DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.
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Monday, August 22, 2011
Good video on importance of theology
This video from Joshua Harris to promote his book dug down deep.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The unavoidable reality of theology
As far back as I can remember, back In the days when MTV actually played videos, people told 
me theology was useless. I thought, nobody needs dry and dusty theology. I like most westerners, I thought theology was an academic exercise whereby a group of people sit in an ivory tower and debate over ancient documents that have no relevancy for today. I was wrong.Theology is an inevitable activity of humanity. But as LaVar Burton of Reading Rainbow fame, (Yes, La Forge from Star Trek: next gen.) always said, "Don't take my word for it!"
Who really needs theology?
Answer:
“Many things can be meant by the word ‘God.’ For this reason, there are many kinds of theologies. There is no man who does not have his own god or gods as the object of his highest desire and trust, or as the basis of his deepest loyalty and commitment. There is no one who is not to this extent also a theologian. There is, moreover, no religion, no philosophy, no world view that is not dedicated to some such divinity. Every world view, even that disclosed in the Swiss and American national anthems, presupposes a divinity interpreted in one way or another and worshipped to some degree, whether wholeheartedly or superficially. There is no philosophy that is not to some extent also theology. Not only does this fact apply to philosophers who desire to affirm—or who, at least, are ready to admit—that divinity, in a positive sense, is the essence of truth and power of some kind of highest principle; but the same truth is valid even for thinkers denying such a divinity, for such a denial would in practice merely consist in transferring an identical dignity and function to another object. Such an alternative object might be ‘nature,’ creativity, or an unconscious and amorphous will to life. It might also be ‘reason,’ progress, or even a redeeming nothingness into which man would be destined to disappear. Even such apparently ‘godless’ ideologies are theologies.” (Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction, pp. 3-4)
Therefore:
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 1)
Conclusion:
“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.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Indeed: "Theology is not undesirable, it is unavoidable. What matters is that it should be good theology." (Trevor Hart, Faith Thinking: The Dynamics of Christian Theology, p. 7)
Some things are inevitability. My mom tells me death and taxes top the list. I have found if a Toronto hits a trailer park it is inevitable a the local news team will interview someone with poor dental hygiene and a rudimentary grasp of the English language. Theological thinking is an inevitable activity. So how we feel about theology does not matter. We already do whether we want to admit it or not. So as a Christian our first question is not, why do it but "Do I have good theology?"
Indeed-E-Du: "We're either building our lives on the reality of what God is truly like and what he's about, or we're basing our lives on our own imagination and misconceptions... We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true." (Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep, p. 3)
me theology was useless. I thought, nobody needs dry and dusty theology. I like most westerners, I thought theology was an academic exercise whereby a group of people sit in an ivory tower and debate over ancient documents that have no relevancy for today. I was wrong.Theology is an inevitable activity of humanity. But as LaVar Burton of Reading Rainbow fame, (Yes, La Forge from Star Trek: next gen.) always said, "Don't take my word for it!"Who really needs theology?
Answer:
“Many things can be meant by the word ‘God.’ For this reason, there are many kinds of theologies. There is no man who does not have his own god or gods as the object of his highest desire and trust, or as the basis of his deepest loyalty and commitment. There is no one who is not to this extent also a theologian. There is, moreover, no religion, no philosophy, no world view that is not dedicated to some such divinity. Every world view, even that disclosed in the Swiss and American national anthems, presupposes a divinity interpreted in one way or another and worshipped to some degree, whether wholeheartedly or superficially. There is no philosophy that is not to some extent also theology. Not only does this fact apply to philosophers who desire to affirm—or who, at least, are ready to admit—that divinity, in a positive sense, is the essence of truth and power of some kind of highest principle; but the same truth is valid even for thinkers denying such a divinity, for such a denial would in practice merely consist in transferring an identical dignity and function to another object. Such an alternative object might be ‘nature,’ creativity, or an unconscious and amorphous will to life. It might also be ‘reason,’ progress, or even a redeeming nothingness into which man would be destined to disappear. Even such apparently ‘godless’ ideologies are theologies.” (Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction, pp. 3-4)
Therefore:
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 1)
Conclusion:
“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.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Indeed: "Theology is not undesirable, it is unavoidable. What matters is that it should be good theology." (Trevor Hart, Faith Thinking: The Dynamics of Christian Theology, p. 7)
Some things are inevitability. My mom tells me death and taxes top the list. I have found if a Toronto hits a trailer park it is inevitable a the local news team will interview someone with poor dental hygiene and a rudimentary grasp of the English language. Theological thinking is an inevitable activity. So how we feel about theology does not matter. We already do whether we want to admit it or not. So as a Christian our first question is not, why do it but "Do I have good theology?"
Indeed-E-Du: "We're either building our lives on the reality of what God is truly like and what he's about, or we're basing our lives on our own imagination and misconceptions... We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true." (Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep, p. 3)
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