To Be Human Is Divine: Week 2
The Theology of Theology
Mikael Owunna – Infinite Essence Project (2018). Artist Statement: "‘Each of our spirits is just one ray of the infinite essence of the sun. And in my photography, [I'm] shooting that UV light, trying to capture that spiritual dimension that we're all on,’ he says. ‘How can I capture a piece or fragment or a shadow in that land of magic? That's what I'm grounding the project in and that's what I'm capturing, the spiritual guide for the individual models.’"
This is a living world. Life is alive, and as expressions of life we, too, are alive and sustained by the characteristic vitality of life itself. God is the source of the vitality, the life, of all living things… Life is a responsible activity. What is true for our bodies is also true for the mind and spirit. At these levels God is immediately available to us if the door is opened…
Howard Thurman, Disciplines of the Spirit
What is God? How do you explain it?
I once took a systematic theology class at the church where I worked. I hated it. Well, maybe I didn’t completely hate the class, but I hated the book that was the central focus of the curriculum: Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem. I loved my teacher and loved my classmates, but the book—good God—that book was maybe the beginning of the end of my church days. It was very male, very White, very western-centric, and theorized God from a very privileged position.
Here’s one passage in the book that really made my whole being fold into itself, closing every door and shutter against the turbulent winds of Grudem’s words in the preface:
I am convinced that there is an urgent need in the church today for much greater understanding of Christian doctrine, or systematic theology. Not only pastors and teachers need to understand theology in greater depth -- the WHOLE CHURCH does as well. One day by God's grace we may have churches full of Christians who can discuss, apply and LIVE the doctrinal teachings of the Bible as readily as they can discuss the details of their own jobs or hobbies - or the fortunes of their favorite sports team or television program.
The words hit like arrows on a closed and barricaded wooden door. I didn’t believe at all that the church needed a “much greater understanding of Christian doctrine, or systematic theology.” Too many times I’d had the displeasure of my soul being taken hostage in numerous conversations with Christians who only wanted to discuss and apply and theologize “doctrinal teachings of the Bible,” devoid of personal experience, pleasure, pain, or passion.
There was also drivel like this:
The major teachings of the Bible about itself can be classified into four characteristics (sometimes termed attributes): (1) the authority of Scripture; (2) the clarity of Scripture; (3) the necessity of Scripture; and (4) the sufficiency of Scripture.
My heart would hold its breath in protest to make the dull words stop.
I took the class because I thought I needed to be able to defend my right to know and speak about God. I was seeking approval, but from whom? Wayne Grudem and theologians like him? Why bother with such wind-chasing? Grudem and the like aren’t interested in what I think about God, or what anyone thinks about God. They’re only interested in making sure I think about God just like they do and speak of God only in their vernacular.
Theology is the study of the nature of God. That is all. Though he doesn’t know it, Grudem’s study is only one theory. It’s not right or wrong. It’s what he believes based on what he’s experienced. However, most of what Grudem has experienced of God is his own studies.
But I am a Black descendant of enslaved people and a granddaughter of Jim Crow America. My experience is different. My study of the Bible not only includes this history but the experience of my ancestors who were stolen based on biblical theologies that claimed they were no different than animals and banned them from reading any version of the Bible except for the Slave Bibles that were created specifically for them. The theology behind these “abridged” bibles stripped away any stories about a God who clearly wanted my ancestors to be free.
All this I’m sure Grudem would not see as a valid study or theology equal to—or dare I say greater than—his own, and from which he could learn. No. He believes that his is the authority and mine is the heresy.