Rector’s Reflections
Tuesday 9th July 2024
What do Theologians think about?
Perhaps a good starting point is to ask the following question: why bother with Theology at all? Isn’t it basically a whole lot of irrelevant speculation? Most non-believers aren’t interested in Theology at all, while most believers practice their religion perfectly happily with the bare minimum of theological engagement. So what’s the point of it?
It’s a good question. When I was at Theological College, training to be a priest, we had to study Theology. Why was this? It was because some knowledge of Theology was one of the requirements for being ordained. So we studied it. But I cannot remember anyone at any stage discussing why Theology itself was a good and necessary subject of study. It was on the curriculum, and that was that. And this was among the students and staff of a Theological College! No wonder there are questions about whether we need to bother Theology at all. There was a sense that the clergy of the Church of England really ought to know some Theology, but this was about as far as it went.
Theologians have come up with different justifications for their subject. For some, Theology is about the search for truth: the truth about God, the truth about human beings, and the truth about the writings and traditions of the Church. Theology is about sifting the true from the false. I would say that this approach is fairly uncommon nowadays. Our modern world tends to be relativistic in its values, and sceptical towards any claim towards objective truth. Furthermore, modern religious practice tends to be all about inclusion rather than exclusion: Churches want to welcome and celebrate as many people and viewpoints as possible, and the greater the diversity, the better. The problem with seeing Theology as the pursuit of truth is that this inevitably separates truth from falsehood, and so it will draw up boundaries between what the true and the false. Therefore, this type of Theology will mean that some people and ideas are “in” the Church and others are “out”. On the other hand, some Theologians would defend this approach to Theology, on the grounds that whether we like it or not, some beliefs are true and some are false, and that’s the way it is. Just because someone believes that the moon is made of blue cheese does not mean that the moon is in fact made of blue cheese.
Other Theologians would say that the study of Theology is necessary in order to help members of a particular religion to understand their own distinctive beliefs and practices. Being a Christian usually means going to Church (at least occasionally), engaging with the Bible and offering up a prayer or two. How can we do any of this if we haven’t given ourselves the opportunity to think a bit about God and Jesus, and our own relationship with the Church? There is a danger that if we don’t engage with at least some Theology, our religious beliefs and practices become little more than mere superstition.
And there are those who see the value of Theology in terms of building and strengthening community. The more we understand the history and traditions of our own particular religious community, the deeper our attachment to it becomes- or that at least is the theory.
Finally, there are those who see the purpose of Theology as keeping the Church alive and relevant. No Church community is without its failings and blind-spots. Theology can help a Church to become aware of what needs to change, and can give it the intellectual tools it needs to face and embrace change. Theology can also give a Church the strength it needs to resist a change which might well be unhelpful or fundamentally contrary to its traditions. Theology has the power to say “yes” to change; but it also has the power to say “no”. Much of what Theologians have to do is to work out when to say “yes” to change, and when to say “no”. It is then up to the non-Theologians in the Church community to decide what to do next. Do they follow the guidance of the Theologians or ignore it? Theologians are not always right, and sometimes it is the ordinary men and women in the pew who have the greatest insight into Christian teaching and practice. And of course, one mustn’t overlook the fact that Theologians tend to disagree among themselves. It is all very well to say that the Church should listen to the Theologians. But which Theologians?
So here are some of the reasons why there are those who think that Theology does indeed have its uses. I wonder what you think? How might Theologians be of help and relevance to the Church today? Or perhaps you remain to be convinced that theology has any usefulness at all?