Imbedded Theology

In the past year, I have had two conversations that have been very similar- yet making me scratch my head.  They went like this:

Conversation #1:  College student from a Reformed Tradition telling me that they go to the Bible for their theology and not an author, writer, commentary, etc.  Yet, as we talk, it was very evident about the impact of the books they were reading and the podcast they were listening to had on their spiritual life.

Conversation #2:  With another Christian leader, in his thirties, from a non-denominatinal church. As we talked about some theological traditions, he stated that he didn't know what theological tradition he was because he just would go to the Bible.

First, let me applaud them (and maybe you) who make it a point to dive into the Word of God.  There is no better way for us to get to know God than to read God's Word. Knowing both people well, I know their passion for God and for the scriptures. This is not what makes me scratch my head.

It's the idea that we go to the Scriptures without any personal baggage, biases, or theology whether its come from books, commentaries, podcast, etc. This post isn't to affirm any theological tradition as correct, but it doesn't matter whether you're Reformed, Wesleyan-Arminian, or Presbibaptistcostal- we each have our own theological system in place.  Some of it is just more formalized than others.

For instance:

• When you read a passage of scripture and make an interpretation based on the context of the text and your knowledge of the Bible- you are developing your own theology.
• What we may not realize is that all our Sunday School lessons, sermons from our pastors, messages from our youth pastors, the way our parents raised us, and the books that we read, help us to interpret the Bible in a particular way.
• If our major influences in our Christian Faith (pastor, youth pastor, etc) are Wesleyan-Arminian, it's quite likely that we ascribe to that theological system without even realizing it.
• Even for those of us who are non-denominational, the influences our pastors and past leaders create a theological framework for the church to work in.  Who influenced them?

Why is this important?

I believe we should engage the theological systems we are raised up in (or find ourselves in). What do they say about God? About humanity? Is this what I truly believe? Is this really what the Bible teaches? What's the background of my pastor or favorite podcast? Do I track with their theology?

Ultimately, we are each theologians are we try our best to understand and grow closer to God. We create theological frameworks for our families by our prayers before meals and in our family worship time.

How does theology affect your life? Your family? Do you engaged with your pastor's theology and what your study of scripture has taught you?

Earth Day Theology

I'm not a tree hugger.


Growing up, the conservation movement was probably was in it's infancy and it didn't carry much weight with me. When I was involved in Cub Scouts, we would pick up trash along the roads once or twice a year. I remember watching Captain Planet where a blue man encouraged us to save the planet. (Or was the Avatar? I can't remember) We lived in an area where you didn't take much to get recycled- you just burned it in your back yard. All of it.

In the last ten years, Andrea and I have made sutble changes in our lifestyle in order to be a little more eco-friendly. We've changed our light bulbs. We use energy efficient appliances. I drink my water from an aluminum bottle rather than buying plastic ones. We try to keep our thermostat set to where we are not consuming tons of electricity. When it is time to replace my car (10 years old- thank you!), we'll be looking for something that gets great gas mileage.

I'm still not a tree hugger, but my views on the environment have been changing in the last few years. Here is why- Protecting our environment is not only a conservation issue- it is a faith issue.

In Genesis 1, God created the the heavens and earth and everything in it and said it was good. God created male and female, blessed them and said,

"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fist of the seas and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the grounds."

That's not too far off from our environment. Humans were given the task of "subduing" the earth..."ruling" over everything in it. Many have taken that as a green light to exploit the earth. We have countless atrocities of Christians "subduing" the earth (genocide of Native Americans, Spanish Conquistadors ravishing South/Central America, out of control pollution, etc.). Yet, maybe what that passage is telling us is that we are in a delicate balance with our environment. When we protect our planet and create a healthy world- we receive health back in return.

Theologian Eleazar Fernandez writes:

"What happens to the world, happens to us, for the elements that are in the cosmos and the air that we breathe are connected with the elements of our bodies"

A few paragraphs later...

"More particularly, we are citizens of the planet Earth; we are "earthlings." We are not fit to live elsewhere. We are not simply sojourners or tourists on this earth, though we continue to behave as such; the earth is our home. We must stop treating this earth as a hotel that we can just leave after using its amenities. This is the only home we have, so let us stop entertaining the idea that we can put our eaggs in another basket (e.g., the planet Mars)."

As Christians, we must realize that the entire world is God's creation- and that we have been put here as caretakers. We should care because when we care for our world- we make it better for our children and grandchildren who will inherit our caretakers job from us. We must remember that humans are not the only ones who long for redemption, but that "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" waiting for the redemption of our bodies.

What are you doing this Earth Day? What changes have you made in your lifestyle to be friendlier to the environment? What are ways the Church can speak out about sins against creation that pollute and harm our world- and harm humanity?

Friday's Quotation: Eleazar S. Fernandez

"Liberation from want is a fundamental necessity in the restoration of one's humanity.  No one can be fully human in a situation in which one's basic needs are not being met....as Robert McAfee Brown argues, 'as long as children are growing up in a society where their parents cannot get jobs, so that children grow up undernourished, as long as people cannot get decent housing or education and health care for their children, human rights are being violated.'"

-Eleazar S. Fernandez
Reimagining The Human: Theological Anthropology in Response to Systemic Evil

In light of Pelosi's health care bill, what do you think of this quote?  Would you go as far as Fernandez to say that a person's human rights are violated when they cannot provide the necessities for their families?  What does it mean to be fully human?  Talk it out below.