The Pros & Cons of a Life Orientation in Theology

In many respects, the greatest strength of a life orientation in theology is that it enables us to fulfill important biblical values. We all know that passages like James 1:22 call for us to go beyond mere academic theological pursuits. As James put it:

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The intellectual hypocrisy of many theologians is utterly discounted by James’ words. Good theology will lead to proper living and not just proper learning. If we believe anything different, we’re only deceiving ourselves. Isn’t this what Paul indicated in 1 Corinthians 8:1 where he warned:

“Knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

And in 1 Corinthians 13:2 the apostle went so far as to say:

If I … understand all mysteries and all knowledge … but have not love, I am nothing.

The apostle Paul insisted that even if we’re able to grasp every imaginable theological concept, if those concepts don’t yield the fruit of love, then our theological efforts amount to nothing.

The Scriptures constantly call faithful followers of Christ to orient their theological reflections toward living for God. We really aren't fulfilling biblical standards if we only concentrate on learning about theology in some objective, conceptual way. Rather, theology that endorses the values of Scripture will be theology that fleshes out what we believe.

At the same time, however, life orientations toward theology also pose a serious danger, especially the risk of what we may call “anti-intellectualism.” All too often, Christians who value living for Christ reject the value of careful, rigorous theological analysis. Some actually view traditional academic-oriented, formal theology as harmful to Christian living.

We’ve all heard sincere people say things like, “I don’t think we should get into doctrine. That will only take our minds off of Christ.” Or, maybe you’ve heard, “You don’t need to study theology; just be filled with the Spirit.” Or perhaps, “Intellectual Christianity is dead Christianity.” Now it’s true that we should live for Christ and be filled with the Spirit. It’s also true that intellectually oriented Christianity can be deadly. But at the same time, all of us should resist the serious danger of anti-intellectualism in the church. This anti-intellectualism will inevitably lead to false teachings and misconceptions of the Christian faith that will have dreadful ramifications for the lives of many believers.

Paul acknowledged this danger in 2 Timothy 2:15 where he encouraged Timothy in this way:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Here Paul insisted that Timothy must handle the word of truth rightly. But to do this was not an easy task. Handling the word of truth properly required Timothy to become a “worker” — ergates in Greek — a term for someone who works diligently. Building Christian theology requires rigorous intellectual reflection.

Each of us must look carefully at the way we define theology. Some of us naturally tend toward an academically oriented view of theology to the neglect of other aspects of life. Others of us tend toward a life orientation to the neglect of intellectual matters. To avoid these extremes, we must acknowledge that there are strengths and dangers in both views. The way of wisdom is to embrace both outlooks at the same time. We need both academic theology and theology for life.