Theology 101 - Why is Theology Important?

In the last post we established that theology concerns itself with speech about God, with the speech of God, and with the variety of experiences that are said to derive from Him. This is theology according to its most general definition. Rendered this way, theological reflection would also include the psychology, sociology and philosophy of religion, as well as the study of any and all faiths and not just Christianity.

For our purposes, however, we are concerned with distinctively Christian theology. More specifically, we are concerned with Christian theology as an intellectual discipline of study. [1] We may engage in this discipline within the academy or the Church, or on a purely private basis. Wherever we choose to encounter this discipline, we should first pause to ask the question: why is it important to study Christian theology at all?

Which 'God' Wouldn't...?

"Why would Jesus have to go for the whole martyr route anyway? Wouldn't he know that he could be far more effective if he lived on to impart his wisdom to the world?"

"Why would the Holy Spirit kill his own followers for a little white lie? That doesn't sound very 'holy'!"

"Why would God exile us to Hell for eternity over an apple? That's hardly a loving thing to do?"

While each is worthy of an in depth response, they are illustrative of a much broader objection. The objection says that since something would be irrational, evil, or otherwise deeply against the character of God, the whole framework must be wrong.
The Bible must be faulty.
We must have Jesus' identity mixed up.
Somehow, if his existence would create such paradoxes, God himself cannot exist.


The move from "The whole framework must be wrong" to the others isn't a logically valid jump. Our understanding could be imperfect, and certain aspects could be wrong, while most of our beliefs could still be true and proper. However the real problem appears before you even get to that jump. It is a deep-seated misunderstanding of the purpose of the Church and the character of God.