Thursday, June 11, 2009

Why Does Theology Have To Get So Complicated?


“Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough---
as most wrong theories are!” 

― H.G. Wells, The Time Machine




 Why must the gospel become so complicated, is'nt it supposed to be so simple a child may understand?

I answer yes, yes and amen.


The gospel is simple so that a child may indeed understand and be saved, on the other hand it is so profound that Phd's completely miss the mark.  


When a child asks: How does a television work? It may suffice to explain the on/off switch, some basics about electrical energy converted to visible light emitting diodes and such like but it would be wrong to make it too simple as much as it would be wrong to make it too technical. It must be aimed according to the capacity of the child. The aim is to increase their understanding without overtaxing and discouraging them. But perhaps the worst form of abuse would be to treat them like children to such a point as to keep them as perpetual children.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."1 Corinthians 13:11

Let me here ask a simple question: What do you think a brain surgeons' patient would say if you asked him this question?-

"Does it matter to you if your surgeon is not an intellectual?" !!!

Difficult diseases require complex surgery and the administration of complex cures. "Diseases" of the "heart" sometimes require no less abilities.  The gospel requires "mental dexterity" for the many and varied abuses of it that require a clarity of focus and dexterity of mind to effectively weild the sharp scalpel- the Word of Truth.

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
Listen to  St Peter: 
"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."  (2 Peter 3:14-18) Emphasis mine.

Didn't Christ himself express his thoughts on intellectual apathy? 
“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” Luke 24:25,26
"Oh dull-witted men...." the Weymouth New Testament translation puts it.

Pauls letter to Timothy:
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Peters letter to the Church:
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge..."

I feel this is ample evidence that in some places we must struggle and grapple with the meaning of certain scriptures and truths, and those ideas which would otherwise subvert the Gospel, just as we must grapple with those ideas upheld and promulgated outside of Christianity. As it is written (Jude 1:3) 


"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:4) For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."(my emphasis)
Is it any wonder that the divine Logos would use logic in the warfare against false beliefs?
"The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people's defenses, that is, their arguments, casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:4,5
Why then do we need to get bogged down with all the theology etc? (Remembering that apologetics is a branch of theology)

 C.S. Lewis was speaking to this issue when he said something like 
" Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason because bad philosophy needs to be answered"
He was alluding to the fact that truth- simple truth, is very often obscured and hidden by sophisticated models of natural reasoning.

God is not the author of confusion but many are confused by complicated theories, false doctrines and religions that demand difficult and sometimes subtle arguments to dismantle them. When Christ said that we must come to him as little children because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these he was saying we must accept his simple word with the innocent trust that children express naturally. But there is a vast difference between simple and simplistic. He also said: 
 "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."(Matthew 10:16)

In short the devil does complicated to confuse and obscure! It is for this reason that the saying arose: "A liar must have a good memory" because "He who first decides to deceive must a tangled web weave" -  


Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,:
"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (John 8:32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." and (John 8:36) "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed"

If the word of Christ was exhaustively simple then what need would there be to continue in it, wouldn't its total meaning be comprehended at once?  


What difference does it make? What do these truths change in our thinking, in our lives, in everyday practical life?




Nancey Pearcey who authored the excellent book- Total Truth- Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity certainly believes in an in-depth sort of faith. Listen to what she claims about the way believers are perceived by unbelievers:


"It's crucial for us to realize that nonbelievers are constantly filtering what we say through a mental fact/value grid. For example when we state a position on an issue like abortion or bioethics or homosexuality, we intend to assert an objective moral truth important to the health of society- but they think we're merely expressing our subjective bias. When we say there's scientific evidence for design in the Universe, we intend to stake out a testable truth claim- but they say, 'Uh oh, the Religious Right is making a political power grab'. The fact/value grid instantly dissolves away the objective content of anything we say, and we will not be successful in introducing the content of our belief into the public discussion unless we first find ways to get past this gatekeeper"
Total Truth- Liberating Christianity Free From Its Cultural Captivity- Introduction P22



She was interviewed on a radio program called "Culture Shocks" and she was challenged with the statement:

"conservative Christians discourage any questioning of their faith" to which she responded
"He was painting with a broad brush, but admittedly there is some basis for such a negative stereotype. In fact, it has become one of the main reasons young people are leaving the church."
A wise sage once said:"He lives poorly who believes badly of God". Although the depth of our knowledge of Christ we hold is not a guarantee of true spiritual maturity- though not sufficient- it is a necessary criterion for coming into the "unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

 Jesus said "I am the Way the Truth and the Life" Knowing the truth in deeper ways is to know God's heart because He is the truth and this springs up in us to eternal life:


" As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. (John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".(John 17:2)

We come into this world in spiritual darkness, that is our inherited position, God has brought us out, and is bringing us out of darkness into His glorious light, but it is the common presupposition of mankind that we are inherently free and enlightened, and because of this we believe we are in a position of superiority and power. Naturally then from this perceived position of freedom we tend, consciously or not, to elevate our own state and overestimate our abilities.


Note the reaction of the believers when Jesus said:"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:33) They answered him, We ...were never in bondage ...: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Despite the fact that they were under Roman occupation, let alone speaking of spiritual realities such as being under the law of sin and death; the blindness of their heart precluded any sense of being in bondage.

  There is no more secure prison than those strongholds or blind-spots of the mind/heart which we are unaware of, and therefore seek no escape from.

A paradigm shift is a change in thinking that is so deep that its ramifications will go on rippling through our minds and hearts so that our whole worldview takes on a different perspective, nothing is ever quite the same again. 


And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

For the final word on a simplistic Gospel we turn to C.S. Lewis defending the complexities of the Gospel. (Mere Christianity- The Invasion) After dealing a serious blow to the simplistic atheistic worldview he turns to an equally damaging "Christianity-and-water" view.

I will tell you another view that is also too simple. It is the view I call Christianity-and-water, the view which simply says there is a good God in heaven and everything is all right- leaving out all the difficult and terrible doctrines about sin and hell and the devil, and the redemption. Both these are boys’ philosophies.
It is no good asking for a simple religion. After all, real things are not simple. They look simple, but they are not. The table I am sitting at looks simple: but ask a scientist to tell you what it is really made of- all about the atoms and how the light waves rebound from them and hit my eye and what they do to the optic nerve and what it does to my brain- and, of course, you find that what we call ‘seeing a table’ lands you in mysteries and complications which you can hardy get to the end of.
…if you want to go on and ask what is really happening – then you must be prepared for something difficult. If we ask for something more than simplicity, it is silly then to complain that the something more is not simple, Very often, however, this silly procedure is adopted by people who are not silly, but who, consciously or unconsciously, want to destroy Christianity. Such people put up a version of Christianity suitable for a child of six and make that the object of their attack. When you try to explain the Christian doctrine as it is really held by an instructed adult , they then complain that you are making their heads turn around and that it is all too complicated and that if there really were a God they are sure He would have made ‘religion’ simple, because simplicity is so beautiful, etc. You must be on your guard against these people for they will change their ground every minute and only waste your time. Notice, too, their idea of God ‘making religion simple’; as if ‘religion’ were something God invented, and not His statement to us of certain quite unalterable facts about His own nature
Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys’ philosophies- these over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either.
One of the very real problems within Churches today- and not Churches only, but is common also within Western culture- is the problem of intellectual shallowness. We live our whole life most of us with the knowledge that a life lived well, is one that will require great wisdom, and yet we do not avail ourselves of a Christian philosophy or worldview. This is also reflected in the world, there are not many that study philosophy, which is after all, a love of wisdom. This is reflected in the story of Christian apologist Lee Strobel.  The one time skeptic and investigative journalist, a graduate of Yale, now a committed Christian and author of several Christian apologetic works including "The Case For Christ" and "The Case for Faith" was in a quandary. Recently his son approached him with the idea of studying philosophy.(Apparently he had become an avid listener of Ravi Zacharias) "Son" he is reported as saying, "do you know the difference between a large pizza and a Philosophy Professor?" No doubt this was followed by a perplexed look from his son. "A large pizza will will feed a family of four!" 

This lack of appreciation for philosophical rigor is strongly reflected in the fact that it may not attract a high paying salary or even a steady income.

  What is perhaps even more important is that in conservative Christian circles intellectuals are held with suspicion or even derision as if God were not the author of intelligence!

That is not to say that character is unimportant- but history has shown that the sources of the greatest impact on humanity on behalf of Christ has most often been achieved by those whose minds had been sharpened by other sharp minds, and this was also reflected in their character. It would be entirely remiss of me if I did not also concur with scripture the dangers of knowledge puffing up, causing pride. But where in scripture does it say we ought to remain ignorant for the sake of a danger of pride! In fact it is in taking note of some scriptural "knowledge" that we are denied any grounds for pride, like the following verse:
"Who says that you are any better than other people? What do you have" [knowledge] "that wasn't given to you? If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren't a gift?" 1 Corinthians 4:7
So it is through the knowledge of this truth that we ought to be cured of pride or at least denied any justification for it. It is also to be noted that people can be proud of their claim to be "humble, simple folks" and thereby deceiving themselves as to excusing intellectual laziness which is vice posing as a virtue.
"Brethren" Paul thunders, "I would not have you ignorant..." 1 Thess. 4:10

There is a real difficulty to make things that are not easy to understand accessible to those who also are not used to making a concerted effort to understanding complex things. Difficult ideas will require a growing mental dexterity and a certain- to coin a mechanical phrase- Warrant of Fitness. We are increasingly intellectually flabby, and this tells in the preaching where the temptation is to oversimplify, and in the understanding where there is insatiable demand for McDonald style spiritual "fastfood".  Zacharias tells us very graciously of an amusing story in this regard:


"I remember the first time I was doing a lectureship at a Church, a woman came to me afterwards and she said: 'I hate to tell you this- by the end of a week I feel like I've got blisters on my brain',...and ah, I wasn't thinking too well at that point and I said: 'You know Ma'am when I take a hammer and a screwdriver and work around the house within minutes I get blisters in my hands- whatever you don't use too much will deliver up blisters when you use it very very infrequently out there'... she was kinder than I was wise- but she made a point, and that point is a stinger for us as Christians. She was trying to say I'm not accustomed to thinking when I come to listen to a talk on Jesus Christ, and you know that's not a very good indictment for us- I was not smart in my response ... but the fact is we do need to think... " 
People who feel like this woman seriously need to take heart, as recent research on neuroplasticity has revealed and confirmed the physical marvel that is our brain is remarkably flexible and able to adapt to new ways of thinking and able to develop its capacity in much the same way as a muscle.

In a recent article,it has come to light that science fiction author H.G. Wells is said to have submitted a piece to the Readers Digest for publication some 75 years ago that was never put in print, apparently because its message was "too strong for the conservative magazine." This is an excerpt:
"Democracies need not merely freedom to think and talk, but universal information and vigorous mental training" .
Well the computer age, and the advent of the internet has given universal information yet sadly mankind is less able than ever before of taking the best advantage of it "having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction" (Malcolm Muggeridge- Something Beautiful for God)
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever thingsare just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."Philippians 4:8 (my emphasis)


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