The Necessity of Theology

A devotion to Biblical theology, rightly understood, is just another way of saying that we are committed to learning and living by 'every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4) Apart from such a commitment to theology (that is, to letting the Word of God guide and shape the worship of God, work for God, etc.) the vacuum is inevitably (and miserably) filled with values and criteria for success like expediency, pragmatism, and an undefined, question-begging quest for 'relevance.'

"Theology ought to possess a pride of place in evangelicalism, but, like serious biblical study, it has on the whole been relegated to the backwaters of a few theological seminaries. The study of God is increasingly being replaced by a fascination with the self. Like their archenemy Rudolph Bultmann, evangelicals have begun to embrace 'relevance' as a fundamental criterion of truth."

-- Richard Lints The Fabric of Theology


"When churches abandon or de-emphasize theology, they give up the intellectual tools by which the Christian message can be articulated and defended. In the resulting chaos of religious ideas, the principal criterion left to the community as it seeks to find its way is, quite naturally, that of expediency."

-- Peter Berger, The Noise of Solemn Assemblies


HT to Tullian Tchividjian for the quotes.

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