Active Theology

My wife, Haley, recently asked our 4-year old daughter, “what is theology?” She looked at us with a puzzled expression and, without any surprise to us, said, “I don’t know.” But with a little prompting, she eventually filled in the blank and arrived at the answer. “The study of…GOD!” 

Some of us may hear this word often and others not at all. Maybe you think this word is reserved for someone who’s getting their seminary degree. No matter what thought comes to mind, theology is for all of us. When discussing Scripture, we could talk about the theology of Paul’s letters. Or someone might even ask, “what is your theology of work?”, in an attempt to figure out how your faith in God affects your occupation. The list goes on and on, but first we must define what theology is.

Breaking down words tends to help me understand their most basic meaning, so let’s think of the word “theology” like this. Theo comes from the Greek language, where it is a noun meaning “god”. This word is the foundation for God’s name in the New Testament. For instance, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (Theos), and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, ESV) Now we know that the first part of the word is referring to God. 

The suffix –ology refers to “the study of something”. We see this all the time. Audiology is the branch of science and medicine concerned with the sense of hearing. Zoology is the scientific study of animals. Therefore, theology is the study of God. 

The Bible has been given to us as the primary way to know God. His character, nature, heart, etc., has been revealed to us in Scripture. But we can’t gloss over the fact that theology can become a little daunting. The Apostle Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’” (Romans 11:33-34) God is infinite, holy, all-knowing, sovereign…the list is long. But God desires for humanity to know Him and to know Him well. Theology gives us an organized way of approaching the study of God. 

Millard Erickson gives an extended definition of theology in his book Christian Theology. He defines Christian theology as, “the discipline that strives to give a coherent statement on the doctrines of the Christian faith, based primarily on the Scriptures, placed in the context of culture in general, worded in a contemporary idiom, and related to issues of life.”

My favorite part of Millard’s definition is the last part, which speaks to the heart of Active Theology. Theology isn’t just a mental exercise, but it is practical and should lead to action. Scripture is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), therefore theology is relevant and applicable to life. This means that theology needs to go beyond head knowledge and make its way into our hearts. For instance, Paul says to “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18) after he teaches on the second coming of Christ. This is a fantastic example of taking theology, specifically eschatology (the study of the second coming/end times), and making it a real part of our lives. That’s the goal of Active Theology. To study God’s Word and know Him better. To connect theology and life. 

Craig is a worship pastor at Wallula Christian Church and the creator of Active Theology. He loves coffee dates with his wife, reading, and riding his bike. A few of his favorite things are third wave coffee, vanilla ice cream, and plain t-shirts.