Those persons or religious leaders who label any theology as bad, are misguided or uninformed. If the determining factor is the Bible, then every theology that can be supported in scripture, must be a good theology. Any number of theologies can be biblical, some of whom conflict or contrast with others. What are we to do? Shall we only recite the approved texts?
Are we not asked by the many religious establishments to read and allow God to speak through the pages of the Bible? Are not the the words and life circumstance of biblical
characters 2000 years ago relevant to us? It is my
opinion that the church gives lip service to the need for Bible familiarity in
the pew for the pulpit claims to have the answers for your life experience,
backed up by selective scriptures.
Religious leadership in this way sows disrespect for the Bible, no
wonder the pew is biblically ignorant.
Points of agreement do exist.
We can agree that the only bad theology is that theology that is extra
biblical, beyond the broad sweep of the Bible. There are some wild assed theologies out there that have no biblical
foundation, they are mere speculation parading as inspiration. Even when these extra biblical theologies are
encountered, is it our calling to go around straightening out the offenders to
orthodoxy when we live in a glass house ourselves, picking and choosing?
When we care little for the broad sweep of the Bible and we judge
others by our own comfort level, we are disrespecting the very book we claim
to hold dear. The average churchman is not
biblically astute and the truth is that some pulpits are just as blind, finding
neither the time nor the energy to seek a broad understanding of what the Bible
is saying to us.
The quick fix is no fix at all.
G. Goslaw
Landers, CA
