Theology is Good and the Bible is Clear

Jared has posted a couple of articles warning against making an idol of theology. Normally I do not take those sorts of things well, but seeing how Jared _teaches_ a theology class, I know that he’s not saying that theology is not important. And he makes many points that I agree with. I tell my theology class that I’m teaching them _about_ God, and it is no substitute for other important instruction and experience. You can fall in love with truths _about_ God, without necessarily loving God Himself. And that goes even for the warm fuzzy theological truths like “God is love”. Do you love God being love, or do you love the God who is love?

What really set me off is this article by P Andrew Sandlin, which I stumbled across yesterday.

Essentially, it appears that Mr. Sandlin denies that it is possible to find or infer any sort of objective, eternal truths from the Bible that are then applicable to any and all historic situations. He asserts that _all_ theology, like the Bible itself, is inexorably tied to “specific historical situations”. Consequently it is impossible to separate the truth from the situation. In short, postmodernism.

What I intend to show is:
1. Deriving principles from the Bible is essential; I cannot understand and obey the Bible in my situation apart from doing that. I must know what the Bible means in order to do what it says.
2. Most of the time, the eternal and timeless principles are fairly evident, and don’t require any significant interpretation at all.
3. The Bible is clear since God is sovereign and omnipotent.
4. Some valuable theology has little clear application.
5. The purpose of the Bible is not primarily to solve social problems.

He makes quite a few disparaging remarks about “pure” theologians, such as:

?Pure theology? tends to appeal to smart people, usually academics, who like to ?play? with ideas. The problem is that it?s rather obvious that God?s Word was not written principally for smart people; more obviously, God does not consider His ideas things to play with. … when theology becomes a plaything, an end in itself, which has no bearing on the existential needs of its readers, it is worse than useless.

There may well be these academic boogeymen who simply want to “play” with God’s truth. I have not met anyone who treats theology as a plaything. Mr. Sandlin is clearly writing to a much larger audience than some seminary professors, and he invokes this boogeyman to bolster his postmodern approach to the Bible. I deny the boogeyman exists; or at least, he’s not hiding in any closets in _this_ neighborhood.

Instead of trying to discover eternal truths about God and apply them to our situation, Mr. Sandlin suggests we simply understand and obey “the Bible in the situation in which God has placed us”, thereby discovering its meaning. Which begs the question, of course, of precisely how one is to understand and obey the Bible in a given situation. After all, it’s inextricably linked to the historical / cultural situation in which it was written. How could I possibly translate it into my time?

The only approach is for me to read the Bible and, if necessary, translate it into the closest thing I can to a universal truth, to see how it fits my particular situation. For instance, let’s say I’m considering some kind of “get rich quick” scheme. Maybe Proverbs 12:11 comes to mind “He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.” Now, I don’t plow land, and I eat more than bread. But still, I am able to understand the eternal and timeless principle that Mr. Sandlin disparages. And I can apply that principle quite easily and see that my income should be earned by direct, honest labor, and no other way. Many day traders learned that lesson just a few years ago.

On the other hand, I could have just looked over one chapter at Proverbs 13:11. “he that gathereth by labour shall increase”. That doesn’t even take *any* interpretation. It’s just laying right there, clear as day for anyone who will bother to read it. Increase your wealth through labor.

Mr. Sandlin and others who take a postmodern view of the Bible exaggerate the degree to which it’s necessary to “interpret” the Bible. After all, if the average man could simply read, understand, apply, and obey the Bible, what would we need a priesthood to mediate between us and God these smart and well studied men to help us learn how to practically apply the Bible to our own lives?

Let’s see how much “interpretation” is really needed. Here are a few commandments of Scripture:

1. Have no other gods before [God].
2. Do not make idols
3. Do not take God’s name in vain
4. Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. Do not murder
7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal
9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor
10. Do not covet

Of those, how many require any work to derive universal, timeless principles? A couple? None of them require any non-trivial effort.

Many of them have significant _application_ today – we might need to think long and hard about what other gods we have or what idols we’ve created. Perhaps a Christian should think a little bit about how he’s taken Christ’s name in vain through his hypocritical life rather than simply his words. Honoring your father and mother, particularly with lifespans being what they are now, may have some real implications especially for adults.

But my point is, _the principles are clear_. Only the _application_ needs any significant effort.

Let’s try another one. Even my 3 year old son can get this. Look closely and see if you can find the timeless truth here. (But be sure not to make an idol of theology while you are doing it!

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Alright, think of the historical and cultural situation of first century Israel. Think of the Roman occupation. Remember the destruction of the first temple. Remember the Pharisees and Sadducees, the role of the Sanhedrin. Consider the dietary and ceremonial laws. Better go learn some Greek and Hebrew.

Or maybe, like Christians have been doing for a long time, just read it. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” means “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. There’s the timeless principle. Apply it freely.

This is known as the perspicuity of Scripture, and it is logically necessary if God is sovereign, omnipotent, rational, and interested in our lives.

If God cares what we do, and He is rational, then it only follows that He would _tell us_ what He wants us to do. And if God is sovereign and omnipotent, He has both the right and the ability to _actually communicate with us_. It’s only logical.

God is in complete control of His revelation to man. He revealed Himself to us on His terms. He could have spoken to man in any historical or cultural situation, and could have created any historical situation He desired. Jesus could have come as a 21st century American or as an sub-Saharan African in 3,000 BC. Instead, God revealed Himself to ancient Israel, and was incarnated as a first century Jew. That tells me He created and selected the optimal circumstances to communicate to man. He had an infinite number of choices, and that is what He picked.

This is why it’s easy to relate to historical circumstances of the Bible and to understand the Bible. God designed it that way! Consequently, there is little need for others to “help” us translate what the Bible _said_ to what the Bible _says_. It says what it means and means what it says, and it’s typically not too hard to figure it out.

Of course, God also set it up such that study is rewarded through greater insight. But the important questions are clear. God also did not choose to reveal everything to us – as though our minds could grasp it anyway! However, the important matters of how to properly relate to God and to one another, are clear.

Mr. Sandlin makes another error when he states that theology is “worse than useless” if it has no “bearing on the existential needs of its readers”.

Some of Bible is without any _clear_ bearing on the existential needs of people, unless you can explain to me just how the doctrine of the Trinity clearly impacts my daily life in a way that modalism would not. I know there are some fairly roundabout implications, but nothing that couldn’t have been revealed more clearly and directly. Same for election. I know that a proper understanding of election is supposed to keep us humble, but it often has the opposite effect. And God already told us not to be proud of our salvation in Eph 2:8-9. We already knew He was sovereign. We could be told, without the doctrine of election, that a person’s refusal to be reconciled to God is not because we did a crummy job of witnessing, and that can be taught from the Bible without election at all. There’s no reason to have Romans 9:29-30. It tells me almost nothing about how to live, and nothing that isn’t taught more clearly elsewhere.

The Bible is not a handbook for man. It’s God’s revelation of Himself _to_ man. It is all _instructive_ but not all _instruction_. It’s purpose is to tell us about God, _including_ what His will for us is, and not simply to tell us how to live. Go buy Life’s Little Instruction Book, if that’s what you’re after. The doctrine of the Trinity reveals a lot about God, but almost nothing about how we are to live. Election reveals a lot about God, but little about our lives.

God is eternal and unchanging. Statements about God should reflect that. God exists independent of His involvement in His creation, and “pure theology” is valuable independent of direct application to our lives. God’s word is timeless truth for us, and is not bound by the culture or time that God sovereignly ordained it to be written in. Nor must our presentations of that truth be bound.

If we accept a postmodern view of the Bible, then there is NO doctrine that cannot be legitimately challenged as a cultural artifact. Sin, redemption, anything. Even the idea of God as a divine being distinct from His creation. After all, “there is a God” is a theological statement – perhaps THE theological statement.

Fortunately, God is sovereign, and speaks eternal truths to us which all men (when enlightened by the Spirit) can understand and then apply to their own situations and obey.