired, and theologians must eat and drink God, as well as read of Him.
Theology is not inspired, though there are traditions that cling to their confessions so tightly, one wonders if this has truly dawned upon denominations. Divine inspiration is reserved for the Bible, and interpretation relegated to humans. As a result, in the movement from Text to theology, from Scripture to proclamation, the way is fraught with perilous precipices and breathtaking vistas. Therefore, theology should always be “an act of repentant humility, which is presented to men through this fact.”
Thus, theology requires rigorous mental energy, a tender heart and eager hands. It demands and produces humility and repentance before an awesome and holy God. It is not to be confused with the God-revealing Word, though it can draw us into the finest of settings.
Thoughts?