Explorative Theology VS. Polemics

When considering the success of a minister in feeding the flock of God it is essential to understand this is not a pass time but a Divine call given and mandated by God. I am, at times very disappointed in those who lead in the various denominations. Leadership has become very tolerant of lifestyles that are not in alignment with scripture as well as doctrinal issues that are clearly the result of the philosophies of man. The church as a whole has become, in their opinion the caretaker and guardian of God (not apologetically but in the general sense). If there is a passage of scripture concerning God that we cannot reconcile about His character we reject and dismiss it because we assume that we know the purpose of God for all things that have to do with mankind or the affairs of the global society.

I have been a spirit-filled believer for 40 years and have seen a lot come and go. I have dear friends who are Baptist, Methodist and Evangelical as well associates from Full Gospel Reformations and other religious groups. What concerns me and causes me to spend great amounts of time in prayer is the theological and educational standards that exist within the ecclesiastical world. For the last 20-30 years or so Christianity has been engaged in fierce Polemic wars. More time has been spent on the pursuit of proving the doctrinal treatises of our organizational affiliates than seeking to gain a better understanding of the Word and the nature of the God that we claim to serve. I am sure that the scholarly mind will say that in researching and debating polemic matters we are advancing the knowledge of theology. It is here that I strongly disagree. We are no closer to understanding the nature of God as Spirit or whether he is simplistic or simplistically complex or what immaterial existence is.

Polemics (although very important) should never take center stage for the sake of our Worldview. No matter how we stand or integrate a faith into our belief system it is just that, our belief system. I do not believe that scripture is so difficult and that understanding of the scripture is unattainable. Neither do I believe that God speaks to the various religious groups in such diverse manners that our understanding continues to keep us isolated and warring with one another in His name. I, through the help of the Holy Spirit try to refrain from conducting scriptural research for the purpose of proving others wrong. I believe that this is an offensive motive to God who loves us all. This is not a call to accept all doctrine as biblical truth in an inclusional manner because diverse believes that are in opposition cannot all be truth. Truth cannot contradict itself (Law of Non-Contradiction). Neither can truth be self defeating. In all of my years of ministry I have always been seeking for the meaning of the text. I sought to first understand my denominational beliefs because I was indeed faithful to my church. I began to seek to find that scripture is greater than our worldviews and so much more comprehensive than we fully understand.

My focus began to shift as I sought to understand what it truly meant to be a Christian Believer and to be born again. I found that God was much wiser than we made Him out to be. I began to watch as the method of exegesis began to change and then hermeneutics began to change. Even theological truths began to change. I even began to see that scholars began to undermine the very Word of God as if it were nothing more than an archaeological find. As Biblical Reference books began to change and some definitions taken out or rewritten I began to see a pattern. I believe the final straw was the blatant accusations that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were without understanding of biblical truths and only until hundreds of years later through the various Councils such as Chalcedony, Nicaea etc was ecclesiastical truth founded and clarified as church doctrine.

The church became establishes of truths that they originated and forsook the foundation of those truths that Jesus left with His Apostles. It became clear to me that Polemics was more important that Exploratory Theology that cause men to search the scripture to find out truths. The explorations of 1st century doctrinal systems and what these systems truly meant have been replaced by modern day skepticism and biblical critique that removes the infallibility of the God's Holy Word. In short we have sought to make the Word of God conform to our worldviews and our religious affiliations rather than conform to what the Word of God truly outlines.

How can this be remedied? I can see only one method. Church leadership must come to understand that the Word of God came from an infinitely wise God whose mind is both transcendent and extra-dimensional in nature. Through His Omniscient knowledge He communicated with mankind in ways that we could have some understanding of who He is and what His will is for us. Only when we understand that God is the being that truly knows what He communicated and that we know in part concerning this communication we will never accept that our worldviews are our own and that they may not truly reflect all that God has to say concerning Himself and the Church. It is the Spirit of God that makes the difference. We cannot forsake academic scholasticism for spirituality neither can we forsake spirituality for the sake of academic scholasticism. Both are needed as we explore the Word of God seeking to understand His truth and only His truth.

The End