Theology for Dummies

I read an article recently on the vast “For Dummies” publishing empire. The publishers basically asserted that they had a book out for anything you could do or even think about, and if you don’t see it on your bookstore’s shelf today, come back next week.

I just checked and it turns out that while there is a “Religion for Dummies”, there’s no “Theology for Dummies”. These books, of course, are billed as the reference for the rest of us; but that’s my point in choosing this title.

I mentioned in my first blog entry that I would be writing about God at times, and I start today with one of my core beliefs: we are all theologians. We are all of us engaged in “the study of the nature of God”.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying we’re all equally good theologians. I would be the last person to endorse the theory that all pathways to God are valid, or that truth is subjective. Quite the opposite; I figure if you disagree with me, that’s a pretty good indication that you’re wrong :-).

But everything we do, whether consciously or unconsciously, reflects what we think about God: whether He exists, whether He involves Himself in the world. Even atheists, agnostics, and all the other flavors are theologians. We hope that those who are a part of the church think more deeply and more accurately about God, of course. You have to hope that listening to Scripture read and explained weekly, singing the hymns that at their best are tiny theology texts, and being around other believers produces better-quality insights.

And that brings me to another of my core beliefs: that’s what the church is for. We all know someone who says, “I don’t need to go to church, I can worship God right where I am” – which is true as far as it goes, although I believe in most cases you’d be hard pressed to see that philosophy enacted.

One of the major reasons we have church, however, is that as humans we can only see a limited “amount” of God. If I could see it all, I’d actually be God (and for that not being the case, we are both grateful). But if we all get together, I can show you the piece I see, and maybe someone else will show me a piece I’ve never seen, and when we put all the pieces together, we get a more complete portrait.

I saw this in a new way this fall when our family went on a cruise. We did a couple of shore days and I found it frustrating that I couldn’t take a real picture of the ship. It’s just too huge to fit the whole thing in the viewfinder. I guess what I needed was a whole “congregation” of people taking pictures and sharing them with me…..