In the last few years my question about theology has shifted from “Is it true?” to “What does it do to people?” Does it help them be the best possible human being they could be? Does it set them free from fear or give them new things to be afraid of? Does it help them be more loving or make them more legalistic (rules-based)?
I’ve also found that of the two relational emphases in the Bible, I very much go along with one (the horizontal: human to human) but don’t know what to do with the other (human to God and God to human).
For these two reasons I don’t read many theology books by Christians. They tend to be too much about the vertical relationship and not enough about the horizontal for me. Also, they don’t focus on “What does it do to people” because you aren’t supposed to choose a theology that way. You’re supposed to believe it because it’s true, not because of what it does to you or for you.
I made an exception for A Community Called Atonement because it has a neat title invoking the horizontal relationship and it’s by Scot McKnight, whose thoughts often make a lot of sense to me. Moreover, he’s careful - so I knew I wouldn’t get frustrated by comments based on inadequate research; and he’s kind, so I knew I wouldn’t run into any unpleasant rants or write-offs of other people or theologies in his book. Read the rest of this entry »
10-02-2007 |
39 Comments »